Healthy School Meals for All Campaign:
Community Grant Information

The Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger and its media partner SE2 are funding community-based organizations to conduct campaign outreach to hard-to-reach populations about Colorado’s Healthy School Meals for All program. The goal of these mini-grants is to encourage community-based organizations to actively promote the new program within their local communities.

Eligible organizations can request $5,000 – $20,000 in grant funding (one of three tiers) to launch new activities or fund an existing effort. The 12-month grant will support outreach for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years.  

The online grant application opens on Monday, September 25, and closes on Friday, October 13, or once 60 applications have been received. Awards will be announced by October 27, 2023. 


Find out more about the funding tiers and requirements, along with application questions to consider before applying, below. There’s also a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section.

FUNDING TIERS

Here are the three grant options for interested community-based organizations:

Tier 1 ($5,000) 

  • Submit a plan outlining your plan to promote the Healthy School Meals for All program. It should include the audience you want to reach and an outline of how funds will be used.  

  • Conduct at least two outreach activities within the local community (e.g., workshops and community events) to raise awareness about the benefits of Healthy School Meals for All. 

  • Regularly share content on social media platforms (yours or campaign content) with your community for a minimum of three months. 

  • Share the impact of your activities! For example, tell us how many people you talked to during your outreach activities or how many people interacted with your social media content. Also, tell us what went well and the challenges you faced.  

Tier 2 ($10,000) 

In addition to Tier 1 requirements: 

  • Collaborate with at least one local school to create a unique piece of content about the Healthy School Meals for All program.  

  • Create and share at least three pieces of content (e.g., articles, blogs, videos, and/or infographics) to highlight the importance of Healthy School Meals for All and program success stories.  

Tier 3 ($20,000) 

In addition to Tier 1 and Tier 2 requirements:  

  • Include a plan detailing how you will continue to support the Healthy School Meals for All program beyond the grant period.  

  • Organize a community event (e.g., interactive cooking demonstration, building community/parent coalitions with school nutrition directors, supporting scratch cooking, and pilots with schools) demonstrating the benefits of the Healthy School Meals for All program.  

REQUIREMENTS

Grant proposals must support one or more of the following objectives: 

  • Raise awareness and enthusiasm for expanded school meals to make them the preferred option among families statewide / Build on broad community support for Healthy School Meals for All.   

  • Ensure families fill out their school’s income/benefit form, which helps school districts increase federal funds.  

  • Increase overall participation in school meal programs statewide.  

  • Help school districts recruit food service staff to respond to expanded demand for school meals. 

  • Increase school and district understanding of local procurement, scratch cooking, and supporting local and culturally relevant foods. 

  • Improve community knowledge around Healthy School Meals for All through outreach and collaboration with school nutrition programs.  

  • Educate and support producers in building relationships with schools who are interested in buying local produce 

Grantees must be a community-based organization in Colorado that works with any one or more of the key audiences outlined below:  

  • All parents/guardians of public school students 

  • Families facing economic hardship  

  • School and school district administrators  

  • Immigrant families 

  • School food service staff  


QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER PRIOR TO APPLYING

Here are application questions to consider prior to submission:

  • Tell us about the leadership of your organization. Are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) folks in positions of leadership and decision-making?  

  • Is your organization OR proposed project led by non-staff community members or volunteers? 

  • How many unduplicated (non-repeat clients/ participants/members) people do you serve per month through your organization/entity/group? 

  • What is your annual budget? (Note: If you are using a fiscal sponsor, please provide your annual budget only, not the fiscal sponsor's budget.) 

  • Please submit a proposal outlining your plan to promote the Healthy School Meals for All program. It should include the audience you want to reach and a general outline of how funds will be used. Five sentences at minimum, OR you can upload a file highlighting your project; this can be a video, PDF, Word document, presentation, image, or audio file. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

What can the money be spent on? 

As long as your group is able to provide a full report on the completed project, aligning with one or all of the tiers listed above, there are no restrictions on what the money can be spent on.

The money can be used on staff time, compensating volunteers/community members, building out a pilot in a school, media buys, materials, etc. Your organization just needs to inform us how the money was spent and how it supported your project! The funding cannot be used on another project or staff time that’s not dedicated to this proposed project.  

Can organizations partner together to receive funding? 

Yes, you can apply as more than one organization. You can still only apply for the maximum of $20,000, and you need to provide context on how the partnership will work. Also, please outline in your application which organization will act as the fiscal sponsor or be receiving the funds. 

Can you apply as a small coalition or community group and not as a 501(c)(3)? 

Yes! If you are a group of community members working under or within an organization, make sure to write the name of your group but also the name of a fiscal sponsor or organization who will be receiving funds on your behalf. 

We will not disburse funds directly to an individual, so if you do not already have an organization who can accept the funds on your behalf, please reach out to us! (See below for contact information.)

What type of support will be available to grantees?

The Blueprint’s media partner, SE2, will provide technical assistance to grantees. As part of this, they can:

  • Conduct 1:1 technical assistance sessions with grantees who seek assistance with planning communications activities (earned, owned, and paid).

  • Provide creative assistance for grantees needing something special (within reason) for a paid media buy in their community. 

  • Answer one-off communications-related questions for grantees. 

If you have additional questions or need help during the application process, please reach out to Justice Onwordi of the Blueprint or Cat Lyons of SE2.