Trusted to Respond: The Impact of WRI
How flexible funding helps organizations welcome and support newcomers across Colorado
“When you give the opportunity for us to decide where the money is going, it makes a huge difference.”
That's how the executive director of one of LCFC's Welcome, Reception and Integration (WRI) grant partners describes what changed when her organization received WRI funding.
In 2025, LCFC partnered with the Colorado Office of New Americans to steward a $2.1 million WRI investment, walking alongside 10 organizations across Colorado as they help new families build connection, stability and belonging.
For this executive director, the work is also personal. As the daughter of immigrants, she has come to understand deeply what her own citizenship affords her. Leading an organization built to walk alongside community feels like a lifetime of service coming full circle.
Communities Across Colorado
WRI did more than support the work her organization was already doing in Fort Collins. The funding provided capacity to expand its community services and relationship-building across Colorado.
“That grant was amazing, and it allowed us to go out and meet with community members throughout the state because we took the community services we provide in Fort Collins statewide,” she says. “We were meeting with partners in Pueblo and Eagle County and Yuma, Fort Morgan, all corners of Colorado, and the only way we were able to do that is because there was travel written into the grant. There was the ability to support community members from some other partners and help us establish those relationships. It also gave us a very detailed insight into what some of the challenges are in other regions of the state.”
The impact went beyond delivering services. The organization used the opportunity to build in-person relationships with local partners, deepen its understanding of regional needs, and establish connections that could support continued collaboration.
What showing up made possible
In Yuma, that meant two concrete things: legal aid nights and an entire health fair.
“There's no way we would've been able to do it in this capacity,” says the executive director. “We were already doing it before, but very limited. With WRI, not only did we bring legal nights to Yuma, but we were able to help put together a health fair, and we paid for the lodging for the nurses who came with that health fair.”
The health fair offered cholesterol, blood pressure and vitals testing, along with cancer and diabetes screenings. In that region, she said, a health fair like this can cost $50 per test. This one was completely free, with follow-up care available for anyone who needed it.
The grant also funded legal aid and helped some families cover apartment deposits, another piece of what a soft landing can look like.
A Wholesome Approach to Meeting the Needs
Through WRI, LCFC worked to ensure trusted community organizations could respond to the interconnected needs newcomers were navigating.
Direct aid lets organizations respond to what people actually need. A grant earmarked only for glasses, for example, might cover the glasses but not the consultations, follow-up visits and care needed to get them. The ability to provide a variety of aid follows the whole person, not just one line item.
For one family, that might mean groceries. For another, a housing deposit. For others, it may be setting up a driver's license appointment, transportation to court appointments, or covering a fee standing between them and greater stability.
The needs are different because people are different. WRI gives trusted organizations the capacity to respond accordingly.
Gracias to this organization, and to every WRI partner doing this work quietly and well, for showing what trust can build when it's allowed to travel as far as the need does.
Learn more about LCFC's WRI Grant at https://latinocfc.org/wri-grant.
