Larimer County commissioners back 2025 Impact Fund grant recommendations and ask staff to advance awards

Larimer County commissioners on Aug. 13 heard staff recommendations for the county’s 2025 Impact Fund grant portfolio and signaled consensus to move the awards forward for administrative approval, with a request that the item be presented as a discussion item at the administrative matters meeting.

The proposal presented by Amy Martinis, director of behavioral health for Larimer County, and Jessica Plummer, the county’s Impact Fund grant program manager, recommends funding 42 organizations from 70 applications for a $3,000,000 portfolio. Martinis told the board the department has $2.8 million currently allocated and $3.0 million budgeted for the grant program; the additional $200,000 would require board approval.

Staff described why the recommendation matters and how it was reached. The program, funded by behavioral health sales tax dollars, used a multi-step review: staff prescreening, three external subject-matter expert reviews per application, an executive review panel and review by the Behavioral Health Policy Council. Plummer said that 15 organizations qualified for a pilot renewal pathway (applicants with five or more years of prior funding) and that the executive panel focused on producing a balanced portfolio across targeted service areas.

Plummer summarized the portfolio: 70 applications from 65 unique organizations requested $5,175,000; 42…