Build a Generation highlights housing, food and childcare coalitions, national recognition and local funding

Representatives of Build a Generation (BAG), a Lake County nonprofit that facilitates cross-sector coalitions, briefed the Board of County Commissioners on the group’s history, initiative areas and funding during the work session.

BAG described itself as a backbone organization for local coalitions that address social determinants of health including housing, food access, childcare and youth leadership. The group said its mission is organizing Lake County to improve population health by addressing upstream causes such as housing affordability and access to healthy food.

Why it matters: BAG framed its work as long-term systems change rather than direct service delivery, saying the coalition model aligns public agencies, schools, nonprofit providers and residents around shared goals. BAG emphasized that coalition work has supported locally led projects including a resident-owned mobile-home park conversion, a regional housing authority campaign and pandemic-era unmet-needs coordination.

Initiatives and recent work: BAG described active coalitions and programs: - Food Access Coalition: work to publish a food action plan, support SNAP outreach and help local food entrepreneurs access business supports. The coalition has a five-to-seven year strategic plan with eight strategies, BAG staff said. - Housing Coalition: long-standing county coalition that helped create the regional housing authority, assisted resident-owned community efforts and is advancing projects linked to the county’s housing strategy. - Childcare Coalition: focused on workforce, leadership, and funding innovations to improve supply and affordability; BAG staff said the group helped craft a tourism-linked funding model under local consideration. - Youth Coalition: evolved from substance-use prevention into leadership development and civic-engagement training; BAG is coordinating a youth summit in May and internship credit with the school district.

Funding and community investment: BAG said most of its operating support comes from foundations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Colorado Health Foundation; state grants support specific childcare and housing initiatives. Since becoming an independent nonprofit in 2020, BAG said it has channeled about $1.1 million in direct financial support to local agencies and individuals (not counting staff salaries), and that coalition stipends compensate residents with lived experience.

National recognition and storytelling: BAG highlighted that it received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Award in 2019 and has since been part of a storytelling and model-sharing effort funded by that foundation to document replicable practices. BAG staff said the storytelling project emphasizes ethical collection and sharing of community narratives.

Requests for the county: BAG staff asked the Board to partner on data sharing, public outreach and town halls; they offered to help distribute county information through coalition channels and to assist with survey administration and convenings. BAG said it does not plan to seek routine operating support from the county but will consider targeted project partnerships and pass-through funding where appropriate.

Next steps: BAG invited commissioners to attend coalition meetings (housing coalition meets the first Monday of each month, with virtual options) and proposed ongoing exchanges of data and outreach coordination to reach vulnerable residents.

Speakers included Build a Generation staff and a consultant who outlined BAG’s work; no county funding vote or formal action occurred in the session.