Our Focus

What is a Community Intermediary?

Not all intermediaries are the same. The LCCL identifies itself as a “Community Facing Intermediary”.  Meaning, the LCCL exists to advance resource equity and community well-being predominantly in marginalized communities of color and rural communities that are traditionally overlooked, under-resourced and dismissed as inconsequential contributors to the health and safety ecosystem of their own community.  A Community Facing Intermediary is not a simple pass-through entity but a key partner in solving common issues such as;

  • Inadequate community and faith-based organizations (CFBOs) grant writing skills and experience with public and private funding,

  • Inadequate CFBO infrastructure for program and fiscal reporting to comply with grant requirements,

  • CFBOs getting screened out of the competitive process because of being deemed “high risk” on financial readiness assessments,

  • Challenges CFBOs face with cost reimbursement arrangements, cash flow issues and the resulting financial instability,

  • CFBO’s lack of experience with cost allowability, program budgeting and cash forecasting, cost allocation methodology and having adequate back-up documentation for expenses,

  • Underdeveloped CFBO organizational capacity that inhibits stability and long-term growth,

  • Historic exclusion of CFBOs from government leaders, policy makers and participatory decision making,

  • Dialogue between CFBOs and government agencies that is monopolized by a few loud voices that may not represent the broader community, nuance and spectrum of opinions on a topic, and 

  • Breaking down silos between CFBOs and the lack of ecosystem cohesion between CFBOs and government entities.  

A Community Facing Intermediary intentionally practices building a CFBO’s influence, leadership, independence and sustainability.  Rather than transactional, it is relational and transformative. Rather than acting as gatekeepers they are bridge builders.  As a Community Facing Intermediary the LCCL does not require membership, fees, conformance to a prescribed curricula or rigid approach to serving community.  The primary characteristics that LCCL looks for in people and organizations is a strong and authentic connection to the community they serve, competency and experience addressing a pressing social issue, a commitment to learn and grow, and willingness to earnestly partner with the LCCL and other community stakeholders.

Community Reinvestment

Addressing complex community health and safety issues requires a more comprehensive and integrated approach than most current efforts around the country offer. Generally, units of government are funded to address these issues while community and faith-based organizations (CFBOs) receive fractional resources, if any, for the services they offer.

Federal grants and philanthropy offer incredible support for CFBOs in addressing such issues but can’t provide the sustained investments required.

Colorado is one such example of Community Reinvestment as a sustainable strategy that more equitably resources CFBOs and integrates the broader health and safety ecosystems. Leading this effort is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC).

CCJRC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to eliminate the overuse of the criminal justice system and advance community health and safety. CCJRC began by engaging in budget advocacy at the state to redirect funding deeply into impacted communities. Currently there are four Community Reinvestment Initiatives in effect in Colorado that provide funding for community-based reentry, crime prevention, underserved victim services, and harm reduction. All of these bills had bi-partisan sponsorship and no opposition.

Three of these initiatives selected the LCCL as the community-facing intermediary to manage the funding program to better ensure that the money reaches deeply into communities most impacted with the in-depth and ongoing capacity building support to help them be successful. The importance of a community facing intermediary cannot be underestimated and is a defining component of the community reinvestment approach in Colorado.

Reentry Grant Program

Work and Gain Education & Employment Skills (WAGEES)

2014

The first Community Reinvestment initiative in Colorado was HB14-1355 that created the first community-based grant program to support people leaving prison through comprehensive reentry services. This grant program is administered by the Department of Corrections (DOC) but the legislation allowed the DOC to contract with the LCCL as the community facing intermediary. HB14-1355 initially provided $500,000 for the grant program that grew to $1.7m annually through other legislative efforts by CCJRC that funded seven nonprofit organizations that provide reentry services in nine communities. In the fall of 2017, the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) conducted an independent evaluation and strongly recommended reauthorization of the grant program. During the 2018 legislative session, not only did the reauthorization bill pass (HB18-1176) but funding tripled to an annual appropriation of $5.7 million with another sunset review in 5 years. The number of community reentry organizations that received grants expanded to 19 across the state. Funding was increased to just over $7m in 2019 and was increased to $9m in 2020 so that Community Partners could expand their housing assistance, including entering into master-leases with landlords. Several of the Executive Directors and approximately 60% of the WAGEES case managers were formerly incarcerated and their leadership has dramatically changed the field of reentry in Colorado. For more information, visit the WAGEES website or review the independent evaluation from DORA’s sunset review.

Community Health & Safety Grant Program

Transforming Safety

2017

In 2017, HB17-1326 was signed into law which enacted substantial parole reforms that reduced the amount of time someone could go back to prison on a technical parole violation and redirected $4m a year in savings to the creation of a crime prevention initiative piloted in North Aurora and South East Colorado Springs. Funding is provided for a grant program to provide direct services and capital for small business lending. The state Department of Local Affairs provides overall oversight. The Denver Foundation and the Pikes Peak Community Foundation manage the grant program and the LCCL provides capacity building and technical assistance to grantees and manages data collection/evaluation. The legislation required that a Local Planning Team made up of residents and others with direct community ties determine the crime prevention priorities that would inform the grant guidelines. Transforming Safety was expanded in 2021 to two rural communities, Grand Junction and Trinidad, with the LCCL selected as the community facing intermediary. The Transforming Safety website and overview video provide more information.

Community Crime Victim Services Grant Program

2018

In April 2018, CCJRC released its report entitled, Victims Speak, publishing the results of a survey of 500 crime survivors in the Denver metro area, with an oversampling of victims of color. One of the key findings was the lack of community-based support services, particularly evident for men, people of color, and young adults. Based on these findings, CCJRC worked with bi-partisan legislators to pass HB18-1409, creating a community grant program for victim services that is housed in the state Department of Public Health & Environment- not a criminal justice agency. The LCCL was selected as the community facing intermediary to manage the grant program which explicitly focuses on serving survivors who are men, people of color and young adults. The legislation also specifies that grantees may not deny services to anyone for not reporting the crime, not participating in any prosecution, or other variables like length of time since victimization, or the location of the victimization. This grant program was initially appropriated with $850,000 annually and, after a sunset review in 2023, annual funding was doubled and the community grant program expanded. 

Because it is evident that therapeutic and trauma recovery services would be essential, it was written into the enacting legislation that clinical professionals regulated by the Department of Regulatory Affairs were also eligible to apply for grant funding.  Consequently, in addition to nonprofit organizations receiving grants, Element of Discovery was formed as a collaborative of 25+ therapists of color in private practice who can now offer up to 20 free sessions to crime survivors to be paid through the grant. Grant funding has also been used to pay for professional training in other modalities, like EMDR. The CCVS website provides more information.