La Plata County will grant $250,000 to nonprofits again this year, but it is still not enough to fill all 23 requests for funding that totaled $360,700.
On Monday, La Plata County commissioners voiced support for some major funding changes for a few organizations, including the local chapter of the Red Cross and the Pine River Learning Center, among others.
The Southwest Chapter of the Red Cross requested $7,000 to train local volunteers, a bit more than the $5,200 it received last year. But the recent departure of local chapter leadership raised questions for commissioners.
Commissioners initially directed staff not to fund the organization. But Commissioner Gwen Lachelt said the board will be encouraging Red Cross staff members to attend an upcoming public meeting to make their case.
“We want to better understand what their future plans are,” Lachelt said.
The local chapter of the Red Cross now will be managed out of Grand Junction, after a nationwide restructuring of the organization that took effect in November.
The Pine River Learning Center may be receiving $9,300 for the first time, at the suggestion of commissioners. Themoney would help fund classes the center offers to prisoners at the La Plata County jail. The center started the classes years ago, and it resumed managing them again last year. Since then, the demand for classes that help inmates receive their GEDs has remained steady, said Executive Director Cathy Calderwood.
The center requested $15,000 from the county, which would cover about 25 percent of the program, she said. Currently, the classes are funded by a Colorado Department of Education grant.
Axis Health System may be the largest beneficiary of the grant program. It is slated to receive $43,300 to help provide outpatient services for the working poor and $30,000 for post-crisis transition. It may receive the funding at the suggestion of the United Way, which analyzes all of the county’s grant requests.
The county has long supported these programs, and the funding is still necessary despite the recent expansion of Medicaid, said Pam Wise Romero, the chief clinical officer.
The commissioners did not support a request from Habitat for Humanity for $25,000 to restore its truck or a request from Mercy Health Foundation for $15,000 to help recruit a primary-care physician, among others.
None of the funding suggestions is final, and commissioners will hold a public meeting to get comment on budget issues at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at 1060 E. Second Ave.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
