“Systems are constructed of interconnections among different elements. These relationships might be physical and tangible, or they might be invisible.” -Kecia Bertermann and Julia Coffman, “A Learning Framework for Testing Uncertainties” 

Introduction 

In 2024, Early Milestones Colorado received a $2.5 million seed grant from MacKenzie Scott, along with generous support from five additional donors to launch the Impact on Equity (IOE) Initiative. 

The Initiative was created with a simple but ambitious goal: to strengthen the collaborations working to reduce inequities and boost their impact for Colorado’s prenatal-to-three population. While Colorado continues to make meaningful progress in early childhood, too many families with young children continue to face barriers that affect health, education, and economic opportunity. For example: 

• Maternal mortality in Colorado is rising, and the rate is twice as high for Black and Native American women. 

• Colorado ranks 34th in the nation for childhood vaccinations, and 1 in 5 toddlers are not fully vaccinated. 

• Challenges accessing infant-toddler child care cost the state an estimated $2.7 billion annually in lost workforce productivity. 

Rather than launching entirely new programs to address these disparities, Early Milestones sought to invest in organizations with active collaborations with the prenatal to three populations. We hypothesized that strong relationships, shared learning, and collective leadership create conditions for lasting change. Over the past year and a half, our grantees demonstrated exactly what becomes possible when relationships are intentionally supported.
 

Grantees 

IOE supported collaborative efforts that were already advancing equity for young children and families. Together, grantees achieved significant milestones across Colorado: 

• Dedicated early childhood funding secured. Aspen Community Foundation and the Confluence Early Childhood Education (CECE) Coalition passed Ballot Measure 7A, creating a special tax district to fund early childhood education.  

• Perinatal behavioral health systems strengthened. Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative expanded lived-experience integration and improved collaboration between two perinatal behavioral health programs.  

• New nutrition data collected. Hunger Free Colorado launched a statewide food access survey, gathering input from 129 respondents on administrative burdens, technical issues, awareness, social stigma, and the impacts of systemic uncertainty on SNAP recipients.  

• Community trust and vaccine access expanded. Immunize Colorado hosted three Community Baby Showers, providing vaccination, health consulting, and early childhood services to 330 community members.  

• Caregivers connected to critical supports. Mile High United Way and Lantern enrolled 450 Family, Friend, and Neighbor caregivers in the FFN Channel and connected them to critical resources and state supports, including the Care Worker Tax Credit. 1,700 FFNs have now registered for this credit across the state thanks, in part, to their work.  

• Child care funding and community leadership expanded. La Plata Food Equity Coalition and the Early Childhood Council of La Plata passed Ballot Measure 1A just before the grant period and worked to strengthen grassroots leadership of Latine families in its implementation.  

• A new maternal and child health leadership pipeline launched. Triad Bright Futures, Cuenta Conmigo, and Jefferson County Public Health enrolled 20 Latina leaders in a 12-month Maternal Child Health Leaders for Equity cohort.  

These achievements reflect more than just initially successful projects. They demonstrate what is possible when organizations have the time, trust, and flexibility to work together toward shared goals. 

What We Learned  

In “Rethinking Systems Change Under Current Conditions,” Clare Nolan argues that simply explaining systems change isn’t enough to make it happen. As she writes, “if people just had the right framework, language, or explanation, they would come along. But in practice, decision-makers engage when systems change work is tied to the real decisions they have to make—about strategy, resources, risk, timelines, and accountability.” 

That insight came to life throughout IOE, where we found that, rather than introducing frameworks or models of how the system should change, creating the conditions for collaboration and shared learning was often much more impactful. 

Some grantees demonstrated how fast things can change when the timing is right and strong coalitions capitalize on opportunities. Aspen Community Foundation, La Plata Food Equity Coalition (LPFEC), and the Early Childhood Council of La Plata (ECC-La Plata) helped to pass legislation and support equitable implementation that centered early childhood as both a grassroots and leadership priority at the same time. Their work illustrated that “systems change isn’t always slow” (Nolan). When collaborative relationships already exist, organizations can effectively inform decision-makers of strategy to effect far-reaching change. As LPFEC reflected, these changes accelerated thanks to “the buy-in from huge partners and stakeholders such as the Economic Development Alliance and county commissioners.”  

At the same time, other IOE grantees highlighted the equally important work that happens before policy change is possible: 

• Hunger Free Colorado listened to community members to better understand barriers within SNAP and local food systems. 

• CPCQC embedded lived-experience experts into its work while strengthening its internal infrastructure. 

• Immunize Colorado expanded trusted partnerships and increased access to vaccination information within communities. 

• Triad Bright Futures invested in leadership development for Latina community leaders. 

• Mile High United Way and Lantern designed communication strategies with caregivers to improve access to information and opportunities. 

Learning to listen, engage and develop leaders, build organizational capacity, and support direct service are the foundations that make policy shifts possible. As Nolan notes, “Direct service without systems work rarely holds.” The reverse is equally true: systems work without strong community infrastructure rarely succeeds. IOE’s mission was to strengthen both by investing in the collaborative relationships that enhance coordination, leverage complementary expertise, and build more resilient strategies for Colorado’s early childhood system.

Early Milestones’ Impact on Equity 

Early Milestones is not a traditional grantor. Instead, we positioned ourselves as partners to the IOE grantees. This meant co-designing grant plans, evaluation approaches, and being able to adapt as circumstances changed. 

That flexibility proved essential. As grantees worked to advance equity, they were simultaneously navigating shifting political and economic conditions that directly impacted the safety and wellbeing of the communities they serve. As grantors, we learned that supporting equity meant more than funding projects; it was about investing in stability, staff wellbeing, and each grantee’s capacity to adapt to a changing environment. 

IOE showed us that collaborative relationships are not the result of systems change. They are the infrastructure that makes it possible. If we want change to endure, our funding approaches must invest not only in outcomes, but in the holistic health and wellbeing of the people that make those outcomes possible. Strong relationships build strong systems. That’s the bottom line.  

References

1 Bertermann, Kecia and Julia Coffman. A Learning Framework for Testing Uncertainties. Embedding Learning in Systems Change. September 2024.

2 CDEC. Colorado Birth Through Five 2023 Needs Assessment. December 2023.

3 Early Milestones Colorado. Maternal Mortality in Colorado is Rising and Largely Preventable. March 2024.

4 Nolan, Clare. Rethinking Systems Change Under Current Conditions. June 17, 2026.