Grant Programs

MINDSOURCE funds community and research grants through the Colorado Brain Injury Trust Fund to strengthen services and deepen understanding of brain injury across Colorado. If you represent a community organization or a research institution, our grants support work that creates real, lasting change for people living with brain injuries and their families.

View Opportunities See Funded Grants

What We Fund and Why

The Colorado Brain Injury Trust Fund was established by Colorado statute to improve the lives of Coloradans who are living with brain injuries. MINDSOURCE manages the Trust Fund and, with the Trust Fund Board, awards grants in two categories: community and research.

Community Grants

Community grants fund projects that improve services, raise awareness and support people with brain injuries across Colorado. Past projects have included education programs in schools, awareness campaigns, peer support groups, employment resources and direct community outreach.

View Opportunities

Research Grants

Research grants support studies that advance treatment, understanding and care for brain injury in Colorado.

See Funded Grants

Current and Upcoming Opportunities

Below are grant opportunities that are currently open or coming soon. Check back regularly or subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed when new opportunities are announced.

Community Education & Outreach Grants — FY 2027

These include funding for projects that improve services, raise awareness or directly support people with brain injuries across Colorado. They are open to nonprofits, school districts and community organizations.

Up to $25,000
January 6 — February 14, 2027
Spring 2027 (exact dates TBD), July 2027-June 2029

Brain Injury Research Awards — FY 2027

These support studies that advance treatment, understanding and care for brain injury in Colorado. They are open to university researchers and clinical investigators.

Type I: Up to $50,000/yr · Type II: Up to $150,000/yr (2 years)
Spring 2027 (exact dates TBD)
July 2027 — June 2029

Funded Grants

Learn about the community and research projects MINDSOURCE has funded through the Colorado Brain Injury Trust Fund. Use the filters to explore grants by type, topic, population or year.

Showing all grants

Craig Hospital

Brain Injury and Behavioral Health: Education, Collaboration and Consultation

Arapahoe

Need Behavioral health providers often lack training specific to brain injury, leading to misdiagnosis and ineffective treatment.

Work One-day conference for behavioral health providers followed by video-conferenced case reviews to improve services capacity for individuals and families living with brain injury.

Benefit Builds behavioral health workforce capacity to appropriately identify and treat people with co-occurring brain injury and mental health conditions.

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WCAHEC (Western Colorado Area Health Education Center)

Brain Injury Education Workshops & Safety Fair

Mesa

Need Rural Western Slope communities have limited access to brain injury education, resources, and prevention programming.

Work Series of three six-hour workshops in three locations streamed online, with a digital resource directory and a Safety Fair reaching 2,500 Mesa County children on injury prevention.

Benefit Extends brain injury education and prevention to rural communities that otherwise lack access to specialized resources and training.

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Pueblo Brain Injury LLC

Brain Injury Survivor Resources & Community Awareness

Pueblo

Need Brain injury survivors in southern Colorado lack a centralized resource to connect them with services and activities that support their needs.

Work Created a menu-style website where survivors can select activities matching their individual needs across physical, vocational, educational, and recreational domains, plus community awareness campaigns.

Benefit Connects survivors in an underserved region to targeted resources and activities while raising public awareness of brain injury.

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Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado

Brain Injury Symposium

Statewide

Need Survivors, families, caregivers, and professionals need a dedicated forum for education, support, and networking around brain injury.

Work One-day symposium offering education sessions, support activities, and networking opportunities for the brain injury community.

Benefit Provides a centralized event that strengthens connections across the brain injury community and advances shared knowledge.

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Montrose County School District

Core TBI Team Formation & BrainSTEPS Programming

Montrose

Need Schools lack coordinated teams to support students returning after brain injuries, leading to gaps in academic and behavioral support.

Work Formed a Core TBI Team with educators, school psychologists, the district nurse, and special education coordinator, plus a wider TBI Advisory committee with hospital staff, pediatric associates, and community partners.

Benefit Creates a sustainable, school-based infrastructure for identifying and supporting students with brain injuries across the district.

Domestic Violence Initiative

Direct Service and Outreach for Abuse Survivors with Disabilities

Statewide

Need Abuse survivors with disabilities face compounded barriers to safety, and brain injuries from intimate partner violence often go unidentified.

Work Advocates and empowers abuse survivors with disabilities through direct service and outreach programs, helping them overcome barriers to reach safety.

Benefit Increases safety and access to services for a population that experiences both disability-related and violence-related barriers to care.

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University of Colorado / Children’s Hospital

Early Exercise Program to Improve Symptoms after Pediatric Mild TBI

Dr. David Howell — Arapahoe

Need There is limited evidence on whether early physical activity helps or hinders recovery from concussion in children and adolescents.

Work Randomized clinical trial investigating the effects of early sub-symptom aerobic exercise on psychosocial outcomes after pediatric mild TBI.

Benefit Data indicates a beneficial effect of early exercise on persistent post-concussion symptoms and anxiety, informing clinical guidelines for pediatric concussion management.

Centennial BOCES

Executive Function Curriculum & Professional Development

Weld

Need Rural school districts lack specialized curricula and training to support students with brain injuries, particularly in executive function skills.

Work Purchased executive function curriculum with live professional development training for special education and general education teachers, plus reading programs recommended by Children’s Hospital Denver for students with brain injuries.

Benefit Equips rural educators with evidence-based tools to support academic success for students living with brain injuries.

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Helmet Heads

Helmet Safety Education & Free Helmet Distribution

Denver

Need Children in Title 1 schools face barriers to helmet use, putting them at higher risk for traumatic brain injuries.

Work Evidence-based curriculum educates 2nd graders on helmet safety and proper use, and provides free fitted helmets to every student in partner schools in Denver and Aurora.

Benefit Prevents brain injuries in underserved youth by removing cost and knowledge barriers to helmet use.

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University of Colorado Boulder

Hypocretin Replacement as a Countermeasure for Sleep-Wake Disturbances after TBI

Dr. Mike Opp — Boulder

Need People with brain injuries frequently experience disrupted sleep, which impairs cognitive performance, mood, and long-term outcomes.

Work Studied whether replacing hypocretin, a key brain chemical, can alleviate post-TBI sleep disruptions in a mouse model. Collected tissue from 55 mice before COVID-19 halted further processing.

Benefit Advances understanding of the biological mechanisms behind post-TBI sleep disorders and identifies a potential treatment pathway.

University of Denver

Intimate Partner Abuse and Traumatic Brain Injury

Dr. Anne DePrince — Denver

Need Despite domestic violence often involving physical blows, remarkably little is known about traumatic brain injury among survivors of abuse.

Work Enrolled women seeking services for domestic violence to study the prevalence and impact of brain injury in this population.

Benefit Among the first 33 women interviewed, nearly all (94%) reported at least one head injury from an external blow. This data helps providers better serve survivors with undiagnosed brain injuries.

Craig Hospital

Living Well with Brain Injury Education & Resource Event

Statewide

Need People living with brain injuries and their families need accessible education and community connection to navigate life after injury.

Work Single-day education and resource event featuring a community resource fair and discussion groups on topics for living well with brain injury, with interpreter services for Spanish-speaking participants and outreach to rural areas.

Benefit Connects survivors and families to resources and peer support in an accessible, multilingual format that reaches underserved communities.

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University of Colorado

Machine Learning and Cytotoxic Edema in Abusive Head Trauma

Dr. Daniel Lindberg — Arapahoe

Need Identifying brain injury patterns associated with child abuse remains challenging, leading to missed diagnoses and poor outcomes.

Work Used machine learning to recognize brain injury patterns associated with abuse and poor outcomes in approximately 500 children. Completed data collection ahead of schedule.

Benefit Provides clinicians with an evidence-based tool to improve early identification of abusive head trauma in children.

University of Colorado Denver

Microbiome, Inflammation, and Gut Permeability: Psychiatric Conditions after Mild TBI

Dr. Lisa Brenner — Denver

Need The relationship between mild TBI, gut health, and mental health outcomes is poorly understood, limiting treatment options.

Work Longitudinal study exploring how acute mild TBI impacts the human microbiome and its effects on mental health outcomes. Nine participants recruited with baseline samples obtained.

Benefit Opens a new avenue of research connecting gut health to brain injury recovery, potentially leading to novel treatment approaches.

University of Colorado Boulder

Original Theatrical Production with Individuals with Aphasia

Boulder

Need People with aphasia from brain injury have few opportunities for creative expression and community participation.

Work Created an original theatrical production involving individuals with aphasia, providing a creative outlet and platform for self-expression.

Benefit Demonstrates that people with communication challenges from brain injury can participate meaningfully in the arts and community life.

Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning

Project SHINE Community Health Programming

Denver

Need Immigrant and refugee communities along the Colfax corridor have limited access to culturally appropriate brain injury education and screening.

Work Augmented Project SHINE community health programming at two ethnic Adult Day Care Centers with brain injury education and screening delivered in culturally responsive formats.

Benefit Reaches underserved immigrant and refugee populations with brain injury information in trusted community settings.

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University of Colorado

Recovery and Behavioral Health Intervention for Children with Abusive Head Trauma

Dr. Terri Lewis — Arapahoe

Need Long-term recovery trajectories and the effectiveness of behavioral health interventions for children with abusive head trauma are not well documented.

Work Longitudinal study examining recovery outcomes and added benefit of behavioral health intervention for children with abusive head trauma, with 18 new admissions and one family consented into the study.

Benefit Builds the evidence base for early behavioral health intervention in children with abusive head trauma to improve long-term outcomes.

Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado

Resilience Skills Workshops & Peer Mentorship Camp

Statewide

Need Brain injury survivors often lack opportunities to develop interpersonal and coping skills in supportive, peer-led environments.

Work Workshops and experiential opportunities in a camp setting where survivors utilize and develop resilience skills. Peer mentorship allows participants to assess effective strategies and develop improvement plans.

Benefit Builds long-term coping skills and peer connections that reduce isolation and support ongoing wellbeing after brain injury.

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Brain Injury Hope Foundation

The Survivor Series — Monthly Lunch-and-Learn Classes

Statewide

Need Brain injury survivors need ongoing, accessible education on life skills, health, finances, and community resources to support their wellbeing.

Work Free monthly lunch-and-learn classes in an interactive format covering life skills, health information, financial resources, and community connections, with prioritized outreach to underserved populations including LGBTQ, American Indian, African-American, and homeless communities.

Benefit Provides ongoing education and community connection to survivors who face the greatest barriers to accessing brain injury support.

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Pueblo School District 70

Traumatic Brain Injury Professional Development

Pueblo

Need School staff lack training on brain injury, making it difficult to identify and support students returning to school after injury.

Work Professional development for teachers, special education staff, therapists, nurses, and psychologists on brain injury, plus BrainSTEPS team promotion through brochures and community outreach to doctors and families.

Benefit Builds school-based capacity to identify and support students with brain injuries through trained, multidisciplinary teams.

Colorado State University

Vocational Rehabilitation for Coloradans Living with TBI

Cristina Parsons, PhD Candidate — Larimer

Need People with brain injuries face significant barriers to finding and maintaining employment through vocational rehabilitation services.

Work Study assessing how individuals with TBI encounter vocational rehabilitation services while pursuing competitive, integrated employment.

Benefit Identifies systemic barriers and opportunities to improve employment outcomes for people with brain injuries in Colorado.

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How to Apply

We want the application process to be as clear and approachable as possible. Whether you have submitted many grants or this is your first time, the steps below will help you get started.

1. Check eligibility and requirements

Review the grant descriptions in the View Opportunities section above to confirm your project aligns with what we fund. Community grants support education, awareness, direct services and community outreach. Research grants support basic science, clinical science, health services and outcome research related to brain injury.

2. Register with Vendor Self Service (VSS)

All applicants must register with the State of Colorado’s Vendor Self Service (VSS) system before applying. This is a requirement for any organization receiving state funds.

3. Prepare your application

Your application should include:

A clear description of the need your project addresses
The work you plan to do
How the outcomes will benefit people with brain injuries in Colorado
A budget and timeline
Proof of insurance (as required by the State)
Statement of Certification (SOC), if applicable
W-9 or SAM.gov registration

4. Write SMART goals

Your project goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Clear goals help reviewers understand exactly what you plan to accomplish and how you will measure success.

Learn About SMART Goals →

5. Submit your application

Follow the instructions in the grant announcement to submit your completed application by the deadline. Late or incomplete applications cannot be considered.

6. What happens next

Applications are evaluated and scored by reviewers. Award notifications follow the timeline in the grant announcement.

Grant Programs

What We Fund and Why

Community Grants

Research Grants

Current and Upcoming Opportunities

Community Education & Outreach Grants — FY 2027

Brain Injury Research Awards — FY 2027

Funded Grants

Craig Hospital

WCAHEC (Western Colorado Area Health Education Center)

Pueblo Brain Injury LLC

Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado

Montrose County School District

Domestic Violence Initiative

University of Colorado / Children’s Hospital

Centennial BOCES

Helmet Heads

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Denver

Craig Hospital

University of Colorado

University of Colorado Denver

University of Colorado Boulder

Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning

University of Colorado

Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado

Brain Injury Hope Foundation

Pueblo School District 70

Colorado State University

How to Apply

Questions about our grant programs?