Community members gather at Commún Denver space to discuss community issues

 In Colorado, the idea of belonging didn’t begin as a program. It began as a question: What would it take to strengthen connection across difference — across distance, across divides that have only deepened in recent years?

At a time when polarization is pulling communities apart, Belonging Colorado is focused on a different approach. That belonging can be built intentionally, collaboratively, and at scale.

In June 2024, The Denver Foundation, in consultation with the Othering and Belonging Institute’s Places of Belonging program and Greater Good Science Center, Dr. Linda Tropp, and other leading voices, launched its initiative, designed as a long-term effort to knit together communities across political, cultural, geographic, and economic divides.

Grantees use shared interests to bring together who might not typically be in conversation into dialogue. The first grant program drew hundreds of proposals, showing strong demand for tools to address divides—from housing and immigration to rural-urban tensions.

The program is also grounded in a hard reality: in Colorado, only about half of residents report feeling a strong sense of belonging in their communities. For leaders behind the work, that gap is both the challenge — and the opportunity.

So far, 15 projects across Colorado have turned belonging into practice — early community impacts include young people connecting across differences, leaders changing how they listen and lead, and communities beginning to imagine a future where everyone belongs.

Designed to unfold in phases, Belonging Colorado recently expanded through a new social entrepreneurship accelerator with Startup Colorado. This spring, the program will support 12 founders with innovative, scalable ideas for bridging differences.

Project ideas being explored include: An app that rewards people for helping neighbors, donating items, or showing up for their community. A micro-volunteering network where small practical acts ripple outward, generating both human connection and direct support for local nonprofits.

Another idea is a digital platform designed to bring people together in real time — helping friends gather in shared spaces like cafés, parks, and gyms, or connecting people through small-group outdoor experiences that prioritize belonging over activity. Some efforts are working inside systems, helping schools better identify and support students impacted by trauma, or strengthening workplace culture in industries facing instability by centering identity, ownership, and community.

Recently, we spoke with the Denver Foundation Senior Director of Policy Dr. Janet Lopez and Belonging Colorado Program Lead Erika Montes to talk about what the process was like taking the initiative from idea to action, navigating tensions and differences, and how this work meets the moment.

What led to the creation of Belonging Colorado? How did it go from idea to action?

Dr. Janet Lopez: There was a recognition that our Colorado communities have had a lot of demographic change and fracturing. People were really struggling to work together to solve some of the most important problems — whether that’s climate, economic prosperity, or housing.

The idea began taking shape in late 2022, through conversations with national leaders in belonging, including OBI’s john a. powell, about what a statewide strategy could look like.

We were very interested in this growing body of work on belonging and how to connect people across lines of difference, and we recognized an opportunity to build greater understanding and resiliency in our state.

Colorado’s urban-rural divide, and political diversity also offered a unique testing ground. And we felt, beyond our state, there was a lot we could eventually share, as far as what we were learning, with other states more broadly.

Erika Montes: By June 2024, the work moved from concept to reality.

At a daylong convening at Red Rocks Amphitheater, leaders from across the state gathered to explore what belonging could look like in practice in Colorado. But it wasn’t just another meeting at a state landmark. It was our moment to share these big ideas and paint the possibilities.

The event combined research, storytelling, and practice: A keynote from john a. powell; Findings from the Colorado Belonging Barometer; Real-world examples of belonging in action; and the opening of the first grant cycle for applicants.

We wanted it to be inspiring — but also practical. People came from across the state and stayed. There was a real recognition that this is something people were really yearning for.

john powell speaks with to Colorado state leaders at the 2024 convening at Red Rocks Ampitheater.

So what has belonging looked like in practice across Colorado?

Dr. Janet Lopez: At the heart of Belonging Colorado has been the practice of bridging.

Bridging differences involves seeing connections with people whose backgrounds or views differ from your own and better understanding them. Rather than starting with disagreement, the work begins with shared experiences and common goals.

Across Colorado, that looked like: Outdoor experiences connecting immigrant communities. Community gardens bringing together people with and without disabilities. Cooking classes bridging cultural divides. Arts projects building shared expressions.

These are all connectors that give people a way to be in community together. Shared spaces create the conditions for trust — before tackling harder conversations.

Youth at a Teens, Inc. created a project for Colorado youth to bridge with each other while doing fun outdoor activities. A trainer and participant watch their friends climb a cliff wall.

Erika Montes: Also, rather than define belonging from the top down, we turned to communities themselves.

We didn’t want to be prescriptive about the divides. We said: bring us what your community is working on. That approach surfaced a wide range of efforts from bridging with newcomers and long-time residents, addressing housing access and affordability, connecting rural and urban youth, navigating generational divides, building inclusion across ability and disability.

In some cases, tensions even surfaced within communities — like differences between immigrant groups who arrived in the state in different waves. It was really interesting what came forth in different communities.

Community members involved in the Pueblo Food Project gather to prepare food together, build community and bridge across differences.

As conveners of this work, how did you navigate those tensions and differences?

Dr. Janet Lopez: From the beginning, we knew the work wasn’t about avoiding tension — it was about creating the conditions to move through it differently.

Belonging is a lot to tackle, and there’s no way one organization can do it alone. The only way we’re going to get at some of these tough issues is together. That meant designing the initiative not around agreement, but around relationships.

By starting from common goals, communities create space where people with different perspectives can build trust and collaborate. And it definitely required intentional choices, not just about what to fund, but how to frame the work itself but also who was at the table building thee solution.

Erika Montes: Yes, there were moments where we had to ask: Is this really about building sustained relationships, or is this just conflict resolution? That distinction mattered. The goal wasn’t just to reduce friction, but to build the long-term capacity for people to stay in relationships — even when disagreement remains.

To support that, the initiative invested in skills as much as solutions — training leaders in compassionate listening, perspective-taking, and identifying shared goals. It's about valuing one another and working towards ways to co-create productive discourse and spaces.

Our implementation partner in that work is the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC), which supports both Belonging Colorado’s community-based grantees and leadership networks by providing research, training, and science-based practices for building connection across differences. Through tools and evidence-informed approaches, GGSC helps translate the science of belonging and bridging into practical strategies communities can use on the ground.

Local residents pictured here gathered in a meeting room at the Commún Denver community space to make connections and build belonging.

Dr. Janet Lopez: Convening also meant reaching beyond the usual participants. People who might be hesitant. Those are the ones who could benefit the most.

And perhaps most importantly, it meant approaching the work with humility.

It’s a long-term investment in understanding what actually works. In that way, navigating tension isn’t a problem to solve — it’s the work itself. Because the goal isn’t to eliminate differences. It’s to build the relationships that make it possible to move forward together.

The work really confirmed the fact that belonging is a necessity.

Why is it a necessity?

Erika Montes: Communities thrive when people feel they belong. 

Feeling connected and having a sense of belonging is not just a ‘nice-to-have’ — it is essential. Research shows that belonging improves health, strengthens academic outcomes, increases workplace engagement, and builds community resilience.

For us, belonging is not abstract — it’s foundational because political, cultural, and economic divides can weaken trust, limit collaboration, and prevent us from working together on the issues that matter most. That reality is what Belonging Colorado is designed to address, by rebuilding trust and shared purpose at the community level.

Photograph by Brian Clark, Colorado Health Institute

How is Belonging Colorado’s work related currently to this moment in our country?

Dr. Janet Lopez: Belonging Colorado is emerging at a moment when deep division is shaping daily life across the country. From heated political polarization and debates over immigration policy to conflicts around housing, education, and economic inequality, many communities are experiencing a breakdown in trust that makes even basic collaboration difficult.

That erosion is measurable, and deeply felt. In Colorado, our Colorado Belonging Barometer showed that only about half of residents report a strong sense of belonging in their communities. But that reality reflects a broader national pattern. People are increasingly sorting into like-minded spaces, conversations are more strained, and many feel disconnected from institutions and from each other.

At the same time, the challenges facing communities are becoming more urgent and complex. Rising housing costs, climate pressures, migration patterns bringing new communities into cities and towns, and economic uncertainty are all requiring collective solutions.

Erika Montes: In that context, Belonging Colorado is not just responding to division, it’s also addressing a root condition that shapes whether any solution is even possible. The initiative reframes belonging as essential infrastructure.

What makes the work especially relevant right now is its focus on bridging — not forcing agreement, but helping people build relationships across differences in a time when disagreement is often treated as a dead end.

That approach offers a different path than what many are experiencing nationally — moving away from entrenched “us versus them” dynamics and toward what leaders describe as a shared sense of “all of us.”

Photograph by Brian Clark, Colorado Health Institute

Dr. Janet Lopez: It also meets a growing demand.

That desire is showing up not just in community spaces, but across sectors — from philanthropy to entrepreneurship — where more people are asking how connection and trust can be intentionally built into systems that impact our lives.

And because Colorado mirrors many of the country’s broader dynamics — a mix of urban and rural communities, political diversity, significant demographic change — the work is being watched as a potential model.

What’s next for the initiative—and how is it expanding its impact?

Dr. Janet Lopez: The next phase of Belonging Colorado is already taking shape, and it extends beyond traditional community programming into entrepreneurship.

In partnership with Startup Colorado, the initiative is launching a new accelerator designed to support founders building businesses rooted in connection, trust, and belonging.

The response signals growing momentum. We received more than 100 applications from founders across the state, each bringing ideas for how businesses can bridge differences and strengthen communities.

Erika Montes: We were impressed by both the volume and quality of applications. It’s a testament to the growing momentum of entrepreneurs building businesses focused on belonging. And our goal is not just to support individual ventures, but to test and document what works, creating a playbook others can follow.

We’re excited to explore how businesses can intentionally build belonging. By capturing what works and measuring impact, we hope to create practical strategies that others can use to strengthen communities.

It’s something people are already trying to build — across sectors, across communities, and now, increasingly, through the very systems that shape everyday life.