When Boulder County officials launched a new fund meant to spark innovative solutions to the county’s housing shortage, nonprofits and local governments quickly lined up with proposals.
Fourteen groups applied for a portion of the $500,000 Housing Innovation Fund, proposing ideas ranging from housing stability services to programs helping people transition out of homelessness.
But in January, the county rejected every proposal.
County officials suggested that none of the submissions were innovative enough.
The decision surprised and frustrated many applicants and added to a broader debate about how the county is spending revenue from a voter-approved sales tax that was intended to expand solutions to the housing shortage.
The Housing Innovation Fund is financed by the Affordable and Attainable Housing Tax, a measure voters approved in 2023 that generated about $16.7 million last year for housing programs. The innovation grants represented a small share of that money but were intended to support new approaches to housing affordability.
For some housing leaders, the decision was disappointing not because of the amount of money involved, but because of the signal they believe it sent about the county’s priorities.
“When they didn’t fund any of the proposals, that was just really disappointing,” said Dan McColley, executive director of Flatirons Habitat for Humanity, which applied for funding to support building homes for Marshall Fire recovery. “If you’re not giving the money to Habitat — fine, give it to somebody. Let’s put the money to work solving this crisis.”
The Housing Innovation Fund was designed to award grants of up to $100,000 to pilot, scale or test new strategies that could expand equitable access to affordable housing in Boulder County.
Initially, county housing staff recommended funding the following nine of the 14 proposals, according to Dec. 29 county records.
Staff also recommended a Thistle Community Housing pilot to fund essential repairs for owners of permanently affordable homes, a Rocky Mountain Equality program providing housing stability services to LGBTQ+ clients, and a City of Boulder initiative offering legal and mediation services to residents facing eviction.
But after an administrative meeting with county commissioners, staff reversed course and recommended rejecting all of them, according to county spokesperson Gloria Handyside.
In a Jan. 16 letter, Boulder County Housing Authority Director Susana Lopez-Baker wrote to applicants that staff recommended no awards be issued.
“In considering new investment areas, potential sustainability of proposed initiatives, and the many things already on your plate,” she wrote, “our best advice to the county is not to proceed with any awards under this fund at this time.”
Later, county spokesperson Gloria Handyside suggested the issue was innovation. “The Innovation Fund was intended for new ideas,” she told Boulder Reporting Lab on Feb. 10. She later said commissioners wanted the program to better address equity in housing access. She also said the staff recommendation was a draft.
Applicants said the explanation left them puzzled.
County guidance for the grant appeared to allow proposals connected to existing programs, and sample eligible projects provided by the county included efforts such as eviction prevention services, proposals similar to a few that were submitted.
“I get frustrated with funders that seem to always be chasing the shiny new object, when we all know what the issues are and how to solve them,” said Suzanne Crawford, CEO of Sister Carmen, which applied for $100,000 for a pilot program providing financial assistance to mobile home owners for essential repairs.
“We know what it takes to help solve it is money,” she said. “And we’re not being funded.”
Crawford said if novelty becomes the main criterion in the next funding round, her organization may not apply again.
Kurt Firnhaber, Boulder’s director of Housing and Human Services, expressed a similar sentiment.
“We have a pretty good idea of how to solve for affordable housing in our communities in Boulder County,” he said. “I’m not sure there’s one magic, innovative thing that’s going to change the world. We really just need resources.”
He added that the need is becoming more urgent as state and federal housing support declines. The county also recently cut funding to its housing authority in October 2025.
Equity concerns cited, and a restart planned
County officials said commissioners were also concerned that the proposals did not sufficiently address equity in housing access. Handyside said revising the program will allow the county to better focus on those goals.
“Revising and relaunching the Innovation Fund will allow the county to take a more thoughtful approach to addressing equity and access to housing,” Handyside said.
Equity was not cited as a reason in the rejection letter sent to applicants.
Grant proposals were evaluated using a scoring rubric that included up to 20 points for “equitable access to resources,” and many projects scored over 15 on that measure.
At a March 5 meeting, County Commissioner Claire Levy said county commissioners had not clearly defined what they were seeking from proposals when the housing department launched the innovation fund.
“We haven’t talked about this other than to conclude that what we got as a result of that request for proposals was not really what we were thinking of in terms of innovation,” Levy said.
Lopez-Baker told commissioners on March 5 that she plans to return later this month with a new recommendation for the fund. She said she believed “a new recommendation on the Innovation Fund is necessary” after reviewing a December report from the consulting law firm Somos, which has consulted on housing innovation funds in other communities.
She said the report found that Boulder County faces persistent racial disparities in homeownership and that the income gap between renters and homeowners is about $75,000, as median home values in the county reach $713,000. The firm reported that these conditions deepen inequities and limit wealth-building opportunities for communities of color.
Applicants will be asked to submit new proposals under revised guidelines, Handyside said. Funding had originally been expected to go out in February. It is now unclear when the grants will be awarded.
“I know there were some folks that were just disappointed. I’ve got people grabbing me at community events and out at the grocery store,” Commissioner Marta Loachaminn told Lopez-Baker. “And I just want to make clear that I support what you and staff’s recommendation is.”
Brooke Stephenson is a reporter for the Boulder Reporting Lab, where she covers local government, housing, transportation, policing and more. Her work frequently appears on air at KUNC 91.5 FM and online at KUNC.org. Contact Brooke at brooke@boulderreportinglab.org.