Boulder County will cut funds for local social services providers by $4 million in 2025, prompting concern from local officials and nonprofit leaders.
“If we could say yes to everything, we would,” said county commissioner Marta Loachamin in a Tuesday interview. “There is not enough money to go around.”
The county’s Community Partnership Grants are being reduced by 36%. Just under $8 million will be awarded in 2025, compared to more than $12 million in 2024.
“[S]uch cuts would have devastating impacts on these organizations and more importantly on the most vulnerable members of our community,” City of Boulder council member Matthew Benjamin wrote in a community hotline email.
The grants fund things like homelessness services, housing supports and mental health programs. Organizations funded in 2024 include All Roads (formerly Boulder Shelter for the Homeless), Emergency Family Assistance Association, the Nederland Food Pantry and Sister Carmen Community Center.
“The County has been supportive partners in our work for a really long time, but we are none the less very concerned about the implications of a potential cut of that size in the safety net for Boulder County,” the shelter’s CEO Michael Bock said. “Until we get the final news, it is very difficult to understand the impact, but as our primary budget expense is staff related, maintaining our current ability to respond to the immediate needs of our community’s homeless as well as finding them a home obviously depends on our ability to find funding for the same.”
In a February email to community partners, the county cited decreasing state and federal funds, which included COVID-era funding, and an increasing demand from “essential programs and services, many of which the county is statutorily required to deliver” as the reason for the cuts.
Grant recipients and amounts will be announced this week, according to the county. Only nonprofits were eligible to receive the funds in 2025, meaning past recipients such as Boulder County Public Health, the City of Boulder and St. Vrain Valley School District are no longer eligible.
“I believe our staff went through a really significant process to look at a more equitable distribution of the funds,” Loachamin said. “To look at different sized organizations, to look at the services in the extensive way that we serve residents, in all the ways throughout the entire county, and still looking at what is our real budget constraint.”
Boulder council member Mark Wallach asked in a hotline email about the possibility of diverting city funds being spent on joint projects with the county to bridge the gap.
“I believe that the County has failed to be a good partner with the City in providing these core services, and that we need to look to our own interests in funding these organizations, particularly in a period of high need and constrained financial resources,” he wrote.
Loachamin said she was not aware of any additional planned human services budget cuts, but the budgeting process is still ongoing, and community members are invited to share feedback.