A Denver nonprofit organization is awarding $1.9 million to other organizations in the metro area working to help locals meet basic needs like food and housing.

Mile High United Way announced a $1.9 million investment into 73 organizations based in the metro Denver, Boulder and Boulder County on Tuesday following a trust-based grantmaking process.

“The current grantees include nonprofits across Metro Denver and the Front Range seeking to help people meet their basic needs or access affordable housing, education and early child care,” United Way said in a press release. “From after school programming for at-risk youth to redistributing quality, unused food to reduce waste and ensure families have access to food — these innovative projects are helping meet the needs of our community.”

Among the 73 recipients is Urban Peak, a 35-year-old nonprofit out of Denver that provides shelter, case management services, education, medical clinics and other services to people between the ages of 15 and 24 experiencing homelessness.

“They’re incredible,” Urban Peak CEO Christina Carlson said of Mile High United Way. “It’s such an amazing organization that does so much good work.”

Carlson said that the grant will help fund the nonprofit’s Mothership program, a four-story building positioned on South Broadway that will include a shelter for minors, a shelter for adults up to 24 years old, a shared living and community space and floor of classrooms, art rooms, case management services and other ways for people to engage.

“We’re thinking about specific affinity groups,” Carlson said. “We can have youth who are working and going to school in one space and youth with significant intellectual developmental delays in another space… It will allow us to match our staff’s specific skills to which groups need them.”

Broomfield FISH is another nonprofit that received a grant from Mile High United Way.

Broomfield FISH was originally founded in 1963 by a group of women from local churches. Over 60 years, the organization has offered food and emergency financial assistance to those living at or below the poverty line in Broomfield County.

“We are extremely grateful to be receiving this grant from Mile High United Way to help fund our work to feed families and keep them housed, especially when we are seeing the highest need ever in our 60-plus-year history as an organization,” Maggie Sava, a spokesperson for Broomfield FISH, told The Denver Gazette.

The funding will provide “critical monetary support for our food access programs, including our cost-free, self-shop marketplace, and our emergency financial assistance programs designed to prevent hunger and homelessness in our community,” she said.

The organization will also be opening a new teaching garden later this summer to increase fresh food options for recipients.

Broomfield FISH served more than13,000 people and provided 1.5 million pounds of food last year.

“We could not serve one in six Broomfield residents without the support of community partners like Mile High United Way, and we are honored to have been selected for this grant to continue this critical work,” Sava said.

Mile High United Way used a “trust-based grantmaking process” to choose the 73 organizations. Instead of normal written applications, leaders of organizations shared their ideas and programs through virtual meetings with a panel from the nonprofit.

“Through our inclusive, innovative approach that emphasizes the power of stories and genuine conversations over traditional grant writing, we are championing organizations that make a profound impact on their communities. This method not only highlights their true needs but also fosters deeper connections and more meaningful partnership,” said Roweena Naidoo, Mile High United Way’s vice president of policy and community initiatives, in a news release.