Gerald Zarlengo, MD, Chairman and CEO, Copic

Fragmentation in health care is a serious issue many clinicians experience. It can range from a patient struggling to navigate follow-up appointments after leaving the hospital to a specialist lacking access to critical information. Care transitions create gaps that can lead to confusion, delayed treatment, duplicative services, preventable adverse events, increased burden on providers, and poor patient outcomes. Fragmentation can occur between organizations, within health systems, across care teams, or through disconnected workflows, technologies, and patient experiences.

Over the past five years, the Copic Medical Foundation has invested $3.7 million in 23 projects focused on one critical challenge: reducing fragmentation in health care delivery. In 2026, the Foundation conducted a comprehensive review of that work to better understand what approaches were creating meaningful and sustainable impact. The findings were clear. Regardless of specialty, patient population, or care setting, the strongest projects shared a common goal – strengthening connections between patients, providers, organizations, and community resources.

Those insights have helped shape the Foundation’s 2027 Request for Proposals for grant funding. As health care delivery continues to grow more complex, we remain focused on supporting innovative, systems-level solutions that improve coordination, continuity of care, patient safety, quality, and health care outcomes. 

The goal is not simply to help organizations manage fragmentation; it is to support approaches that address its underlying causes and create improvements that can be sustained or replicated. The challenge is complex, but it also presents meaningful opportunities.

2027 grant funding opportunity at-a-glance

Focus area

Reducing fragmentation in health care delivery through sustainable, systems-level solutions that improve coordination, continuity of care, patient safety, quality, and health care outcomes.

Typical grant size

$50,000-$250,000

Who should apply

Nonprofit organizations, hospital systems, universities, or organizations working with an eligible fiscal sponsor, that can demonstrate measurable impact, sustainability, and broader applicability.

Where to find information

www.copic.com/foundation 

Application deadline

Jan. 15, 2027 at 5 p.m. MST

Questions or proposal discussions

grants@copic.com

What we’re looking for

Projects that:

• Improve care coordination or continuity of care
• Address a clearly defined systems-level challenge
• Improve patient safety, quality, or health care outcomes
• Demonstrate sustainability beyond Foundation funding
• Can be replicated or adapted by other organizations
• Contribute meaningful learning to the health care community

Our approach reflects what the Foundation has learned through years of grantmaking. Some of the most promising projects have focused on connecting patients and providers across traditional boundaries, whether through more effective transitions of care, stronger care navigation, improved communication among care teams, or new models that bring together health care and community-based resources. While the specific solutions vary, they all work toward the same objective: helping patients experience health care as a coordinated system rather than a series of disconnected encounters.

Competitive proposals should demonstrate measurable improvements in health care delivery, a credible path to sustainability beyond Foundation funding, and the potential for replication or broader adoption by other organizations. Examples of previously funded projects and their impact can be found on the Foundation’s website. 

We encourage Colorado Medical Society members to share this opportunity with nonprofit partners, health systems, academic institutions, and community organizations that are developing innovative approaches to strengthening health care delivery. By supporting scalable solutions that improve coordination and continuity, we can help advance safer, more connected care for patients and communities.

For complete eligibility requirements and application information, visit www.copic.com/foundation and/or contact grants@copic.com with questions or to discuss a potential proposal concept.

Eligible Colorado Medical Society (CMS) members can receive up to a 10% premium discount on Copic policies. Get more information on CMS membership by contacting membership@cms.org.