Marketing Grants for Nonprofits in Colorado

NOTE: For nonprofit organizations new to U.S. Bank Foundation, a Letter of Interest is available. Community Affairs Managers will review Letter of Interest submissions periodically to learn about new and innovative programs and organizations in their regions and markets. After reviewing a Letter of Interest, a Community Affairs Manager may reach out with a request for a full application. You can access the Letter of Interest by clicking the “Submit a letter of interest” link at the bottom of this page. Letters of Interest may be submitted at any time during the year.

Community Possible Grant

Through U.S. Bank’s Community Possible® grant program, we invest in efforts to create stable jobs, safe homes and communities.

Funding Types

Within these general guidelines, we consider the following funding request types:

Operating grants

An operating grant is given to cover an organization’s day-to-day, ongoing expenses, such as salaries, utilities, office supplies and more. We consider operating support requests from organizations where the entire mission of the organization fits a Community Possible grant focus area.

Program or project grants

A program or project grant is given to support a specific, connected set of activities, with a beginning and an end, explicit objectives and a predetermined cost. We consider highly effective and innovative programs that meet our Community Possible grant focus areas.

Capital grants

A capital grant is given to finance fixed assets. The U.S. Bank Foundation considers a small number of requests for capital support from organizations that meet all other funding criteria, whose entire mission statement fits a Community Possible grant focus area, and with which the Foundation has a funding history. All organizations requesting capital funding must also have a U.S. Bank employee on the board of directors. U.S. Bank does not fund more than 1% of the non-endowment total capital campaign fundraising goal. All capital grant requests are reviewed and approved by the national U.S. Bank Foundation Board or by the U.S. Bank Foundation President.

Focus Area: PLAY

Creating vibrant communities through play.

Play brings joy, and it’s just as necessary for adults as it is for kids. But in low-income areas there are often limited spaces for play and fewer people attending arts and cultural events. That’s why we invest in community programming that supports ways for children and adults to play and create.

Access to artistic and cultural programming and arts education

Our investments ensure economic vitality and accessibility to the arts in local communities, as well as support for arts education. Examples of grant support include:

• Programs that provide access to cultural activities, visual and performing arts, zoos and aquariums and botanic gardens for individuals and families living in underserved communities
• Funding for local arts organizations that enhance the economic vitality of the community
• Programs that provide funding for arts-focused nonprofit organizations that bring visual and performing arts programming to low- and moderate-income K-12 schools and youth centers

Supporting learning through play.

Many young people across the country do not have the resources or access to enjoy the benefits of active play. Supporting active play-based programs and projects for K-12 students located in or serving low- and moderate-income communities fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration and impacts the overall vitality of the communities we serve. Funding support includes:

• Support for organizations that build or expand access to active play spaces and places that help K-12 students learn through play and improves the health, safety and unification of neighborhoods in low- and moderate-income communities
• Programs that focus on using active play to help young people develop cognitive, social and emotional learning skills to become vibrant and productive citizens in low- and moderate-income communities

Focus Area: WORK

Supporting workforce education and prosperity.

We know that a strong small business environment and an educated workforce ensure the prosperity of our communities and reducing the expanding wealth gap for communities of color. We provide grant support to programs and organizations that help small businesses thrive, allow people to succeed in the workforce, provide pathways to higher education and gain greater financial literacy.

Investing in the workforce.

We fund organizations that provide training for small business development, as well as programs that support individuals across all skill and experience levels, to ensure they have the capability to gain employment that supports individuals and their families. Examples of grant support include:

Small business technical assistance programs

Job-skills, career readiness training programs with comprehensive placement services for low- and moderate-income individuals entering or reentering the labor force

Providing pathways for educational success.

To address the growing requirements for post-secondary education in securing competitive jobs in the workplace, we support:

• Organizations and programs that help low- and moderate-income and at-risk middle and high school students prepare for post-secondary education at a community college, university, trade or technical school and career readiness
• Programs and initiatives at post-secondary institutions that support access to career and educational opportunities for low- and moderate-income and diverse students

Teaching financial well-being for work and life.

Financial well-being is not only critical for financial stability, it’s crucial in helping individuals be successful in the workplace. Examples of grant support include programs that positively impact:

• K-12 and college student financial literacy
• Adult and workforce financial literacy
• Senior financial fraud prevention
• Military service member and veteran financial literacy

Focus Area: HOME

Working to revitalize communities one neighborhood at a time.

Children and families are better positioned to thrive and succeed in a home that is safe and permanent. Access to sustainable low-income housing is increasingly challenges for low-moderate income families. In response, our giving supports efforts that connect individuals and families with sustainable housing opportunities.

Access to safe, affordable housing

We provide financial support to assist people in developing stability in their lives through access to safe, sustainable and accessible homes. Examples of grant support include:

• Organizations that preserve, rehabilitate, renovate or construct affordable housing developments for low- and moderate-income families, individuals, seniors, veterans, and special-needs populations
• Organizations that provide transitional housing as a direct steppingstone to permanent housing
• Organizations that focus on Veterans housing and homeownership
• Construction of green homes for low- and moderate-income communities
• Energy retrofit programs for low- and moderate-income housing developments

Home ownership education

Owning and maintaining a home requires significant financial knowledge, tools, and resources. We support programs that assist low- and moderate-income homebuyers and existing homeowners. Examples of grant support include:

• Homebuyer education
• Pre- and post-purchase counseling and coaching
• Homeownership-retention programs designed to provide foreclosure counseling

NOTE: While the Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding in these areas, we encourage you to browse our grants and investments database and strategic priorities to determine our scope of interest — and if you believe you might be a fit, reach out to one of our program officers.

Strategic Grants

The Gates Family Foundation uses a portfolio approach to grant making in three priority areas: K‐12 Education, Natural Resources, and Community Development. Overall, strategic grants constitute about 60% of the Foundation’s annual grant making budget (with the remaining 40% dedicated to capital grants). This approach allows the Foundation to pursue ambitious, large-scale outcomes with a set of key partners while also remaining responsive to the broader community’s needs.

Please note that this type of funding is not an opportunity for ongoing operating or program support, though it does allow us to work over multiple years with grantees focused on a specific set of goals and outcomes. While we continually work with grantees to adjust strategies and approaches, we expect to maintain a commitment to these broad priority areas over time.

Education

Approximately 25% of the Foundation’s annual grant making is devoted to strategic efforts to increase the quality and equity of Colorado’s public K-12 education system. Our K-12 education team uses this portfolio to support five key strategies: autonomous public schools, innovation and incubation, advocacy, human capital, and systems reform.

Autonomous Public Schools

To help increase the number of students from low-income families who have the opportunity to attain a high-quality education, we support the growth of effective public schools that empower excellent campus leaders with sufficient resources and autonomy over decisions about the best use of time, people, and money. 

We also support networks, systems, and partners that advance school-based autonomy as a way to build community-level ownership, drive improvement, and expand quality

Innovation and Incubation

We support innovative leaders, new school models, and innovation within existing models to better meet the needs of low-income students. We also support districts or partnering organizations that are developing and implementing new approaches to teaching and learning.

In combination with these investments, we support the dissemination of learning across systems and geographies to share best practices and promote smart risk-taking aimed at further advancing school improvement.

Advocacy

We support grassroots and grasstops advocacy efforts at the school, district, and state levels that push the education system to be more iterative, transparent, and responsive to the needs of students. We also support media efforts that build awareness and empower the public to hold decision-makers accountable.

Human Capital

We support efforts to recruit, train, and retain effective teachers, school leaders, and district and organizational leadership. We also support efforts to build a talent pool that reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of the student population in the state.

Systems Reform

We support reforms that allow systems to become more responsive and adaptive, and that spur school and district improvement. We also provide targeted support to efforts that aim to encourage large-scale and transformational change.

Rural Community-Based Programs

In many rural areas across Colorado, profound shortages in financial resources and human capital, the small size of districts, and geographic barriers to accessing school options present unique challenges and opportunities for delivering high-quality public education. Through our work in rural communities, we understand that the ingredients for success include open and innovative school district leaders, a robust teacher recruitment and development pipeline, strong family and community support, and potential to attract additional philanthropic support.

Natural Resources

Approximately 25% of the Foundation’s annual grant making is devoted to strategic efforts to protect and steward our state’s precious land and water resources. Our natural resources team uses this portfolio to support five key strategies: landscape conservation, land trust capacity building, balanced water management, stewardship at scale, and payment for ecosystem services.

Landscape Conservation

In Colorado, approximately 100,000 acres of farm, ranch, or forest lands — an area roughly equivalent to the City and County of Denver — are lost every year to development. These landscapes are critical for the state’s biodiversity, scenic values, recreation, water protection, agricultural production, rural economies, and cultural heritage.

Gates Family Foundation has been funding land conservation since 1978. Our first project supported the protection of Mueller Ranch, which is now a state park at the base of Pike’s Peak. Since the launch of Great Outdoors Colorado in 1992, Gates has been the state’s largest source of matching funds for public-private land protection. We prioritize projects with demonstrated impact, strong funding leverage, scale, connectivity, and a high degree of collaboration, landowner commitment, and community support.

Our strategic grants program makes large, long-term commitments to land conservation and community partners who are protecting two “focus landscapes” of statewide significance: Southeast Colorado and the San Luis Valley. In addition, we support land conservation projects statewide through our capital grants program.

Land Trust Capacity Building

Nonprofit land trusts are responsible for the stewardship of nearly 80% of the 2.2 million acres of private land conserved in Colorado. Because of this, the Foundation is keenly interested in building the capacity, vibrancy, and sustainability of the state’s land trusts. 

Since 2011, we have invested in leadership development for strong land trusts and supported new operating models and partnership agreements among smaller trusts. We’ve also helped land trusts of all sizes develop and adopt best practices, create and defend tools for conservation, and strengthen collaboration to address complex, statewide challenges and opportunities. In 2018, we helped to steer and support the Conservation Futures Project, a year-long effort that helped Colorado’s land trusts launch Keep It Colorado — a new, statewide coalition with the vision, capacity, and structure to most effectively guide and support the land conservation community as it evolves to meet current and future challenges.

Balanced Water Management

Colorado is home to the headwaters for four major rivers (the Colorado, Rio Grande, Arkansas, and South Platte) that flow out of state, supplying water to 19 other states and more than 35 million people. Population growth and urban development in Colorado and throughout the region are intensifying conflicts between the diverse needs of these urban and rural water users, as well as our wild places and ecosystems. The state’s first-ever Water Plan was approved in 2015, and recognizes the need to balance protection of Colorado’s river flows — precious for both environmental and recreational use — with the demands of municipal, industrial, and agricultural water users.  

The Foundation seeks to advance new tools, processes, and ideas to realize a long-term, sustainable balance between all of these demands. We prioritize projects that promote cross-sector cooperation and market-based tools, connect land use and water conservation, support instream flows and healthy rivers, develop better water data and analysis, and advance priorities identified in the State Water Plan.

Stewardship at Scale

More than 75% of Colorado’s residents recreate outdoors on a weekly basis, and the state’s annual tourist population is growing rapidly — bringing 86 million visitors and $1.28 billion in tax revenue to the state in 2018. Increased use threatens to permanently damage the natural areas that are so beloved, just as public land management agencies and their partner nonprofits often lack sufficient resources and manpower for adequate stewardship. The Foundation supports large-scale efforts to engage residents, especially youth and diverse populations, in the care of natural resources throughout Colorado. We also support job training and employment opportunities that create pathways to engage new populations with the outdoors, such as those being developed through Great Outdoors Colorado’s “Generation Wild” programs statewide. We prioritize partnerships and collaborations that result in a much larger and more diverse network of stewards to help meet the needs of Colorado’s threatened outdoor spaces and wild places.

Ecosystem Services

Decisions regarding natural resources management are often made without data illustrating the real economic cost that can result from damaging or destroying natural systems. Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) tools monetize the value that healthy ecosystems provide to human communities, and utilize market mechanisms to address threats to those ecosystems through “win-win” finance and practice models. This emerging field has great potential, but the practical implementation of these concepts is still in its infancy. 

The Foundation supports research and pilot projects in Colorado that advance valuation and market development for ecosystem services, integrate these tools into public and private decision-making, and demonstrate the potential to provide viable, long-term, market-based solutions to conservation’s most pressing issues.

Community Development

Approximately 10% of the Foundation’s annual grant making is devoted to strategic efforts to increase the vitality and resilience of Colorado’s urban and rural communities. Our community development team uses this portfolio to support five key strategies: multi-modal mobility, food systems and agriculture, access to economic opportunity, placemaking, and community planning.

Multi-Modal Mobility

As Colorado’s population density increases, traffic congestion threatens our quality of life. Mobility options such as public transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and shared vehicles can improve air quality, encourage economic development, and provide opportunities for safe, healthy, active travel.

The Foundation supports efforts to build transportation systems that empower residents to move efficiently and affordably. We prioritize transportation infrastructure that also fosters placemaking and community development, such as enhanced sidewalk spaces, safe pathways to schools and community facilities, affordable housing and development along public transit lines, and connections between trails and parks.

Food Systems and Agriculture

Ranching and farming are not only a way of life in Colorado, but also significant economic drivers. Food production has a major impact on statewide economic health, fresh food access, and land and water usage. Colorado’s agricultural industry has been under strain due to shifting commodity markets, competition for land and water resources, and intensifying weather patterns. As older farmers and ranchers retire, more of Colorado’s farm and ranch land will be threatened and could be removed from productive use.

To confront these challenges, the Gates Family Foundation supports farmers and ranchers as they adopt more efficient aggregation, processing, and distribution strategies — such as local food hubs and cooperatives — and innovate to develop more profitable supply chains and new institutional markets, such as local school districts and hospitals. We invest in projects that create value for food producers and their communities, strengthen economic opportunity throughout the supply chain, conserve our state’s land and water resources, preserve agricultural communities and promote multi-generational land transfer, and increase access to fresh, healthy food options for all Coloradans.

Informed Communities and Local News

Informed, engaged communities are vital to a well-functioning democracy and key to the future of many important issues in our state – public education, natural resources, community development, and more. Trustworthy, rigorous, fact-based local news is a fundamental component of healthy, thriving communities – and its absence is an indicator of failing communities.

Gates has supported public media as a civic institution for decades, and nonprofit digital startups since 2011 as in-depth news coverage of our strategic priority issues has declined. Through the Colorado Media Project, the Foundation also works to galvanize support for public service journalism and help local newsrooms evolve in ways that meet the needs of more Coloradans in the digital age.

Access to Economic Opportunity

Communities thrive when residents have access to good jobs, affordable housing, and economic mobility. As many mountain towns and cities along Colorado’s Front Range experience rapid growth and investment, the rising cost of living is pushing low- and moderate-income residents farther from the opportunities they need to attain a high quality of life. In rural areas experiencing job loss, residents are grappling with ways to create new opportunities and livelihoods that sustain communities into the 21st century. Across the state, entrepreneurs who are women, low to moderate-income, and people of color continue to face greater barriers to accessing capital, limiting innovation and job creation in Colorado communities. 

The Gates Family Foundation supports innovative approaches to local community wealth building such as community land trusts, support for non-traditional entrepreneurs, and small business incubation. We also encourage projects that revitalize main streets, support heritage tourism, and develop or enhance a locally-driven creative economy. We look for projects that have both public and private stakeholder involvement, broad community support, and a demonstrable pathway to increase jobs and economic opportunity for local residents.

Placemaking

Robust public spaces create opportunities for people to gather, recreate, and celebrate. If done well, they also can promote local tourism and economic activity. Particularly in Colorado’s rural communities, public gathering spaces are important cultural and civic infrastructure that require intentional planning, community input, and funding. As municipal budgets are stretched thin, communities must rely more heavily on public-private partnerships to offer public services and facilities.

The Foundation supports public space enhancements, rural main streets, public parks and plazas, and greenways that enhance quality of life for all residents. We prioritize projects that significantly leverage other public and private resources and provide meaningful benefits to the community. Our strategic grantmaking in this area generally supports demonstration projects and pre-construction planning, while our capital grants program supports bricks-and-mortar projects.

Community Planning

Without adequate planning, growth and development can be detrimental to communities. The land use patterns that Colorado establishes today will shape quality of life and resource consumption patterns for decades to come. 

The Foundation invests in community planning projects that have an explicit goal to create on-the-ground improvements for residents. We support projects and activities that advance smart growth and sustainable development, green building techniques, community engagement, and neighborhood revitalization and stabilization in distressed areas. Foundation resources in this area are highly limited, so investments are reserved for select, catalytic opportunities that leverage other public and private funding opportunities and demonstrate an exceptional opportunity for impact.

NOTE: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis with quarterly review deadlines of March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, and December 31st of each year through 2025 or until all funding is allocated.

The Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office (OREC) is pleased to announce the opening of the Colorado State Outdoor Recreation Grant program. These funds are made available through the Economic Development Administration (EDA) as a part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

OREC will be accepting applications for roughly $4 million in competitive funding for projects related to economic development and recovery in the outdoor recreation sector.

Selection Process

The committee will score applications on these criteria:

• Demonstrated impact on the outdoor recreation economy or recovery efforts
• Project-specific criteria
• Infrastructure projects: level of need and preparedness
• All other projects: level of need and innovation
• Strength of project partnerships
• Budget, timeline, and capacity to implement

Award Maximum

• Infrastructure projects: $100,000 - $1 million
• All other projects: $10,000 - $100,000

Project Examples

Historically, OREC has served organizations and projects that are directly related to outdoor recreation occurring in the front country (easily accessible outdoor areas that are mostly visited by day users) or backcountry (primitive or wilderness areas that are reached primarily by a recreation activity other than a car). Other projects, such as those listed below, may be considered on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the review committee.

Some examples of projects which are eligible for funding:

• Trail improvements and ancillary infrastructure upgrades5, such as trailhead signage, paving, etc.
• Marketing and promotion for outdoor recreation events, such as bike races or river festivals
• Regional outdoor recreation economic impact studies
• Strategic planning or technical assistance for outdoor recreation driven economic development
• Workforce development and training for staff directly working in or benefitting the outdoor recreation industry

Some examples of projects which may be considered on a case-by-case basis include:

• Playground improvements
• Outdoor sporting facilities improvements (soccer fields, etc.)

Background

Enacted by CO House Bill 22-1350 and led by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), the Opportunity Now Colorado Grant Program will award approximately $85 million in grant funding before December 2024 to organizations and regional partnerships that meet workforce needs in identified regions of the state.

The program will support organizations and regional partnerships that meet workforce needs through intentional alignment and collaboration among Colorado’s employers, industry leaders, secondary and postsecondary education institutions, and workforce development and training providers.

Successful applicants will demonstrate a focus on building pathways between education, training, and high-skill, high-growth jobs for Coloradans.

Opportunity Now Colorado will award funding for models and organizations that demonstrate innovative approaches, deep regional partnerships among industry and educational actors, and comprehensive understanding of and design for learner and community needs, in support of the goals listed below.

• Provide more opportunities for regional students and workers to be more economically mobile and earn a living wage in an in-demand, high-skill, high-wage occupation.
• Meet statewide or regional workforce development needs in order to recover from the negative economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Create intentional pathways between secondary, postsecondary, and employment that allow students and workers to transition more easily into and out of each system and that ensure a highly skilled and well-educated workforce.

Program Principles

The following principles have been chosen by the HB22-1350 Steering Committee and are embedded throughout the grant program design:

• Prioritize models that meet industry needs.
• Enable living and/or family-sustaining wages for participants.
• Center the needs of rural and underserved communities.
• Scale evidence-based practices.
• Seed yet-to-be proven practices and innovative new partnerships.
• Incentivize sustainable regional partnerships.
• Fund connections between employers and community-serving organizations.
• Introduce transformative players and practices into the ecosystem.
• Support partnerships that serve Coloradans and Colorado employers.
• Ensure inclusivity and equity throughout the application and selection process.

Program Measures

All programs should measurably:

• Help to close critical workforce shortages across the state in key areas such as health care, infrastructure, and early childhood and K-12 education
• Improve access to jobs that provide a living and/or family-sustaining wage
• Demonstrate long-term change in the practices of and alignment among employers, postsecondary education, workforce development, and K-12 education

Scale Grant

Purpose

Scale evidence-based practices in education and workforce development that meet employer needs and increase economic mobility

Key Grantee Characteristics

• Available to regional, industry, or affinity-based partnerships
• Must be centered in regional / employer workforce needs and demonstrate long term sustainability
• Seeking developed partnerships and evidence-based approaches

Collaboration Criteria

An applicant organization MUST collaborate with one or more organizations, and the partnership must include at least one industry partner and at least one educational entity.

Employer commitment may come in different formats. Some examples of employer/industry commitments for Scale grants include:

• Earn-and-learn programs, such as registered apprenticeships
• Conditional hiring, in which the employer hires workers if they both successfully complete the training program and demonstrate skill acquisition
• Employer commitments to hiring a specific number of workers who successfully complete the training program provided through the regional workforce training partnership

In addition to these commitments, employers should be leading and vocal partners in the partnership and help to define the partnership’s agenda. Partnerships should focus on responding to the industry’s needs. This requires strong leadership from employers. Business leaders should define the priorities and be integrally involved in crafting the solutions (as opposed to providing input only). Employers’ skills needs may be linked to joint competitiveness needs that they face and wish to resolve. Employers and the other partners should all commit resources to identify and solve the problems.

The partnership may also include one or more of the following:

• Nonprofit entities and organizations
• For-profit entities and organizations
• Local, state, or federal government
• Another type of entity subject to approval by the Colorado Office of Economic Development

Funding

• Initial Grant Available: $1m+
• Initial grant term: 1-3 years
• Follow-on grant available: $1m+
• Follow-on grant term: 2 years
• Max Available: No limit, indicatively up to $12m

Background

Enacted by CO House Bill 22-1350 and led by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), the Opportunity Now Colorado Grant Program will award approximately $85 million in grant funding before December 2024 to organizations and regional partnerships that meet workforce needs in identified regions of the state.

The program will support organizations and regional partnerships that meet workforce needs through intentional alignment and collaboration among Colorado’s employers, industry leaders, secondary and postsecondary education institutions, and workforce development and training providers.

Successful applicants will demonstrate a focus on building pathways between education, training, and high-skill, high-growth jobs for Coloradans.

Opportunity Now Colorado will award funding for models and organizations that demonstrate innovative approaches, deep regional partnerships among industry and educational actors, and comprehensive understanding of and design for learner and community needs, in support of the goals listed below.

• Provide more opportunities for regional students and workers to be more economically mobile and earn a living wage in an in-demand, high-skill, high-wage occupation.
• Meet statewide or regional workforce development needs in order to recover from the negative economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Create intentional pathways between secondary, postsecondary, and employment that allow students and workers to transition more easily into and out of each system and that ensure a highly skilled and well-educated workforce.

Program Principles

The following principles have been chosen by the HB22-1350 Steering Committee and are embedded throughout the grant program design:

• Prioritize models that meet industry needs.
• Enable living and/or family-sustaining wages for participants.
• Center the needs of rural and underserved communities.
• Scale evidence-based practices.
• Seed yet-to-be proven practices and innovative new partnerships.
• Incentivize sustainable regional partnerships.
• Fund connections between employers and community-serving organizations.
• Introduce transformative players and practices into the ecosystem.
• Support partnerships that serve Coloradans and Colorado employers.
• Ensure inclusivity and equity throughout the application and selection process.

Program Measures

All programs should measurably:

• Help to close critical workforce shortages across the state in key areas such as health care, infrastructure, and early childhood and K-12 education
• Improve access to jobs that provide a living and/or family-sustaining wage
• Demonstrate long-term change in the practices of and alignment among employers, postsecondary education, workforce development, and K-12 education

Planning Grant

Purpose

Provide an onramp to Scale and Seed tracks for organizations to support planning, community and employer research, and partnership development in the research or initial development phase of a program

Key Grantee Characteristics

• Organizations and models may be unproven and in the research or initial development phase
• Groundbreaking approaches and new players
• Organizations and models intending to apply for more grants in later phases with the support of technical assistance

Collaboration Criteria

An applicant must demonstrate evidence of a prospective collaboration with one or more entities on a single application for a Seed and/or Planning grant. By the time of grant award, an applicant must be in a collaboration that includes an education entity and industry partner.

Applicants applying as part of a partnership may be in the early stages of partnership development. At a minimum, the lead applicant submitting a Letter of Intent must have met with and gauged interest from prospective partners and planned further development.

Funding

• Initial Grant Available: Less than $50k
• Initial grant term: 3-6 months
• Max Available: $49.9k

Background

Enacted by CO House Bill 22-1350 and led by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), the Opportunity Now Colorado Grant Program will award approximately $85 million in grant funding before December 2024 to organizations and regional partnerships that meet workforce needs in identified regions of the state.

The program will support organizations and regional partnerships that meet workforce needs through intentional alignment and collaboration among Colorado’s employers, industry leaders, secondary and postsecondary education institutions, and workforce development and training providers.

Successful applicants will demonstrate a focus on building pathways between education, training, and high-skill, high-growth jobs for Coloradans.

Opportunity Now Colorado will award funding for models and organizations that demonstrate innovative approaches, deep regional partnerships among industry and educational actors, and comprehensive understanding of and design for learner and community needs, in support of the goals listed below.

• Provide more opportunities for regional students and workers to be more economically mobile and earn a living wage in an in-demand, high-skill, high-wage occupation.
• Meet statewide or regional workforce development needs in order to recover from the negative economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Create intentional pathways between secondary, postsecondary, and employment that allow students and workers to transition more easily into and out of each system and that ensure a highly skilled and well-educated workforce.

Program Principles

The following principles have been chosen by the HB22-1350 Steering Committee and are embedded throughout the grant program design:

• Prioritize models that meet industry needs.
• Enable living and/or family-sustaining wages for participants.
• Center the needs of rural and underserved communities.
• Scale evidence-based practices.
• Seed yet-to-be proven practices and innovative new partnerships.
• Incentivize sustainable regional partnerships.
• Fund connections between employers and community-serving organizations.
• Introduce transformative players and practices into the ecosystem.
• Support partnerships that serve Coloradans and Colorado employers.
• Ensure inclusivity and equity throughout the application and selection process.

Program Measures

All programs should measurably:

• Help to close critical workforce shortages across the state in key areas such as health care, infrastructure, and early childhood and K-12 education
• Improve access to jobs that provide a living and/or family-sustaining wage
• Demonstrate long-term change in the practices of and alignment among employers, postsecondary education, workforce development, and K-12 education

Seed Grant

Purpose

Spur innovation in education to employment and workforce development by creating new partnerships and solutions

Key Grantee Characteristics

• Focused on building pathways to living and/or family-sustaining wages
• Groundbreaking approaches and new players; can include unproven models
• Focused on any sector with proven regional job needs

Collaboration Criteria

An applicant must demonstrate evidence of a prospective collaboration with one or more entities on a single application for a Seed and/or Planning grant. By the time of grant award, an applicant must be in a collaboration that includes an education entity and industry partner.

Applicants applying as part of a partnership may be in the early stages of partnership development. At a minimum, the lead applicant submitting a Letter of Intent must have met with and gauged interest from prospective partners and planned further development.

Funding

• Initial Grant Available: Indicatively $500k-$1m
• Initial grant term: 1-3 years
• Follow-on grant available: Indicatively $500k-$1m
• Follow-on grant term: 1-2 years
• Max Available: No limit, indicatively up to $2m total

About

In 2004, the National Trust received a gift from the Gates Family Foundation in recognition of William W. “Peter” Grant’s outstanding service as a trustee of the Foundation from 1978 to 2003 and to honor his lifelong devotion to historic preservation in Colorado. Additional gifts from individuals and businesses created the Peter Grant Preservation Fund for Colorado. Grants from this fund will help preserve and enhance historic places in Colorado for future generations.

Grant Conditions

Applicants must be capable of matching the grant amount on a one-to-one basis. Due to the economic impacts caused by COVID-19, the National Trust is temporarily changing its matching fund requirement and allowing for both cash and in-kind donations to count toward the one-to-one required match.

The required match can come from private or public sources, from income earned from registration fees or sales, or from fundraising activities. In-kind donations of labor, materials or services will also be considered eligible for meeting the matching requirement. Matching funds must be used to fund eligible expenses listed below. Other funding from the National Trust may not be used to match a grant from the Peter Grant Fund for Colorado.

Other conditions include:

• Grants or matching funds cannot be used directly or indirectly to influence a member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or appropriation.
• Any documents or plans for preservation work that result from the project must conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
• At least three (3) competitive bids/quotes must be obtained for any procurement of services that exceed $50,000.
  • This provision applies only to portions of the project supported by Peter Grant Fund for Colorado grant funds.
• Consultants, if being used, must be approved by the National Trust before grant funds are disbursed.
  • This approval process will happen post-notification. Board members of the application organization cannot serve as consultants unless appropriate conflict of interest procedures are followed and documented.
• Grant projects must either begin within six months of award date or a formal extension must be requested by email.
  • Failure to begin the project or request an extension in this time frame may result in the cancellation of the grant and you will need to reapply for funding.
• Applicants must agree not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, creed, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, mental and physical disabilities, sex (including pregnancy), personal appearance, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, matriculation, political affiliation or veteran status.

Announcing Our New Grants Program

Independent Financial has had a steadfast commitment to building strong, healthy communities, and having a robust Grants program is one way we have honored that commitment. 2020 brought many challenges that prompted us to reflect on our program to ensure it best aligns with the dynamic needs of our communities.

For this reason, Independent Financial is pleased to announce our new Small Grants Program. We have made improvements that will allow us to make a greater impact in our communities each year.

Program Overview

Grant Cycles

Eligible nonprofits aligned with our program funding priorities may apply according to their geographic location during the spring or fall application cycle. Applications will only be accepted once a year per organization, per cycle as listed below.

Spring Cycle

Fall Cycle Timeline

Applications will be accepted from organizations in the following regions/counties:

• Dallas – Collin, Dallas, Denton, Rockwall counties
• Houston – Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria counties
• Boulder – Boulder county
• Denver – Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson counties
• Fort Collins – Larimer county
• Greeley – Weld county

Funding Priorities

We recognize that COVID-19 has taken a significant toll on our community’s residents and nonprofits throughout our footprint in both Colorado and Texas. Recent winter storms in Texas have created another substantial critical need. As a response to our communities in crisis, we are focusing our Small Grants funding to nonprofits (who meet funding priorities) experiencing program challenges due to unforeseen emergencies or urgent needs created by these events.

To achieve the greatest impact, we direct funding priorities to three specific areas: 

• Community Development – workforce development, affordable housing, small business development and community revitalization;
• Education – early childhood development, technical and career training, after-school programs, financial literacy for children and/or adults, summer camps and college-preparedness; and
• Health & Wellness – community health services, preventative healthcare services, basic needs and behavioral therapy for children.

What does this program do?

This program is designed to provide technical assistance and training for small rural businesses. Small means that the business has fewer than 50 new workers and less than $1 million in gross revenue.

What is an eligible area?

Rural Business Development Grant money must be used for projects that benefit rural areas or towns outside the urbanized periphery of any city with a population of 50,000 or more. Check eligible areas. 

What kind of funding is available?

There is no maximum grant amount; however, smaller requests are given higher priority. There is no cost sharing requirement. Opportunity grants are limited to up to 10 percent of the total Rural Business Development Grant annual funding.

How may funds be used?

Enterprise grants must be used on projects to benefit small and emerging businesses in rural areas as specified in the grant application. Uses may include:

• Training and technical assistance, such as project planning, business counseling and training, market research, feasibility studies, professional or/technical reports or producer service improvements.
• Acquisition or development of land, easements, or rights of way; construction, conversion, renovation of buildings; plants, machinery, equipment, access for streets and roads; parking areas and utilities.
• Pollution control and abatement.
• The capitalization of revolving loan funds, including funds that will make loans for start-ups and working capital.
• Distance adult learning for job training and advancement.
• Rural transportation improvement.
• Community economic development.
• Technology-based economic development.
• Feasibility studies and business plans.
• Leadership and entrepreneur training.
• Rural business incubators.
• Long-term business strategic planning.

Opportunity grants can be used for:

• Community economic development.
• Technology-based economic development.
• Feasibility studies and business plans.
• Leadership and entrepreneur training.
• Rural business incubators.
• Long-term business strategic planning.