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ELIGIBILITY & GUIDELINES          OUR GRANTMAKING          AREAS WE FUND          HOW TO APPLY          LETTER OF INQUIRY          REPORTING          HELPFUL TIPS          GRANTEE RESOURCES

ELIGIBILITY
  • Organization must be classified as one of the following:
    • A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity
    • Independent sponsored project of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit acting as a fiscal sponsor
    • Government or tax-supported public entity
  • Activities or programs must take place in Colorado and the Foundation aims for an even distribution of grants between organizations serving in Colorado’s rural and urban communities.
GUIDELINES
  • Only one application per organization is accepted per calendar year.
  • Organizations receiving funding for two consecutive calendar years must take one year off before re-applying (search our past grants).
  • A final report for any previously awarded grant is required before a new request is considered.
  • A complete application must be submitted online (preferred) or received in our office by 5 p.m. on the deadline date (January 15 or July 1). 
  • Faxed or emailed applications are not accepted.
GRANT AMOUNT & TYPES
  • Typical grants range between $5,000-$10,000, but generally do not exceed 10 percent of an organization’s annual budget.
  • General operating or program/project requests within our funding areas are accepted.
  • Challenge or matching grants are issued on occasion in our spring funding cycle, generally not by request but rather when the Foundation feels it would be beneficial to the organization.
WE DO NOT TYPICALLY FUND
  • Arts and culture
  • Capital campaigns (on rare occasions, the Foundation will fund capital campaigns for organizations located in rural Colorado whose mission closely aligns with the Foundation’s interest.  Applicants are advised to submit a one-page letter of inquiry prior to the submission of a grant request for this purpose.)
  • Education (primary or secondary)
  • Endowments, debt reduction, or loans
  • Grants to individuals
  • Healthcare, mental health, or disease-specific
  • Multi-year grants
  • Organizations with annual budgets in excess of $10 million
  • Organizations in leadership transition (i.e. interim director)
  • Organizations that discriminate in any way
  • Political causes, candidates, or campaigns
  • Public policy, advocacy, or research
  • Start-up organizations
  • Programs outside of Colorado
  • Religious organizations for religious purposes
  • Special events, conferences, or promotions
  • Type III supporting organizations under IRC Section 509(a)(3)
WHAT WE LOOK FOR
  • Alignment with the Foundation’s mission and interests
  • Clearly presented goals, objectives and strategies
  • Provision of unduplicated, needed programs and services
  • Sustainable and diversified funding streams
  • Solid financial statements and cash reserves
  • Demonstrated financial need
  • Proven track record of success with positive outputs and outcomes
  • Effective and qualified leadership
  • Engaged and committed board of directors with 100% making a meaningful financial contribution to the organization
  • Strong, effective and ongoing organization and program evaluation
  • Community buy-in and support evidenced through donations, volunteer engagement, collaborations and partnerships
  • Utilization of best practices and principles across all levels of the organization