Seeking a Grant

Please note: New or emerging organizations are permitted to apply through a tax-exempt organization acting as fiscal agent. The most common type of fiscal agent arrangement is between a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization and a non-tax-exempt group. The fiscal agent has the ultimate authority and responsibility to see that the funds are used for the purpose intended; it cannot simply be a pass-through organization.

Caring for Colorado does not fund:

• For-profit entities
• Annual appeals or membership drives
• Financial support for political candidates
• Scholarships
• Fee-based programming without a robust sliding scale
• Pregnancy resource centers
• Research (costs specifically associated with the research process such as design, investigation or analysis)

Please find additional information about what is and is not funded under each Focus Area or in the PDFs below:

• Healthy Beginnings
• Healthy Youth
• Strong and Resilient Families
• Public Policy Advocacy (Fall 2023 funding opportunity under development)

Please use Google Chrome as your browser when applying. Follow the directions on the online form to complete the application. Important note: You cannot save and edit your work while working on the Part 1 online form.

The primary components of the online grant application include:

• Organization Information (organization name, address, tax ID, etc).
• Contact Information (executive director information, primary project contact information, etc.).
• Request Information (focus area and strategy, proposal title and summary, type of grant request, amount requested, duration, anticipated number reached, geographic area served, demographics, etc.).
• Financial Information (organization budget, date of financial statement, current assets, current liabilities, cash/cash equivalents).
• Proposal Overview: Please use the Proposal Overview Template to write and edit answers before entering them on the online form. The overview cannot exceed three pages using 12-point font.

View a PDF of the Part 1 Application. (For reference only – applications must be submitted online).

Grantseekers must have credentials to access the online grants portal.

• If you have previously registered for an account, you can log into the online grants portal to complete Part 2.
• If you have not applied previously, you will receive log in credentials via email after you are selected to move forward to Part 2. Please contact grants@caringforcolorado.org if you do not receive log in credentials within three business days of being selected to move forward.

Requirements of Part 2 Application

Part 2 Proposal Narrative: We encourage applicants to write their answers to the required questions in this Part 2 Proposal Narrative and review them before entering responses in the online portal.

Program/Project Budget:  This form is submitted as an attachment in the portal and is NOT required for general operating requests. The budget consists of three parts: projected expenses, projected income and a narrative description of expense items.

Required Attachments (submitted as attachments in the portal):

• Board of Directors – list of the board of directors, with titles and terms
• Key Staff – list of key staff, with titles and tenure
• Major Contributors – list of the major contributors to the organization and contribution amounts for the previous fiscal year
• Annual Financials – audited financials for the most recently completed fiscal year end. If audited financials are unavailable, please provide IRS Form 990/990EZ or internal year-end balance sheet and income statement.
• YTD Financial Statements – most recent year-to-date internal financial statements (Statement of Activities and Balance Sheet), including budget-to-actual data, if available
• Operating Budget – current-year annual operating budget

If using a Fiscal Agent:

• Fiscal Sponsor’s most recent fiscal year-end financial statements; audited if available
• Fiscal Sponsor’s most current year-to-date internal financial statement (Balance Sheet and Statement of Activities)

Part 2 of the grant application must be submitted by 5 pm on the deadline date.

Proposal review — Philanthropy team members begin their review after the deadline.

Caring for Colorado receives more proposals than it can fund. If a Part 1 application does not align with the guiding principles or focus areas, the applicant will be notified of declination via email.

Organizations selected for further review will be contacted within four weeks of the Part 1 deadline regarding next steps. Applicants moving through to Part 2 will have approximately three weeks to submit additional information about their organization and proposed work.

The full review process takes about five and one-half months.

Philanthropy team members will contact applicants who are selected to move forward with Part 2 to schedule remote and in-person site visits to discuss the proposal. They may request additional information throughout the process.

Funding recommendations and decisions are made by the Caring for Colorado staff in partnership with our Board of Directors. We notify all grantees of final decisions via phone or email.