A map of Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnerships.
About the Grants
Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnerships Grants
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) offer grant funding for regional collaboration and conservation and recreation planning under the Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnerships Initiative (RPI). Coalitions are invited to join a network of Regional Partnerships working to ensure that Colorado’s land, water, and wildlife thrive while also providing equitable and quality outdoor recreation experiences. Grant funding supports coalitions at all stages of development, including those just forming and those already funded under the RPI.
Eligible grant funding opportunities include: development, coordination, and facilitation of a regional coalition, governance structure and charter development, regional conservation and recreation visioning and planning, recreation and conservation assessments, mapping, data collection and surveys, public outreach and stakeholder engagement efforts including traditionally underrepresented communities, webpage design, marketing and communications, and more.
40
total grants awarded
9
grants awarded in 2024
$4.9
million funds awarded since 2021
20
total partnerships funded
75%
of Colorado covered by Regional Partnerships
Grant Deadlines
Key Topic |
Description |
Date |
Time |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Application Opens |
September 3, 2024 |
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|
Register at the link in the event title. |
September 17, 2024 |
10:00 a.m. MT. |
|
|
Letter of Interest Due |
Email letters of interest to [email protected]. |
October 15, 2024 |
|
|
Applications Due |
Applications are due. |
November 1, 2024 |
|
|
CPW and CO-OP Scoring Committee Review |
November 4, 2024 to December 12, 2024 |
||
|
Applicant Presentations |
Applicants will be notified of their presentation to the review panel ahead of time. |
December 13, 2024 |
|
|
Awards Announced |
Regional Partnerships grant awards are announced. |
January, 2025 |
How to Apply
Choose a Grant
The fall 2024 funding round offers two types of grants. Grants are offered for the duration of one to two years.
CPW requires a 10% match of financial and/or in-kind contribution.
New and existing coalitions are encouraged to invest capacity and/or plan development grant funding in the engagement of traditionally underrepresented communities, including coalition building and planning efforts. This may be outlined in the applicant’s grant narrative and as a budget line item.
Partnership Capacity Grants
$25,000 to $150,000 to support coalitions that are committed to convening a broad range of outdoor interests to identify and advance conservation and sustainable outdoor recreation objectives. Coalitions focused on areas where there are no established Regional Partnerships are a priority for capacity funding. For Partnership Capacity grants, applicants may request between $25,000 and $150,000 to support coalition building, facilitation, communication, administration, and coordination.
Plan Development Grants
$50,000 to $250,000 to support Regional Partnerships' work to complete regional conservation and recreation plans that complement Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy, a collaborative vision for conservation, climate resilience, and sustainable recreation. These grants can also include funding for capacity. For Plan Development Grants, CPW will consider requests between $50,000 and $250,000 to suport capacity and plan development work including public involvement,
communications, research, geospatial analysis, and assessments of current conditions.
Eligible Applicants
- Colorado non-profit organizations and government entities that represent a coalition with a broad range of outdoor interests including, conservation, outdoor recreation, working lands, under-represented populations, and government interests OR demonstrate a commitment to building a coalition with these interests.
- Represent new or existing coalitions in areas that do not have a Regional Partnership OR represent an existing Regional Partnership. Please see the RPI map below to see if your coalition is eligible.
- Commitment to identifying community-driven conservation and sustainable outdoor recreation values, objectives and priorities while considering opportunities to inform Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy, a collaborative vision for conservation, climate resilience, and sustainable recreation.
Submit a Letter of Interest
To apply, submit a letter of interest to [email protected] by October 15th.
Letters can be in the body of an email and should include the following information:
- Organization name, lead contact name, email address, phone number and
physical address. - Brief description of the geographic area that your proposal will cover.
- A Summary of your collaborative effort in one to two paragraphs, which
include an overview of:- The interest areas and sectors collaborating to advance this work,
including preliminary conversations and meetings with key stakeholders
that support the viability of a regional coalition. - How this work will support conservation and sustainable outdoor
recreation planning at a regional or landscape scale.
- The interest areas and sectors collaborating to advance this work,
Application
Applicants who submit a letter of interest will receive feedback from CPW and information
regarding application next steps.
Submit an Application
Applicants who meet the basic grant requirements will receive a link for an online application. Final applications require a budget, timeline, and narrative description of how coalitions are committed to advancing the Regional Partnerships Initiative criteria, and letters of support. Final applications are due November 1, 2024.
Scoring Applications
Proposals are presented to regional CPW staff and the CO-OP Scoring Committee and scored based on selection criteria. The Scoring Committee then makes recommendations for funding to the Director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Executive Director of Great Outdoors Colorado. Applicants may be invited to present their proposals to the CO-OP Scoring Committee.
Selection Criteria
- Proposals demonstrate a path to establishing a regional vision/plan for wildlife and natural resources and sustainable outdoor recreation.
- Show consideration for how to incorporate and assess community values and needs and capture public input that is reflective of the region being served.
- Show consideration for how to build and/or sustain a standing coalition representing broad outdoor interests with commitment to the program vision, regional collaboration and planning.
- Show consideration for how to assess the conservation and outdoor recreation landscape to inform strategic priorities. This could include use of the Conservation Data Explorer (CODEX) and other tools and resources informing the RPI.
CO-OP Scoring Committee Members
As a statewide cooperative, the CO-OP advises on the Regional Partnerships Initiative as codified by
Executive Order B 2020 008. Committee members are selected based on balancing outdoor interest
areas/sectors and availability.
- Colorado’s Cattlemen’s Association
- Colorado Counties, Inc
- Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition
- Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife
- Colorado Wildlife Federation
- Colorado Youth Corps Association
- Department of Natural Resources
- Great Outdoors Colorado
- The Nature Conservancy
- United State Forest Service
- Safari Club International
REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS INITIATIVE
Current Regional Partnerships
CPW is excited to partner with the following grant recipients.
- Eagle County Community Wildlife Roundtable
- Eastern Grassland Coalition
- Central Colorado Outdoor Partnership
- Envision Recreation in Balance Partnership (Chaffee County)
- Gunnison Sustainable Tourism and Outdoor Recreation (Gunnison County)
- Grand PLACES 2050
- Metro Denver Nature Alliance (Metro DNA)
- Montelores
- NoCo Places
- Northwest Colorado Outdoor Coalition
- Ouray Regional Recreation and Conservation Alliance (ORRCA)
- Outdoor Pikes Peak Initiative
- Outside 285
- Pagosa Area Recreation Coalition
- Routt Recreation and Conservation Roundtable
- Roaring Fork Outdoor Coalition
- San Luis Valley Great Outdoors
- Southeast Colorado Recreation Outdoor Alliance Movement
- Southwest Colorado Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Roundtable
- Spanish Peaks Outdoor Coalition
- Summit County Outdoor Coalition
- West Slope Outdoors Alliance
About the Regional Partnership Initiative
Learn more about this program through the Regional Partnerships Annual Report and StoryMap.
Annual Report
This report highlights the Regional Partnerships Initiative’s progress in 2023, including the ongoing CPW grant program and coalitions’ engagement to build a collective and community-driven vision for Colorado’s outdoors.
Download the Annual ReportStoryMap
Local collaborations in support of thriving people, landscapes, and wildlife statewide.
Explore the StoryMapContact
Please email any questions about the Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnerships grant program to:
Statewide Regional Partnership Program Coordinator
- Morgan Anderson
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife
- [email protected]
Please email any questions about the Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnerships program to:
Regional Partnerships Manager
- Jody Kennedy
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife
- [email protected]
Eastern Plains Regional Partnerships Coordinator
- Hailey Tresch
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife
- [email protected]
West Slope Regional Partnerships Coordinator
- Tori Manogue
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife
- [email protected]