Outdoor Equity Grant Program is now accepting board member applications
Bridget O'Rourke
DENVER – Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is accepting board member applications for the Outdoor Equity Grant Program. Board members are responsible for the governance of the Outdoor Equity Grant Program created by bill HB21-1318. The deadline for the application is Dec. 11, 2023.CPW is seeking to fill the following four board member seats:
- One member personally impacted by and with experience in racial justice issues
- One member with experience working on conservation issues
- Two youth members (age 25 and younger) who come from communities impacted by the grant program
The purpose of the Outdoor Equity Grant Program is to increase access and opportunity for underserved youth and their families to access meaningful experiences in Colorado's state parks and outdoor spaces. The board is responsible for overseeing the grant program and awarding grants to applicants that will utilize the grant to engage eligible youth and their families by reducing barriers to Colorado’s outdoors, creating pathways for formal or informal conservation of Colorado outdoors, or offering environmental and Colorado outdoor-based educational opportunities.
Since 2022, the Outdoor Equity Grant Program has distributed nearly $3.1 million to organizations that provide outdoor recreation, education, and conservation programs to youth and families across the state. The Outdoor Equity Grant Board is set to distribute an additional $2 million in December. In 2024, the program will distribute approximately $2.75 million annually in Outdoor Equity Grants.
Individuals on the board may be associated with an organization that intends to apply for a future grant. Board members will be selected in collaboration with communities served by the grant program and begin their terms in January 2024. Program grants will be distributed based on how an organization will impactfully create pathways for Colorado’s outdoors and offer environmental and outdoor-based educational opportunities for underserved communities.
The Outdoor Equity Grant Program Board has nine voting seats. Board members will serve for four years and may serve up to two terms. Youth board members serve one or two-year terms and may serve up to two terms.
For more information, visit cpw.state.co.us/Outdoor-Equity-Fund.aspx
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.