State Forest State Park colorful landscape with aspen trees and mountains at sunset.

About the Grants

Partners in the Outdoors Grant Program

The Partners in the Outdoors Program is a platform for networking and collaboration to advance and balance outdoor recreation and conservation in Colorado. To support these efforts, Colorado Parks and Wildlife provides grant funds to assist our partners across the state who are helping us achieve this goal.

Currently Closed: This grant application opens every March with a deadline in April.

grants awarded in 2024

$161,410

awarded in 2024

171

recipients since 2014

$1,011,511

awarded since 2014

How to Apply

Step 1: Check Eligibility

Eligible applicants:

Non-profit organizations, Tribes, school districts, and government entities.
Matching funds are not required, but they are strongly recommended.
If your organization has been awarded a Partners in the Outdoors grant for the past 3 consecutive years, you are not eligible to apply this year.
This grant opportunity is available to all organizations who do projects and programming at a local, regional, and/or statewide scale in Colorado.

Previous awardees are eligible to apply again. However, If your organization has been awarded a Partners in the Outdoors grant for the past 3 consecutive years, you are not eligible to apply this year.

Your organization is eligible for a Partners in the Outdoors Grant even if you’ve already received funding from another CPW grant program this year. However, please note that reviewers will take this into consideration when making final selections and your application may be less competitive if you have already been awarded significant funding from programs such as the Outdoor Equity Grant Program, Regional Partnerships Initiative, Fishing is Fun grant, etc.

Organizations are welcome to submit more than one application, but it is unlikely that both will be funded.

Step 2: Choose a Project

Project Requirements:

Projects and programs must occur in the state of Colorado. We will consider organizations who are headquartered outside of Colorado, however, grant recipients are expected to have local ties to Colorado communities and the specific project or program must take place within Colorado.
Projects should be collaborative in nature.
Projects must address one or more priority areas identified in the 2024-2028 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP).

Access and Opportunity

Goal: All Coloradans and visitors have access to and opportunity for sustainable outdoor recreation.

Stewardship

Goal: Coloradans and visitors safely enjoy and care for natural and cultural resources and commit to stewarding them for future generations.

Land, Water, and Wildlife Conservation

Goal: Priority lands and waters are conserved to support sustainable outdoor recreation, wildlife and habitats.

Financial Sustainability

Goal: Enhanced and varied funding sources combined with greater collaboration across recreation and conservation sectors directs more resources to support outdoor recreation and conservation.

Step 3: Compile your Application

Compile your Application

Applications can be submitted online between March 24 and May 5, 2025. Applicants are highly encouraged to view the application and log into the application platform before May so you have adequate time to ask questions and troubleshoot any technical issues.

If you applied for funding last year and were not awarded, you can submit the same application. Please be aware that the SCORP has been updated and your application will be reviewed based on the new 2024-2028 SCORP priorities.

Step 4: Review and Approval

Review and Approval

Applications are reviewed and scored by a team of CPW staff members who represent diverse roles, programs, areas of expertise, and geographic locations. Rubric items include, but are not limited to:

How well does the project support the SCORP priorities?
Is the project or initiative a collaborative effort involving partners?
Does this project fill a unique niche or address an issue in an innovative way?
Will this project benefit community members in an impactful way?
Is the project well thought out and likely to be successful? Is the proposed budget realistic?

After initial scoring, Partners Program staff will review all applications and make final selections.

All 2025 grant recipients are required to submit a final report by June 1, 2026. The report must include a description of the project and outcomes, key metrics used to measure success, notable highlights, an itemized list of expenses, and photos.

Funding

Funding availability varies by year. In 2024, we awarded 20 out of 93 applications. This totaled $161,410, which was 18% of the $890,410 requested. We may award partial funding to applicants, depending on the availability of funding and number of requests received.

Grant Deadlines

Key Topic	Description	Date
Applications Open		March 24, 2025
Applications Close		May 5, 2025 at 5:00pm
Selections Made		Early June, 2025
Money Disbursed		Mid June to early July, 2025
Final Reports Due		June 1, 2026