The Yampa Valley Community Foundation and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs have announced the Nonprofit Infrastructure Grant Program, a statewide grant program for small, community-based nonprofit organizations providing services to communities who have historically been underrepresented, underserved or under-resourced.

YVCF, collectively with DOLA, seeks applicants with annual budgets between $150,000 and $2 million that have been affected by the COVID-19 infrastructure aftermath. While the grant is not for programming, it does open doors for other opportunities such as strategic planning, professional development for board and staff and technology.

The application period opened July 5 and closes Aug. 31.

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The Nonprofit Infrastructure Grant Program

The Nonprofit Infrastructure Grant was created after Colorado House Bill 22-1356 was signed into law on June 3, 2022 to help underrepresented communities with limited access to state and federal funding and those impacted and disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The emphasis on infrastructure and capacity building will help small nonprofits build critical staff and boards, while providing funds to proactively invest in the organization’s makeup.

The grant is designed for nonprofits in historically marginalized communities that need more foundational help. Grants awards will total $33.1 million, with selected organizations awarded up to $100,000.

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Additionally if a tax-exempt charitable or social welfare group operating under a 501(c)3 acts as a fiscal sponsor to small community-based groups that are not registered nonprofit organizations, those groups are also eligible for funding.

“Small nonprofits form an essential backbone of support for rural communities, like ours in Northwest Colorado,” said Tim Wohlegnant, YVCF executive director. “We are honored to work with DOLA on this opportunity to provide hard-to-raise funding to strengthen these critical organizations. We encourage every nonprofit that meets the eligibility requirements to apply.” 

How to apply 

To apply, those interested with their main office located in Routt, Moffat, Eagle, Garfield or Rio Blanco counties should contact Greg Hamilton, YVCF’s program officer. As the geographically-appointed Regional Access Partner (RAP) for those five counties, YVCF is providing technical assistance and opportunities to learn more about the process, criteria and funding.

To learn more, visit yvcf.org/npi. To reach Hamilton, email is recommended for a faster response: greg@yvcf.org. Alternately, interested applicants may call Hamilton at 970-439-4443. Organizations with their main office in other counties can find their appropriate RAP contact at dlg.colorado.gov/regional-access-partners

Organizations must provide a Unique Entity ID (UEI) number from the federal government and meet the eligibility requirements. Applications are submitted directly through one of the eight RAPs, determined by the location of the organization’s headquarters. Funding is allocated for infrastructure needs only. Grant awardees will be notified by their RAP by Jan. 31, 2024. 

About the Regional Access Partner Network

The Yampa Valley Community Foundation is one of eight RAPs collaborating with DOLA to help select and administer grants within distinctive regions, emphasizing a hyper-local focus on teamwork and support.

For more information, visit dlg.colorado.gov/nonprofit-infrastructure-grant-program