Funding Opportunities Late August

CWCB has compiled this database to serve as a tool for people and organizations across Colorado to navigate all available funding opportunities for water projects in a single place. View the Colorado Water Funding Opportunity Navigator.

Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) will support states, local communities, tribes and territories as they undertake hazard mitigation projects, reducing the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards. In addition to project selections, the BRIC Program offers help to communities in the form non-financial Direct Technical Assistance (DTA). For this fiscal year, 20 eligible communities from more than 100 applications have been selected to receive subject matter expertise and partnership collaboration to develop successful community projects. Read more about their efforts. The BRIC program guiding principles are supporting communities through capability- and capacity-building; encouraging and enabling innovation; promoting partnerships; enabling large projects; maintaining flexibility; and providing consistency.

Colorado Ag Water Alliance announced that there is funding available to support incubator projects on farms and ranches throughout Colorado. These projects will demonstrate innovative options to sustain agricultural during drought while maintain profitability. These projects can include a wide variety of strategies that support drought resilience and adaptation to reduced water supplies: infrastructure upgrades, improved water measurement and management, water conservation, alternative crops and forages, soil health improvements, watershed and stream restoration, and herd size and stocking strategies. You are encouraged to reach out to us about your project ideas. The submittal deadline is December 1st, 2022.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is pleased to announce the Colorado Wildlife Habitat Program (CWHP) 2022 Request for Proposals (RFP). The CWHP is a statewide program that supports CPW’s mission by offering funding opportunities to private or public landowners who wish to protect wildlife habitat on their property, and/or provide wildlife-related recreational access to the public. The CWHP is an incentive-based program that funds conservation easements, public access easements, and fee title purchases to accomplish strategic wildlife conservation and public access goals. Funding for the 2022 cycle is approximately $11 million and is made possible by revenue generated from the sale of the Habitat Stamp, hunting and fishing licenses, and through CPW’s partnership with Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). 2022 funding preferences include working farms and ranches and properties adjacent to wildlife crossings. Application materials will be available on Monday, June 13, 2022 here. All proposals must be received by 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 13, 2022.

FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs are provided to eligible applicant states/tribes/territories that, in turn, provide sub-grants to local governments. The applicant selects and prioritizes applications developed and submitted to them by local jurisdictions to submit to FEMA for grant funds. Prospective sub-applicants should consult the official designated point of contact for their applicant state/tribe/territory for further information regarding specific program and application requirements.

The Colorado Legislature established the Forest Restoration & Wildfire Risk Mitigation (FRWRM) Grant Program in 2017. This program provides state support through competitive grant funds that encourage community-level actions across the state that do the following:

  • Reduce the risk of wildfire to people, property and infrastructure in the wildland-urban interface (WUI)

  • Promote forest health and forest restoration projects

  • Encourage use of woody material for traditional forest products and biomass energy

    This year, the Colorado State Forest Service has $15 million available to fund wildfire mitigation and forest health projects in Colorado communities through the FRWRM Grant Program. Apply by Oct. 19, 2022, and contact your local CSFS field office for help applying. 

The Colorado River District Community Funding Partnership is opening a special funding round to support grant-writing, feasibility, design, preliminary environmental review, benefits analysis, and engineering to support federal funding applications made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Grant deliverables must include a timely application to a federal funding opportunity to be submitted by December 31, 2023, and in no cases later than December 31, 2024. Priority will be given to applications targeting a 2023 federal funding round. Examples of targeted federal funding opportunities include the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) WaterSMART programs, Small Storage Program, Aging Infrastructure Account, and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) watershed programs. The Colorado River District will consider supporting up to 85% of funding needs for this limited funding opportunity. Deadline: Application must be submitted by August 1st, 2022. Funding decisions will be made by September 15th (requests >$50k will be reviewed at the October 18-19 Board Meeting.)

The Colorado River District’s Community Funding Partnership was created in 2021 to fund multi-purpose water projects on the Western Slope in five project categories: productive agriculture, infrastructure, healthy rivers, watershed health and water quality, and conservation and efficiency. Funding for the program was approved by Western Colorado voters as part of ballot question 7A in November 2020. These funds provide a catalyst for projects that are priorities for residents in the District to receive matching funds from state, federal and private sources. Click here for more information and to apply.

The Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program (COSWAP) was created after the devastating 2020 fire season by the Colorado legislature through the bi-partisan supported SB21-258 in the summer of 2021. COSWAP is designed to quickly move $17.5 million state stimulus dollars to start on-the-ground work on fuels reduction projects and increase Colorado's capacity to conduct critical forest restoration and wildfire mitigation work that will increase community resilience and protect life, property and infrastructure. Learn more about these opportunities here.

HUD: Authority to Accept Unsolicited Proposals for Research Partnerships Notice. HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) has the authority to accept unsolicited research proposals that address current research priorities. HUD is making up to $2 million available for Lead and Healthy Homes Research Partnerships and approximately $1 million available for Research Partnerships for other topics. HUD is interested in increasing participation of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) of higher education and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in all program areas. To learn more, click here.

In response to the impacts of COVID-19, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) has launched the Resilient Communities Program (RCP). The $15 million program aims to fund one-time, immediate needs or opportunities that have emerged in direct response to the pandemic. It will help partners advance outdoor recreation, stewardship, and land protection projects in a manner that best reflects community needs and priorities at this moment in time. Capacity and operations support, stewardship efforts, projects that support community vitality, and urgent and emergent land acquisition opportunities will be considered. For more information, including eligibility criteria and application forms, click HERE.