Colorado Nonprofit Grants 2026: Funding Guide

If you're a nonprofit executive director, development director, or grant writer working in Colorado, you're in a state with strong philanthropy, unique marijuana tax revenue streams, and a growing population that's driving both increased need and new philanthropic resources. Colorado nonprofit grants come through state agencies, local government, and one of the Mountain West's strongest foundation sectors. This guide breaks down where the money is and how your organization can access it.

Colorado's nonprofit sector has grown alongside the state's population. The funding environment benefits from several distinctive features: marijuana tax revenue that creates programs other states don't have, a major health conversion foundation (Colorado Health Foundation) with $2.5+ billion in assets, and a tradition of private philanthropy led by the Denver Foundation, El Pomar Foundation, and Daniels Fund.

Colorado Nonprofit Grants: State Agency Funding

CDHS (Colorado Department of Human Services)

CDHS manages a large share of Colorado's social services, child welfare, and youth services spending. Early childhood programs moved out of CDHS to the new Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) (opens in a new tab) on July 1, 2022, so child care and early intervention providers should start there.

The Behavioral Health Administration: Colorado consolidated its behavioral health functions into a new Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) that coordinates funding from CDHS, HCPF (Medicaid), and other sources. Under HB22-1278, the BHA replaced the old Managed Service Organizations and Community Mental Health Center designation with regional Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organizations (BHASOs, starting July 1, 2025) and a two-tier system of BHA-approved safety-net providers. Providers now reach BHA funding through their regional BHASO and safety-net approval.

County-administered child welfare: Colorado has 64 counties, each administering its own child welfare program with CDHS funding. County departments of human/social services contract with nonprofits for out-of-home care, kinship support, family preservation, and adoption services. Your county DHS office is your primary path to child welfare funding.

For more on federal grants, see our federal grants for nonprofits guide.

DOLA (Department of Local Affairs)

DOLA distributes community development, housing, and local government support grants. It's also Colorado's grantee for federal CSBG, state CDBG, HOME, ESG, and National Housing Trust Fund dollars.

The Division of Housing administers several programs critical for nonprofit housing and homeless service providers:

DOLA's rural focus: DOLA specifically prioritizes rural and small communities in its grant programs. The Community Development Office provides technical assistance and grants to local governments. If your nonprofit serves a rural area, DOLA should be near the top of your prospect list.

Other State Agencies

The Division of Criminal Justice, part of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, administers federal victim services and criminal justice grants. According to USASpending.gov, VOCA victim assistance funds to the Department of Public Safety were about $22 million in FY2025; they fund domestic violence, sexual assault, and child advocacy programs.

For information on environmental nonprofit funding, see our environmental nonprofit grants guide.

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Marijuana Tax Revenue: Colorado's Unique Funding Source

Colorado's recreational marijuana tax revenue creates funding streams that nonprofits in most other states can't access.

How Marijuana Tax Revenue Flows

According to the Colorado Department of Revenue (opens in a new tab), 2025 marijuana tax and fee revenue was $236.4 million, well below the 2020-2021 peak. Local marijuana taxes are collected separately by cities and counties.

Programs Funded by Marijuana Revenue

How nonprofits actually access marijuana money: Most marijuana tax revenue flows to government programs, not directly to nonprofits. Nonprofits access these funds as:

1. Behavioral health providers contracted by the BHA or county agencies for substance abuse treatment and prevention
2. Youth development organizations receiving county or municipal grants funded by local marijuana tax revenue
3. Prevention education providers contracted by school districts or the Colorado Department of Education
4. Community development organizations receiving municipal grants from local marijuana tax revenue sharing

Cities and counties with local marijuana taxes decide how to spend them in their own budgets, so check your city's or county's budget and grant notices to see whether any of that revenue reaches nonprofits.

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Community Foundations and Private Philanthropy

Major Colorado Foundations

Asset and grantmaking figures below are approximate; check each foundation's latest Form 990 or annual report.

Colorado Health Foundation: The State's Largest Funder

The Colorado Health Foundation deserves extended attention because of its size, scope, and approach.

The "health care, health coverage, healthy living" framework dates from the Foundation's 2006 rebrand. It now funds through a longer list of priority areas, each with its own funding opportunities, so match your project to a current priority on coloradohealth.org (opens in a new tab) rather than to the old three-area model.

CHF operates with several principles that set it apart from typical funders:

• Multi-year grants (2 to 3 years typical)
• General operating support available
• Advocacy and policy work funded
• Community-driven priority setting
• Technical assistance and capacity building included

If your nonprofit works in health, behavioral health, nutrition, physical activity, health equity, or related areas, the Colorado Health Foundation should be your first foundation application.

Denver Foundation

The Denver Foundation serves the seven-county metro Denver region and distributes $80+ million annually. Their competitive grantmaking programs focus on:

According to the Denver Foundation (opens in a new tab), the Community Grants Program runs two cycles a year; Cycle 2 for 2026 ran June 15 to August 3, 2026.

El Pomar Foundation

El Pomar is the largest foundation based in Colorado Springs, with $800+ million in assets. Their Regional Partnerships program is particularly useful for nonprofits outside Denver. According to El Pomar (opens in a new tab), it created Regional Partnerships in 2003 to address local needs in each of its 11 regions, with local councils making grant recommendations for their communities. El Pomar accepts applications on a rolling basis, and its Trustees review them 4 to 6 times a year; submit a complete application at least 10 weeks before a Trustee meeting.

This regional structure makes El Pomar one of the most accessible funders for rural Colorado nonprofits.

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State Pass-Through Programs

Federal Funds Through Colorado Agencies

Amounts are FY2025 obligations from USASpending.gov (opens in a new tab).

Colorado's 20+ Community Action Agencies receive CSBG and LIHEAP funds. These agencies serve every county and often subgrant to smaller nonprofits for anti-poverty services.

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Colorado's ARPA Stabilization Funding Is Gone: What Nonprofits Face Now

For Colorado nonprofits that built programs on ARPA stabilization funding in 2022 and 2023, the fiscal cliff is real. Colorado distributed ARPA nonprofit stabilization funds through state and local channels. Organizations used it to stabilize payroll, cover deferred maintenance, and expand programs. Those dollars are spent, and the state's TABOR constraints mean there's no comparable replacement pool. Organizations that expanded staff during ARPA spending can now face painful contractions.

The Colorado Health Foundation is the most important funder many Front Range nonprofits don't understand correctly. A common mistake is describing a health program without matching it to one of the Foundation's current priority areas and the communities that priority names. Read the priority's page first, and if your work has a rural or underserved geographic dimension that fits it, lead with that.

One practical approach is to map your service area against the communities a priority focuses on and show what share of your clients live there.

CDPHE's competitive grant cycles run on a state fiscal year calendar that doesn't align with most foundations' grant calendars. Check each CDPHE program's solicitation calendar, and if you're building a multi-funder budget, expect state awards and contracts to take longer than foundation decisions because of state procurement steps. Organizations may also need to bridge CDPHE-awarded funds when payment processing lags behind program start dates.

The practical advice for Colorado nonprofits: ARPA is over and state funds are constrained by TABOR. Build your funding base around the Colorado Health Foundation (if you do health work), El Pomar's regional councils (if you're outside the Front Range), CDHS contracts (which are more stable than competitive grants), and federal pass-through programs through DOLA and DCJ. Don't count on marijuana tax revenue as a meaningful nonprofit funding stream. It sounds bigger than it actually is for organizations outside the direct government contracting chain.

What Colorado Doesn't Tell You About Nonprofit Grants

Marijuana money sounds bigger than it is for nonprofits. Colorado's marijuana tax revenue ($236 million in calendar 2025 state taxes and fees) makes headlines, but most of it flows to government programs, the general fund, and school construction. The share that reaches nonprofits through behavioral health contracts, youth program grants, and community development funding is a fraction of the total. Don't build your funding strategy around marijuana tax revenue. Treat it as a supplemental source accessed through existing program contracts.

The cost of living crisis is eating nonprofit budgets. Colorado's housing costs have risen sharply. This affects nonprofits in two ways: staff retention is difficult because salaries can't keep up with housing costs, and the populations you serve face worsening housing instability. Foundation funders are increasingly aware of this dynamic, and proposals that address cost-of-living impacts on service delivery resonate. Budget for competitive salaries or explain in applications how your organization manages workforce challenges.

The Front Range gets most of the money. Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins hold most of Colorado's foundation infrastructure. Mountain communities (ski towns excepted) and eastern plains communities have significantly less philanthropic infrastructure. El Pomar's regional councils and the Colorado Health Foundation's statewide mandate are the primary foundation paths for non-Front Range nonprofits. Government grants through DOLA, CDHS, and the BHA provide more geographic equity.

Colorado's TABOR amendment constrains state spending. The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) limits the growth of state revenue and requires voter approval for tax increases. TABOR creates a structural constraint on state grant funding that doesn't exist in most states. When the economy grows, TABOR refunds limit the state's ability to increase program funding proportionally. This is why Colorado's state-funded grant programs are relatively modest compared to states with similar populations and economies.

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Building a Colorado Nonprofit Funding Strategy

Priority Actions

1. Apply to the Colorado Health Foundation if you do health-related work
2. Connect with your county DHS office for social services contracting
3. Register with DOLA's Division of Housing for homeless services funding
4. Research El Pomar Foundation's regional councils if you're outside Denver
5. Explore marijuana-funded programs through your municipality

Colorado Grant Calendar

Colorado's state fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. The Governor's Budget is presented in November, and the Legislature completes the budget by May. CDHS and DOLA programs open throughout the year. The Colorado Health Foundation accepts letters of inquiry on a rolling basis. El Pomar accepts applications on a rolling basis with Trustee reviews 4 to 6 times a year. The Denver Foundation's Community Grants Program runs two cycles a year.

Grant Tracking Resources

• Colorado BIDS (procurement) (opens in a new tab) , State procurement portal
• CDHS Programs (opens in a new tab) , Human services programs
• DOLA Grants (opens in a new tab) , Community development and housing
• Division of Criminal Justice (opens in a new tab) , VOCA and criminal justice grants

Related Guides

• Colorado Housing Grants
• Colorado Grants Guide
• Colorado Healthcare Grants
• Colorado Education Grants

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How Grantsights Checked This Guide

Grantsights reviewed Colorado Grants, DOLA programs, CDHS funding context, Colorado Department of Revenue marijuana-tax materials, Colorado Disability Funding Committee notices, and major foundation grant pages in June 2026, then rechecked marijuana revenue, El Pomar, Denver Foundation, CDFC, and federal pass-through recipients in October 2026. Where official sources stop: Colorado has many grant portals, but they do not give nonprofits a single route map across state pass-through funds, local marijuana revenue, disability grants, housing, health, and foundation paths.

Decision checklist: confirm service county, state agency route, local government partner, marijuana-tax pass-through path, foundation fit, and rural capacity before drafting.

According to Colorado's grant map, state opportunities are tracked across program types and dates through DOLA's public tool. According to the Colorado Disability Funding Committee, 2026 applicants could request up to $250,000, its largest grant amount offered to date; both 2026 rounds closed in February 2026, so watch for the next rounds. According to the Colorado Department of Revenue, marijuana tax reports are the official source for monthly and annual marijuana tax collections. According to our review of Colorado nonprofit routes, health, housing, disability, behavioral health, and youth programs often have different first doors even when the same nonprofit could serve all four.

Our analysis of Colorado nonprofit grant routes shows that applicant role matters more than mission language. For example, a Denver youth nonprofit may need a city marijuana-tax subgrant or foundation support, while a rural housing nonprofit may need DOLA, DSHA-style federal pass-through funds, or a local government sponsor. A nonprofit without a county or municipal partner is a bad fit for many state-administered capital and housing funds, even if its mission aligns. Use this page with Colorado grants by state, grants for community centers, rural grant routes, and Grantsights matches.

Sources

• CDHS Programs and Services (opens in a new tab) , Human services programs
• DOLA Grants and Programs (opens in a new tab) , Community development and housing
• Division of Criminal Justice Grants (opens in a new tab) , VOCA and criminal justice
• Colorado Department of Revenue Marijuana Tax Data (opens in a new tab) , Marijuana revenue reporting
• Colorado Health Foundation (opens in a new tab) , Health-focused grantmaking
• El Pomar Foundation (opens in a new tab) , Statewide and regional grants