2022 Legislation
Communities Lead, Communities Thrive 2022 Proposed Legislative Grant Program
We asked for $35 million of federal ARPA funding to provide infrastructure grants for smaller nonprofits who are providing culturally appropriate and relevant services and resources to families and communities who have historically been underrepresented, underfunded, under-resourced, and continue to struggle with pandemic recovery. These nonprofit organizations have had to pivot to serve the increasing needs of their communities as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes creating new services and transitioning services online, collecting new data for impact and outcomes, retraining and repurposing staff, and shifting and expanding their organizational focus.
Communities in combination with these smaller nonprofits hold the expertise necessary to identify and generate community-led solutions to address their specific needs, but they lack the funding to create the infrastructure needed to implement those solutions. Using innovative and community-based approaches and flexible funding mechanisms to design, mobilize, and implement solutions allows for better coordination, not only in public health emergencies, but also in everyday programs, policies, and practices.
House Bill 22-1356 passed in the 2022 legistlative session. The act appropriates $35 million from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to the division for the purposes of the grant program. The regional access partners are required to award the grants for the purposes of the grant program on or before December 30, 2024, and recipients of the grants are required to expend all grant money by December 30, 2026.
Check out the legislation, House Bill 1356, here.
The Nonprofit Infrastructure Grant Program funding opportunity is open to organizations who are able to pursue innovation and build institutional resilience. Funding would be focused on infrastructure and capacity building of nonprofits that focus on programming for and have board representation from defined historically marginalized and under-resourced communities.
Infrastructure and capacity-building is defined as providing a nonprofit organization the opportunity to develop competencies, strategies, systems, and structures in order to improve organizational effectiveness to grow impact and strengthen the community they serve.
Find out more about the NPI Grant Program here.
Good examples of infrastructure building and capacity could include:
Data technology needs including for evaluation purposes
Professional development for staff and board members
Strategic planning and organizational development for capacity building, fundraising and other services
Communications
Existing Program expansion, development or evaluation
What is excluded in capacity building?
Capital improvement
Real estate or land acquisition
Payment of debt
Advocacy/lobbying
Organizing
Endowments or reserves
Interested non-profits or a collaboration of groups or smaller nonprofits with a single nonprofit or fiscal agent lead will be required to meet all the criteria below.
Track record of providing effective, culturally appropriate and relevant programs and services to communities who have historically been under-represented, underserved, under-resourced in Colorado and delivering effective programs and services equitably for CO residents
Have an organizational (not operational) budget of $150K to $2 million annually
Restricted vs unrestricted funds detailed
Have 25% of the organization’s budget come from a source other than the funding an organization might receive as a grantee of the program
Be focused in key areas of identified community need such as health equity, workforce development, community economic development, early childhood care, education support, housing, and food justice
Have community-led solutions created by the community they are meant to serve; and
If a nonprofit, be in good standing with the Colorado Secretary of State.
Federal funds are required to be appropriated to a state department. Under our bill, The Department of Local Affairs, Division of Local Government would be the agency to receive the funding through the state budget. The Division will develop the timeline and application process for the grant and will work with nonprofits who will serve as Regional Area Providers (RAPS) to accept, evaluate and award grants and assist grantees with compliance reporting.
RAPs must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible:
Has a track record of providing grants to small community-based nonprofit organizations
States a specific focus on defined historically marginalized and under-resourced communities or focuses at least 51% of its programming on engaging and supporting defined historically marginalized and under-resourced communities; and
At least 51% of the board of directors or staff of the nonprofit consists of individuals from defined historically marginalized and under-resourced communities.
At this time it is unknown which specific nonprofits will be funded. That decision will be determined by:
The final dollar amount secured for this legislation
The final passage of the legislation
The scoring rubric created
Elements of the application will be added outside of the legislation such as:
Lived experience as the genesis to the creation of the organization
Community-led solutions created by the community they are meant to serve
Authentic community engagement to inform the organization about the services provided
Community leadership involvement in decision making for the organization
Clearly defined mission and vision
Commitment of time and resources to build capacity with a clearly stated need, readiness, and commitment to the project
Organizational leadership is people of color or LGBT, defined as:
– Executive director is a person of color or LGBT
– Senior management and staff is 51% people of color or LGBTQ+
– Board of directors is 51% people of color or LGBTQ+
– Leadership based on the communities they serve as measured by people of color and LGBT
The timing of the distribution will be based on several factors:
Funding if the bill passes is not available for the program until July 1, 2022
The division must have time to create the application and scoring rubric (usually 60-90 days) and determine which nonprofits will act as RAPs.
Applicants must be given adequate time to gather the information needed to apply (usually 30-60 days)
Applications must be reviewed and scored (30 days-60 days)
Grants could be awarded to selected nonprofits by January of 2023
This proposal prioritizes equity by focusing grants dollars to organizations that serve 66% or more disproportionately impacted communities. The distribution of the program will be done through RAPS who will have a regional focus. This ensures smaller, community-focused organizations are able to build capacity. The intention is to prioritize organizations run by people with lived experience and with board members and staff representing the communities they serve in the RFP process. Funds will be awarded to organizations with community led solutions created by the community they serve.