Funding the Frontlines: Community-Informed Solutions to Advance Equity in Colorado’s State Grant System for Nonprofits

Colorado’s community-rooted nonprofits partner with the state to accomplish important work for communities across Colorado, but the systems meant to fund them aren’t keeping up.

Communities Lead Communities Thrive (CLCT) is proud to release our Funding the Frontlines Policy Agenda, a community-driven roadmap to make Colorado’s state grant-making system more transparent, efficient, and equitable. This report was shaped by the voices of more than 40 nonprofit leaders from across the state who shared their firsthand experiences navigating state grants. Together, they identified barriers that keep small and rural organizations from accessing funding and proposed actionable solutions to fix them. View the report below.

Why It Matters

Nonprofits are on the frontlines of solving Colorado’s toughest challenges – food insecurity, housing, climate, education, and health. Yet too many are shut out of the state resources that fund this work. Funding the Frontlines lays out a bold but practical plan for change, one that ensures state funding reaches the organizations closest to the people and communities it’s meant to serve and is informed by leaders from those very organizations.

What’s Inside the Policy Agenda

  • Key findings from CLCT’s 2025 Listening Sessions
  • Actionable policy recommendations for lawmakers and state agencies
  • Real stories from nonprofit leaders across Colorado
  • A vision for a grantmaking system built on trust, transparency, and partnership
  • CLCT’s near-term policy advocacy priorities

Key Policy Solutions

  • Replacing the state’s reimbursement models with upfront or trust-based funding
  • Simplify and standardize state grant applications across agencies
  • Ensure clear, consistent communication and feedback for applicants
  • Offer multi-year and flexible funding to plan for long-term impact
  • Improve inter-agency coordination on timelines and reporting
  • Prioritize rural and community-rooted organizations closest to the work

Join Us in Funding the Frontlines

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