Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO). For full details, please reference the and .

Program Summary

Opportunity Now provides $85 million in grant funds to create or expand innovative talent development initiatives across the state of Colorado.

As central tenets of this program, Opportunity Now Colorado will award funding for models and organizations that demonstrate innovative approaches, deep regional partnerships among industry and educational actors, and comprehensive understanding of and design for learner and community needs, in support of the goals listed below.

Grants are intended to support projects at three stages of development and maturity: Scale, Seed and Planning. Complete information on each is found in the full solicitation.

The program is designed to:

  1. Provide more opportunities for regional students and workers to be more economically mobile and earn a living wage in an in-demand, high-skill, high-wage occupation.
  2. Meet statewide or regional workforce development needs in order to recover from the negative economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  3. Create intentional pathways between secondary, postsecondary and employment that allow students and workers to transition more easily into and out of each system and that ensure a highly skilled and well-educated workforce.

All programs should measurably:

  1. Help to close critical workforce shortages across the state in key areas such as health care, infrastructure, and early childhood and K-12 education
  2. Improve access to jobs that provide a living and/or family-sustaining wage
  3. Demonstrate long-term change in the practices of and alignment among employers, postsecondary education, workforce development and K-12 education

Particular emphasis will be placed on supporting historically underserved groups and areas, including members of rural communities, lower-wealth communities, communities of color, minoritized gender groups, tribal entities and other groups facing labor market barriers.

Applicants that propose projects intended to meet urgent state needs in critical workforce shortage areas such as health care, early childhood education, primary and secondary education and infrastructure (including construction and other trades) will be prioritized.

Deadlines

CU Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST May 15, 2023

Sponsor Letter of Intent Deadline: July 2023

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

  • Application Type:
    • Planning (up to $50K)
    • Seed ($500K - $1M)
    • Scale ($1M and above)
  • Project Summary (2 pages maximum): Please describe: 1) the regional economic challenges your solution will address; 2) the activities you will undertake and how this model addresses the regional economic needs you identified; 3) roles and responsibilities of the education and industry partners and how past experience will deliver success.
  • PI Curriculum Vitae
  • Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required. Applicants must include the source of cost-share/matching funds in this budget overview and provide the name(s) from whom they have received commitments of matching support. Applicant program budgets should comprise other funds besides the grant requested from Opportunity Now Colorado, including local, state, or federal funds; philanthropic contributions; in-kind services; and employer, student or other earned revenue fees. While matching is not required for the letter of intent, projects invited to submit an application will be required to include cost-share. See RIO guidance for additional details.

To access the online application, visit: 听

Eligibility

Lead applicant organizations are required to apply as part of a collaboration or partnership with one or more other organizations, including an industry partner and educational entity.

Limited Submission Guidelines

Only one lead application is allowed per phase, but organizations may be a partner on multiple applications. This call is for Phase 2. Phase 3 will open in April 2024.

Award Information

  • Planning: up to $50K; 3-6 months
  • Seed: $500K - $1M; 1-3 years
  • Scale: $1M and above; 1-3 years

Matching Funds

Projects with matching will be prioritized by the selection committee. Applicant program budgets should comprise other funds besides the grant requested from Opportunity Now Colorado, including local, state, or federal funds; philanthropic contributions; in-kind services; and employer, student or other earned revenue fees. While matching funds are not required for the letter of intent, cost-sharing contributions to the project via confirmed cash or funding commitments from eligible sources that are used for eligible project purposes during the grant funding period. See RIO guidance for additional details.