Opportunity Now provides $85 million in grant funds to create or expand innovative talent development initiatives across the state of Colorado.
Donor Name: Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade
State: Colorado
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/23/2023
Size of the Grant: $85 million
Details:
The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced a new grant program: Opportunity Now Colorado. The grant program is designed to help communities across Colorado create and expand innovative workforce and talent development initiatives. The goal of the program is to help connect more Coloradans with in-demand, high-skill, high-wage occupations.
While Colorado’s economic recovery has been one of the strongest in the country, to continue that growth the Polis administration is committed to modernizing how Colorado’s education and training partners support developing skills that are important to workers and to business.
Across the state, employers are looking to hire the top talent that Colorado is known for, yet job openings have outpaced new hires. In June 2022, there were 208,000 job openings and 129,000 hires, a difference of nearly 38%. Opportunity Now Colorado, established by HB22-1350, was created to help Coloradans develop the skills and experience they need to apply for and secure these job opportunities.
Eligibility Criteria
The Opportunity Now Colorado Grant Program welcomes Applications from eligible organizations or entities that have a recognized legal existence and structure under applicable law (State or Federal) and that are in good standing in the jurisdiction under which they are organized. The following types of organizations are eligible to submit Applications as Lead Applicant or Partners:
- An organization representing employers, especially chambers of commerce and industry associations
- A for-profit corporation organized under the laws of a state in the United States
- A limited liability company or partnership organized under the laws of a state in the United States
- K-12 institutions and management organizations, including: local education agencies, public school districts, BOCES, charter schools and charter management organizations, nonpublic schools
- An organization that has received a tax determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service deeming it a nonprofit, public charity, or private foundation, according to the definitions in section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or (2) of the Internal Revenue Code
- An organization representing organized labor, including trade unions and other collective bargaining units
- Institutions of higher education
- Workforce development boards
- Tribal entities
- State or federal agencies.
For more information, visit OEDIT.
