Request for Applications: Community, Culture, Resilience, and Safety (CCRS) Tax Grant Program 2026 Capital Project Funding

Request for Applications

The Community, Culture, Resilience and Safety (CCRS) Tax Grant Program is funded through the Community, Culture, Resilience and Safety Tax, a 0.3% dedicated sales and use tax intended for citywide capital infrastructure needs. The tax, previously known as the Community, Culture and Safety Tax, was initially authorized by voters in 2014 and was extended in 2017 and again under its current name in 2021. The tax was extended a final time in 2025 to be in perpetuity. The city may use up to 10% of the resulting tax revenue to fund a grant pool for non-profit organization projects.

The CCRS Tax Grant Program has two arms: Capital Project Funding and Capacity Building.

Capital Project Funding is intended to directly support non-profit organizations in completing needed capital projects to ensure a long-term physical presence in or around the City of Boulder.

Capacity Building assists organizations that are seeking organizational capacity-building support and have identified that executing a needed capital project in a current commercial space, or constructing or purchasing a new commercial space, is a likely next step towards ensuring a long-term physical presence in or around the City of Boulder. Areas of Capacity Building assistance may include, but are not limited to:

1. Board Development & Recruitment Strategies;
2. Fundraising/Development Strategies;
3. Leadership Development;
4. Technology Consulting; and
5. Strategic Planning.

The application for Capacity Building programming will open later in the year.

Additional information about the CCRS Tax, a history of the CCRS Tax Grant Program, and funding distributed as a result of the Community, Culture and Safety Tax can be accessed through the Community, Culture, Resilience and Safety Tax webpage.

The application process opens on May 1, 2026 and closes on Jun 12, 2026 at 5 p.m.

The application is housed in the Foundant Grant Management System and accessed through this link: CCRS Tax Grant Program 2026 Capital Project Funding Application. Please note that applications for City of Boulder grant programs housed in other departments that utilize the Foundant platform must be accessed through their respective “process” links and cannot be accessed through the aforementioned link.

If you/your organization require assistance completing the application or need application materials to be translated, please contact grants@bouldercolorado.gov.

RFA released: May 1, 2026

Application due: June 12, 2026

Application review: July - August 2026

Notification of Awards: No later than September 2026

1. Organization has federal non-profit status.
2. Organization is registered and in good standing with the Colorado Secretary of State.
3. Organization is materially in good standing with the City of Boulder through compliance with applicable city laws, rules, and/or policies (e.g., licensure, tax compliance, planning and development requirements, city grant funding requirements, etc.).
4. Organization is serving City of Boulder community members.

1. Capital Project Funding cannot be used for capital projects being executed in City of Boulder-owned buildings.
2. Capital Project Funding cannot be used to purchase vehicles or vehicle-like assets.
3. Capital Project Funding cannot be used for debt reduction if the capital project that the debt funded was completed and the facility was opened or re-opened to the public, if applicable, more than seven years ago.
4. For project types other than debt reduction, Capital Project Funding cannot be used to reimburse a project that was fully complete prior to application submission.
5. Organizations utilizing a Fiscal Sponsor are not eligible for Capital Project funding.

Capital Project Funding is intended to support a variety of capital project types, as outlined below. Grant Awards will vary based on funding availability, project viability and other factors. Approximately $2 million to $3 million in funding will be awarded during this funding cycle. Grant Awards will be secured through a multi-year Grant Funding Agreement, Deed of Trust, and Declaration of Covenant, Conditions, and Restrictions, except for eligible organizations that do not own their property. Prior to applying, please email grants@bouldercolorado.gov to receive the sample document package. If the property and/or structures where the project will take place is owned by the applying organization, it should be assumed that these documents will be required. If the property where the project will take place is not owned by the applying organization, please reach out to grants@bouldercolorado.gov to discuss the specific circumstances prior to submitting an application.

Small Capital Project

• Category: Improvements or Renovations, including capital maintenance
• Project Cost: $25,000 to under $50,000
• Contract length: Five years
• Request as percent of total project cost: Up to 100%

• Timeline: Other project funds raised no more than six months from date of award notification.

Medium Capital Project

• Category: Purchase/New Construction/Improvements or Renovations
• Project Cost: $50,000 to $1,000,000
• Contract length: Ten years
• Request as percent of total project cost: Up to 75%
• Timeline: Other project funds raised no more than 12 months from date of award notification.
• Other: Project must involve the creation of a capital asset; cannot involve planning costs only

Large Capital Project

• Category: Purchase/New Construction/Improvements or Renovations
• Project Cost: Over $1,000,000
• Contract length: Twenty years
• Request as percent of total project cost: Up to 50%
• Timeline: Other project funds raised no more than 36 months from award notification.

Debt Reduction

• Category: Original Project was Purchase/New Construction/Improvements or Renovations
• Amount: Minimum funding request of more than $50,000
• Contract length: Ten years
• Request as percent of total remaining capital debt: Up to 50%
• Other: Project must have been completed in the last seven years

This section does not apply to debt reduction awards.

Capital Project Funding is intended to be the last source of funding for a project. Prior to executing a Grant Funding Agreement and receiving the Grant Award, an organization will be required to show proof of all other funds raised for the project (as well as other documentation ensuring that the project will commence and reach completion, as requested by the city). Other eligible Project funding sources include gifts, donations, grants, awards, board allocations, and any other amounts paid or awarded to the organization for the purpose of the Project, including, but not limited to:

• Funding from any person, entity, or source, including individuals, families, trusts, estates, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, foundations, or governments or governmental agencies;
• Non-cash items, such as marketable securities, real estate, and other tangible or intangible items of value, assuming that the organization liquidates these items for monetary value after they are received;
• Awarded grants from any trusts, estates, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, foundations, or governmental agencies, documented by a signed award letter, contract, or funding agreement; and
• In-kind donations of goods or equipment which would otherwise be purchased by the organization for the purpose of the project.

In the event that the organization is unable to raise all other funds for the project within the required timeframe, the organization must submit a written request for a change or extension. The city has the right to accept or deny the request and may retain the funds for use towards other projects if either the request is denied or no request is submitted.

At the time the application closes, Finance Department Staff will eliminate applications lacking clear alignment with Capital Project Funding eligibility. Applications will then receive a combination of scoring and high-level review by city staff, community professionals, and/or community members. In order to best serve the needs of the city, scoring from the application review process will be one of multiple factors taken into consideration when making final funding recommendations. Final funding decisions will be determined based off of scoring, discussion with those involved in the application review process, discussion among city staff more generally, and will be approved by city leadership.

To allow for a greater number of organizations to benefit from Capital Project Funding, organizations that have received funding for capital projects during a prior Community Culture and Safety or CCRS Tax Grant Program fund round may be deprioritized depending on the slate of applications received in this application round.

Capital Project Funding applications will be scored in consideration of a variety of measures, including but not limited to:

• Organization community benefit and collaboration
• Organizational equity, belonging and inclusion practices
• Organizational financial stability
• Project need and reasonableness
• Project financials
• Project execution viability
• Project alignment with city goals and priorities

Applying organizations must be aware of the following when applying for Capital Project Funding:

• The application must be completed in its entirety.
• It is the responsibility of the applying organization to ensure that the application is received by the city through the online application system by the specified due date and time.
• The city may reach out to applying organizations for additional information during the application review process.
• The city may check for organizational compliance with city laws and regulations before award notification and/or contracting, including compliance in the areas of tax, licensing, planning and development, and prior grant requirements, etc.
• Application materials, resulting contractual agreements, and any communication with city staff related to the CCRS Tax Grant Program are subject to the provisions of the Colorado Public (Open) Records Act, C.R.S. § 24-72-201 et seq. (“CORA”), as amended. Any information or documentation received by the city or executed pursuant to the CCRs Tax Grant Program is not confidential and may be subject to disclosure under a CORA request.
• Substantive changes to a project after award and prior to contracting, especially those related to a change in project type or total budget, can be accepted or rejected at the discretion of city staff and leadership, and may require a forfeiture of the award and a reapplication for the “new” project during a future application round.
• The city is not obligated to accept any amendments to content, minor or major, to the template agreement language, including all attachments such as the Deed of Trust, at time of contracting.
• Prior to contracting, awarded entities must satisfactorily complete city vendor set-up process, including the submission of a vendor form and current IRS W-9 in order to receive the Grant Award.
• Grant awards are non-transferable, and, if applicable, taxable and reported to the federal government.