Grant Applications

The Grant Cycle is Currently Closed – please see below for 2025 schedule!

Our Mission

Our mission is to unite people, ideas, and resources to advance the common good in education, financial stability, and health.

Our Vision

We envision a county where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through access to education, opportunities to improve financial stability, and support to lead healthy lives.

The 2025 Grant Schedule

  • 12/13/24 – Pre-qualification meeting sign-up alerts will be sent to likely grant applicants.

  • 1/6/25 – Pre-qualification meeting sign-up notices will be sent to likely grant applicants.
  • 1/15/25-1/17/25– Pre-qualification meetings with applicants will be conducted with
    15 minute time slots for most, and 30 min slots if new to the process. Application training sessions will be scheduled as needed.
  • 1/20/25– The grant application cycle for Community Program, 1-year, and 2-year applications will open. Application forms will be available on the UWYV website.
  • 1/23/25-1/24/25 – Grant application and report training sessions will be conducted with individual agencies.
  • 2/16/25– The 2024-2025 grant application period ends. Final applications must be complete and submitted by this date.
  • May & June 2025– Grant award letters will be sent to recipients and other feedback will be provided.

Grant Criteria:

Program Features

  • Fund a program aligned with your core organization goals.
  • Serve primarily lower-income, at-risk clients in Routt, Moffat, and/or Rio Blanco County.
  • Address a UWYV community impact goal.
  • Show strong program management ability by delivering, critically evaluating, and continuously improving program results.

Organizational Features

  • Exhibit strong oversight by an engaged Board of Directors.
  • Present a financially healthy organization.
  • Be a tax-exempt organization eligible to accept charitable donations.

UWYV only accepts requests for program funding; UWYV does not fund general operations or capital equipment at this time.

Grant requests for programs that align with UWYV Board priorities and meet or exceed UWYV expectations will receive funding priority.

2023-2024 UWYV Community Impact Goals:

Give children a strong start

(birth to 8 years of age)

We all benefit when every child from the earliest age has a strong developmental start. UWYV funds programs that improve developmental opportunities for lower-income, at-risk children. We seek to address the following challenges:

  • Access to affordable, quality preschool and childcare
  • Access to other early childhood development programs that promote literacy, kindergarten preparation or parenting skills
  • Childhood food insecurity
  • Need for more and better qualified preschool teachers

Provide youth a safe, healthy, and nurturing environment

(9-17 years of age)

Transitions are sometimes tough for young people, particularly at-risk youth. UWYV seeks to fund programs that support the successful transition of elementary school students into middle school, of middle school students into high school and of high school students into adulthood. Challenges that we will look to address are:

  • Literacy at grade level
  • Financial literacy or work/life readiness
  • Food insecurity
  • Bullying prevention and support for diversity
  • Discouraging use of alcohol, tobacco, vaping and other drugs
  • Need for student engagement and/or parental support
  • Healthy behavioral boundaries
  • Appropriate use of technology

Improve the financial stability of Northwest Colorado residents in need

Many individuals and families struggle to make ends meet. Programs that seek to achieve the following will be considered:

  • Build financial skills or resiliency through adult education or counseling in household financial management or workplace readiness
  • Reduce food insecurity
  • Enable seniors to live in their homes longer if they wish
  • Improve household financial stability
  • Improve access to adult education or training that enhances job skills

Expand access to health & crisis services

People who experience mental health issues or physical or emotional abuse need support and access to resources to move towards a better quality of life. To promote the social/emotional wellbeing of community members, we seek to fund programs that:

  • Offer mental health education or counseling for adults or children
  • Prevent suicides through education or counseling
  • Address substance abuse
  • Prevent domestic violence or abuse
  • Respond to people in crisis
  • Provide general health services in underserved areas of Moffat and/or Rio Blanco County

The Community Investment Committee will review grants by impact area. Any questions for an agency will allow for about a week to respond.

TBA: Follow-up conversations with UWYV Community Investment Committee.