NOVEMBER 2024 NEWSLETTER

Northwest Colorado Development Council

Stronger Together!

Northwest Colorado Development Council is an intergovernmental agreement between Moffat, Rio Blanco, and Routt Counties and their seven communities to collaborate on regional economic development. NWCDC's mission is to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce development, economic prosperity, and diversification through sustainable, community-led development that benefits all people. NWCDC wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday.  

At the November Meeting, NWCDC Project Manager and Economic Developer Christine Rambo, CEcD, provided a project pipeline update. The NWCDC is currently working on 27 economic and community development projects, which could potentially create 686 new jobs and $2.36 billion in capital investment. Economic Recovery Corps Fellow Sasha Nelson reported that year-to-date NWCDC conducted 29 visits with new and existing small businesses to support their start, growth, and expansion. NWCDC Grants Manager Emily O'Winter shared several grants that did not require a local match - some of which are listed below in the grants section.

NWCDC also voted to pursue a USDA grant to seed a low-interest revolving loan fund that would lend to entrepreneurs and small business owners. NWCDC also voted to apply for the Revolving Loan Fund Community of Practice to gain more expertise and knowledge on how to manage a revolving loan fund. 

Take the Survey for Northwest Colorado Innovation Center

The Northwest Colorado Innovation Center is established now as a 501c3 in Colorado by the NWCDC to provide one location for wraparound transition services during the coal transition. The Innovation Center will be a space where various partners such as NWCDC, Colorado Office of Just Transition, and others can collaborate and coordinate services to help our communities and workers during the coal transition. Watch the video by clicking the photo above to learn more about the Innovation Center, then take the survey to tell us what services will help you or your business. Please take the Survey>

Grants Collective Launches: Application is Live!

The NWCDC in partnership with the Yampa Valley Community Foundation  (YVCF) has established a Grants Collective, a network of professional grant writers who can assist our communities, businesses, and nonprofits with securing more resources. The list of grant writers who have applied is live on our website. 

Led by the NWCDC Grants Workgroup and YVCF, we are asking grant writers who are interested in joining the Grant Collective to apply here.

Please share this link with any grant writers who may wish to be part of the Grant Collective. Email: Emily O'Winter if you have questions.  

Farewell to Ty Gates

The NWCDC wishes a fond farewell to Commissioner Ty Gates, a voting member, who served on the Executive Committee and the Northwest Colorado Innovation Center Steering Committee. 

Thank You for Your Exemplary Leadership 

Commissioner Gates represented Rio Blanco County on the NWCDC since 2021. He demonstrated exceptional leadership and a willingness to collaborate across the region to address the challenges created by the sunsetting of coal. Commissioner Gates' term on the Rio Blanco Commission ends in December, and he will be greatly missed by all his friends at NWCDC. 

DOLA Energy Mineral Impact Grant Closes Soon! 

The Energy/Mineral Impact Assistance Fund Grant (EIAF) program assists political subdivisions that are socially and/or economically impacted by the development, processing, or energy conversion of minerals and mineral fuels. Eligible entities to receive grants and loans include municipalities, counties, school districts, special districts, and other political subdivisions and state agencies. The next EIAF cycle opened on 11/1/24 and closes on 12/2/24. Learn more>

Agribusiness Grant Closing Soon!

Co-led by Colorado State University and Oregon State University, the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center (NWRM RFBC) works across the western states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. The NWRM RFBC Colorado team is offering grants of up to $10,000 to support small to mid-scale Colorado food and farm businesses. $200,000 total is available for this program, and NWRM RFBC expects to make between 20 and 60 awards. Your Colorado-based farm, ranch, or value-added food business may be eligible. The program is for small and mid-scale businesses producing in, sourcing from, and focused on local and regional markets, or serving multiple small and mid-scale food and farm businesses. The grants are to be used to improve business skills, strengthen the viability of your business, expand your access to markets, or strengthen local and regional food and agriculture supply chains. Due 1/10/25

Learn more>

Energy Improvements for Rural and Remote Communities

Join us on December 11th at 11 am for the NWCDC Grants Workgroup to take a deep dive into the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) grant program. We'll have a guest presenter explain this grant program which fund projects between $2 million to $50 million to spur innovative, community-focused, clean energy solutions in communities with 10,000 or fewer people. This funding will help those rural or remote communities demonstrate the viability of commercially available technologies; de-risk clean energy infrastructure investment; demonstrate replicability; and provide insights for future ventures. Join the Zoom Meeting on Dec. 11th at 11 am MST. 

Applicant teams must address at least one of the following: improving overall cost-effectiveness of energy generation, transmission, or distribution systems; siting or upgrading transmission and distribution lines; reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy generation in rural or remote areas; providing or modernizing electric generation facilities; developing microgrids; or increasing energy efficiency. 

OCED intends to fund 20-50 projects. Applications are now open and concept plans are due 2/27/25. For more information and requirements, click here> 

Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants

Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants for Political Subdivisions of States and Territories grant is designed to support projects that enhance local government infrastructure for managing post-consumer materials. Eligible applicants include counties, cities, towns, parishes, local governments, institutions of higher education, special districts, and housing authorities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) anticipates awarding approximately 20 to 30 assistance agreements, with at least one award per EPA Region, depending on the quantity and quality of applications received. The minimum individual award amount is $500,000 and the maximum individual award is $5,000,000 for the grant period, which is up to three years. Due 12/20/24. Learn More>

Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative

 
The Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative Program Grant supports efforts that promote safe, responsible use of OHVs, educate the public on proper recreational land use and wildlife conservation practices, and protect appropriate and sustainable access to public lands. Examples of projects include developing and maintaining OHV trails, protecting environmentally sensitive areas from use, trail mapping, map production, safety and education, wildlife and habitat maintenance and management, land management projects, and equipment purchases. Due 12/15/24 with quarterly deadlines. Learn more>

Colorado Geothermal Energy Grant

Colorado Energy Office provides grants of up to $2 million to public and private sector entities to support the development and use of geothermal energy in Colorado. Round 2 of the GEGP includes two grant subtypes: Single-Structure Geothermal and Thermal Energy Networks.

The program offers reimbursement funding for single-structure geothermal energy or thermal network projects to install geothermal loop systems or ground-source heat pumps within groups of non-networked individual single-family residential buildings, individual multifamily residential buildings, or individual nonresidential buildings. Due 01/03/25 Learn more>

Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE)

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program provides grants for surface transportation infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impact with a maximum of $25M. RAISE allows project sponsors, including state and local governments, counties, Tribal governments, transit agencies, and port authorities to pursue multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional projects that are more difficult to fund through other grant programs. Rural communities are eligible for 100% of the project cost with no match. Due 1/30/25 Learn more> 

Grants Database and Other Grants Resources

To help our members sort through the massive volume of grants from state, federal and philanthropic funders, NWCDC is maintaining a Grants Database, curated to support our priority areas: clean energy, economic development, transportation, affordable childcare, and community development. NWCDC Grants Manager Emily O'Winter has prescreened these grants for relevancy. The database is a living document that we will be updating constantly as we find new resources that support our Roadmap strategies. For technical support, you can click this link to email Emily O'Winter.  

Grants Toolkit

In an effort to make grant writing as painless as possible, NWCDC Grant Manager Emily O'Winter has created a Grants Toolkit, which includes templated responses for the most often asked grant questions, as well as data sources.  Browse the Grants Toolkit now for core language and other resources.  

You are receiving this email newsletter from the Northwest Colorado Development Council (NWCDC) because you are a member or a partner or have signed up for more information. The NWCDC is an intergovernmental agreement between Moffat, Rio Blanco, and Routt Counties and their seven communities to collaborate on regional economic development.