Community Schoolyards Grant Program

The Community Schoolyards Grant Program is a State of Colorado initiative established under section 24-32-135 and created through HB25-1061. The program is administered by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and is intended to support the planning, design, and capital construction of innovative community schoolyards across Colorado. Its stated purpose is to address inequities affecting underserved and underfunded schools and communities, with particular attention to communities affected by mineral and mineral fuel development. The program seeks to transform traditional school grounds into accessible, park-like environments that support hands-on learning, health and well-being, stronger local ecological systems, and social opportunities for students and the broader community. The program provides a single grant opportunity encompassing both planning and design and capital construction. This unified structure is intended to support projects from formal design through completion rather than separating the work into independent grant phases. Funded projects must be completed by June 30, 2029. The Department of Local Affairs states that its administration of the program is intended to promote sustainable community development and increase the livability and resilience of communities through strategic investments in asset-building activities. Eligible applicants include local governments and public school districts. The local-government classification includes municipalities, counties, special districts, school districts, and other political subdivisions. Every funded project must also establish a Community-Use Partner that is a party to a formal community-use agreement allowing the completed schoolyard to function as a public facility outside regular school hours. When a local government is the applicant, the partner must include, but is not limited to, a school of a school district, school district, district charter school, institute charter school, the State Charter School Institute, or a BOCES-created and operated school. When a school district is the applicant, the Community-Use Partner must be a local government. Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide matching funds of up to 25 percent of the total project budget at the time of application. A 25 percent local match is mandatory when the project's total budget is $1,000,000 or more. In-kind contributions may be included in the total project budget for matching purposes. The source does not state a minimum or maximum individual grant award. The 2026 award information identifies seven funded projects totaling $3,800,000, but these individual award amounts are award decisions rather than stated program minimums or maximums and therefore do not establish an award floor or ceiling. Before an application can be accepted into the Community Schoolyards Program grant cycle, the applicant must contact its Department of Local Affairs Regional Manager before submitting an application and must be ready to go. The program page provides a revised guidelines document, a Fiscal Year 2025-2026 funding application, a grant budget-financials template, examples of a resolution, a Community-Based Organization memorandum of understanding, and a community-use agreement, as well as a preliminary timeline and county energy/mineral impact scores. The page also directs applicants to an Apply and Manage Grant resource. The source does not provide an application opening date or closing date, and it states that the application cycle is closed. The Department of Local Affairs indicates that the most successful applications demonstrate urgency and local commitment to completing the project, identify the proposed project as a high local priority, show readiness to begin work, and demonstrate a relationship to energy and mineral impacts in rural Colorado. These priorities align with the program's focus on underserved and underfunded communities and its interest in sustainable, resilient community development. The source does not provide a formal numerical scoring rubric or weighting of evaluation criteria. Program contacts are Department of Local Affairs Regional Managers Angie Cue at angie.cue@state.co.us and Peter Dieterich at peter.dieterich@state.co.us. The Colorado Division of Local Government also lists a general help desk at dola_dlg_helpdesk@state.co.us and a main telephone number of 303-864-7720. The application cycle is currently closed, and no recurring annual or other repeating application schedule is stated in the supplied material. Projects receiving funding under the program must be completed by June 30, 2029.

Demonstrate urgency and local commitment to complete the project; show that the proposed project is a high local priority; be prepared to start the work; demonstrate a relationship to energy and mineral impact in rural Colorado.