Rural Ready Grant

Rural Ready is a Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade program administered through the Rural Opportunity Office. The program supports Colorado professionals working in rural economic development at the staff, volunteer, board, elected-official, and community-partner levels. Rural Ready combines an online, self-paced educational program with a one-time reimbursable $2,500 seed grant for selected organizations. The learning platform provides a high-level overview of economic development best practices tailored to rural areas, with the goal of establishing a standardized introduction, common terminology, and shared understanding of best practices among organizations contributing to rural economic growth and stability. Twelve organizations will be selected for the Rural Ready learning and grant program. Eligible applicants include economic development organizations, particularly those with new or emerging economic development professionals or new leadership, Chambers of Commerce, Main Streets, and similar organizations working in economic or business development. Tribal governments, counties, cities, and towns with populations below 30,000 may apply when they have at least one staff member working in economic or business development. Nonprofit organizations, educational organizations, libraries, and other community-based organizations may also qualify when they lead an element of community economic development and can demonstrate dedicated, active staff time devoted to that work. Every applying entity must be located in a Colorado rural community as defined by the Rural Opportunity Office, excluding areas classified as urban. The program covers qualifying rural communities within the Eastern Plains, Southern Colorado, and Western Colorado regions identified by the Rural Opportunity Office. Participation requires at least four individuals from the sponsoring organization to complete all learning modules, and including additional participants can make an application more competitive. Economic development organizations, Chambers of Commerce, Main Streets, and similar entities generally must include two staff members, one board member, and one public partner who has demonstrated support for the organization. Counties, cities, and towns generally must include two elected officials, the staff member directly responsible for economic or business development, and that staff member's direct supervisor. Nonprofit, library, educational, and similar organizations generally must include an elected or appointed official from the same service area, a governing board member, a staff person directly responsible for economic or business development, and a flexible attendee serving in a leadership, decision-making, or economic-development-support role. Alternative attendance structures may be proposed with an explanation, and applicants are advised to consult their Rural Opportunity Representative before applying with a different structure. The $2,500 seed grant becomes available after the participating individuals complete all learning modules and the Team Lead conducts a follow-up meeting with the appropriate Rural Opportunity Representative. During the meeting, the team is expected to discuss key training takeaways, how the knowledge will be shared throughout the organization, and its strategy for using the seed grant. Allowable uses may include entrepreneurial programming and support, job retention and upskilling or job creation, capacity building, marketing and outreach, innovation and technology, and economic resilience activities. Examples include consulting and facilitator fees, participant software licenses, venue costs, marketing materials, training and certification costs, strategic planning and asset mapping, data acquisition and analysis, website or media expenses, technology upgrades, technical consulting, resilience planning, and related project expenses. Cash prizes for pitch competitions are specifically unallowable. Funding cannot be used for staff salaries or benefits, lease or mortgage payments, utilities, routine organizational operating expenses, unrelated or unnecessary expenses, pre-contract or out-of-period expenses, purchases without proof of payment, lobbying or political activities, food and beverages, medicine, duplicate benefits, donations, sponsorships, charitable contributions, fundraising activities, personal-use goods or services for staff or board members, supplanting existing funding, or travel expenses. The program requires a 50%, or $2,500, in-kind match. Allowable match contributions include documented staff time spent in training or project implementation and non-cash contributions such as volunteer time, donated equipment, supplies, space, or services. Staff or volunteer time used as match must be supported by actual time tracking and documentation of the applicable wage rate, with volunteer hours calculated using the most recent Colorado hourly rate published by Independent Sector. The grant is reimbursable and is paid as one lump sum after project completion and acceptance of a reimbursement request with proof of payment. A one-page summary describing the use of funds and project outcomes is also required for reimbursement. Funding must be used within six months after course completion. A one-time extension of an additional six months may be available when the applicant works with its Rural Opportunity Representative. The Rural Ready curriculum itself is available to the public at no cost and is not limited to the twelve organizations selected to receive seed grants. The application period opened April 7, 2026 and closed May 29, 2026 at 4 p.m. Organizations intending to apply were instructed to designate one Team Lead to complete the Google Form application and serve as the primary contact. Highly competitive applications clearly describe the organization's current work, its approach to community collaboration, and its need for the educational content; need for the seed funding is secondary. The review process also prioritizes geographical distribution to the extent possible. Successful applicants were scheduled to be notified by June 15, 2026. The listed program contact is Kami Collins, Rural Opportunity Representative West, at 970-361-8905. No direct program email address is provided in the supplied source.

Emphasize the organization's need for Rural Ready educational content rather than primarily its need for seed funding; clearly describe current economic development work and community collaboration; include additional training participants where appropriate because this increases competitiveness; follow the preferred four-person participation structure or clearly explain a deviation; geographical distribution will be prioritized to the extent possible