Community Services Block Grant

The Community Services Block Grant is a federally funded formula grant program intended to alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty in communities. In Colorado, the program is administered by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs through the Division of Local Government. Colorado has 28 eligible local entities participating in the program. The federal funding originates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Administration for Children and Families and its Office of Community Services. The program operates across Colorado and supports eligible entities serving communities and individuals experiencing poverty. CSBG activities in Colorado address a broad range of federal objectives and service domains. These include employment; education and cognitive development; income, infrastructure, and asset building; housing; health and social or behavioral development, including nutrition; civic engagement and community involvement; services supporting multiple domains; linkages and partnerships supporting multiple domains; agency capacity building; and other needs such as emergency management and disaster relief. The program therefore supports coordinated community-based efforts addressing poverty through direct services, organizational capacity, partnerships, and other strategies within these identified domains. By statute, 90 percent of CSBG funds are allocated to eligible entities, while 5 percent is used for administration and 5 percent is reserved for discretionary awards. The Colorado Department of Local Affairs identifies the training, technical assistance, and capacity needs of CSBG eligible entities as its primary priority for discretionary funding. Colorado has also updated its CSBG formula using recent poverty statistics so that allocations more accurately reflect where people experiencing poverty reside. The updated allocations will be phased in during the first two years of the 2027-2029 contract cycle. The source does not state individual award minimums, maximums, total program funding, or a required cost share or matching contribution. Eligibility is limited to Colorado's CSBG eligible local entities. The source states that there are 28 such entities but does not identify their legal organizational classifications on the provided page. The Department of Local Affairs specifically states that it does not provide cash grants to individuals. For the 2027-2029 cycle, the page provides or references a CSBG application template, budget template, Community Needs Assessment materials, Community Action Plan resources, a Tripartite Board Roster Template, a ROMA Trainer or Implementer Certification Form, a Chief Elected Official Board Authorization Form, and an Application Checklist. The application template is identified as a draft subject to change. The principal application deadline identified for the upcoming cycle is October 1, 2026, when the 2027-2029 application, Community Needs Assessment, and Community Action Plan are due. The source does not state a specific application opening date, separate letter of intent deadline, concept paper deadline, or other pre-application gating requirement. It also does not provide formal scoring criteria, evaluation weights, an award notification date, or a separate performance start date. The page includes an Apply and Manage Grant resource, but the supplied text does not describe additional mandatory submission mechanics in sufficient detail to document them. Program administration continues after application through reimbursement, reporting, monitoring, and organizational standards requirements. Grantees receiving $100,000 or more submit reimbursement requests monthly, while grantees receiving less than $100,000 submit them quarterly. The 2026 calendar also identifies semiannual program reports, organizational standards submissions, annual reporting, quarterly calls, reimbursement requests, and activity spreadsheets. The 2026 program year runs from January 1 through December 31. Program contacts listed by DOLA are Becky Saad, Program Manager, at 303-864-7894 and becky.saad@state.co.us, and Snow Staples, Federal Program Coordinator, at 720-595-6906 and snow.staples@state.co.us.

Align the application with the CSBG federal objective areas and the documented causes and conditions of poverty in the community; complete the Community Needs Assessment and Community Action Plan for the 2027-2029 cycle; use the DOLA application checklist and current templates, noting that the application template is marked draft and subject to change; for discretionary funding, emphasize training, technical assistance, and capacity needs because DOLA identifies these as its primary priority.