City of Cortez Community Support Grant

The City of Cortez Community Support Grant Program is administered through the Cortez City Council and is supported with money that the Council budgets from the City's General Fund in most years. The program is intended to support nonprofit community organizations whose work preserves or enriches the health, education, welfare, and fitness of the community. Through the grant process, the City Council seeks to promote healthy community support organizations and activities that are accessible to the City of Cortez community and provide programs for citizen welfare and education in the region. For 2027, Council funding priorities are nonprofits that can verify their status with the State of Colorado and provide a current Form 990, organizations addressing a unique community need, programs serving a broad spectrum of the community, organizations that avoid overlapping services, and established service providers. Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations providing programs for citizen welfare, arts, and education. Their programming and activities must be accessible to the City of Cortez community. Only one application may be submitted per organization. Applicants must provide nonprofit information, including a nonprofit Tax ID number, and nonprofit organizations must submit their most recent IRS Form 990 or 990 EZ with the application. The application also requests information about the organization's board of directors and number of years in existence. The source does not establish a matching or cost share requirement. Grant requests of 5000 dollars or less are to be made using the City of Cortez grant application. Applicants must identify the cash request amount and explain the purpose of the requested funds, including the specific budget items on which funds would be spent. They must identify the geographical location where funds will be expended and quantify the percentage of programs or activities accessible to the City of Cortez, Montezuma County, and areas outside Montezuma County, with percentages totaling 100 percent. The application also asks why the funding is critical, how the proposed activities meet City Council funding priorities, what community support exists for the organization or program, how success will be evaluated, and what other support, if any, the organization receives from the City of Cortez. The application requires organizational and financial information. Applicants are asked for a mission statement, goals and objectives, and a three to five year plan when available, with responses to those items limited to 600 characters each. Required financial attachments include a current year-to-date Profit and Loss Statement showing budget versus actual, the same statement for the previous completed fiscal year, a summary Balance Sheet for the current year to date, a summary Balance Sheet for the previous completed fiscal year, and the organization's IRS Form 990 or 990 EZ. Full audits should not be submitted. Supplemental documentation may only be sent to members of the Cortez City Council when requested by Council members, including items such as letters of support. Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 16, 2026. Completed applications may be emailed to dspeer@cortezco.gov or mailed or delivered to the City of Cortez, Attention Debbie Speer, 123 Roger Smith Avenue, Cortez, Colorado 81321. Late, incomplete, or faxed applications will not be accepted or considered, with no exceptions. An application is incomplete if required questions are unanswered or a required follow-up report is missing. Applicants should receive an email verifying receipt. If no confirmation email is received, applicants are instructed to call Debbie Speer at 970-564-4019 because the City considers the application not received. Each application will be evaluated according to its strengths, merits, and completeness. Organizations that received City of Cortez funding for 2026 and are applying for 2027 funding must submit a follow-up report on their 2026 organization or funded work. The report may be no more than one page front and back and should address the number of people served, actual use of funds and budget items, geographical distribution of funded activities, community benefit, programming or organizational problems the City Council should know about, and other relevant information. A 2026 recipient that does not apply for a 2027 grant must instead provide the required follow-up report by October 1, 2026. The 2027 funding period runs from January 1 through December 31, 2027. Award amounts, funding agreements, and comments to applicant organizations will be mailed in January 2027, and most awards will also be mailed during January 2027. Grantees are subject to nondiscrimination requirements and must acknowledge City support in appropriate announcements and promotional efforts by stating that the activity, event, or program is supported by a grant from the City of Cortez. The materials indicate that the City budgets community support funding in most years, supporting treatment of the opportunity as recurring, although they do not guarantee that a grant cycle will occur every year. The primary program contact is Debbie Speer at dspeer@cortezco.gov and 970-564-4019.

Address the Council's stated priorities directly, including unique community need, broad community service, avoidance of overlapping services, and established service-provider status. Submit every required financial attachment and the most recent Form 990 or 990 EZ. Answer every required question because incomplete applications will not be considered. Do not send supplemental documentation unless requested by a City Council member. Submit before the deadline and confirm receipt through the City's verification email.