Colorado Creative Aging Project Grant

Colorado Creative Industries is preparing to launch the Colorado Creative Aging Project Grant as part of a broader statewide investment in creative aging. Colorado Creative Industries is a program of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, a Colorado Governor's Office state agency. The initiative is supported by funding provided by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies in partnership with E.A. Michelson Philanthropy through the Creative Aging, Creative Futures grant. The work responds to Colorado's rapidly aging population and a documented need for stronger access to education, culture, and arts opportunities for older adults. Colorado Creative Industries describes creative aging as artistic engagement that enhances well-being, physical and cognitive abilities, and overall quality of life as people age. The Colorado Creative Aging Project Grant will fund sequential art classes for older adults that are taught by professional teaching artists. Proposed class series must build skills sequentially, with learning in each class building upon material taught previously. Classes should serve a consistent group of participants throughout the series in order to foster social connection. Each funded series must conclude with a culminating event that celebrates participant artwork, and the event should ideally be open to participants' family and friends. Through these requirements, the program is intended to support lifelong learning, health, social connection, and meaningful arts participation among older Coloradans. Applicants may request up to $10,000. The source does not identify a minimum award amount, total program funding amount, anticipated number of awards, required cost share, or matching contribution. In addition to the financial award, host sites and teaching artists are required to complete creative aging training, which will be provided free of charge. The source does not provide additional spending restrictions, indirect cost limitations, subaward rules, or a specific grant performance period. Full guidelines are expected to provide additional information when released in fall 2026. Strong applicants will have surveyed older adults in their local communities to assess community needs before selecting an art medium or instructor. Applicants that do not already have survey data must outline their plans for assessing community needs and may use Lifetime Arts templates, including the Patron Survey for In-Person Programming and Facility Assessment Survey, if needed. Priority will also be given to local teaching artists who are based in the community where the program will take place. The source does not yet specify which legal organization types are eligible to apply, so eligibility by nonprofit, government, educational institution, business, individual, or other applicant classification cannot be confirmed until the complete guidelines are released. Applications are scheduled to open in fall 2026. The source does not provide an exact opening date, final application deadline, pre-application deadline, letter of intent requirement, application portal, complete application questions, required uploads, information session schedule, award notification date, or award start date. Full Creative Aging Project Grant guidelines and application instructions will be released in fall 2026, together with information session dates. No annual, biennial, quarterly, or other recurring application schedule is stated in the source. The program is informed by Colorado's wider creative aging work, including the Colorado Creative Aging Collaborative and five pilot creative aging residencies being conducted in 2026. Data, participant feedback, and lessons from those pilots are intended to inform future policy development, statewide partnerships, and grant opportunities. The pilot sites are Rampart Library District in Teller County, John W. Rawlings Heritage Center and Museum in Bent County, Mesa County Library Clifton Branch in Mesa County, Durango Creative District in La Plata County, and Alamosa Senior Center in Alamosa County; these are pilot host sites and are not identified as previous recipients of the Colorado Creative Aging Project Grant. The program contact identified in the source is Program Manager Emma Acheson at 303-518-0258. The source provides an "Email Emma" link but does not display an email address.

Survey local older adults before selecting an art medium or instructor; prioritize local teaching artists based in the program community; design classes so skills build sequentially from class to class; serve a consistent participant group; conclude the series with a culminating event celebrating participant artwork, ideally open to family and friends.