Community-Rooted Opioid Response Grant

The Colorado Department of Law, through its Division of Community Engagement and Opioid Response Unit, is offering the Community-Rooted Opioid Response Grant using the State Share of Colorado's opioid settlement funds. The Division of Community Engagement builds relationships with communities across Colorado and supports programs intended to address critical challenges through data-driven, high-impact approaches. The Opioid Response Unit strategically manages and distributes opioid settlement funds received by the Department of Law in accordance with the Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding. This opportunity is the fourth round of State Share funding and is intended to direct settlement resources to communities that have been deeply affected by the opioid crisis. The grant is designed for community-based, population-specific nonprofit organizations that are created, led, and sustained by the communities they serve. The Department of Law refers to these entities as By and For organizations. Proposed projects must prevent substance misuse, reduce the negative impacts of substance use, reduce the risk of fatal or nonfatal opioid overdose, or connect people with recovery-oriented services. Supported approaches may include peer-led and culturally responsive outreach, evidence-informed prevention, overdose education, naloxone training and distribution, fentanyl test strips, harm reduction referrals, navigation to treatment or recovery services, community and family supports, post-overdose follow-up, and services for youth and young adults at elevated risk. Activities must align with the Approved Purposes applicable to National Opioid Settlement remediation funds. Up to $2,500,000 is available for the anticipated 36-month funding period. The anticipated project period is January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2029, although the actual period will coincide with award and grant execution and may vary. For each year of an award, an organization's request may not exceed the lesser of $500,000 or 25 percent of its annual operating budget at the time of application. Eligible applicants may have annual operating budgets of no more than $1,500,000. The grant operates on a reimbursement basis, and only actual expenditures aligned with the approved budget and supported by source documentation will be reimbursed. Allowable budget categories include personnel, materials and supplies and operating costs, travel, contracts and subgrants, and indirect costs. Unless an organization has an accepted federally negotiated indirect cost rate, indirect costs may be requested at up to 15 percent of Modified Total Direct Cost. Unallowable expenses include capital expenses, endowments, vehicle or real property purchases, lobbying, fundraising, annual appeals, clinical or drug trials, supply-side or law enforcement interdiction activities, alcohol, religious promulgation, and uses outside the Approved Purposes. Applicants must be nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations in good standing with the Colorado Secretary of State, must have annual operating budgets of $1,500,000 or less, must identify as By and For organizations, and must have operated for at least two years. A nonprofit may apply under the umbrella of a fiscal sponsor. Individuals, for-profit organizations, governmental organizations, and nonprofits with annual operating budgets above $1,500,000 are not eligible. Priority is given to organizations serving underserved, under-resourced, or under-represented populations that have experienced barriers to services or disproportionate effects from the opioid crisis. Examples include BIPOC communities, LGBTQIA+ communities, people who speak languages other than English, immigrants, refugees, asylees, displaced people, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, rural and frontier communities, people with lived or living experience of substance use or recovery, and people with disabilities. Projects should be culturally responsive, community-driven, and informed by lived and living experience. Applications are submitted through the Department of Law's Salesforce intake process. The Salesforce Application Form collects organizational and project information, while supporting documents must include the Project Narrative, Budget Worksheet, Work Plan, current-year organizational budget, Certificate of Good Standing from the Colorado Secretary of State, and documentation of nonprofit tax-exempt status. The Project Narrative addresses organizational mission and vision, the population served, board and staff representation, organizational experience and expertise, the problem or need being addressed, quantitative evidence of disproportionate opioid impacts when available, the proposed response, project activities and services, cultural and population responsiveness, incorporation of lived experience, and evaluation of project effectiveness. The Budget and Work Plan must clearly align with the narrative and show project expenses separately for each project year. The optional Notice of Intent to Apply was due June 24, 2026, but organizations that did not submit it remained eligible to apply. Completed applications were due through Salesforce by 11:59 p.m. MST on July 30, 2026. Applicant inquiries were due July 28, 2026, and were directed to Mackenzie Owens at procurement@coag.gov. Eligible and complete applications are evaluated using weighted criteria consisting of Problem Description at 17 percent, Project Description at 17 percent, Lived Experience and Connection to Community at 33 percent, Project Evaluation at 8 percent, and Alignment Between Narrative, Work Plan and Budget at 25 percent. An Evaluation Committee conducts independent reviews and recommends applicants to the Department of Law's Custodial Fund Committee for final review and approval. The evaluation period was estimated for August through October 2026, with estimated award notification in November 2026 and an estimated contract effective date of January 1, 2027. Awarded grantees must submit comprehensive quarterly progress reports, report applicable required learning and progress metrics, provide annual expenditure information, participate at minimum in quarterly online Learning Forums, and maintain accounting records that segregate grant funds. The source identifies this opportunity as the fourth funding round but does not establish an annual, biennial, or other recurring application schedule.

Prioritize lived experience and connection to community because it represents 33% of scoring; ensure strong alignment among the narrative, work plan, and budget because it represents 25% of scoring; demonstrate disproportionate opioid impact or barriers to service with relevant data; make services culturally responsive and community-driven; clearly connect every budget expense to project activities; ensure proposed activities fall within Approved Purposes; verify all attachments before Salesforce submission because progress is not saved