Opportunity Now is proud to announce that over $55M in grants have been awarded to 43 organizations across Colorado.
Grant recipients represent 190 businesses and 218 education partners in 17 industries, with nearly half of the funding supporting rural communities. Selectors from across Colorado’s industries and regions participated in selecting the Phase 2 grant recipients based on their demonstration of regional partnerships between education and industry.
Collectively, Phase 2 grant recipients are projected to train thousands of Coloradans in new skills and place more than 6,500 in new, good-paying jobs. Across Phase 1 and Phase 2 grant recipients, Opportunity Now Colorado’s 89 total grant recipients are projected to serve 20,000 Coloradans over the next 3 years.
Governor Polis and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced the Phase 2 grant recipients at a press release on Wednesday, March 20th at CoorsTek Center for Advanced Materials, a state-of-the-art research and development hub for advanced manufacturing in Golden, CO. CoorsTek is one of the Phase 2 grant recipients.
“Across the state, good-paying jobs are available now. These Opportunity Now grants will help over 15,000 Coloradans develop the skills and experience they need to start new careers that will support them and their families”
Governor Jared Polis
You can read the press release and see the full list of Phase 2 grant recipients here.
Summary of Phase 2 Grant Recipients
| Grant Type | Number | Total Award by Category |
| Scale | 9 | $21,579,928 |
| Seed | 21 | $33,321,974 |
| Planning | 9 | $638,048 |
| TOTAL | 43 | $55,539,951 |
Based upon the legislative framework and Phase 2 program criteria, Opportunity Now Colorado awarded workforce models that represent a wide range of high priority industries, a range of execution readiness, and serve every corner of Colorado. The Phase 2 grant recipients will collectively serve 100% of Colorado’s counties, with 42% of grant recipients serving majority rural counties.
Across the 43 Phase 2 grant recipients:
- The top 3 industries served include Education, Healthcare, and Infrastructure/Construction, all of which are key priority industries for HB22-1350
- 86% serve the listed priority industries, with 33% of all grant recipients also addressing emerging state priorities such as Quantum, Advanced Manufacturing, Green Energy and Broadband.
- Lead organizations are based in 19 Colorado counties and serve all 14 OEDIT regions. Nearly half of their funds will go supporting rural communities.
Click here if you want to learn more about our Phase 2 grant recipients and their project descriptions.
Our Review Process
Phase 2 of Opportunity Now started with an optional, non-evaluative Pre-Screening Application (PSA) on August 10, 2023. All interested organizations were then invited to complete the required Request for Application (RFA) between August 31 and November 1, 2023. For additional detail on the RFA review and selection process, see the Opportunity Now FAQs section.
During this period, Opportunity Now received 227 applications representing over 1,000 education and industry partners.
As required by HB22-1350, a Selection Committee was formed to make recommendations for grant awards based on their evaluation of the applications received. The Selection Committee consisted of business leaders, community representatives, the HB22-1350 Steering Committee, and OEDIT staff. The Selection Committee built their recommendations following several rounds of evaluation around program criteria such as program readiness, industries and regions served, and evidence base.
All Phase 2 Applicants are eligible to request feedback from the Grant Administration team on their applications. Please note that the kinds and depth of feedback provided will depend on both the track you applied for and how far your application made it through the review and selection process.
The entirety of the feedback and appeals window will be open for 30 calendar days from the Phase 2 Grant Recipient announcement. Applicants are recommended to request feedback by April 5, 2024 to ensure sufficient response time before the feedback and appeals window closes on April 19. Any feedback request or appeals submitted after April 19, 2024 will not be fulfilled.
Please note: This process has been designed to provide applicants with an efficient and expedited process for receiving feedback. Following the standard processes and timeline outlined below will be essential for receiving your feedback as quickly as possible.
To request feedback on your Phase 2 application, please message our team through the Submittable portal using these steps:
- Sign in to your submittable profile and click on your Phase 2 Opportunity Now Application
- Click “messages” in the top right corner of your screen
- Click “new message”
- In the subject line add “{your organization’s name} feedback request”
- Confirm your organization’s interest in receiving application feedback in the message body
- Click “send”
For additional details on how to submit a message to the Grant Administration team, click here. Please note that requests submitted via other platforms and channels may delay fulfillment of the request.
Following receipt of all feedback from the Grant Administration team, applicants may file a formal protest, in writing, on any award decision made. As a reminder, if you want to file an appeal you must do so by April 19, 2024. To file an appeal, please follow the process outlined in the Phase 2 RFA Process Guide on page 58.
Phase 3 Coming Soon!
Our third and final phase of funding will become available mid-2024. Phase 3 will continue to invest in impactful and innovative programs that leverage partnerships between education systems and employers to create opportunities for regional workers and students. Join our mailing list for more information and updates.