Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Collaboration is a key component to creating intentional pathways between education systems and employment. For all grant tracks, the partnership must offer or be in the process of securing at least one industry partner or at least one training, educational, and/or community partner. For more details on partnership requirements, see the Applicant Process Guide.

At the Pre-Screening stage, all partnerships must include at least one industry partner and one training, education, and/or community partner (including the Lead Applicant). 

Industry partners and training, education, and/or community partners may be any type of organization and come from any industry; the classification depends on the role the partner is playing and the activities it performs. For detailed definitions, see the Applicant Process Guide.

Submissions must be led by a single Lead Applicant responsible for serving as the intermediary across all the partners in the partnership. They are likely also accountable for the overall success of the program, and can be either an employer, education provider, or community organization.

Lead Applicants may choose to partner with another organization to serve as the Fiscal Lead who will have the legal responsibility, authority for, and control of the use of any grant funds. This organization within the partnership will also be responsible for any reporting associated with the grant funds, and be able to exercise in fact and law direction, control, and supervision of the proposed project and the grant funds.

Please note that even in cases where the Lead Applicant and Fiscal Lead are separate entities, the Lead Applicant is responsible for following compliance and spending guidelines.

Public institutions of higher education (IHEs) are considered state agencies as part of the government of the State of Colorado. Therefore, funds granted to public IHEs are not considered “obligated” under federal regulation and need to be spent by December 31, 2024 as opposed to the longer SLFRF expenditure deadline of December 31, 2026.

To mitigate this risk, we are recommending that public institutions of higher education work with a separate Fiscal Lead organization to which the funds can be “obligated” (this could be a 501(c)(3) connected with the institution or another form of fiscal sponsor). Note that we do not recommend working with a foundation as a fiscal sponsor and pass-through. We also encourage other organizations to keep this in mind prior to naming a public IHE as the Fiscal Lead of a partnership.

Yes. Organizations can be listed as a partner organization on multiple applications, but they may only submit one application as a Lead Applicant.

There is no ideal profile for partnerships beyond the required collaboration of both industry/employer and education entities to transform workforce development in Colorado. For more guidance on best practices, please visit our Application Guide to learn more.

Opportunity Now partnership models should directly benefit Coloradans with job placement and/or advancement. However, both Lead Applicants and partners may be based outside of Colorado so long as the proposed solution serves Colorado’s residents. 

Opportunity Now asks you to state the regions you are targeting for the job placement/advancement of individuals in order to ensure funds are distributed equitably across the state.

Industry partners can be any organization or entity that works in or represents the program or solution’s target industry. They may also be an end employer for placement/advancement into living-wage jobs. For more details, please refer to the Applicant Process Guide.

Training, educational, and/or community partners can be any organization or entity that provides any of the following:

• Curriculum and/or curriculum design
• Credentials and/or certifications
• Outreach and/or recruitment assistance
• Coaching, transportation assistance, and other wraparound supports

For more details, please refer to the Applicant Process Guide.

Organizations are eligible if they have a recognized legal existence and structure under applicable law (State or Federal) and are in good standing in the jurisdiction under which they are organized. 

The following are ineligible persons or entities: 

• Any organization debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for working with the State of Colorado or participation in federal assistance programs or activities, per 2 CFR Part 180 restrictions
• An individual

For additional definitions on eligible organizations, be sure to check out the Applicant Process Guide.

In order to receive high level feedback on your eligibility and track it for Opportunity Now funding, we strongly encourage you to complete the Pre-Screening Application that opens on August 10 and closes on August 24. In addition, we encourage you to keep in mind the following:

• Opportunity Now will fund models that create job matching for Coloradans through education and industry partnerships. Industry partners can be any organization or entity that works in or represents the program or solution’s target industry. They may also be an end employer for placement/advancement into living-wage jobs. 
• Opportunity Now seeks solutions that fit the purpose of one of the three grant tracks — Scale, Seed, or Planning. See “Awards” section below. 

For more details, please see the Applicant Process Guide.

Opportunity Now defines innovation as a novel approach backed by evidence, a new application of an existing approach, or a new business or delivery model that yields significantly better economic mobility outcomes for individuals than the current models available.

• Types of innovation include:
• New and yet-to-be-proven models
• Applications of proven models from other states and/or industries to a Colorado

region/industry

• Applications of proven models for a specific population not yet served by the

model (that requires adaptation to meet this population’s unique needs)

• Examples of innovative models include, but are not limited to:
• Creating a brand-new model utilizing a novel approach informed by a strong theory of change and research and/or evidence from other relevant models or programs that suggests achievability of economic mobility outcomes
• Adapting a training, hiring, and/or retention model with proven effectiveness from another state and applying it to Colorado employers
• Expanding and adapting an earn-and-learn program with proven effectiveness to a historically underserved community that has not yet had this model available to them, tailoring it for the population’s specific needs

The best way to understand what track to apply for is by submitting a Pre-Screening Application. While the Pre-Screening Application is optional, by completing it the Grant Administration Team will be able to provide a preliminary assessment and feedback on which grant track (Scale, Seed, or Planning) the applicant may be most competitive in during the Request for Application (RFA) stage.  For more details, please see the Grant Tracks and Timeline section in the Applicant Process Guide.

As these awards are to be made with federal funds under the American Rescue Plan Act, all uses of funding must comply with 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance) and the Final Rule. All budgeted costs must be allowable, allocable, reasonable, and thoroughly justified in the application documents.

Capital investment is a permissible use of funds. However, proposed capital expenditures will be evaluated against the program goals to ensure that funds are used to meet the objectives described within the grant timeframe. Equipment and other capital expenditures are unallowable as indirect costs, per 2 CFR 200 regulations. For more information, please see the Applicant Process Guide.

Many individuals will be involved in the review and selection process, from Grant Administration team members to professional evaluators and expert advisors. 

Final recommendations will be made by a Selection Committee composed of distinguished experts from across the state of Colorado in such areas as employer needs, economic development, workforce development, higher education, and grantmaking. The Selection Committee will select and recommend grantees to OEDIT, who will make final grant award decisions. OEDIT will consider regional and industry representation, populations served, grant request amount, and cost effectiveness in their selection of a final portfolio of grantees. For more information on who participates in the review and selection process, see the Applicant Process Guide.

Grant terms are based on whether your solution is in Scale stage, Seed Stage, or Planning stage:

• Planning: 3-6 months
• Seed: 12-32 months
• Scale: 12-32 months

The target start date (grant contract execution date) for all grants is April 10th, 2024 pending completion of due diligence. 

For more details, please see the Grant Tracks and Timeline section in the Applicant Process Guide.

OEDIT has selected a grant administration team to administer the grant program, led by Common Group and in collaboration with Mile High United Way, WestEd, and Strada Education Network. Collectively these organizations have led programs granting nearly $800 million in the last five years, including SyncUp Colorado, the Beyond Completion Challenge, and the K12 Strong Workforce Program in California. 

Opportunity Now partners are responsible for grant program development and administration, including providing customer support and technical assistance throughout the duration of the program. 

HB22-1350 legislation requires the appointment of a Steering Committee to support the program administrator in implementing and administering the grant program. OEDIT has formed a Steering Committee that will provide guidance in the development of the grant application and execution process. The steering committee will consist of leaders from business, K12 education, postsecondary education, and workforce development. We have eight members of the committee and one advisor. Learn more about Steering Committee members here.

Technical Assistance will be available to potential grantees through hosted resources on the microsite, open webinar sessions, and office hours to answer applicant questions. See the Technical Assistance section of the Applicant Resource Packet for more details on technical assistance and upcoming events.

Phase 3 applications will launch in Summer 2024. Exact timing is subject to change. Visit https://opportunitynow.co/ to join our mailing list and stay up to date on future application windows.

We encourage interested applicants to attend our Technical Assistance Learning Community Events as an opportunity to learn more about ways to strengthen your application and program development in service of Opportunity Now program goals. 

All events will be recorded and posted, and we encourage live participation to receive  an enriching experience for dialogue and building a community of practice. You can sign up by visiting https://opportunitynow.co/resources/ (see events posted at the bottom of this page).

Additional Technical Assistance support will be provided to applicants during the RFA phase, and more information on future events can be found on the program website and mailing list. 

All grant payments will default to being paid on a cost reimbursement basis. All Opportunity Now grantees are expected to submit quarterly financial reports, which will be used to generate a quarterly invoice detailing costs incurred against the program. All awards must be spent by December 2026 (or December 2024 for public institutions of higher education without a separate fiscal agent).

For additional detail on allowable costs, please see the Applicant Resource Packet.

Please see the following resources from Submittable to access your application. For additional questions, reach out to [email protected]. 

• I just submitted. What’s next? (FAQ) | Submittable Help Center 
• How do I view, print, and download submission document files? | Submittable Help Center

Following the submission of the Pre-Screening Application, applications will go through a screening process by the Grant Administration Team to determine program eligibility and track fit. Applications deemed eligible will receive a recommendation for the track for which they will be most competitive for the RFA process. All Pre-Screening applicants will be notified by August 30, 2023. 

Note that there will be no assessments on any application’s program quality or preparedness, as this will be assessed during the RFA process. See the Applicant Resource Packet for more details.

Each application will receive a review using the Pre-Screening Application Eligibility Rubric. Only eligible applicants will also receive a review using the Pre-Screening Application Track Fit Rubric. See the rubrics in the Rubrics section of the Applicant Process Guide. All applications will be reviewed by members of the Grant Administration Team.

The feedback you will receive about your  Pre-Screening Applications will be limited to your eligibility and track fit. We encourage interested applicants to attend our Learning Community Events as an opportunity to learn more about ways to strengthen your application and program development in service of Opportunity Now program goals. 

All events will be recorded and posted, and we encourage live participation to receive  an enriching experience for dialogue and building a community of practice. You can sign up by visiting https://opportunitynow.co/resources/  (see events posted at the bottom of this page).

Additional Technical Assistance support will be provided to applicants during the RFA phase, and more information on future events can be found on the program website and mailing list.

Yes, there will be one additional opportunity to apply for Opportunity Now. Applications will re-open for Phase 3 in Summer 2024. Please note that there will be less funding available in Phase 3 and a shorter implementation phase for grants. 

If you would like to receive updates and reminders on future application windows, sign up for the program mailing list via opportunitynow.co.

Yes, all eligible applicants may apply in response to the upcoming Request for Application without submitting a Pre-Screening Application. However, applicants are highly encouraged to fill out the Pre-Screening Application to receive guidance, matchmaking opportunities, and a head start on the RFA process. 

Yes, there will be one additional opportunity to apply for Opportunity Now. Applications will re-open for Phase 3 in Summer 2024.  Please note that there will be less funding available in Phase 3 and a shorter implementation phase for grants. 

If you would like to receive updates and reminders on future application windows, sign up for our mailing list here.