Guidance for Colorado Coal Transition Community Funding Opportunities

The Office of Just Transition (OJT), within the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment, and the Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT) are partnering to make a new phase of grants available to Colorado’s coal transition communities.

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis.

How Can the Grants Be Used?

The eligible uses of these grants are based on legislative guidance, as authorized in C.R.S. § 8-83-504 and further outlined in the Colorado Just Transition Action Plan, as well as OEDIT’s Strategic Fund, as created in C.R.S. § 24-46-105. These eligible uses are:

Expand capacity to coordinate local or regional economic development and workforce development programs, including building local staff capacity, developing local long-term transition strategies, and taking advantage of early implementation opportunities.
Support targeted economic development efforts that are expected to create jobs that provide incomes at or above the median income of the community, generate new or increased property tax payments, and/or increase the economic diversity of your local economy. This can include items such as site selection, business development activities, and incentives programming associated with business attraction efforts.
Provide start-up or expansion and retention assistance for new or existing local businesses, consistent with each community’s transition strategy. This can include technical assistance, capacity building, business programming, business grant programs, and related activities.
Incentivize new private financial investment that is expected to create jobs that provide incomes at or above the median income of the community, generate new or increased property tax payments, and/or increase the economic diversity of your local economy. This can include business incentive packages, technical assistance, business grant programs, marketing, and other investment attraction activities.
Support site selection activities that are expected to result in new jobs that provide incomes at or above the median income of the community, generate new or increased property tax payments, and/or increase the economic diversity of your local economy. This can include hiring a site selector, site selection marketing activities, potential business park development, and related activities.
Provide technical assistance for any of these allowed uses.
Support Infrastructure Projects that are directly related to an allowed use.

Grants may NOT be used to:

Pay lost property taxes or directly fund activities that were previously supported by lost property taxes.
Support activities that are not directly or indirectly expected or intended to create jobs that provide incomes at or above the median income of the community, generate new or increased property tax payments, and/or increase the economic diversity of your local economy

Who Can Apply?

By law, only Coal Transition Communities and “eligible entities” may receive this funding.

Tier One Coal Transition Communities are:

Morgan County
Pueblo County
The West End of Montrose County (includes the Town of Norwood in San Miguel County)
The Yampa Valley (Moffat, Rio Blanco, and Routt counties).

Tier Two Coal Transition Communities are:

Delta and Gunnison counties
El Paso County
La Plata County
Larimer County

“Eligible entities'' (as defined at CRS § 8-83-502 (5)) are:

Economic development districts
Counties, municipalities, or other political subdivisions of the State (including public K12 schools and special districts)
Indian tribes
Registered apprenticeship programs
Institutions of higher education
Public or private nonprofit organizations or associations.

To be eligible to apply for and receive funding, an “eligible entity” must either be physically located in or serve one or more Tier One or Tier Two coal transition communities.

Regardless of who applies, applications for projects in a Tier One community must show support from at least 60 percent of the “designated jurisdictions” in that community. Specifically:

Applications for Morgan County must show support from at least three of the following four jurisdictions – Morgan County and the municipalities of Brush, Ft. Morgan, and Wiggins.
Applications for Pueblo must show support from both Pueblo County and the City of Pueblo.
Applications for the West End must show support from at least three of the following four jurisdictions - Montrose County and the towns of Naturita, Norwood, and Nucla.
Applications for the Yampa Valley must show support from at least six of the following nine jurisdictions – Moffat, Rio Blanco, and Routt counties and the municipalities of Craig, Hayden, Meeker, Oak Creek, Rangely, and Yampa.

How Much Funding is Available?

Before submitting your application, please consult with OJT staff to determine whether funding is still available for the specific use you are requesting. Contact Cassie Mason at the Colorado Office of Just Transition (cassie.mason@state.co.us) with any questions or to seek clarification.

How to Apply

Request a meeting with OJT and OEDIT staff prior to applying. Meeting requests should be sent to OJT Program Assistant Cassie Mason at cassie.mason@state.co.us.
Secure support for your request from 60 percent or more of the “designated jurisdictions” in the transition community your project is intended to serve (these jurisdictions are listed on page 3 above). This does not apply to applicants for Tier Two community funding. OJT and OEDIT will not consider applications that have not completed these first two steps.
Apply for funding by going to and filling out the appropriate application form: Funding request form
1. If you are a Tier One community, be prepared to list all 60% of the designated jurisdictions in your area that support your grant application (you can find the list of jurisdictions for your area on page 3 above).
2. Answer all questions completely, and upload any additional information requested. Do not submit incomplete applications. The application form requests:
  1. A description of the proposal or project;
  2. A budget and deliverables for the proposal or project;
  3. How the proposal or project fits within any applicable transition plan; and
  4. Information on the anticipated impacts of the proposal or project, including jobs created, property tax generated, economic development-related benefits, and any other impacts to the general welfare of the community.
  5. The application form includes additional questions for applicants who wish to use all or part of the funds to incentivize a business to locate or expand in a transition community.
Respond promptly to any follow-up requests from OJT and OEDIT. We will not make a funding decision or start the contracting process until all outstanding questions are answered.

Tips for Success and Other Information

Before you apply:

Carefully review the eligible uses of funding. These reflect the guidance we have in statute, and we have very little flexibility beyond these listed uses.
Take advantage of any flexibility in the funding to maximize its effectiveness (for example, using it as matching funds or gap funding that can’t be found elsewhere), keeping in mind this process is for both OEDIT and OJT Funding.
Have your project deliverables and project budget complete and ready to submit with the application form. If you do not have them when you apply, it is likely to slow the approval and contracting processes considerably.
OJT and OEDIT are committed to streamlining the process for successful applicants. You can help by agreeing on one entity to serve as the fiscal agent for the entire community where appropriate. While not required, this might be very helpful to both the application process and subsequent implementation.
If you have any questions or are uncertain about anything in your application, PLEASE ASK before you submit.

Contact Cassie Mason at the Colorado Office of Just Transition (cassie.mason@state.co.us) with any questions or to seek clarification.