Colorado Specific Funding

Directory

Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT)

Divisions

Business Funding and Incentives

This division provides the funding and performance-based incentives needed to create and retain jobs in Colorado 

Colorado Creative Industries 

This division focuses on strengthening the vitality of visual, performing, and literary arts through promotion, resources, and funding opportunities. Programs and Funding includes:

Grants and Awards

These programs provide funding, support and recognition for artists, creative business and organizations. 

Community and Economic Development: 

These programs work to develop sustainable communities through job creation, creative placemaking, leadership development and arts at the intersection of social issues.

Partnerships

These collaborative programs support arts education, community music programs and more.

Public Art

These programs activate public spaces, address public safety issues, engender civic pride and make art available to all citizens.


Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media

This office attracts and facilitates content creation through the film, television, and media industries to generate economic growth. 

Regional Film Liaisons
These partners share expertise with filmmakers and help attract productions to their communities.

Colorado Film Location Directory
This directory is a database of filmable locations across Colorado that filmmakers can search by town, county, and type of location.

Colorado Film Incentive
This incentive encourages film production in Colorado with a performance-based rebate for up to 20% of qualified expenses.

Colorado Film Crew and Support Services Directory
This directory helps our state's film industry workforce showcase their skills and services to producers who are considering filming here.


Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office

This office provides a central point of contact, advocacy, and resources at the state level for the diverse constituents, businesses, and communities that rely on the continued health of the outdoor recreation economy. 


Outdoor Recreation Industry Impact Fund (ORIIF)
This grant allows outdoor recreation industry businesses and nonprofits impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to hire new employees and/or retain existing employees through payroll assistance.

Colorado State Outdoor Recreation Grant (COSORG)
This grant supports the outdoor recreation industry throughout Colorado to accelerate the recovery of communities that rely on the travel, tourism and outdoor recreation sectors.

Winter Outdoor Recreation Directory
This directory includes resources available in Colorado to help locals and visitors safely get outdoors in the winter.

Outdoor Industry Business Development
This program supports outdoor recreation business development through research, partnerships, trade shows, and trade and investment missions.

Outdoor Recreation Industry Office Regional Coalitions
Regional coalitions are committed to growing Colorado’s outdoor recreation industry, conserving public lands and waters, and connecting with local communities.

Colorado Outdoor Industry Leadership Summit
This annual event consists of networking, idea sharing, and expert discussions to build and sustain the outdoor recreation industry in Colorado.


Colorado Tourism Office

This office helps increase traveler spending through the promotion of Colorado as a four-season, four-corner, world-class travel destination. 


The Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) is a division of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade. The mission of the CTO is to empower the tourism industry by inspiring the world to explore Colorado responsibly and respectfully. We accomplish this goal through a statewide collaboration with destination marketing organizations, local communities, and private businesses. The Colorado Tourism Office seeks to advance the strength and resilience of the entire industry through collaboration, inclusivity, innovation and leadership. 

The Colorado Tourism Office fields "Come to Life" marketing campaigns targeting national and international travelers. We manage Colorado.com and print the Official State Vacation Guide and the Official State Highway Map. In collaboration with public and private partners, we operate 10 Colorado Welcome Centers at major gateways to the state.

Tourism is one of the most powerful drivers of Colorado’s economy, creating jobs faster than any other industry. It fuels business income and tax revenues that support everything from schools to transportation to municipal services, through the tourism departments and programs below. 

Programs and Funding 

Rural Opportunity Office

This office supports rural communities across Colorado with a focus on supporting manufacturers. 

The Rural Opportunity Office (ROO) supports Colorado’s rural communities, economic development offices, business support organizations, and small businesses by connecting them to relevant OEDIT and State Partner programs to work toward a resilient future. The office consists of a director, program manager, data analyst, and three rural opportunity representatives that directly serve Colorado's eastern, western, and southern regions. Each representative lives within the region of the state that they support. 

Reps:

Programs and Funding marked for Rural Places (see above in yellow and below)

This credit enhancement is for businesses that typically struggle to get access to a bank loan.

Participants in the Colorado Dark Sky Certification Mentor program will receive 50 hours of free consulting from the IDA-Colorado to implement activities that reduce light pollution and protect access to Colorado’s incredible night skies.

This federal program encourages long-term investments in designated low-income communities by giving investors tax incentives for investing in real estate projects.

This fund provides helps small to medium-sized businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic get loans.

This tax credit helps rehabilitate historic, owner-occupied commercial properties.

This loan helps businesses in rural areas by giving loans and loan guarantees.

This grant helps Colorado communities plan economic development projects that create or retain permanent jobs.

This grant supports Colorado-based Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) in their economic development, programming, and advancement efforts in service to their local business communities.

This tax credit helps businesses invest in commercial vehicles and parts for vehicles.

This tax credit encourages investment in distressed areas of the state.

This tax credit encourages businesses in economically distressed communities to offer health insurance coverage to their employees.

This tax credit encourages enterprise zone businesses to invest in business personal property.

This tax credit helps businesses develop a skilled workforce in distressed communities.

This tax credit helps businesses in distressed communities add employees to their workforce.

This program encourages development in economically distressed areas of the state through tax incentives.

This tax credit helps businesses invest in research and development through a tax credit.

This tax exemption expands the Manufacturing Sales and Use Tax Exemption.

This tax credit helps businesses redevelop commercial property and rehabilitate vacant buildings.

The Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media’s Rural Technical Assistance Program helps communities create new film festivals with expert guidance and small dollar grant awards.

The Colorado Just Transition Action Plan provides more information on the Just Transition communities themselves, and it provides recommendations on supporting coal transition workers who are or will be laid off by connecting them with job and training opportunities, local, state, and federal resources, quality jobs, and more.

This grant provides marketing funds to help rural areas attract out-of-state companies to create new jobs in their communities.

Regional partners are committed to growing Colorado’s outdoor recreation industry, conserving public lands and waters, and connecting with local communities.

This grant and tax credit helps new businesses start in or move into rural, economically distressed areas and hire new employees

This program provides free technical assistance, consulting, and funding to help rural communities create economic development strategies.

The VCA partners with professional fund managers to make seed and early-stage equity investments in Colorado startups to grow Colorado's innovative ecosystem and to create quality job opportunities.

Name of Rural Opportunity Representative

Colorado Geographical Designation

Colorado Counties


Greg Thomason
 Eastern Plains Rural Opportunity Representative

Adams, Arapahoe, Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Clear Creek, Crowley, Elbert, Gilpin, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Otero, Phillips, Prowers, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld, and Yuma

Wendy Stewart-Martinez

Southern Colorado Rural Opportunity Representative

Alamosa, Archuleta, Chaffee, Conejos, Costilla, Custer, Dolores, El Paso, Fremont, Huerfano, La Plata, Lake, Las Animas, Mineral, Montezuma, Park, Pueblo, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Juan and Teller

Keely Ellis

Western Colorado Rural Opportunity Representative

Delta, Eagle, Garfield, Grand, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Jackson, Mesa, Moffat, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, Routt, San Miguel, and Summit


Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA)

This tool provides an overview of available grants

Colorado | Department of Transportation (CDOT)

Grant Applications deadline:  Wednesday, May 31, 2023