Community Trust Grants

The Community Trust Grants, managed by the Community Foundation Boulder County, provide financial support for diverse needs in Boulder County, including health, education, and arts. Grants range from $1,000 to $9,000 and focus on general operating support. Community members actively participate in the grant review process, ensuring community-driven decisions. Applications are accepted online, fostering accessibility for local nonprofits and organizations to address pressing community issues effectively.

About Community Trust
Community Trust is a grantmaking fund addressing needs throughout Boulder County in the areas of animal care and welfare, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, environment, and health and human services.
Community Foundation Boulder County relies on a community-driven grant review process. Every year, more than 80 Boulder County community members volunteer over 2,500 hours of their time reviewing Community Trust grant applications and making grant recommendations.
Foundation staff manage the review process, lead committee meetings, and present community foundation leadership with the committees’ grant recommendations.
Community Trust grants range between $3,000 and $9,000. Applications are submitted online. Once an application is submitted, an email receipt is sent confirming it was received.
Focus Areas
Community Trust is no longer divided into two grant cycles. Applications for all areas will be accepted at the same time. The Community Trust inspires action around current and future needs countywide.
The Community Trust is a discretionary grantmaking fund of Community Foundation Boulder County addressing needs throughout Boulder County in the following areas:

• animal care and welfare, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, environment, and health and human services.

Community Trust grants typically range between $1,000 and $9,000. Grant awards will be for general operating support. Applicants are invited to apply once to Community Trust. Applications must be submitted online. Once the application is submitted, an email receipt will be sent confirming it was received.

Eligibility

Grantees must use grant proceeds only for the stated purpose of the grant or for charitable and educational activities consistent with the organization’s tax-exempt status.Grants from The Community Foundation’s discretionary funds are exclusively for activities or projects in Boulder County and/or for the benefit of Boulder County residents.
Any nonprofit organization with an IRS 501(c)(3) public charities (not private operating or non-operating foundations) or any governmental or public entity can apply. Groups or organizations that do not have IRS 501(c)(3) designation may do so with a fiscal sponsor.
The Community Foundation makes grants for specific projects as well as for unrestricted operating expenses, capital campaigns, endowments and technical assistance.

Ineligibility

Organizations may not receive funding for a particular program more than once in a calendar year from multiple Community Trust funding categories or multiple Community Foundation funds. This policy does not apply to General Operating requests or to grants from donor-advised funds. Community Foundation Boulder County does not make grants to organizations where grant money from our unrestricted or field of interest funds would be used to further a particular political or religious doctrine.