Grant Application

Grant Application

Many thanks to all those who submitted grant applications for our Fiscal Year 2025 grant cycle! This funding period is highly competitive. We received 23 applications requesting over $13M of Safe Routes to School funding–almost double the amount we have to award. Eight of these applications qualify for 100% funding. We are excited to have received broad representation from each CDOT region proposing exciting, well-thought projects.

We have approximately $7M to distribute for infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects supporting communities in providing students and families with safe, accessible means of active transportation to and from school. The CSRTS Advisory Committee will take on the hard work of project selection late January. We anticipate reaching out to applicants to notify them of their projects’ status in early spring. 

In our previous Fiscal Year 2023 grant cycle, over $3M in funding was awarded to seven applicants. For an overview of all projects funded throughout the state, please visit our Master List of Colorado Safe Routes to School Grant-funded Projects. 

Our next grant application period is anticipated to open in the summer of 2026. It's never too early to start preparing! Read on below for our previous grant period timeline and a sense of what to expect. You will also find helpful steps to consider before applying. 

New for this Grant Cycle

We are pleased to have shared two new developments for this Fiscal Year 2025 Grant Cycle:

  • Expansion to high school: Previous awards have supported elementary and middle school populations. However, the November 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law opened exciting new opportunities, expanding eligibility. In response, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) explored ways of supporting Safe Routes to School programming through grade 12 as part of our new Five-Year Strategic Plan. As a result, for this Fiscal Year 2025 grant cycle we will offer funding for all grade levels (Kindergarten through grade 12) for the first time!  While we aren’t providing specific parameters for these secondary school projects, we encourage plans with a strong youth leadership component. 
  • Increased maximum award for Infrastructure projects: In line with rising costs, the Colorado Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee has increased the maximum award for Infrastructure projects from $750K to $1M. We hope that this larger amount will encourage more communities to apply.

Alongside these new developments, we are also able to continue to consider awarding 100% funding to projects from qualifying communities. This opportunity was first offered in Fiscal Year 2021. Prior, applicants were typically required to contribute 20% matching funds to the total cost of their projects. Eligibility for this match funding exemption for this cycle was determined utilizing the thoroughly researched and vetted Multimodal Transportation and Mitigations Options Fund (MMOF) matrix. You can find a list of qualifying municipalities in our Fiscal Year 2025 Grant Application Guidelines and Instructions Manual. Please note, this list was updated August 26, 2024. 

Grant Application Timeline for Fiscal Year 2025 (subject to change)

  • Noon Monday, August 5, 2024: Online application opens 
  • 11:30 am Tuesday, August 20, 2024: Google Meet Session--How to Prepare Your CSRTS Application
    Google Meet Q and A Agenda
  • 11 am September 10, 2024: Webinar on Preparing Your Application - Evaluation 
    Register at this link: https://saferoutespartnership-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7uwDJSMyR46UkD4Ln2gJJg
  • Noon Monday, November 4, 2024: Applications due: late or incomplete applications will not be accepted
  • November 5 - 7, 2024: Colorado Safe Routes to School Team Technical Review
  • Mid-November  2024: Applications distributed to CSRTS Advisory Committee for review and selection
  • Mid-January 2024: Colorado Safe Routes to School Advisory Community meets to select projects
  • Mid-February/Late March 2025: Projects recommended to Transportation Commission for approval
  • Late March 2025: Applicants notified
  • April, 2025: Fiscal Year 2025 Mandatory Grantee Meeting; Google Meet Invitation to be sent to Awarded Grantees. This is a required meeting for all new grantees. Please mark your calendars! 

How to Prepare Your Safe Route to Schools Application

What You Can Do Today

We want to make sure you have all the information your organization needs to apply for funding. We are rooting for your success! If you are interested in pursuing this upcoming opportunity, here are some simple steps to take before applying:     

  1. Determine your eligibility. To apply for a CSRTS grant, applicants must be a political subdivision of the state. For a definition of "subdivision of the state", please click this link: https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/2016/title-29/general-provisions/article-1/part-9/section-29-1-901
  2. Identify what type of grant your project might qualify for, infrastructure or non-infrastructure: On our website, you can find the Fiscal Year 2021 top-scoring infrastructure application and the Fiscal Year 2021 top-scoring non-infrastructure application for your reference. Please note, in order to offer these applications in the most useful and readable format, we have transferred information from Salesforce into new, modified documents. These documents do not represent the exact format of the application. 
  3. Read through our Fiscal Year 2025 Grant Application Guidelines and Instructions. This provides a thorough run-down of both infrastructure and non-infrastructure applications so can anticipate what to expect and ready the tools to be successful. Note, the Match Exemption list was updated in this manual on August 26, 2024.
  4. Get familiar with two key documents:
    Our community engagement toolkit, Working Together to Make Meaningful Change: A Toolkit for Engaging Communities Across Colorado  created by Safe Routes Partnership with support from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Colorado Safe Routes to School, offers tips and strategies for authentic and equitable community engagement which we love to see incorporated into projects. Utilizing suggested strategies will be valuable to your application and the success of your programming. For a thorough overview of the toolkit, check out the recording from one of our webinars on this topic!
    We also highly recommend all applicants read through our new Strategic Plan. This resource in conjunction with the community engagement toolkit will offer valuable insight and guidance that will strengthen your projects and applications.
  5. Contact us! Our Colorado Safe Routes to School Program Manager Melissa Trecoske Houghton is offering 20-minute individual consultations through October 15, during which she can answer questions and talk to you about your project. If you need Spanish interpretation for this consultation, we have the capacity to arrange this. Please email Melissa at [email protected] to schedule. *Please note, all available consultation slots have now been allocated.
  6. Sign up for an account to access our online. A new link will be provided when available.

Fiscal Year 2025 Grant Application Guide

Common Pitfall Prevention

  • Application is not submitted by the deadline. For this cycle, this means applications are due by Noon, November 4, 2024. 
  • Your application will be disqualified if a statement and/or partner letter, demonstrating Right of Way, is not provided as requested in Section 2. As this is a critical aspect of a project, any application that does not provide the necessary documentation regarding Right of Way will not be reviewed. This applies to all projects including those involving Railroad Crossings.
  • Failure to provide requested information in any part of the grant application will result in your application being disqualified. This includes data, school information, action plan or budget items.
  • Any materials submitted outside of the application system will not be accepted. This includes information sent via email or through the postal service.
  • Do not embed links to PDFs within your application to avoid entering the required information as requested in the application. For instance, do not embed a pdf link for your budget into the narrative instead of completing the budget section. Your application will be disqualified.
  • Continuation projects are not eligible for funding. Specifically, if you have previously received funding through the CDOT SRTS Grant program and you wish to apply for this opportunity your application must demonstrate how your new project proposal is separate and different from previously funded projects. 

Looking for a form?

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