DENVER - On December 13, 2024, Governor Polis, the Outdoor Equity Grant Board and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced the recipients of $3 million in Outdoor Equity Grants. These grants, funded through the Colorado Lottery, support organizations that break down barriers to Colorado’s outdoors and create inclusive opportunities for youth and families to take part in education, conservation and job training opportunities in the outdoors.

Today’s announcement brings total investment in youth programming to over $8.5 million since the creation of the OEGP.

“From skiing Colorado’s mountains to hiking our world-renowned trails, Outdoor Equity Grants expand opportunities for young Coloradans to visit and enjoy Colorado’s landscapes, and to discover passions that lead to careers in conservation and outdoor recreation. These grants ensure the next generation can both enjoy and learn to care for our incredible natural resources that make Colorado so special,” said Governor Polis.

The Outdoor Equity Grant Program (OEGP), created in 2021 by the passage of House Bill 21-1318, funds community, education and government organizations, and tribes that increase access for youth to Colorado’s outdoors. Grants support communities that have traditionally been excluded from conservation careers and the outdoors, and are intended to reach youth who are: racially and ethnically diverse, low-income, disabled, LGBTQ+ or American Indian.

“Fall is both a time of harvest and investing in resources for a better year ahead. Outdoor Equity Grants are a small way for the Outdoor Equity Grant Board to invest in a better year ahead for communities,” said Ida Nelson, OEGP board member. “As a first-year board member, I’d like to thank each applicant for bravely sharing your stories and for your commitment to the children of Colorado and Mother Earth.”  

Since the program’s creation, the Board has awarded funding to support 141 outdoor, conservation and educational grant projects, including supporting adaptive skiing opportunities through scholarships through Adaptive Sports Association in Durango, expanding outdoor recreation and education programming for youth who are blind with the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, and providing job training focused on environmentally based community improvement projects through Groundwork Denver.

While the program has awarded over $8.5 million to date, requests for funding far exceed the amount of available funding each year, and applicants undergo a competitive process to receive funding. In 2024, the board received over $21 million in requests for the available $3 million.

“The continued interest in Outdoor Equity Grants underscores the need for funding to ensure all Colorado youth have access to outdoor experiences that inspire, educate and empower,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis. “I’m incredibly proud that through the OEGP, we can foster connections between young people and the natural world, and pave the way for current and future generations to serve as active stewards of Colorado’s landscapes, water and wildlife.”

In the Governor’s Nov. 1 Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget request to the legislature, Polis and the Department of Natural Resources requested a $1.3 million increase in the program budget for a total yearly funding of $4 million to support outdoor access and opportunities for youth and families.

“Investing in, inspiring and preparing the next generation for meaningful careers is crucial to the future of our natural resources,” said Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Executive Director Dan Gibbs. “Additional resources for the OEGP will expand opportunities for young people to learn about the outdoors and will help in our efforts to protect the state’s land, water, and wildlife for generations to come.”

The Outdoor Equity Grant Board accepted letters of interest from April to June, and after reviewing the letters over the summer, invited about 115 applicants to complete full applications in the fall. The board selected the 36 organizations to receive grants this December.

Outdoor Equity Grants distributed this December will reach youth across the state, from Grand Junction to Sterling. They’ll support activities like offering land-based education by offering guided field trips to Indigenous youth to areas of cultural importance in Colorado’s southwest, increasing access to science school for Moffat County School District 6th graders, and providing equipment for kindergarteners to Nordic ski at their school in Granby.

"I realized the importance of grant programs to fund outdoor equity work while I was working in nonprofits post-college, and was inspired to join the board to learn more about funding processes. During this first year of serving on the board, I’ve learned about a wide spectrum of ways communities garner community input and address outdoor disparities,” said Krystal Tran, a youth member of the OEGP board. “I’m excited to invest in programs that have compassion and commitment to help youth and families in their community."

The Outdoor Equity Grant application opens annually each spring. The board will request initial letters of interest in the spring of 2025 and will distribute up to $3 million in grants by next December. Interested applicants can learn more about the grant opportunity on the Outdoor Equity Grant Program webpage.

Outdoor Equity Grant recipients for 2024 include:

- Asian Girls Ignite! - Denver - $100,000
- Bayfield High School - Bayfield - $9,000
- Bits of Freedom - Beulah - $50,000
- Black parents United Foundation - Aurora - $79,904
- Colorado Center for the Blind - Littleton - $100,000
- Cook Inclusive - Carbondale - $65,000
- Denver Youth Program - Denver - $100,000
- EUREKA! McConnell Science Museum - Grand Junction - $34,000
- Fortaleza Familiar - Commerce City - $100,000
- Four Corners Food Coalition - Mancos - $100,000
- Get Outdoors Leadville! - Leadville - $100,000
- Granby Elementary - Granby - $10,000
- Greater Arkansas River Nature Association - Salida - $100,000
- International Rescue Committee - Denver - $100,000
- Kids on Bikes - Colorado Springs - $75,000
- La Luz Education - Denver - $67,492
- La Plata Youth Services - Durango - $92,495
- Logan County CSU extension Office - Sterling - $99,548
- Montezuma Inspire Coalition - Cortez - $100,000
- Panadero Ski Corporation - La Veta - $100,000
- Pritchett RE-3 School District - Pritchett - $94,750
- Right Relationship Boulder - Boulder - $60,000
- Riverside Education Centers - Grand Junction - $100,000
- Rocky Mountain Youth Corps - Steamboat Springs - $100,000
- Sims-Fayola Foundation - Aurora - $100,000
- Spring Institute - Denver - $100,000
- The Acequia Institute - San Luis - $100,000
- The Cycle Effect - Eagle - $100,000
- The Mayfly Project - Denver - $7,000
- The Storytellers Project - Aurora - $100,000
- Trail Lamp Youth Services - Palisade - $55,500
- Vega Collegiate Academy - Denver - $100,000
- Vibe Tribe Adventures - Aurora - $100,000
- Village Exchange Center - Aurora - $99,974
- Young Masterminds Initiative, Inc - Aurora - $100,000
- Youth Seen - Broomfield - $100,000

OEGP is funded with Colorado Lottery proceeds and allocates funding through grants for initiatives that focus on increasing access to the outdoors for youth and families from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in outdoor recreation and conservation. For more information, visit https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/Outdoor-Equity-Fund.aspx