On Sept. 5, City of Fort Collins officials will open four funding opportunities to address childcare, social services, 24/7 Homeless Shelters and Homeless Resource Navigation.

A part of federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), these funding opportunities aim to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Fort Collins community and as recognized in the Fort Collins Recovery Plan.

The upcoming funding opportunities represent a significant increase in available funding in the critical areas of childcare and social services. The 2024 grants expand on similar grant opportunities piloted in 2022 and 2023—however, ARPA funding ends after this year.

City officials will begin accepting applications Sept. 5 online at fcgov.com/socialsustainability/recovery. Full applications must be submitted by Sept. 26 and funding decisions will be announced in November. The funding period is Jan. 1, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2024.

Childcare System Support

The Childcare System Support grant is specifically for activities that build critical capacity within the local childcare system.

The grant will exclusively fund projects that advance:

• childcare workforce recruitment.
• training and retention.
• mental health resources.
• accessibility resources for vulnerable populations.
• fee subsidies for income-qualified families receiving early childcare education and/or school age care.

The grant may also fund physical spaces for new childcare or early childhood education services and renovations to existing childcare spaces to improve quality and safety.

The total available funding is approximately $400,000 which officials will likely award and distribute among multiple organizations. There are no maximum funding request requirements, however, the minimum requested funding amount is $15,000.

Social Services Recovery

The Social Services Recovery grant funds social service activities related to:

• food insecurity.
• social isolation and seniors.
• mental and behavioral health.
• housing stability.
• abuse.
• access to transportation.
• services for disabled residents.

Each funded program will be awarded $20,000. City officials allocated funding to support nine programs.

24/7 Homeless Shelter

The 24/7 Homeless Shelter grant will fund projects that will expand or develop direct service programs providing shelter services to persons experiencing homelessness and operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the funding period.

The total available funding is approximately $250,000 and will likely get awarded and distributed among multiple organizations. There is currently no limit to the maximum requested funding amount. However, the minimum requested funding amount is $15,000.

Homeless Resource Navigation

The Homeless Resource Navigation grant will fund projects offering resource navigation services to persons experiencing homelessness in Fort Collins.

The total available funding is approximately $250,000 and will likely be awarded and distributed among multiple organizations. There is currently no limit to the maximum requested funding amount. However, the minimum requested funding amount is $15,000.

For more information about any of these grant opportunities, and to view application questions and more, go online to www.fcgov.com/socialsustainability/recovery.

Fort Collins Social Sustainability Department

The City’s Social Sustainability Department assists with financial support for housing and human services and serves as a convener and collaborator as part of its Strategic Plan. For more information about Competitive Process and the City’s recent human service and housing funding history, visit the Social Sustainability website.

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