Training Opportunities & Events

Employment Law Update
July 30 | 9:00 am - 11:00 am |Virtual| Register here | Offered by Colorado Department of Labor & Employment. Stay up-to-date on the latest changes in Colorado to employment-related law with the Northwest Workforce Area's annual employment law update and legislative recap with employment law attorneys Tina Harkness, Employers Council and Michael Santo, Bechtel, Santo and Severn. Topics will include an update on COVID related rules, the state's Equal Pay Law, Court cases around PTO payout, wage and hour law, and more.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Shifts, Trends, + Unicorns
July 21, 2021 | 10 - 11:30 a.m. | Register here. Offered by the Economic Development Council of Colorado and the Colorado Workforce Development Council. Innovation is charging ahead creating newly anticipated technologies that will increase economic opportunities for our communities and we need to be prepared for the coming wave. This is aone-of-kind virtual event that will get to the heart of these issues, provide data to back up theories developed in the exploration, to result in a thought-leader position report that our professionals will be able to use to help guide conversations and actions at the local level.

National SBIR Week 
July 19 - 23 | The 2021 National SBIR Week is a free virtual event that connects entrepreneurs working on advanced technologies to the country’s largest source of early stage funding – the SBIR/STTR programs. Also known as America’s Seed Fund, the SBIR/STTR programs provide over $4 billion in funding to small businesses each year in a wide variety of technology areas administering over 7,000 new awards annually. If you’re an innovator, entrepreneur, researcher, or small technology firm, don’t miss this opportunity to participate in live streaming sessions and to meet virtually with program decision makers.

Opportunities for Your Science & Technology Business
July 21 at 10:00 a.m. | Register here. During this interactive webinar, subject matter experts from the TechSource program will share snippets of their expertise on topics such as non-dilutive capital, primarily in the form of SBIR/STTR grants and funding from the State of Colorado (where you don’t give away any equity in your company), technology commercialization, R&D tax credits, market research and more.

Effectively Engaging Diverse Communities
July 22, noon to 1 p.m. | Register here. Offered by CML. The challenging past year has prompted a newly intense focus on a perennially important issue: how to make Colorado communities more equitable and inclusive for racially and ethnically diverse populations. Effective engagement is key, but that requires adapting messages, mediums, and even language to reach different communities. Two veteran Colorado communicators share their experiences and offer helpful best practices you can put to use in your community. Register at bit.ly/2TsHPIG.

Smart Cities 101 - Elements of Smart Government
July 27, noon to 1 p.m. | Register here. Offered by CML. In this two webinar series (7/27 and 7/29), learn from the executive director of Colorado Smart Cities Alliance, Tyler Svitak, and municipal leaders about what makes your government smart and eight concrete strategies you can implement to make yours smarter. These panels will blend theory and real-world examples to move "Smart Cities" from a buzzword to on-the-ground action in Colorado cities and towns like yours. Register at bit.ly/3kctStU

Colorado Municipal League Special Conference
Sept. 22-24 at the Westin in Westminster, CO | More info here.

Drive, Lead, Succeed Conference
Oct. 20-22 in Steamboat Springs, CO | Economic Development Council of Colorado | More info here.
Our Annual Drive | Lead | Succeed Conferences aim to provide the knowledge, tools, and connections that are vital to foster a growing Colorado economy.

2021 State Demography Office Annual Demography Summit
November 5. This year's event will be virtual and free of charge. Save the date.
Funding & Technical Assistance

Summit County Municipalities Accepting Grant Requests for 2022
Deadline: 8/11/21. The towns of Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco and Silverthorne are now accepting applications from area nonprofit organizations for grant requests for 2022 projects. Summit County nonprofits that are tax exempt are eligible, and both cash and in-kind grant applications will be included in the process. Nonprofit organizations can download the funding application, in-kind requests and guidelines on any of the towns’ websites.

City of Aspen and Pitkin County Healthy Community Fund Grant Program
Deadline: 8/9/21 | More info here. The purpose of the program is to support Colorado nonprofit organizations in eligible areas to address the health needs of local communities. Funding may be used for general operating support. Eligible organizations are those that address the areas of physical and mental health, prevention of substance abuse, the wellbeing of seniors, community health, and environmental health and education. Nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to working together to strengthen the quality of life in Pitkin County are eligible to apply.

Equipment, Training, and Technology for Fire Departments Funded
Deadline: Oct. 1. The Leary Firefighters Foundation is dedicated to funding equipment, education, training, and technology for firefighters nationwide. Grants typically range from $5,000 to $25,000. Letters of inquiry are due August 15, 2021; the deadline for invited applications is October 1, 2021. Visit the Foundation's website to review the guidelines for the Jeremiah Lucey Grant Program.

Caring for Colorado Foundation Statewide Grants
Deadline: 8/5/21 | More info here. The purpose of this program is to create equity in health, well-being, and opportunity for Colorado’s children and families. Funding will support projects that fall under one of the following focus areas: healthy beginnings; healthy youth; strong and resilient families; public policy advocacy.

Grants Enhance Social and Economic Justice in Colorado
Deadline: Sept. 21. Chinook Fund supports community organizations working on issues of social and economic justice in the state of Colorado. Chinook provides grants to organizations that engage in community organizing to challenge the root causes of oppression, rather than treating the symptoms. In 2021, Chinook will provide grants from $1,000 to $10,000 to a range of groups working on human rights, racial justice, economic justice, environmental protection, peace, and other social justice issues.

Equity and Accessibility Transportation Planning Grant Program
Deadline: August 27. The National Aging and Disability Transportation Center has announced a new funding opportunity, Equity and Accessibility: Transportation Planning Grant Program. Planning grants provide an opportunity for communities to consider current and future needs, engage older adults and people with disabilities in planning, and develop a written plan of action. Selected grantees will focus on one of two areas: Transportation Equity & Inclusion for Older Adults and People with Disabilities or COVID-19 Recovery Addressing the Unique Transportation Needs and Preferences of Older Adults and People with Disabilities. 

American Alpine Club: Cornerstone Conservation Grant
Deadline: August 15. The American Alpine Club's Cornerstone Conservation Grant, funded by REI, creates healthy climbing landscapes, promotes respect for the places people climb, and empowers local climbing communities. Grants ranging from $1,000 to $8,000 are provided for projects that improve land conservation and climber practices. Examples of funded projects include new trails and human-waste management systems, clean-up projects, and signage at trailheads.

USDA Drought Disaster Emergency Farm Loans
Deadline: November 15 | More info here. The Emergency loan program is triggered when a natural disaster is designated by the Secretary of Agriculture or a natural disaster or emergency is declared by the President under the Stafford Act. These loans help producers who suffer qualifying farm related losses directly caused by the disaster in a county declared or designated as a primary disaster or quarantine area. Also, farmers located in counties that are contiguous to the declared, designated, or quarantined area may qualify for Emergency loans.

NEA American Rescue Plan Grants to Organizations
Deadline: August 12 | More info here. The Arts Endowment intends to make awards that will impact a broad constituency. Applications are encouraged from a variety of eligible organizations including: organizations that serve populations that are underserved such as those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by ethnicity, economics, geography, or disability; organizations with small and medium-sized budgets; organizations from rural to urban communities; and organizations that may be applying for federal support through the Arts Endowment for the first time.

Eide Bailly Resourcefullness Award
Deadline: 8/13/2021 | More info here. The purpose of the program is to acknowledge outstanding efforts of nonprofits to create original and innovative ideas for sustainable revenue. Consideration will be given to organizations with impactful and creative initiatives that raise funds to further their organization's mission.

Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Fund
Deadline: September 3. DOLA. More info here. The purpose of the EIAF Program is to assist political subdivisions that are socially and/or economically impacted by the development, processing, or energy conversion of minerals and mineral fuels. Funds come from the state severance tax on energy and mineral production and from a portion of the state's share of royalties paid to the federal government for mining and drilling of minerals and mineral fuels on federally-owned land.
Volunteer Firefighter Pension Program
Deadline: Oct. 31. More info here. This program is designed to help local governments provide a retirement benefit to attract volunteers. All volunteer firefighting entities, which provide a volunteer firefighter pension, are eligible to receive a state match.

Northwest Colorado Council of Governments
Economic Development District | www.nwccog.org/edd