Grant Resources
The Colorado Trust strives to provide the highest quality of service and support to both potential and current grantees. Applying for a grant (or fulfilling the responsibilities of an existing grant) can often mean completing legally required forms and paperwork that may seem daunting or complicated, especially to organizations that are new to the grant process.
That’s why The Trust has a dedicated team of grants management specialists, who are available to answer any questions you might have and help make this process as simple and straightforward as possible. Click here to email a grants management team member, or call (303) 837-1200 to speak to one.
Common Forms and Downloads
The Trust has the following commonly requested documents and information available for both current and potential grantees to download:
Potential Grantees:
Current Grantees:
The Colorado Trust Logo and Usage
Public Support Test
The public support test is a provision of IRS tax code that requires most public charities to diversify their funding streams in order to maintain their tax-exempt status. The test ensures that a nonprofit’s income comes from a diverse set of donors or payors for charitable services, rather than from a single source. The test says that if a nonprofit receives 33.33% or more of its total support from public support, then it qualifies as a public charity. The provision is more complex than what is outlined here and describes the different ways to calculate your percentage of public support and what gets included and excluded in the calculation. To read more visit the IRS webpage on the public support test. It is the responsibility of the nonprofit organization to ensure they are in alignment with IRS requirements.
Charitable Solicitation Registration with the Colorado Secretary of State
All charitable organizations in the state of Colorado that plan to solicit contributions or donations, have contributions solicited on their behalf, or participate in charitable promotions must register with the Colorado Secretary of State by law. Registration must be renewed annually. There are a few exceptions to this law. It is the responsibility of the entity to ensure they are in good legal standing with the state, and The Colorado Trust cannot advise on tax filing requirements. Resources can be found directly on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website or with the Colorado Nonprofit Association.
Many of these forms relate to fiscal sponsorship, fiscal agents and expenditure responsibility, which are important for organizations and entities to understand before applying for a grant. We’ve provided some definitions and explanation on these topics below. If you’d like further clarification on these topics or any others related to grant applications, please contact a grants management team member via email or call (303) 837-1200.
Fiscal Sponsorship: A fiscal sponsor agrees to take ownership of an entity/organization or project that may not be recognized as a public charity by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The fiscal sponsor is responsible for all legal aspects of the entity/organization or project. The fiscal sponsor is considered the grantee by The Colorado Trust and agrees to be accountable to The Trust for the programmatic and financial outcomes of the grant. The application is not considered complete without a written and signed agreement between the fiscal sponsor and the sponsored entity/organization or project. For more information, please refer to The Trust’s Fiscal Sponsorship Policy and Sample Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement linked above.
Fiscal Agent: An entity/organization or project contracts with a fiscal agent to provide various administrative services for the entity/organization or project, but the fiscal agent does not take on legal ownership or liability.
