Chaffee County’s Common Ground program
Chaffee County Community Foundation is honored to partner with Chaffee County and the Chaffee County Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) to administer the Chaffee County Common Ground Program funds that offers competitive grants to strengthen forest health, reduce wildfire danger, conserve and support agricultural lands and rural landscapes, and manage the impacts of growth in outdoor recreation. Funding opportunities are available for project planning and project implementation on both private and public lands in Chaffee County.
Visit www.chaffeecounty.org for more information on the Chaffee County Common Ground Program, Funding History and the Citizen Advisory Committee.
Program Goals:
Strengthening forest health to protect Chaffee County communities and water quality from severe wildfire and to enhance wildlife habitat;
Conserving and supporting working ranches and farms and rural landscapes;
Managing the impacts of growth to protect the outdoor experience, water quality, and landscapes.
2026/2027 Chaffee Common Ground grant program
Chaffee County Common Ground is pleased to announce $450,000 of available funds for the 2026/2027 Competitive Grant Cycle. Interested applicants are encouraged to thoroughly review the grant details below.
For questions about the application process, contact grants@chaffeecommunity.org or call 719-204-5071. Please allow 2-3 business days for a response.
Quick Links:
FUNDING CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE 2026/2027 PROCESS
No new multi-year grants will be considered in the 2026/2027 competitive grant process. With limited funds available for new grants and a high amount of funds currently dedicated to multi-year projects, projects for the process opening in 2026 must be implemented within 12 months (January - December 2027).
Requests must be a minimum of $5,000 and a maximum $100,000 to be considered. The majority of funds are expected to be distributed to projects falling below the $50,000 level and that 2-3 projects will be funded above $50,000. Requests over $50,000 will be subject to a higher level of review due to the increased competitive nature of the funds.
Successful Applications will have the following components:
Meet a defined need through high impact projects with demonstrable outcomes that directly advance the program goals. Propose projects or programs with benefits across funding categories.
Fund innovative and/or successful programs that are based on the best available science and data.
Maximize impact by working to leverage Chaffee Common Ground funds through cash and in-kind matches. Preference will be given to projects with a minimum 50% cash/in-kind match, and additional preference to those with 200% cash/in-kind match.
Encourage clear alignment with County adopted planning documents (see links below).
Demonstrate clear alignment and expressed support by relevant land management agencies for projects that take place on public lands.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL GRANTS
All local, State, and Federal permits, agreements and landowner permissions are in place and documented, with the exception of planning grants.
The plan and timeline is complete at an acceptable level of detail and quality.
The budget is submitted in the proper format: download HERE.
The proposal demonstrates clear and measurable results.
For proposals of $50,000 or more, the applicant demonstrates a track record of success with a program of similar scope and scale.
Agreement that funded proposals can be promoted by Chaffee County, including public news stories and signage.
All projects must comply with the currently adopted Chaffee County Land Use Code and complement other adopted Chaffee County plans such as the Chaffee County Comprehensive Plan, Chaffee Rec Plan and the Community Wildfire Protection Plan. (Links coming soon)
All projects on federal land must comply with agency requirements and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
No Common Ground revenues may be used to fund unencumbered state or federal agency projects; although, the CAC may recommend to the BOCC partnerships with any organization to advance any of the above funding areas for planning or specific projects.
The process will only accept single year grant funding requests. Applicants interested in applying for projects extended beyond three years should reference the Partnerships Policy.
In response to changing trends in forest treatment and concern for invasive species, CCCF recommends that any proposal involving forest treatments includes an invasive species mitigation plan.
Applicants are encouraged to review the grant questions (PDF or Word) and scoring rubric to ensure a strong application.
Competitive Grant Categories
FOREST HEALTH
PLANNING & EDUCATION: For planning of activities or public education that enhance forest health and community wildfire resilience. Applicants must be an eligible primary applicant. Individual landowners are encouraged to work collaboratively with an eligible primary applicant.
Eligible primary applicants: Government entities or IRS-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with relevant expertise.
PROJECTS: For the execution of activities that enhance forest health and community fire resilience. Activities on private lands must demonstrate community value in alignment with voter-approved ballot language in Chaffee County Resolution 2018-46 and the Community Wildfire Protection Plan and contribute to the scaling of related projects.
Eligible primary applicants: Government entities or an IRS-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with relevant expertise.
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL LANDSCAPES
PLANNING & PARTNERSHIPS: To support planning and partnerships that enhance economic viability and longevity of working agricultural lands. Applicants must be an eligible primary applicant.
Eligible primary applicants: Government entities or IRS-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with relevant expertise.
AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS: For projects that support active agricultural operations on properties of eligible applicants.
Eligible applicants: Individual landowners of active agricultural properties, Government entities and IRS-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that are conducting active agricultural operations. Preference is given to properties with conservation easements. Grant funds must be reimbursed if property is sold out of Ag production within 5 years of receiving funds.
ACQUISITIONS & EASEMENTS: For land acquisition and conservation easements.
Eligible primary applicants: Government entities or IRS-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with relevant expertise. Applicants must demonstrate land management expertise.
RECREATION
PLANNING: For planning and development of projects designed to protect landscape and watershed health from the impacts of outdoor recreation use.
Eligible Primary Applicants: Government entities or IRS-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with relevant expertise. Private landowners with a nexus to public land access may be subgrantees on an application.
IMPACTS PROJECTS: For implementation of projects that protect landscape and watershed health from the impacts of outdoor recreation activities.
Eligible Primary Applicants: Government entities or IRS-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with relevant expertise. Private landowners with a nexus to public land access may be subgrantees on an application.
ACQUISITIONS & EASEMENTS: For land acquisition and conservation easements.
Eligible primary applicants: Government entities or IRS-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with relevant expertise. Applicants must demonstrate land management expertise.
ADDITIONAL GRANT GUIDELINES
Capital equipment should be limited to project hardware that is used in the project or program. Durable capital items will be considered if the applicant will commit to retaining, owning, and maintaining the equipment. Applicants should reference the Capital Equipment Policy before submitting an application with capital equipment purchases to ensure additional required materials and justification are included.
Site visits may be requested by the Chaffee Common Ground Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) for any project to assess need, progress, or completion of work.
Staff Capacity support will be considered to develop and implement specific projects and programs with time transparently tracked. Government applicants requesting funding for new personnel must meet the following criteria. Nonprofit applicants requesting funding for new personnel are encouraged to meet the relevant criteria.
The role of the position being funded offers a new solution to meeting a defined, data-supported need aligned with the Common Ground program goals.
The position, or the portion requested in the grant application, must be dedicated to accomplishing specific, measurable goals associated with a project or program.
Requests will only be considered for up to 50% of the cost of the position or 50% of the portion of the position assigned to the project.
Provide a clear path to sustainable funding within 3 years that is not from Common Ground.
Timeline
June 30th, 10:00 - 11:00 AM: Common Ground Grant Orientation accessed via Zoom Link (recording will be available)
July 20th: Applications open
August 28th: Applications close 11:59 p.m.
Week of August 31st: CCCF staff application review. Applicants will be given 48 hours to re-submit any incorrect documents. No application updates may be made.
September - October: CAC Application Review and Grant Review Meetings
October 26th - November 6th: CAC Site Visits on as needed basis
November 9th - 20th: Final CAC Grant Review meetings
Late November: CAC to make recommendations on competitive grants during monthly meeting.
December: BOCC to vote on competitive grant recommendations at December 8 meeting. Grantees notified of funding before December 31.
January 2027: Approved grants will be paid within 10 business days of a completed grant agreement. To expedite payment, grantees are highly encouraged to enroll in direct deposit (ACH) with CCCF. Checks may take up to 4 weeks to receive.
December 31, 2027: All funds must be expended.
Reporting Requirements
Awardees will be required to report on progress every six months during the lifecycle of the grant with grant reports due July 30, 2027 and January 31, 2028. Delayed or delinquent reports will count against future grant requests.
Applicants with any outstanding Common Ground reports will not be considered for funding until all required reporting has been completed.
Application Best Practices
Complete all drop down application questions first. This will ensure that any relevant branching questions appear. For example, if you select 501c3 Nonprofit, branching questions will appear requiring you to upload your IRS Letter of Determination, Secretary of State Registration, and list of Board of Directors.
Save often. The system will not save as you go. For narrative questions, consider working on these in a your personal or organizational files. You can then copy and paste when you are ready to submit your application.
Work ahead of the deadline! Applications will not be accepted past the August 28 deadline, even in the case of extenuating circumstances.