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Equine Welfare Assistance Grants

About the Grants

The Division of Animal Welfare is establishing a new Equine Welfare Assistance Grant to fund projects that advance the wellbeing of Colorado’s domestic equine population.

With this grant opportunity, the division will broadly focus on awarding grants in the following categories:

  • Education and outreach 
  • Emergency care and veterinary services
  • Shelter support

The purpose of the Equine Welfare Assistance Grants is to enhance domestic equine welfare through education and outreach, emergency veterinary care, and shelter support. Due to limited funding, the Division of Animal Welfare has decided to use this grant opportunity to concentrate on initiatives that improve the well-being of Colorado equines requiring additional assistance. A domestic equine is a horse, burro, donkey, or mule that has been tamed and kept as a work or companion animal. 

This grant program is funded through HB24-1458, which provided $200,000 for Fiscal Year 2024-25, with additional funding through FY 26-27. 

Grant Timeline

This Timeline is for information and planning purposes only. The Schedule of Activities listed are estimated and may be subject to change depending on the needs of the State. 

  • Oct. 8, 2024 - Grant Application Opens 
  • Oct. 14, 2024 - Grant Guidelines Webinar at 10 am MT
  • Nov. 6, 2024 - Application Deadline at 5:00 pm MT
  • Dec. 11-Dec. 18, 2024  - Notice of Award
  • January 2025 - Grant Encumbrance Documents issued to Awardees (as soon as encumbrance document is effective)
  • June 30, 2025 - End of Grant Period
  • August 25, 2025 - Final Grant Report Due    

Informational session

The Division of Animal Welfare held a webinar to inform potential applicants about the details of the application process. You can watch it below.

You can view the presentation slides here.

Who is eligible 

Eligible entities can be any of the following:

  • Non-profit entities;
  • For-profit entities;
  • Tribal or local government;
  • Colleges, universities, or other institutions of higher education.

Research projects and individual owners or companies seeking funding for care of privately owned equines are not eligible for this grant. 

 

Defining equine

A domestic equine is a horse, burro, donkey, or mule that has been tamed and kept as a work or companion animal. 

Eligible Activities & Expenses 

This grant encourages domestic equine welfare projects in Colorado to support domestic equine welfare and further education, outreach, emergency, and veterinary services for domestic equines in the state. The State in its sole discretion, determines if a Project Type and/ or Expense is ineligible or eligible for this grant. All expenses must be directly related to the goals and outcomes in the grantee application. 

Eligible expenses include: 

  • Salaries
    • Allowed for new employees or contractors specifically hired for project management related to this grant. 
    • Current employees' salaries cannot be supplemented with this grant. However, if a part-time employee increases their hours to deliver programming for this grant, that expense is allowable.
  • Travel expenses (aligned with the rates defined by the US General Services Administration)
  • Direct costs including but not limited to:
    • Construction costs, including materials and labor
    • Research supplies 
    • Payment or lease of needed equipment
    • Marketing or outreach materials
  • Veterinary bills
  • Contractor payments
  • Indirect costs (maximum 5% of grant award) 

The minimum budget request per application is $10,000 and the maximum budget request per application is $100,000 per entity.

Grant Application

Application Process

Only emailed applications will be accepted for the State Fiscal Year 2025 Equine Welfare Assistance Grants. For information about the grant requirements, please see the Grant Guidelines. Total grant application must not exceed 12 pages, excluding budget tables and supporting documents. Full application must be submitted via email CDA_EquineWelfare@state.co.us by the grant deadline.

Applications must include a narrative description of the project, budget table, W-9, and additional information requested in the Scope of Work. Deadline for applications is 5 pm on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

View the grant guidelines

Application instructions

You can download this document and use it to complete your application. To download, go to “File > Download” and select “Microsoft Word (.docx).”

Open the downloaded file and use the space provided to answer the questions. You can delete the first two pages of instructions before submitting your application. Save the application file with your project name in the filename. 

Application document

 

Review Process

Applications will be reviewed by an Evaluation Committee of industry experts and state staff, based on the Grant Evaluation Rubric included in the Grant Guidelines. The Committee will make recommendations for awards to the Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture for final review and approval. 

Invoicing & Reporting Requirements 

Grantees must submit invoices at least quarterly (between 1-3 months) for reimbursement. Grantees must also submit a Grant Progress Report each quarter. Grant Progress Reports must include:

  • A short narrative on progress towards grant deliverables, any obstacles encountered, and how those obstacles will be resolved
  • Budget expended to date
  • Budget remaining
  • Encumbrance or agreement number
  • Any public printed/electronic materials developed with grant funding
  • Additional supporting information as necessary

Grantees will be required to submit a Final Report no later than 8 weeks after the end of the grant agreement. CDA will provide a Final Report template, but the grantee will be expected to report on:

  • Final deliverables
  • Final metrics
  • Success stories and lesson learned
  • Additional supporting information as necessary
     

Stay in the know

To receive information with updates from the Equine Welfare Assistance Grant, please sign up for our email list. 

 

Contact

Grant Application Point of Contact: Joe Stafford, Division Director. 

Equine Welfare Grants email: CDA_EquineWelfare@state.co.us