December 20, 2018
In Transit - December 20, 2018
Season's Greetings! Here at CASTA we love the Holidays because we get the chance to express our sincere gratitude for you, our members. Best wishes for the year ahead!
Survey - Driver Shortage Information
Please take a few moments to complete the CDOT Driver Shortage Survey. This survey is very short and will only take a moment of your time. 

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Trevor Tandy at trevor.tandy@state.co.us


Dear I-70 Coalition Members and Other Interested Stakeholders:
Development Research Partners has been retained by the Collaborative Effort and the I-70 Coalition to conduct a study to estimate the economic impacts of a high-speed transit system in the I-70 Mountain Corridor.  We have two surveys: one for Mountain Corridor residents and a separate survey for Metro Denver residents.

Please feel free to contact Patty Silverstein with Development Research Partners should you have any questions.  Patty Silverstein, President & Chief Economist ,  Development Research Partners ,  303-991-0073 , patty@developmentresearch.net


Funding & Technical Assistance
Information provided by: NWCCOG
Grants to Address Opioid and Other Substance Use
Department of Health and Human Services. Deadline: January 15, 2019.
The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program supports treatment for and prevention of substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder, in rural counties at the highest risk for the disorders. Support is provided for planning efforts to strengthen organizational and infrastructural capacity to address these issues.  More info here.  

Grants to Enhance Rural and Urban Programs in Colorado 
Anschutz Family Foundation. First application deadline for 2019: January 15, 2019.  More information here.  The Anschutz Family Foundation supports rural and urban nonprofit organizations throughout the state of Colorado that assist people to help themselves while nurturing and preserving their self-respect. The Foundation encourages endeavors that strengthen families and communities and advance individuals to become productive and responsible citizens. There is a special interest in self-sufficiency, community development, and programs aimed at the economically disadvantaged, the young, the elderly, and people with disabilities. 

Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grand Program 2019
Deadline: January 31, 2019. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and others, are soliciting applications for the 2019 Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration program. This program will award approximately $1.7 million in grants, and seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships focused on improving water quality, watersheds and the species and habitats they support. Projects may include a variety of ecological improvements along with targeted community outreach, education and stewardship. For more information, visit:  https://www.nfwf.org/fivestar/Pages/2019rfp.aspx

Gates Family Foundation
Next Deadline: January 15, 2019. The Gates Family Foundation makes philanthropic investments statewide that contribute to the quality of life in Colorado, create opportunities for youth, and support stewardship of this extraordinary place, particularly the state's natural inheritance.  More information here. 

Rocky Mountain Health Foundation
RMHF strives to improve the health of western slope Coloradans. They are a catalyst and collaborator for innovative healthcare approaches. They want to promote the health and well-being of Western Slope communities - these include all NWCCOG Counties (Eagle, Grand, Jackson, PItkin, Summit). "Well-being" includes not only physical and behavioral health-related issues but the factors that can affect one's health-or the social determinants of health. Grants are awarded quarterly.  More information here. 

Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities: Partners for Places
Deadline: January 31, 2019. Partners for Places, an initiative of the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, is a matching grant program that creates opportunities for cities and counties to improve communities by building partnerships between local government sustainability offices and place-based foundations. Through the program, national funders invest in local projects to promote a healthy environment, a strong economy, and well-being of all residents. The application deadline is January 31, 2019. Visit the  Funders' Network website  for more information. 

Microgrants for Technology
Do you have a project that puts more information or services online for your constituents? Are you a local government with a big or innovative public-facing project? Do you have broadband issues? The Statewide Internet Portal Authority's (SIPA's) Micro-Grant Program can help! Since 2010, SIPA has awarded nearly $1 million in micro-grants in an effort to give back to Colorado communities. Grant applications will be reviewed for innovation; be sure to check all of the criteria ( bit.ly/2RT7btD ) as some information has changed. Applications are due Jan. 18.

School Access for Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program
The School Access for Emergency Response program (SAFER) enacted by SB18-158 provides funding for interoperable communication hardware, software, equipment maintenance, and training to allow for seamless communications between existing school communications systems and first responder communications systems. Grant recipients may use the money received through the grant program to deliver training programs to teach effective communications with first responders in an emergency, to implement an interoperable technology solution to provide or upgrade a system for effective communication with first responders in an emergency, to maintain, improve, or provide interoperable communications hardware or software, and for any necessary radio system capacity expansions where school loading has been determined to have a significant impact on public safety system loading.
Schools ( school district/public school/charter school/board of cooperative services) and public safety communications system owners may apply. Next available funding cycle planned for 2019 -  more info here. 

Farm Bill includes funding for Rural Broadband through ReConnect Program
More information here.  Congress has passed the 2019 Farm Bill allocating new funding for rural high-speed broadband. Through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), municipalities, rural electric cooperatives and utilities, internet service providers, and telecommunications companies may apply for funding through the new ReConnect Program to connect rural areas that currently have insufficient broadband service. USDA will make available approximately $200 million for grants (applications due to USDA by April 29), as well as $200 million for loan and grant combinations (applications due May 29), and $200 million for low-interest loans (applications due by June 28). Projects funded through this initiative must serve communities with fewer than 20,000 people. with no broadband service or where service is slower than 10 megabits per second (mbps) download and 1 mbps upload. Approved projects must create access speeds of at least 25 mbps upload and 3 mbps download. Priority will be awarded for projects that propose to deliver higher-capacity connections to rural homes, businesses, and farms. Visit  reconnect.usda.gov/s/  for more information.

EPA Brownfields Program: Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grants
Grants offered by the Brownfields Program can be used to address sites contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum) and petroleum. The proposal submission deadline is Jan. 31. Information on all grants can be found online  here . 

Program Addresses Mental Illness:  Department of Health and Human Services
More info here.  The Statewide Consumer Network Program seeks to improve efforts to address the needs of adults with serious mental illness by developing or expanding peer support services, peer leadership, and peer engagement strategies statewide. The application deadline is December 24, 2018.

Funds Available for Pre-Disaster Mitigation:  Federal Emergency Management Agency
More info here.  The Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program provides support to state, local, and tribal governments to implement and sustain cost-effective measures designed to reduce the risk to individuals and property from natural hazards, while also reducing reliance on federal funding from future disasters. The application deadline is January 31, 2019.

National Endowment for the Arts - Art Works Grant Program
Deadline: February 14, 2019 -  more info here . NEA encourages applications for artistically excellent projects that address any of the following activities: Honor the 2020 centennial of women's voting rights in the United States (aka the Women's Suffrage Centennial); Engage with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic or Latino organizations, or the Native American, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian arts; Celebrate America's creativity and cultural heritage; invite a dialogue that fosters a mutual respect for the diverse beliefs and values of all persons and groups; Enrich our humanity by broadening our understanding of ourselves as individuals and as a society. Matching grants generally will range from $10,000 to $100,000.   
CASTA: Working towards safe, convenient, affordable, and accessible transportation for all Colorado residents and visitors. 
CASTA | Colorado Assocation of Transit Agencies | 303.839.5197 info@coloradotransit.com | www.coloradotransit.com