Douglas County opens 2025 Developmental Disabilities Mill Levy Grant application; $500,710 available

Douglas County Community Services hosted an applicant training explaining how to apply for the 2025 Developmental Disabilities Mill Levy Grant, which is open June 16 through July 17, 2025, and has $500,710 available for projects serving Douglas County residents with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

The training, led by Jennifer D'Ambrosio of Douglas County Community Services, walked applicants through the online application in the eCivis grants portal, the eligibility check for the state definition of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), the scoring rubric, required attachments, and the timeline for review and award. D'Ambrosio said, "This gives you an overview of the grant, who it is intended to serve. And just as a note, it's intended to serve Douglas County residents with intellectual or developmental disabilities."

Douglas County officials said the advisory council will review submitted applications and recommend awards to the Board of County Commissioners, which makes the final funding decisions. Contracts will be executed after award notification and funds are typically distributed in January or February of the year following the award; for this cycle, staff indicated funds would likely be dispersed in January or February 2026 and projects would run during 2026. Grantee reports are due in February (year specified in award documents).

The training emphasized key application steps: create or sign into an eCivis account, confirm or complete the applicant profile, create a new application record, and save drafts as needed. Applicants were shown how to complete an eligibility certification that confirms the project serves Douglas County residents meeting the state's IDD definition, and were directed to the county's DD Long Range Plan and the scoring rubric available on the grant web page.

Required documents and application elements highlighted during the session include an organizational profile (mission and services), total individuals served (countywide and those with IDD), financial information (fiscal year dates and expenditures), a W-9, and a project budget with justification. The county is accepting uploaded budgets in PDF, Word or Excel formats rather than preformatted unit-cost spreadsheets for this cycle. The portal includes a section for project scope of work, experience and capacity, targeted population and support needs, number of Douglas County individuals the project will serve (including how many are new clients), timeline, goals and outcomes, and a description of nonfinancial collaboration and partners.

D'Ambrosio demonstrated conditional questions in the form: for example, if an applicant requests funds for a vehicle, additional vehicle-specific fields will appear. She also noted applicants can attach additional supporting documentation and a free-text field for any information they want the advisory council to consider. "If you do have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me," D'Ambrosio said, providing email and phone contact information during the training.

The training reiterated application mechanics: marking an application complete readies it for submission, but once an applicant submits, no changes can be made. Applicants can create multiple applications for different projects during the open period.

Contacts and next steps: applicants should consult the Douglas County Developmental Disabilities Mill Levy Grant page for links to the DD Long Range Plan and scoring rubric, assemble required attachments (including W-9 and budget justification), and submit applications via the eCivis portal by the July 17, 2025 deadline. The advisory council will review applications and forward recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners, which issues final awards and executes contracts before funds are distributed in early 2026.