CPW, GOCO award $2 million in outdoor equity grants after $20M in requests
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Summary
Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Great Outdoors Colorado awarded $2 million in Outdoor Equity Grant Program funds in late 2025 to 24 projects, prioritizing youth and underserved communities; grant applications totaled about $20 million across 245 requests.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Great Outdoors Colorado announced $2 million in awards from the Outdoor Equity Grant Program (OEGP) in December 2025, directing funds to community organizations that expand outdoor access for youth from underserved communities.
The grants: CPW and GOCO each contributed $1 million to make a $2 million round of awards. The OEGP board reviewed 245 proposals requesting roughly $20 million; 24 awards were announced. The program, created by House Bill 1318 (2021), targets racially and ethnically diverse youth, low‑income youth, Native and indigenous youth, LGBTQ+ youth and youth with disabilities.
Impact and reach: the 2025 awards will fund projects across 41 counties and a range of activities — outdoor education, conservation experiences, and outdoor job training. CPW and GOCO noted that OEGP funds reached more than 16,000 participants in 2025, bringing cumulative participation to over 79,000 across prior rounds. Grantees report demographic distributions in which roughly three‑quarters of participants are people of color; OEGP noted approximately 9% of participants reported a disability and nearly 4% identified as LGBTQ+ (data caveats noted by presenters: underreporting and sensitivity concerns).
Representative quote: "This program mixes what many of us treasure about spending time outside...the healing power of horses with the transformative impact of spending time outdoors," said Andrea Kurth, OEGP manager, in describing a funded equine‑assisted therapy program for youth.
Why it matters: lawmakers expanded the program’s potential funding mechanism during the 2025 legislative session (raising the possible spillover transfer to up to $4 million annually). However, lottery revenues did not trigger a spillover in fiscal year 2025; CPW partnered with GOCO to deliver the round. Program leaders said they continue to explore longer‑term funding opportunities, including lottery mechanisms, GOCO partnerships and philanthropic support, because demand still far outstrips available funds.
Next steps: CPW expects to publish a full OEGP annual report online by Jan. 31, 2026. Officials said board recruitment to fill four vacancies will be completed shortly, and programmatic alignment with the Colorado Outdoor Strategy and Generation Wild will continue.
