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What is GrantCorps?

GrantCorps is Dedicated to Building Grant Access Equity Across Colorado.

GrantCorps provides information, training, and technical support to nonprofits across Colorado in grant development and management so that funding gets to the organizations that need it most. All GrantCorps services are provided at no cost to eligible organizations. We support small, rural, and systemically marginalized communities, as well as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led organizations so they can more equitably access private and government grant funding.

Our goals are to:

  • Increase the amount of grant funds awarded to small, rural, and systemically marginalized communities.
  • Enable more equitable sharing of grant information and resources provided to organizations that face barriers to grant access.
  • Help small, rural nonprofits working with historically under-resourced and systemically marginalized communities to improve their fund-development capacity and systems.
  • Improve grant making practices across Colorado to be more equitable.

What we do…

Our programming includes the following activities:

This includes directing partners to tools on grant development such as the Colorado Common Grant application, grant research resources and other grant-related databases available in their own communities, such as in public libraries, and to CRC’s grant resources, mainly the Colorado Grants Guide (CGG) and CRC’s educational offerings and other programs, including GrantCorps.

GrantCorps offers 3-5 training workshops per quarter, which cover a wide range of topics including grant narrative development, grants research, and grants management. Workshops are offered both virtually and in-person and are intended to reach as many as 200 organizations per year. Beginning in April 2023, GrantCorps offers simultaneous Spanish language interpretation for virtual training events.

GrantCorps offers 3-8 hours of short-term coaching to with up to 30 eligible organizations per year. Coaching activities vary, and may include:

  • Completing state, federal, and private grant research.
  • Providing a funder-research coaching session and a customized report on prospective funders with whom they are a match.
  • Assessing government grant readiness and recommendations for areas to build organizational capacity.
  • Assessing systems for tracking, evaluating, and reporting outcomes, financial reporting, and general grant management.
  • Reviewing, editing, and providing feedback on an already-written grant application.

GrantCorps offers 20-50 hours of longer-term consulting support with up to 20 eligible organizations per year. Consulting activities vary, and may include:

  • Working collaboratively with organization contacts to write private and public grant applications, attachments, program and financial grant reports.
  • Providing tools and coaching to organizations to develop achievable grant development and management systems.
  • Developing partner Memorandum of Understanding documents (MOUs) and other efforts to document grant partnerships and collaboration, including opportunities for match funding.
  • Other organizational supports as needed, drawing our expertise in nonprofit grant management.

GrantCorps is dedicated to collecting information from small, rural, and BIPOC-led nonprofits about the barriers they experience accessing public and private grant funding and to sharing this information with grant makers in an effort to build greater grant access equity. Activities include:

  • Publishing a whitepaper on recommendations to address barriers in partnership with the Colorado Workforce Development Council and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
  • Partnering with Philanthropy Colorado to gather information from nonprofits and private grant-makers about the Colorado Common Grant, the barriers organizations experience accessing grant funds, and the recommendations these communities have to build more equity and access in the process.

Upcoming Training and Information Sessions

Get Government Grants

March 27| 9:00AM-4:00PM | Town of Limon, Community Building (In-Person) 

Government Grant Contracting

April 11| 9:00AM-12:00PM | Zoom 

Get Grants

July 9 & 11| 9:00AM-12:00PM | Zoom

Register Now

Government Grant Reporting

August 8| 9:00AM-12:00PM | Zoom

Register Now

GrantCorps is Accepting Applications!

GrantCorps is considering applications to provide the following grant development services at no cost to the following number of organizations:

  • Up to 200 organizations per year to participate in Skills Training – GrantCorps provides regular training sessions that are both virtual and in-person, currently reaching approximately 200 organizations per year. The curricula span grants research, application development, and management and both government and private grant funding.
  • Up to 30 organizations per year to participate in Short-Term Coaching – Provided by a team of CRC staff, GrantCorps Consultants, and AmeriCorps Members.
  • Up to 20 organizations per year to participate in Deep-Consultation – Provided by a team of CRC staff, GrantCorps Consultants, and AmeriCorps Members.

Once you have submitted an application, GrantCorps will review the information, and follow up with the primary contact person, via their preferred method of contact.

GrantCorps Application

Meet the GrantCorps Team!

Katy Pepinsky  (she, her, ella)

Director of Grant Services
email hidden; JavaScript is required

Katy Pepinsky (she/her/ella), Director of GrantCorps, works to build the capacity of Colorado nonprofits to access and manage public and private grant funds. Katy started with CRC in June 2022. Prior to her current position, Katy worked as the Executive Director of a youth services organization in La Plata County. For over twenty years, she has worked with a diverse array of non-profit and service organizations to help build more resilient communities including La Plata Youth Services, Cooking Matters Colorado, Growing Partners of SW Colorado, Mercy Hospital, Peace Corps, and Colorado State University Extension. A native of Bloomington, Indiana, Katy holds a master’s degree in Extension Education from Colorado State University and a Professional Non-Profit Management Certificate, from Fort Lewis College. Katy lives in Durango and enjoys reading, gardening, practicing yoga, and exploring the rural rivers and trails of the Southwest with her two kids, husband, and dog. Ella habla español.

Silas Babilonia (he, him, his)

GrantCorps VISTA Member – Grantwriting Specialist

Silas Babilonia (he/him/his), Grant Writing Specialist, works to help non-profits across the state of Colorado receive the funding and resources necessary to thrive through the function of grant-writing. Silas started with CRC in October 2022. Prior to his current position, Silas has worked in the non-profit realm in various capacities. He has served previously with AmeriCorps, working with CRC to combat the COVID pandemic as a Contact Tracer/Case Investigator. Before that, Silas also served as both a case manager and overnight assistant at several different facilities run by Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Silas grew up in Aurora, Colorado, and considers the state his home. He is a lifelong traveler, having been across Europe and the United States; however, Colorado always had a special place for him. He is currently located in the Capitol Hill area of Denver and spends his time with family and friends, works on making and producing electronic music, and spends time with his Guinea pig named Jim.

Ivy Brooks (she, they)

GrantCorps VISTA Member – Statewide Data Analyst

Ivy Brooks (she/they), Statewide Data Analyst, currently works for CRC via the Americorps Vista program. As a Statewide Data Analyst, Ivy assists Colorado nonprofits in their efforts to access grants via the Colorado Grants Guide. Prior to joining CRC, she graduated with a MS Mathematics degree from the University of Texas while working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. During her time at CRC, Ivy hopes to to use the knowledge she gained during her degree to assist in the fight against poverty across Colorado. Ivy grew up in Texas and enjoys reading, gaming (both tabletop and video), programming, and mathematics.

Callin Hahn (she, her, hers)

GrantCorps VISTA Member – Statewide Data Analyst

Callin Hahn (she/her/hers) is a Statewide Data Analyst VISTA working with GrantCorps at the CRC. As a Data Analyst, she combines her love for research and mathematical problem-solving with her passion for lifting people out of poverty. Before joining the CRC, Callin had careers in software engineering and in raising children. She holds a M.A. in International Development from the University of Denver. Having called Colorado home for most of her life, Callin enjoys camping, lakes, and skiing and spends most of her free time making fun for her three kids.

Joe Raymond (he, pers, name)

GrantCorps VISTA Member – Grantwriting Specialist

Joe is a recent graduate of UNCO. He came to Colorado in 2021 after a service year with AmeriCorps Indiana, where he taught work literacy remotely to adults. Joe finished writing in what he refers to as his Volume I when he retired in 2017. He considers joining VISTA  to be the start of his Volume II, Chapter 4. In Indiana, Joe fundraised for the Midwest Food Bank & Gleaners because 22% of that city lives in a food desert without access to transportation. He was also active with multiple agencies in varied capacities that support BIPOC Indianapolis communities in need of housing, medical care, educational supplies, clothing, transportation and housewares.

Joe prefers to drive the country roads over the highways whenever reasonable. This is probably a direct result of growing up in Council Bluffs, Iowa and spending summers and holidays working on his cousin’s Iowa farms. Work, sunshine, community, and food were plentiful. He believes VISTA will provide him an opportunity to support preserving some of that legacy.

Joe’s employment experiences include a startup of his own print studio in California, decades of direct technical support and troubleshooting for manufacturers, working hands-on with customers to improve their processes, creating and developing marketing materials, writing and delivering technical training programs, authoring articles in multiple countries, product development, and project management in addition to his work with “not for profits”. Three years ago he began “The Grey Goat Project”, a mobile art studio intending to serve Veterans reentering our community, seniors and schools without resources through artistic expression. Grant Corps seems to be the perfect opportunity to roll his experience into passion.

Lori Sharp (she, her, hers)

Principal, ThinkSharp! Consulting
Grant Consultant, GrantCorps

Lori is the founder of ThinkSharp! Consulting. Lori has over 10 years of grant management and NPO consulting experience, and her work has led to increased and stable funding for each client she works with. She prides herself on her client and funder relationships, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to represent her clients with integrity and passion.

Amy Stahlin (she, her, hers)

Director, ThinkSharp! Consulting
Grant Consultant, GrantCorps

Amy Stahlin is a Director at ThinkSharp! Consulting who specializes in grant writing and event direction for rural nonprofits.  Following a lifetime of volunteer involvement in nonprofit organizations, she joined the ThinkSharp! team in 2020. She started her grants career in academia as the Director of Prestigious Grants and Scholarships at a private university in Washington, DC. She moved to Montrose in 2015 and quickly recognized the vital community work that was happening in local nonprofits. Her favorite part of her job is helping rural nonprofits bring in the kind of funding that elevates their mission and ensures that they will be able to help their community for years to come. 

Amy has also been a professional dancer, a CrossFit coach, a natural parenting consultant, and a writer. She graduated from Emory University, then went to The Catholic University of America to pursue her graduate degree in Irish and Southern Literature. After a lifetime in big cities on the East Coast, she has happily settled into to her rural Colorado mountain life. She loves to explore the best places on the western slope with her husband and teenage kids—skiing, rafting, hiking, and going to amazing bluegrass festivals. 

Felicia Tapia (she, her, hers)

Grant Consultant, GrantCorps

Felicia joined Community Resource Center in December 2022 as a Consultant focused on supporting and expanding the capacity of the GrantCorps Program. She was born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology with a minor in Creative Writing from Colorado State University-Pueblo. Her background in nonprofit behavioral health and writing center work in higher education naturally led her to working with nonprofits and grant writing. Growing up on the eastside of Pueblo, a population experiencing low socioeconomic status and high health disparities, Felicia experienced the power and impact of nonprofit programs and grant-funded initiatives. She feels fortunate to be able to work alongside nonprofits, especially small nonprofits belonging to marginalized communities, and is excited about her partnership with CRC. Aside from working with nonprofits, Felicia enjoys dark skies and open spaces, reading anything from a good meme to a book from the stack, writing poetry, memoir, and fiction, and listening to eclectic music with her husband and their two cat friends.

Resources

State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) Colorado Nonprofit Subrecipient Toolkit

This Toolkit has been established to assist smaller nonprofits serving rural communities and organizations that focus efforts on underserved workforce populations, in navigating the State & Local Fiscal Recovery Fund grant application and reporting process. The guide was developed in partnership between Community Resource Center & the Colorado Workforce Development Council. 

Helpful Links

State & Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) Info Session Video: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, national, state, and local governments are being charged with supporting communities in their response and recovery. The State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, or SLFRF, is one mechanism that is directing funds to state, local, and Tribal governments across the country to support their response to and recovery from COVID-19. In this session we cover the offerings, eligibility, and requirements of the State & Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) as well as resources to assist nonprofit organizations with limited fund development capacity to seek and apply for these government grants.

Colorado Grants Guide: developed by the Community Resource Center (CRC), is the state’s leading online resource for funding research. This database contains hundreds of profiles of local foundations and trusts, corporations, national funders, government agencies and religious organizations that support Colorado nonprofits. These profiles are updated regularly, so as to always provide the most relevant information available.

Have questions?

Contact Us!

Katy Pepinsky, Director of Grant Services: email hidden; JavaScript is required, tel: 720.885.9889. Ella habla español.

GrantCorps FAQ

Yes! Even if you do not meet ALL of our eligibility criteria you may still qualify for services.

Yes, GrantCorps services are available free of charge to eligible non-profit organizations. 

The GrantCorps program is able to do its work free of charge because it is funded by grants from the following organizations: AmeriCorps, Boettcher Foundation, Colorado Workforce Development Council, and the Kenneth King Foundation.

The GrantCorps team will process your interest form and then reach out to you via your preferred method of communication, either to let you know that you are eligible and inform you of what the next steps are, or to let you know that you are not eligible and refer you to some helpful resources.

There are four tiers of GrantCorps services: Consultation, Coaching, Training, and Access to Information. For more information, please see the “Our Services” Section above.

In order to participate, partners will be asked to provide:

  • A completed GrantCorps Interest Form,
  • A contact person within the organization who is ready and willing to participate in the program, and
  • A signed Services Agreement, sent to the contact person after their intake meeting, that outlines the terms and expectations of both participants and the GrantCorps team during service.

2023 Funders of GrantCorps