Career Launch Grant

Career Launch Grant is sponsored by Colorado Department of Higher Education (through the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative). This program provides matching scholarship funds to nonprofit organizations that support Colorado students pursuing credentials at public institutions of higher education.

4. Student and Academic Affairs 5. COSI: Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative **COSI announces up to $1.

5 million dollars in grant funding available for the 2026-2027 Career Launch Application Cycle!

** The Career Launch grant is designed to provide tuition support to students via matching funds for community scholarships so that tuition costs are not a barrier to entry, to reduce the currently unmanageable amount of student loan debt, and to create a workforce that has the skills, knowledge, adaptability, and diversity to continue to drive Colorado’s economic growth.

Scholarship organizations are required to match COSI funding 1:1 with community scholarship dollars and provide students with a connection to career services/opportunities. For **fiscal year 2026-2027**, the Career Launch grant will leverage $1. 5 million in state funds to generate $3 million in new scholarship funds to support Colorado students in postsecondary education and degree attainment.

These funds can potentially impact up to 1,000 students over the next few years as they pursue a credential. * Provide financial support to reduce student loan debt. * Ensure each Career Launch student is connected with career opportunities that provide gainful employment and a livable wage.

* Support credential completion in high-demand pathways that support Colorado’s Top Jobs. View Request For Application Submit an Application Form here **COSI CL Application Launch Informational Webinar** An informational session was held on July 13th. View the recording and session slides.

Questions regarding the Request for Application must be submitted through the Career Launch 2026-2027 RFA Questions Form. Deadline to submit questions is August 12. A Frequently Asked Questions Document will be released to address all questions on August 20th.

View the Request for Application. Please review the entire request for proposal for all the specific grant rules and requirements.

## Organization/Applicant Eligibility Non-profit organizations - 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4), and their partners who are committed to increasing the availability of scholarship dollars for Colorado students, leveraging COSI funds to incentivize new philanthropic monies, and promoting student support best practices aimed at completion are eligible to apply.

Scholarships should not be intended to supplant federal, state, local or non-federal funds. Scholarships should provide support for significant funding gaps in cost of attendance to help close the affordability gap for students pursuing postsecondary credentials. To maximize COSI, the matching funds, and support students across the state, students should only receive scholarship funds from one COSI grant per academic year.

COSI recommends the use of the Last Dollar Plus model in the awarding of funds. ## Program Participant Criteria * Participants must demonstrate financial need: * This can be determined using Pell eligibility a must be between 0 and 100% or between 101% and 250% of the maximum permissible income to determine eligibility for Pell grants.

* If you are unable to determine a student’s eligibility using FAFSA, the COSI Eligibility Verification Guidance is a resource for alternative ways to ensure a student meets the financial need threshold. * Colorado residents for tuition purposes (includes ASSET students);students); * Attending public area technical colleges, community colleges, four-year institutions of higher education, and research institutions in Colorado.

* Funds can be used for a student’s Cost of Attendance. Grant terms are two years in length. COSI has the following grant term requirements: * For 2026-2027 awards, grantees will be required to start disbursement of their funds no later than Fall 2028 and complete spending funds by June 30, 2030.

Career Launch grants are competitive. Funding will be contingent upon annual appropriations by the State Legislature and any other further discretion at the jurisprudence of the grantor. The Career Launch grant requires that both the COSI award and matching funds serve the same student population.

Funded proposals will be eligible for continued funding in the subsequent years of the grant cycle after successfully demonstrating the following: * Submission of all required evaluation materials. * Adequate progress toward successfully meeting annual objectives; and * Full matching and distribution of scholarship funds as outlined in the agreement; and * Completed annual report to demonstrate fidelity to proceed in subsequent years.

1. **Organization Information** Provide your organization’s name, Unique Entity Identifier 0F[](https://cdhe. colorado.

gov/career-launch-grant) (if applicable), and contact details for the designated signatory and the application contact person. Confirm your organization is eligible to apply. Provide your request amount and select your administrative fee.

**2. Career Launch Grant Design & Objectives** Confirm the scholar eligibility criteria and share any additional criteria your scholarship will require. Additional criteria can be added, but not required, at your organization’s discretion.

Some examples include but are not limited to, requiring the student to maintain a certain GPA; be an adult learner 25+ with some college, no degree; be enrolled in a specific academic pathway; complete volunteer hours; be a resident of certain county; be a graduate of a specific school district; etc. In this section of the application, your organization will be asked to share the grant focus and set your grant objectives, including scholarship distribution, completion, connection to career services, and matching funding.

This area will be used to design grant agreements. While some adjustments can be made, your application should align with what you intend to include in the statement of work in your agreement if funding is awarded. To maintain the integrity of the awards that the COSI Board has decided on, deviations may not be approved.

**3. Career Launch Narrative Questions** Answer narrative questions that show your strategy for distributing funding and how it aligns with the goals of the Career Launch grant. This will factor heavily into the scoring of the application.

COSI suggests applicants review the scoring rubric in the Request for application. **4. Acknowledgement of Reporting Requirements** Acknowledge that you read, understand, and agree to COSI Reporting Requirements.

**5. Acknowledgement of Assurances** Acknowledge that you read, understand, and agree to COSI Assurances The timeline for the application process is listed below. Please note changes in the application process from past application cycles.

There will be one application deadline with no opportunity to edit applications after the deadline. In addition, there is a time period to submit questions. Questions submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

**Application Tasks****Deadline** **Request for Application (RFA) Release**June 29, 2026 **Application Portal Opens**July 13, 2026 **Application Launch Meeting**July 13, 2026 at 1pm **Application Launch Meeting Recording Posted on The Website**July 14, 2026 **Career Launch 2026-2027 RFA Questions Form Deadline**August 12, 2026 at 11:59pm **FAQ Posted**August 20, 2026 **Application Deadline**September 14, 2026 by 11:59 pm **COSI Board Meeting**December 11, 2026 **Award Notification**December 18, 2026 **Draft Agreements Sent Out**January 8, 2027 **Welcome Session**January 7, 2026 at 1pm **Agreement Signature Due in Docusign**February 22, 2027