Grant Priorities

To ensure that your organization fits within our foundation’s funding criteria, please review the foundation’s funding priorities. All applicants must be classified as a 501(c)(3) organization by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation will consider funding public policy requests from out-of-state organizations, all other organizations must operate in Colorado, and special consideration given to rural Colorado nonprofits.

Youth and Youth Development

Youth and Youth Development

  • One-to-one mentoring
  • Academic tutoring
  • Character development
  • Leadership
  • STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
  • Financial literacy
Adult Work Programs

Adult Work Programs

  • Paid on-the-job training
  • Vocational training
  • Job placement
Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

  • Requests by invitation only
Integrative Medicine

Integrative Medicine

  • Requests by invitation only
Public Policy

Public Policy

  • Enhance understanding of the free enterprise system
  • Preserve the principles upon which our democracy was founded to help ensure a limited role for government and the protection of individual rights as provided for in the Constitution
  • Encourage personal responsibility and leadership
  • Uphold traditional American values

Preference

Preference is given to organizations exhibiting aspects of the following list:

  • Year-round programming
  • Transformational outcomes
  • Total mission alignment, please don’t pull out one small program that might be a fit (exceptions for rural)
  • Direct service organizations
  • Organizations that strongly align with our foundation’s funding priorities
  • Strong leaders, strong financial health
  • Bereavement
  • Pregnancy centers
  • Community centers

For more important information about application specifics and deadlines, our review process and more, please click on each below to download in PDF format.

Grant Priorities
Colorado Specific
Frequently Asked Questions
Grant Priorities
Integrative Medicine Specific
Frequently Asked Questions
Grant Priorities
Public Policy Specific
Frequently Asked Questions

Exclusions

Areas of funding the Foundation is not considering at this time:

  • Adaptive or winter sports programs
  • Animal or animal-related projects
  • Arts or arts-related projects
  • Books and publishing
  • Church or church-related projects
  • Conferences, seminars, or event sponsorship
  • Credit counseling
  • Debt reduction
  • Domestic violence shelters
  • Emergency and basic services (food, housing)
  • GED classes
  • Health organizations (disease-specific and national)
  • Homelessness
  • Individuals
  • Media or film-related projects
  • Museum or museum-related projects
  • Organizations with international components
  • Preschools or daycare centers
  • Programs and organizations receiving 50% or more of revenue from government sources, including fee-for-service contracts
  • Research projects
  • Schools (public, charter or private), including higher education and associated foundations
  • Senior programs (nursing homes, extended-care facilities, respite care)
  • Start-up funding (organizations and programs must be in operation for at least one full year)

Grant Award Facts

Since 1976, the Foundation has provided a total of 7,457 grants for a cumulative grant total of $317 million.
In 2024, the Adolph Coors Foundation awarded 148 grants totaling $9 million.