Turning Conservation Plans into Action
The Nature Conservancy offers new, limited funding for southwest Colorado communities
After years marked by increasingly severe drought, periodic flooding and destructive wildfires, communities across Southwest Colorado are seeking practical ways to protect forests, rivers, agricultural lands and the people who depend on them. To help meet this moment, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is launching a new limited funding opportunity to support local partners to take actions that can build resilience across our landscapes for a brighter future.
Drought and flood resilience projects deliver tangible benefits for communities including healthier streams and rivers, reduced flood damage, healthier forests that lower severe wildfire risk, and stronger agricultural operations that improve soil health and long-term productivity.
“We’re excited to share this new funding opportunity with partners who are working to protect the natural resources that make Colorado a remarkable place,” said Mickey O’Hara, Southwest Colorado freshwater project director for TNC. “These entities bring deep local knowledge, trusted relationships and lived experience that are essential to creating lasting solutions.”
The funding opportunity has two primary goals:
- to support the development and implementation of projects that create long-term drought and flood resilience for people and nature; and
- to provide capacity support for entities pursuing these near-term resilience projects.
TNC anticipates awarding up to $600,000 total across two funding rounds in 2026 and 2027, with individual awards ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. Awards will be cost reimbursable, with the potential for small advance payments, and will be issued through a grant agreement with TNC.
First round applications are due by 5:00 p.m. MDT on May 22, 2026. Applicants may be invited to clarify application information with TNC staff during the review process. Funding decisions for the first round will be announced on or before June 15, 2026.
Interested parties are encouraged to contact TNC at swcofunding@tnc.org to learn more.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more resilient. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 83 countries and territories (39 by direct conservation impact and 44 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. For more news, visit our newsroom or follow The Nature Conservancy on LinkedIn.
Our work in Colorado
What Colorado Trailblazers Teach Us About Wildfire Recovery
Meet our two Phil James Conservation Award winners and discover how they’re restoring Colorado’s ponderosa pine forests.
Charting a Future for the Colorado River
The Colorado River Basin—which supplies 80% of the water that Coloradans use—is ground zero for climate change in the United States. Learn how Colorado can help improve water security.
Reviving Western Waterways With a Hands-on Approach
Across the western United States, TNC, partners and local communities are restoring wet meadows and riparian corridors in the face of climate change.