FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2026
CONTACT:
Lindsay DeFrates, Dep. Director of Communications/PIO – 970.456.8973; ldefrates@crwcd.org
Colorado River District Celebrates Five-Year Milestone for Community Funding Partnership Program
Since launching in 2021, the program has invested $32 million and leveraged an additional $98 million in funding. See the impact of CFP’s first five years in the new CFP Annual Report.
GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — The Colorado River District is celebrating the five-year milestone of its Community Funding Partnership (CFP), a voter-approved funding program created to help West Slope communities advance multi-benefit water projects and build long-term solutions in the face of hotter, drier conditions. Since launching in 2021, CFP has awarded $32 million to 147 grants across western Colorado and leveraged $98 million in additional outside funding.
CFP was made possible after West Slope voters overwhelmingly approved ballot question 7A in 2020, which provided dedicated funding to invest in locally driven solutions that support agriculture, infrastructure, healthy rivers, watershed health and water quality, and conservation and efficiency.
“Over the past five years, we have built a dynamic and responsive funding program that delivers for West Slope water users,” said Amy Moyer, Colorado River District Chief of Strategy. “With dedicated staff and targeted opportunities like the Accelerator Grant and financial sustainability pilot programs, we continue to respond where the need is greatest. Looking forward, we remain committed to leaning into durable, long-term opportunities that help water users adapt to hotter and drier conditions.”
CFP provides multiple funding opportunities that meet local needs and advance priority projects. General grants provide funding for multi-benefit water projects across the West Slope, while emergency grants offer rapid assistance for urgent and unforeseen needs. The Accelerator Grant Program, launched in 2022, helps local partners compete for state and federal dollars by supporting early-stage planning, engineering, feasibility studies, and grant writing needs, and has leveraged an average of $64 in additional outside funding for every $1 invested. In 2023, CFP made a legacy investment in long-term West Slope water security by committing $20 million to the Shoshone Water Rights Preservation Project, a once-in-a-generation effort to protect essential Colorado River flows that support West Slope communities, agriculture, river health and aquatic ecosystems, water quality for drinking water supplies, and local economies. Additionally, the program introduced the Irrigation Company Financial Stability Pilot Grant program in 2025 to help agricultural water users plan pay for long-term infrastructure needs.
“Looking back on the impact the Community Funding Partnership has made in the past five years has provided an incredible window to how we aim to deliver the program into the future,” said Melissa Wills, CFP Program Manager. “We will continue to remain an accessible funding source for all water users, provide flexible and adaptable grant programming, serve as a convener of stakeholders to share knowledge, and be responsive and nimble to get funds on the ground efficiently.”
To learn more about the Community Funding Partnership’s first five years of impact, visit the 2025 CFP Annual Report. To explore details about funded projects across the Western Slope, visit the CFP Impact Dashboard.
About the Community Funding Partnership: The Colorado River District’s Community Funding Partnership was approved by western Colorado voters as part of ballot initiative 7A in November 2020. Launched in 2021, the program funds multi-purpose water projects on the western slope across five categories: productive agriculture, infrastructure, healthy rivers, watershed health and water quality, and conservation and efficiency. Learn more and apply for funding at coloradoriverdistrict.org/community-funding-partnership.
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