Colorado WAGEES

Request for Proposals

The Latino Coalition for Community Leadership is excited to announce a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) for community-based organizations (CBOs) interested in becoming a Work and Gain Education and Employment Skills Program (WAGEES) Community Partner.

This competitive RFP, hosted by the Latino Coalition for Community Leadership, will result in the selection and disbursement of program grant funds to one WAGEES reentry community partner, in Logan County, Colorado and the surrounding area. The grant award notification will take place no later than September 27, 2024. Although the State of Colorado runs on a fiscal year starting July 1 and ending on June 30 of the following year, the LCCL has established a project term of 9-months, beginning on October 1, 2024 and concluding on June 30, 2025 for this RFP. The grant award amount for this RFP is $218,500 with a required 65 WAGEES participant enrollments by the end of the project term.

The WAGEES program is a successful community reentry program created by the Colorado General Assembly as part of House Bill 14-1355 and expanded through House Bill 18-1176. The program facilitates reentry for people under the Colorado Department of Corrections supervision (i.e. parole, transition in Community Corrections) or within one year from their discharge date. WAGEES grantees work in partnership with the Latino Coalition for Community Leadership, the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC), and twenty-one WAGEES community partners to help coordinate services and provide opportunities and support for successful reentry.
The WAGEES program is administered by Latino Coalition for Community Leadership (LCCL), a community-facing intermediary advancing resource equity and community well-being through our mission to find, fund, form and feature grassroots and nonprofit organizations in historically marginalized communities.

How To Apply

The application portal opens at 8:00am (MST) on Thursday, August 15, 2024 and closes at 5:00pm (MST) on Sunday, September 15, 2024. The RFP application is available by clicking here or by clicking on the link below.

https://lccl.givingdata.com/portal/campaign/coloradowagees

Interested organizations should read and be knowledgeable of the roles, responsibilities and expectations of WAGEES funded community partners through the RFP guidance document available at the link below.

WAGEES RFP Guidance

Organizations interested in responding to this RFP are invited to utilize the Application Reference Handout in preparing their response. The document is available at the link below

WAGEES Application Reference Handout

WAGEES Enrollment Plan

The WAGEES enrollment plan, to be uploaded in your RFP response is available by clicking on the link below. Please review the RFP Guidance Document and the Application Reference Handout for more information on the WAGEES enrollment plan.

Click Here for Enrollment Plan Form

WAGEES Budget and Budget Narrative

The WAGEES proposed budget and budget narrative, to be uploaded in your RFP response is available by clicking on the link below. Please review the RFP Guidance Document and the RFP Application Reference Handout for more information on the WAGEES Budget and Budget Narrative.

Click Here for Budget and Budget Narrative Template

Applicant Webinars & “Get Ready” Events

The LCCL hosted three RFP “Get-Ready” and  informational events in Sterling, Colorado on Friday, August 23, Thursday, August 29, and Friday, August 30, 2024.

For general questions regarding the Latino Coalition for Community Leadership and/or the request for proposal process, please contact Jake Schutz, WAGEES Program Coordinator, at jake@latinocoalition.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Organizations eligible to respond to this RFP must be a Colorado-based non-profit organization (including nonprofits without a 501(c)(3) designation from the Internal Revenue Service) or any Indian or Native American entity. For-profit organizations and units of government are not eligible to apply.

  • WAGEES grant funding for state fiscal 2025-2026, and all future state fiscal years,  is contingent upon the availability of funds provided by the Colorado General Assembly and Colorado Department of Corrections. The LCCL may require Community Partners to reapply for continued funding beyond the performance period outlined in WAGEES Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and will provide written guidance regarding any such reapplication process. The reapplication process is largely based on previous performance and compliance and takes into account the community partner’s performance measures and completion of deliverables described in the MOU.

  • The organization awarded under this RFP is required to provide community reentry services, either directly or by community-based referral, to returning community members referred to the program by the CDOC.

  • LCCL and WAGEES program seeks participation from leadership and program staff with lived experience particularly those that are justice impacted. The background check process is not intended to be exclusionary; however it is required by the CDOC Division of Adult Parole for all WAGEES staff who will have direct contact with enrolled WAGEES participants. This generally includes organizational leadership and program staff. The LCCL sets up and manages this process but approval lies with the CDOC Division of Adult Parole. The existence of a criminal background is not grounds for automatic denial and will be considered on a case by case basis especially in circumstances in which the individual is still under supervision.

Helpful Guidance

The CBRI application will be submitted through LCCL’s GivingData platform. Please see the slides for step-by-step instructions for how to submit your application.

GivingData Submission Tutorial