Instructions for Completing the Capital Construction Assistance Online Grant Application

Print one completed application for your records. Grant submission to BEST will be electronic.

• Supporting Documents (including a scanned signature page) are considered part of the grant application, and must be submitted via Syncplicity by the deadline below.

The complete electronic grant application, including all supporting materials and an uploaded signature page, must be submitted before 4pm on Thursday, June 15, 2023.

• Pursuant to §22-43.7-109(a) C.R.S., the Division may only provide financial assistance for:
  • A capital construction project for a public school facility that the applicant owns or will have the right to own in the future under the terms of a lease-purchase agreement with the owner of the facility or a sublease-purchase agreement with the State
  • A capital construction project for a public school in existence for at least three years at any time before the board receives an application for financial assistance.
  • An applicant that is operating or will operate in the next budget year in a leased facility that is:
    • Listed on the state inventory of real property and improvements and other capital assets maintained by the Office of the State Architect pursuant to section 24-30-1303.5, C.R.S.; or
    • State-owned property leased by the State Board of Land Commissioners, described in section 36-1-101.5, C.R.S., to the applicant.
• If the Actual Match on this request is less than the CDE Listed Minimum Adjusted District Match Percentage:
  • A Waiver Application must be submitted with this application.
• If the Actual Match on this request is less than 75%:
  • This project may need to comply with Colorado's "High Performance Certification Program", pursuant to 24-30-1301 and 24-30-1305 C.R.S. Please call your Regional Program Manager for additional information.

View frequently asked questions about the BEST Grant

Please include an electronic copy of photos with the application via CDE's file sharing provider, Syncplicity. (Please request a shared BEST folder for the application if one was not provided to the applicant's grant manager.)

The photos should be high-resolution and in a JPEG, GIF, PNG, or TIFF format, or PowerPoint slides only (template provided here) . Paper copies, Word documents, or PDF files are not acceptable formats. Descriptive captions are encouraged in images. Please keep file names concise but descriptive, no more than 20 characters.

Photos for all applications, regardless of scope, should include:

• A photo of the front elevation of each affected facility;
• A current and proposed site plan and/or pertinent drawings of the proposed solution, if available (strongly recommended for replacement schools and major renovations);
• Up to ten additional images or slides specific to the project, showing context, conditions, or other relevant visuals.

A complete grant application will include the online grant application as well as electronically submitted supporting materials. In order for the submitted grant application to be considered complete, the following must be included or the application may not be accepted. Be sure to answer all application questions. The BEST grant is a competitive grant, incomplete responses may be scored accordingly.

Online Grant Application:

• CC-03 online grant application

Electronic Submittals (Submit via Syncplicity upload by due date):

• Scanned signature page from the submitted CC-03 online application
• Photos as described above
• All Supporting Documentation outlined on the Submittal Requirements Based on Project Scope page of the application
• Detailed project budget using provided format
• Waiver application if not providing the minimum applicant match

The online application tool allows multiple users to collaborate on a grant application.

• Grant Managers are the primary BEST application contact person for an applicant District, Charter School, BOCES, or Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, and must be school or district personnel. Grant Manager accounts are assigned by CDE on request to applicants who have submitted a notification of intent to apply. Grant Managers can add or remove Grant Contributors and Grant Reviewers, create, edit, and print new applications, and have the sole ability to lock and submit the application(s) for final signature.
• Grant Contributors are assigned by Grant Managers, and may view, edit, and print the grant application(s) created by the Grant Manager.
• Grant Reviewers are assigned by Grant Managers, and may view and print the grant application(s) created by the Grant Manager.