Boundless Opportunity Scholarship

Boundless Opportunity Scholarship®: Call for Proposals 2026

FutureRise invites Colorado postsecondary education and workforce training programs (“learning providers”) to apply for Boundless Opportunity® Scholarship funds. Through this initiative, FutureRise provides grants ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 for one-year terms to support scholarships for non-traditional students who are pursuing credentials that lead to economic mobility. We seek partners who demonstrate strong learner outcomes, a commitment to co-investment, and an orientation toward systems-level innovation in postsecondary education and workforce development in the state of Colorado.

Boundless Opportunity Scholarship (BOS)

The Boundless Opportunity Scholarship (BOS) benefits highly motivated non-traditional students who recognize the power of education to create a better life for themselves and their families. The program helps hardworking students invest in themselves and prepare for in-demand career opportunities. The scholarship is available to non-traditional students in Colorado who are seeking short-term credentials of value aligned to in-demand career fields.

Scholarships are provided as block grants to learning providers, who then award individual scholarships to student applicants in approved programs. Participating learning providers manage all aspects of the application process and the selection of recipients based on the eligibility criteria established by the Daniels Fund. Each participating provider establishes their own criteria for defining financial need.

Scholarship Eligibility 

To be eligible, an applicant must be a legal resident of Colorado, and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. Applicants must also be able to demonstrate the need for financial assistance to reach their educational goals. Each postsecondary learning provider chooses to offer the Boundless Opportunity Scholarship to one or more of the following student populations:

  • Adults entering or returning to college (age 22+)

  • GED recipients

  • Veterans entering or returning to college

  • Active military

  • ROTC participants

  • Former foster care youth

  • Former juvenile justice youth

Use of Funds 

Boundless Opportunity Scholarship proceeds may only be used to assist non-traditional students in securing credentials of value in in-demand careers. Approved expenses include: tuition and fees; room and board; books and supplies; transportation/commuting expenses (limited to gas or public transportation); and related personal expenses. No portion of BOS grant funds may be applied to foundation, management, or other administrative costs. However, with each BOS grant, FutureRise will provide an additional 5% administrative fee allowance that will complement the scholarship funds and support your ability to maximize them. 

What We're Looking For

We evaluate proposals based on three criteria:

1) Demonstrated Success in Completion and Employment (50%):

Strong track record of moving learners from enrollment through credential completion and into quality employment in in-demand industries (see below for priority sectors). We prioritize programs with historical completion rates of at least: 

  • 80% retention and 80% completion rate

  • 80% employment rate within 6 months of program completion

  • 80% of participants achieve a starting salary of at least $45,000

Scholarships will be approved on a programmatic, rather than institutional/organizational basis to ensure alignment with the labor market. Please be sure to provide the data on each of the programs you would like to be considered for BOS funding. In-demand industries include: Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace and Defense, Bioscience, Construction and Skilled Trades, Education and Early Education, Energy and Natural Resources, Financial Services, First Responders (Police, Fire, EMT), Healthcare and Behavioral Health, Quantum Computing and Sensing, Technology and Cybersecurity

 2) Financial Match and Sustainability (30%):

Ability to match FutureRise's investment at least 1:1, though greater matching leverage does improve competitiveness. Employer contributions are weighted more heavily in the evaluation process. Matching contributions do not need to match individual scholarships, but they should be allocated to the same programs that the BOS students are completing. Acceptable matching funds include private donations, employer contributions, earned income directly generated by the grantee’s program activities, or new or competitively awarded public funding (such as government grants, fee-for-service contracts, or performance-based reimbursements, including but not limited to Prosperity Denver Fund reimbursements). Unacceptable sources include pass-through entitlements (e.g. SNAP, TANF, Medicaid) or other pre-existing government funding not competitively awarded or directly tied to the grantee’s program performance (such as COSI). Grantees must document matching funds in the interim and final reports identifying the source of the match and provide an annual audited statement verifying the match.

3. Systems Change and Policy Innovation (20%):

Evidence that your work contributes to meaningful, practice-based learning about how Colorado’s postsecondary education and workforce systems can operate more effectively, equitably, and at scale. We are seeking investments that function as applied learning labs: testing delivery models, partnerships, credentialing approaches, or funding structures under real-world conditions and generating insights that can inform future system design and implementation decisions. Competitive proposals will clearly articulate what will be tested, what will be learned, and how those learnings could be relevant beyond a single institution or site. We are particularly interested in learning generated through the following policy-and system-relevant questions and prototypes:

  • Testing What It Takes to Launch and Sustain High-Quality Adult Training Sites
    What cost structures, partnerships, funding models, and implementation conditions are required to launch and sustain employer-aligned adult training in in-demand industries.

  • Operationalizing College Credit for the “Big Three” in High School
    How can learning providers award real, transferable postsecondary credit for industry credentials, dual enrollment, work-based learning, and credit for prior learning, and what are the implications for faculty practice, credit transfer, and employer recognition?

  • Scaling Short-Term Credentials Under Outcomes-Driven Models
    Can short-term credentials and work-based pathways scale while maintaining quality, employer trust, and strong learner outcomes within performance-based or outcomes-driven funding environments?

  • Reducing Friction Through System Enablers and Infrastructure
    Which mechanisms, such as credit transfer, data sharing, credential quality assurance, employer validation, or regional coordination, most effectively reduce structural barriers and improve system coherence?

As a private foundation, our role is to support implementation and learning, not advocacy. We are interested in credible, practice-based insights about what works, what doesn’t, and why.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include postsecondary institutions, apprenticeship programs, career and technical education providers, and other workforce training organizations operating in Colorado. Applicants must be a public or nonprofit entity in good standing with relevant licensing bodies. Both current Boundless Opportunity Scholarship grantees and new applicants are encouraged to apply.

How to Apply

Complete the online application form by March 27, 2026 at 5:00 PM Mountain Time:

The application asks about your organization, program details, historical outcomes, scholarship plans, matching funds, target populations, and projected results. You will also be asked to describe your systems change and policy innovation work. No separate narrative documents, cover letters, or appendices are required. All information should be submitted through the form.

Timeline

  • Call for Proposals Released - February 4, 2026

  • Intent to Apply Due - February 19, 2026

  • Applications Due - March 27, 2026

  • Finalist Conversations - April 13–April 23, 2026

  • Award Notifications - June 5, 2026

  • Grant Period Begins - July 1, 2026

Questions

For questions about this Call for Proposals, contact the Program Administrator, at Info@futurerise.org.

FutureRise encourages applications from organizations serving historically underserved communities.

The Boundless Opportunity Scholarship, established by the Daniels Fund in 2003, is inspired by Bill Daniels’ belief that "America remains the greatest nation on Earth, where boundless opportunities still exist for each and every one of us."