Richard C. Saunders Annual Community Grant Program, administered by Saunders Construction, Inc., is accepting applications from eligible Colorado nonprofits for its inaugural 2026 cycle. One organization will receive up to $10,000 for program development, project implementation, or general operating expenses aligned with the program’s focus areas.
Deadline: October 30, 2026. Saunders does not publish a submission clock time or time zone, so Atlas does not infer one. The application opened August 17, 2026; internal review is scheduled for November, executive selection for December, recipient announcement for January 2027, and funding distribution for February 2027.
Eligibility and geography: applicants must be registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in good standing within Colorado, operate in communities where Saunders Construction has a presence or impact, demonstrate financial and organizational stability, align with a grant focus area, and provide required financial and governance documentation. Individuals, for-profit entities, political organizations, sectarian religious organizations, capital campaigns, and organizations with direct conflicts of interest involving Saunders employees are ineligible.
Priority areas: Youth Education & Development includes early childhood, K-12, post-secondary readiness, workforce/trades, STEM, literacy, mentoring, career exploration and leadership development. Mental Health includes youth or family mental-health services, prevention, early intervention, wellness, community education and increased access to care. Arts & Creative Expression is also eligible.
Match / cost share: no mandatory matching or cost-share requirement is stated in the current official program page or application. Atlas will not infer one.
Eligible-cost / procurement controls: the program expressly permits support for program development, project implementation and general operating expenses, while capital campaigns are excluded. The public materials do not separately establish medical-device, telehealth-technology, vendor/subcontractor or procurement rules. Any N9+ or other technology expense must therefore be confirmed as allowable for the applicant’s specific project before it is represented as grant-eligible.
Application and required materials: applicants provide legal name, EIN, mission and primary contact; initiative description; target population/geography; focus-area alignment; community need; anticipated outcomes and measures; total program budget, amount requested and proposed use of funds. Supplemental materials are the IRS determination letter, most recent financial statement or Form 990, Board of Directors list and conflict-of-interest acknowledgment.
Submission: completed applications must be emailed to Teena Bergstrand, Vice President of Market Strategy and Communication, at t.bergstrand@saundersinc.com. The public news page also lists m.inquiries@saundersinc.com as a media contact; Atlas uses the application PDF’s t.bergstrand@saundersinc.com address as the controlling submission destination.
Selection and reporting: Saunders’ Executive Team evaluates mission alignment, community impact, organizational capacity, fiscal responsibility, sustainability, outcomes and budget. The recipient will execute a grant agreement and provide a one-page report within 12 months describing use of funds and impact.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 86/100. N9+ Fit Score: 15/100 conditional. QC Healthcare / other Dr. Miltie fit: 15/100 conditional. Dr. Miltie direct-applicant fit: 0/100.
The strongest Atlas relevance is behavioral health, youth/family mental health, community mental-health access and education/workforce development. N9+ should not be forced: remote physical examination technology is not specifically identified as an eligible expense, the award ceiling is modest, and the program is not a clinical-device procurement. A technology role is appropriate only if an eligible nonprofit proposes a genuine access-to-care project and Saunders confirms the cost is allowable. Dr. Miltie, LLC is not an eligible direct applicant because for-profit entities are expressly excluded.