STEPP FY27-29 LPHA Interest Form

Webinar

STEPP hosted a webinar via Zoom on November 19, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. to provide an overview of the updated Community Tobacco/Nicotine Initiatives Framework for Local Public Health Agencies and to help answer LPHAs' questions. The webinar was hosted on Zoom and recorded, and posted on this webpage and on the Tobacco Funding Opportunities webpage. 

Webinar Recording

• STEPP FY27-29 LPHA Interest Form Webinar Recording. (mp4)

Webinar Presentation Slides

• STEPP FY27-29 LPHA Interest Form Webinar Presentation Slides. (PDF)

Questions

LPHAs may submit written questions using the LPHA Question form to obtain clarification of the LPHA Framework. 

• LPHA Question form. (Google form)
  • Answers to questions received before the webinar, by noon on November 18, 2025, will be discussed during the webinar and will be available online on November 21, 2025.
  • Questions received after the webinar will be posted every other Friday, starting November 28, 2025.

Answers

• Question Submission Answers. (Google Doc)

STEPP anticipates awarding grant funding for a twelve-month grant period with the option to extend full grant funds for FY27 - FY29. All annual renewals are contingent upon grantee performance, availability of funds, the landscape of tobacco control efforts within Colorado, and Tobacco Review Committee (TRC) and Board of Health recommendations and approvals. STEPP reserves the right to modify funding as deemed appropriate. Additional funds may become available over time, potentially resulting in increased or additional awards. All funded agencies will be required to implement a predetermined number of evidence-based commercial tobacco control strategies based on funding level.

Proposed FY27 LHA funding amounts are approximately $11.2 million. Funding is subject to annual appropriations by the Colorado General Assembly and approval by the Colorado Board of Health (BOH). Absent a significant change in state economic circumstances, applicants can expect level funding for each year of the funding period.

LPHA Funding Amounts

• LPHA Funding Amounts. (PDF)

Strategies and Objectives

In addition to informing grant program goals, the Tobacco Education, Prevention, and Cessation Grant Program Strategic Plan, 2030 outlines strategies and objectives that contribute to decreasing tobacco use in Colorado and sets a strong commitment to health and racial equity as a foundation for all the work we do.

Our vision is to eliminate commercial tobacco use and all tobacco-related disparities in Colorado. References include the updated Community Tobacco/Nicotine Initiatives Framework for Local Public Health Agencies Fiscal Years  2027-2029, and the draft Scope of Work, which outlines specific tobacco control requirements for local public health departments for the current funding cycle of FY 27-29. 
  

All agencies will be expected to complete a Tobacco-Focused Community Assessment (TFCA) during the initial year of the funding period. The TFCAP will allow your agency an opportunity to assess community and organizational needs, opportunities, and readiness. The TFCA will inform the evidence-based interventions and strategies. FY27-29 grant funding cycle will serve as the basis of the implementation plan that grantees will use to guide their work. 

• TFCA Resource. (PDF)

Once you have completed the TFCA process for the FY27 12-month grant period, your agency will not be required to complete a TFCA for the FY28 grant period. 
 

The STEPP Tobacco Control Funding Levels Table provides additional guidance for STEPP tobacco control funding levels and associated strategies for Local Health Department grantees to: 

• address tobacco/nicotine prevention, education, and cessation, and
• comply with program requirements. 

Additional details on evidence-based strategies can be found in the core Community Tobacco/Nicotine Initiatives Framework for Local Public Health Agencies. Lead agencies participating in a regional collaboration are eligible to receive a financial incentive of up to $20,000.

The table also guides applicants on specific requirements based on their allocated funding. The guidance includes:

• the number of evidence-based strategies they must implement, and
• the number of settings or communities where implementation is required.

These requirements apply to all applications, including multi-agency or cross-jurisdictional collaborations.

It is also STEPP’s expectation that all grantees, regardless of the funding amount, will conduct the capacity-building activities outlined in the LPHA Core Framework and listed in the table.

STEPP Tobacco Control Funding Levels Table
 

Please Note:

• Settings refer to where the work occurs and can be a city, school district, multiunit housing property, health systems, etc., where Priority Populations identified in the 2030 Tobacco Strategic Plan live, work, and play.
• Priority Populations are the specific groups within Colorado’s population who have benefited least from our tobacco control efforts so far. Populations identified in the Strategic Plan are American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latino men, individuals with behavioral and mental health conditions, Black/African Americans, recipients of health care and medical assistance through programs like Medicaid, LGBTQ+ individuals, and rural populations.

Regional Collaboration

STEPP recommends LPHAs consider regionalization because it can lead to:

• administrative and programmatic efficiencies,
• improved reach and integration into difficult-to-access communities, and
• improved capacity of local health organizations.

All agencies in a regional collaboration are required to work on the same strategies to ensure a unified approach. However, because each community is unique and may be at different stages of capacity and readiness, agencies may be at different stages of implementation. In other words, how the strategy(ies) look in action can vary depending on the community. This is clarified in the region’s Implementation Plan sub-activities.

Regional Coordinator

One staff person at the lead agency is required to fulfill the Regional Coordinator role. This position is critical to the coordination and success of the collaborative. STEPP contracts directly with the Lead Agency, and all participating agencies are contractually considered subcontractors of the Lead Agency. The regional coordinator is responsible for the performance of the collaborative, providing the necessary guidance and support to the region, and addressing any performance issues.

Responsibilities of the regional coordinator include:

• Ensuring contract deliverables are completed and submitted.
• Meeting with the STEPP Project Officer for contract monitoring meetings
• Conducting recurring 1:1 meetings with each agency in the collaborative to assess progress, assist with overcoming barriers, and gather updates to provide in contract monitoring meetings with STEPP
• Onboarding new staff
• Convening regular meetings of the collaborative as a whole. Please work with  STEPP’s TA providers when scheduling these meetings, as these convenings are an excellent opportunity to provide additional tailored training and technical assistance to the region. Ongoing group training and 1:1 TA are always available to any agency in the collaborative.
• Administrative duties that are the responsibility of the Lead Agency are often fulfilled by the regional coordinator. For example, submitting QPRs on behalf of the collaborative and ensuring monthly invoices are submitted on time and expenses are appropriate. 
   

Budget negotiations will take place in 2026.

Please complete the Signature Authority Form and attach it to your application.

This LPHA Interest form is a non-competitive process for LPHA’s to indicate their interest, organizational capacity, and readiness towards carrying out core commercial tobacco community strategies. This process will assist STEPP in program planning, identifying needed resources, and ensuring that adequate technical assistance is available to support funded Local Public Health Agencies. Please submit your responses via the Google form with Word, Excel, Google, or PDF format attachments with your answers. The STEPP team will use the interest form submissions to make funding recommendations to the Tobacco Review Committee (TRC).

All application materials, including the Google Form, should be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on December 19, 2025. The Signature Authority Form and any letters of support/collaboration should be attached separately as a PDF.

  Interest Form Due Date: 5 p.m., December 19, 2025 
 

Complete the STEPP FY27-29 LPHA Interest Form (Google Form)

Review the STEPP FY27-29 LPHA Interest Form Questions included on the Interest Google Form (PDF)

Please note: The Interest form will not save progress, and answers must be uploaded in one session.