Keep It Colorado
Keep It Colorado is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit coalition founded in 2019 in Golden, Colorado, that unites land trusts, public agencies, and conservation partners to protect private lands through grant programs, policy advocacy, and coalition coordination.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersGolden, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Keep It Colorado does
Keep It Colorado is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit coalition founded in 2019 and headquartered in Golden, Colorado, that serves as the unified voice for private lands conservation in the state. Its mission is to unite, elevate, and empower Colorado's conservation community to protect lands, water, wildlife, and working farms and ranches. The organization operates as a statewide coalition of land trusts, public agencies, and conservation partners, with primary customers including Colorado land trusts, private landowners (farmers, ranchers, and property owners pursuing conservation easements), public agencies such as Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and other conservation nonprofits.
The organization delivers its impact through a portfolio of programs rather than a single technology product. Core programs include the Transaction Cost Assistance Program (TCAP), which regrants funds to nonprofit land trusts to cover costs of conservation easement transactions; the Emerging Conservation Opportunities (ECO) Program, which funds diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) initiatives; and the Organizational Advancement Program, which provides capacity-building support. Supporting resources include landowner toolkits, the Conserving Colorado Roadmap (a 10-year strategic plan targeting doubling conserved acres from 3.3 million to 6.6 million by 2033), The Source newsletter, podcast series, and policy advocacy work. The policy platform's centerpiece is the Conservation Easement Tax Credit Program, extended via HB26-1230 (92 of 100 legislators) through 2036.
The business model is nonprofit grant-funded rather than commercial. Keep It Colorado derives revenue primarily from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) lottery proceeds — a three-year, $3 million commitment with annual $1 million installments — supplemented by a $1.52 million GOCO grant in June 2024 and smaller grants from foundations including Trinchera Blanca Foundation and Gates Family Foundation, alongside individual donations. TCAP regrants flow through to land trust projects at no cost to participating landowners. The organization's go-to-market is community-led: building coalition membership, hosting annual Spring Summit, Policy Summit, and Public Agency Roundtable events, distributing The Source newsletter, and publishing conservation stories and landowner testimonials across web, podcast, and earned media channels. Headcount is small (1–10 employees), and leadership transitioned to Robyn Paulekas as Executive Director on June 2, 2025.
Keep It Colorado firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Keep It Colorado
- Legal name
- Keep It Colorado
- Website
- https://keepitco.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Keep It Colorado is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit coalition founded in 2019 in Golden, Colorado, that unites land trusts, public agencies, and conservation partners to protect private lands through grant programs, policy advocacy, and coalition coordination.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Keep It Colorado industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Conservation Nonprofit Services
- NAICS
- Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)
- SIC
- Agricultural Services (700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Conservation Easements & Land Trust Services (AFAMAMAH)
Keywords
Where Keep It Colorado is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Golden
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Keep It Colorado business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Grants and Fundraising: Keep It Colorado is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates primarily through grant funding from organizations like Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and foundation grants. They receive lottery proceeds, programmatic funding, and charitable donations.
- Donations: The organization accepts charitable donations from individuals and supporters to advance conservation work in Colorado.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Keep It Colorado product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Keep It Colorado is a statewide nonprofit coalition of land trusts, public agencies, and conservation partners that protects Colorado's private lands. It provides grant programs (TCAP, ECO) to land trusts, advocates for conservation tax credit policy, and offers capacity-building and networking resources to the conservation community to enable voluntary conservation easements on working lands, wildlife habitat, and water resources.
Product overview
Keep It Colorado is a statewide nonprofit coalition serving as a unified voice for conservation organizations focused on private lands conservation. Rather than a unified software product, the organization offers a portfolio of conservation programs and services: the core Conservation Easement Tax Credit Program provides tax incentives for voluntary land conservation; TCAP and ECO programs deliver grant funding to land trusts; Organizational Advancement offers capacity-building support; and communication resources including The Source newsletter, annual reports, podcasts, and educational toolkits support coalition members and landowners. The coalition uses Wild Apricot for membership management. The organization advocates for public policy to advance conservation and published the Conserving Colorado Roadmap as a 10-year strategic plan.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Transaction Cost Assistance Program (TCAP)
Quantifiable outcome
- 23 conservation projects enabled, protecting 27,487 acres of land
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Keep It Colorado
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Keep It Colorado technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Keep It Colorado partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
18 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Ducks UnlimitedminorWaterfowl conservation organization pledging support to Keep It Colorado's TCAP grant program specifically for wetlands conservation projects benefiting migratory waterfowl and shorebirds.
- Land Trust AlliancecoreNational land conservation organization partnering with Keep It Colorado on DEIJ Leadership Cohort, grant programs, and training for land trusts. Represents approximately 950 member land trusts.
- Trust for Public LandcoreNational conservation organization supporting Keep It Colorado's poll on conservation and providing funding for conservation projects including ranch preservation in Park County.
- The Nature ConservancycoreNational conservation organization providing Resilient and Connected Networks tool, funding for conservation easements including Mount Harris and Nick Theos Family Ranch, and partnership on statewide conservation efforts.
- Colorado Parks and WildlifecoreState agency partner providing $10,000 for Statewide Private Lands Conservation Plan through Partners in the Outdoors Program, habitat partnership funding, and collaboration on conservation projects.
- Colorado State UniversityminorUniversity partner collaborating with Southern Plains Land Trust on bison conservation research and herd establishment.
- Defenders of WildlifeminorWildlife conservation organization partnering on bison conservation herd establishment and advocacy for conservation herds.
- Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land TrustcoreCoalition member land trust receiving TCAP grants for agricultural land conservation projects across Colorado including Mt. Harris, Nick Theos Family Ranch, and Verhoeff Family Farm.
- Rio Grande Headwaters Land TrustcoreCoalition member land trust receiving TCAP grants for conservation in San Luis Valley including Fox Creek Ranch and La Jara Cañon projects.
- Montezuma Land ConservancycoreCoalition member land trust receiving TCAP grants for conservation projects including Ivins Ranch and running Agriculture Immersion Program for youth.
- Colorado Open LandscoreCoalition member land trust receiving TCAP grants for conservation projects including Kester Ranch in Costilla County.
- Colorado West Land TrustcoreCoalition member land trust receiving TCAP grants for Western Slope conservation projects including Avant Vineyards.
- Estes Valley Land TrustcoreCoalition member land trust receiving TCAP grants for conservation near Rocky Mountain National Park including Cheley I property.
- Eagle Valley Land TrustcoreCoalition member land trust working on outdoor recreation accessibility and community-centered conservation in Eagle Valley.
- Aspen Valley Land TrustcoreCoalition member land trust receiving DEIJ grants and conducting community-centered conservation in the Aspen/Carbondale region.
- La Plata Open Space ConservancycoreCoalition member land trust receiving DEIJ grants for Southwest Equitable Land Access Project in the La Plata/Durango region.
- Palmer Land ConservancycoreCoalition member land trust receiving organizational development grants and working on community mobilization for conservation.
- Southern Plains Land TrustcoreCoalition member focused on rewilding prairie through bison conservation at Heartland Ranch Nature Preserve in southeastern Colorado.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Keep It Colorado competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ducks Unlimited: Waterfowl and wetlands conservation nonprofit that pledged targeted support for Keep It Colorado's TCAP grants on wetlands projects. Operates a similarly structured grant+advocacy nonprofit model focused on habitat conservation.
- Defenders of Wildlife: National wildlife advocacy nonprofit partnering with Keep It Colorado on bison rewilding and conservation herds in Colorado. Comparable mission around species/habitat protection and advocacy-driven nonprofit model.
- Trust for Public Land: National nonprofit that protects land for public access and works on conservation easements, park creation, and policy. Listed as a core strategic partner of Keep It Colorado and operates a similarly-sized nonprofit land conservation model with deal-by-deal grantmaking.
- The Conservation Fund: National nonprofit that acquires and conserves working lands, forests, and ranches via conservation easements and direct purchase. Operates a comparable nonprofit conservation business model with state-level program offices.
- Land Trust Alliance: National coalition of ~950 member land trusts that provides policy advocacy, training, and capacity-building to land trusts across the US. Directly comparable to Keep It Colorado as the national-level counterpart of a state-based land trust coalition model.
- American Farmland Trust: National nonprofit focused on protecting agricultural lands, ranch and farm conservation easements, and farm viability — directly overlapping with Keep It Colorado's working-lands protection agenda and tax-credit advocacy approach.
Broad incumbents
- National Wildlife Federation: Large national advocacy and conservation organization working on habitat, wildlife, and public lands policy. Overlaps with Keep It Colorado's policy advocacy and grantmaking functions but at significantly greater scale.
- The Nature Conservancy: One of the largest global conservation nonprofits with significant activity in Colorado on conservation easements, ranch preservation, and habitat connectivity. Overlaps with Keep It Colorado's mission but at much greater scale and geographic breadth, and is a listed core partner.
Others
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife: State agency partner that funds private lands habitat work through Partners in the Outdoors. Comparable function in delivering conservation outcomes in Colorado but as a public agency rather than a coalition nonprofit.
Regional players
- Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation: Habitat and conservation nonprofit operating in the Rocky Mountain West, including Colorado, on land acquisition, easements, and wildlife habitat. Regional overlap with Keep It Colorado on private lands conservation in Colorado.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Keep It Colorado social profiles
Digital presenceKeep It Colorado financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Keep It Colorado leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Keep It Colorado funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Keep It Colorado M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Keep It Colorado
What does Keep It Colorado do?
Keep It Colorado is a statewide nonprofit coalition of land trusts, public agencies, and conservation partners that protects Colorado's private lands. It provides grant programs (TCAP, ECO) to land trusts, advocates for conservation tax credit policy, and offers capacity-building and networking resources to the conservation community to enable voluntary conservation easements on working lands, wildlife habitat, and water resources.
Is Keep It Colorado a public or private company?
Keep It Colorado is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Keep It Colorado founded?
Keep It Colorado was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Keep It Colorado based?
Keep It Colorado is headquartered in Golden, United States, in the North America region.
How does Keep It Colorado make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Grants and Fundraising is the primary driver. The others are donations.
Who are Keep It Colorado's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ducks Unlimited, Defenders of Wildlife, Trust for Public Land, The Conservation Fund, Land Trust Alliance and American Farmland Trust. Broad incumbents are National Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy. Colorado Parks and Wildlife is listed as an others. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is listed as a regional player.
Does Keep It Colorado have an API?
No public API is recorded for Keep It Colorado.
What industry is Keep It Colorado in?
Keep It Colorado's product category is Conservation Nonprofit Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAGAC, Land Trusts & Protected Areas, with a secondary code of AFAMAMAH, Conservation Easements & Land Trust Services. Its NAICS code is 813312 and its SIC code is 700.