How to Apply for Council Funding
The Developmental Disabilities Council of Oklahoma (DDCO) welcomes unsolicited proposals and applications for contracts to fund activities to advance the independence, productivity, and inclusion of people with developmental disabilities and their families.
- All proposals and applications must be for activities currently included, or eligible for inclusion, in the 5 Year DDCO State Plan found on our website.
- The Council's work must serve people with developmental disabilities and/or their families. Please take time to review the definition of developmental disabilities as written in the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act.
- Applications must be complete for consideration by the Council.
- Incomplete applications will not be considered.
The Council does not provide grants. All funding is provided through a contract in which the vendor agrees to perform specific duties. Funding is done by reimbursement only. DDCO requires contractors to contribute matching funding that is not from federal sources. Matching funds are expected to equal or exceed 25% of the total activity costs. An exception to this rule is made for projects specifically serving a designated poverty area. For counties in Oklahoma that meet this rule, please refer to the 2024 Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) document. In those situations, the Council expects a contractor to contribute a minimum of 10% of the total activity costs. The required match may be in the form of cash, direct expenditures, indirect expenditures, or in-kind contributions, but may not include any direct or indirect federal funds.
Federal law prohibits the Council from investing in real property, building enhancements, vehicles, or vehicle enhancements. Generally, any equipment purchased via a Council contract should be an item that could be returned to the Council in the event of contract cancellation.
The Council does not consider applications that would provide any item solely for the use of a single person – such as a wheelchair or other personalized assistive technology.
Funding requests of $5,000 or less:
- Proposals for contracts less than $5,000 will be approved by one of the Council Committees: Executive, State Plan, or Advocacy, Training, and Outreach.
- Applications received prior to the last day of the month are reviewed at the next scheduled meeting.
- A resulting contract will have an effective start date of no less than 90 days from the approval date.
- Per Oklahoma Statute, no funding can or will be reimbursed for any good or service purchased prior to the effective start date of a contract.
Funding requests of more than $5,000, less than $25,000:
- Per Oklahoma statute, proposals from non-governmental entities more than $25,000 must be competitively bid. Governmental entities include state agencies, local government agencies, tribal governments, public school districts, or public colleges and universities. Non-governmental organizations include, but are not limited to, not-for-profit corporations and for-profit corporations. Individual persons are also non-governmental organizations for this purpose.
- All state purchasing, including competitive contracting, is managed by the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services. Questions regarding the competitive bidding process should be directed to the Central Purchasing Division at the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. For more information, check out OMES Central Purchasing.
- DDCO is prohibited from having any contact with persons or organizations submitting proposals that are subject to competitive bidding. If you or your organization is submitting a response for a competitive contract or is part of any other organization’s proposal for a contract, please DO NOT discuss or disclose any information about your proposal with any DDCO member or staff.
Funding requests of more than $25,000:
- Project funding requests must be received a minimum of 6 months in advance of a July 1 start date.
- If applicant is a non-governmental entity (non-profit, etc.), project funding requests are limited to no more than $25,000.
- Non-governmental organizations include, but are not limited to, not-for-profit corporations and for-profit corporations. Individual persons are also non-governmental organizations for this purpose.
- Governmental entities include state agencies, local government agencies, tribal governments, public school districts, or public colleges and universities.
- A resulting contract will have an effective start date of no less than 90 days from the approval date.
- Per Oklahoma Statute, no funding can or will be reimbursed for any good or service purchased before the effective start date of a contract.
Funding Application General information and timelines:
- Funding decisions can take time for the Council to discuss. Please allow time for feedback on your proposal and possible revision of your proposal or providing more information. Council Staff are happy to work with you as you complete our application. Please ask questions. Email our Planning and Grants Director, Jennifer Robinson, with any questions.
- Some approved proposals will have different contract dates, pending when the proposal was received, length of review by Council committee, and contract negotiations.
- For a proposal requesting funding for a full year, contracts will typically follow the state fiscal year: July 1 through June 30.
- Proposals received are evaluated by a Council Committee. If approved, a recommendation is made to the full Council for a decision. If approved by the full Council, we will make every effort for contracts to be effective as early as possible, typically by July 1. Shorter-term proposals will still be evaluated by a Council committee, and if approved, a recommendation is made to the full Council for a decision. If approved by the Council, we will make every effort to implement a contract with an effective date as soon as possible.
- Applicants will be notified by email within ten business days of the full Council’s decision.
- IMPORTANT: No work can begin until Council approval AND fully executed contract is signed and a purchase order (PO) received. Per Oklahoma Statute, no funding can or will be reimbursed for any good or service may be reimbursed prior to the effective date of a contract.
Important documents for your application
- Application for funding - Applications for the 2028 fiscal year - July 1, 2027 - June 30, 2028 will be open in September, 2026. Applications are due in full October 30. You will also be expected to meet and present a short presentation (5 - 7 minutes) to our State Plan Committee.
- Project budget - please submit your project budget by email to our Planning and Grants Director: Jennifer.Robinson@okdhs.org. It is helpful to be specific in the subject line of your email as to what it is (ex: funding request name and project budget).
- PDF of our Application for funding - Our online funding form must be completed in one sitting. We have created this PDF of our funding application so that you may begin preparing your answers. This is not the application you will submit. You must complete the online application.
- Our 5-Year State Plan Goals, Objectives, and Expected Outcomes.
- Review our targeted population definition from the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act.
- Council Performance Measures. The Council has several measures of performance it reports on. All contracts with the Council are required to provide data based on these performance measures. Within our funding application, you will provide an estimate on how many of our targeted population your request will impact. This linked document can provide more information about each performance measure.
- Information about Urban and Rural Poverty Areas, from the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act
If you need help or want to discuss possible ideas, please make a virtual appointment with Jennifer Robinson, our Planning and Grants Director. Please note the Council uses Microsoft Teams Meeting software.
