Colorado College Invest 529 Matching Grant Program

Read this for updated Info as of 10/6/23

I’ve written previously about the College Invest First Step Program, which can give you up to $2,600 ($100 bonus plus up to $2,500 in matching contributions) in your 529 program (per child) between birth and age five. If your child(ren) is over age five (and under age nine, at least for your initial application), you can instead apply for the College Invest Matching Grant Program (note that you can’t do both at the same time for the same child). This will provide a dollar-for-dollar match up to $500 for contributions made to your child’s 529 plan during the 2024 calendar year (and you can get the match for multiple children). You must apply between now and December 29th, 2023 and it may close earlier if the program has reached the maximum number of eligible participants based on the level of funding for the program year. If you have previously received this matching grant, you can apply again, although there is a maximum of five awards (five years) per child. You also have to have an open College Invest account before applying for the grant.

There are also income limitations that are based on federal poverty guidelines for your family size and your 2022 tax return. But the limits are a very generous 600% of federal 2023 poverty guidelines, which means many folks reading this post will qualify. Here is the table showing what your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI, line 11 on form 1040) on your 2022 tax return needs to be less than.

If your income qualifies, your kids are less than age nine at time of initial application (“The Beneficiary must be a Colorado resident and must not be older than 8 years of age at the time of the initial application by the Applicant, but can continue to apply until the student reaches age 18 or receives five (5) awards”), and you are already contributing to College Invest, then this is a no brainer. If your income qualifies, your kids are less than age nine at time of initial application, and you haven’t started yet, this would be a great time to start and apply for this. But apply now, as they may cut it off when they reach the maximum number of participants. If you are accepted, you will then (of course) need to make contributions during 2024 to receive the match (ideally at least $500 to receive the full match).

Note: As of this writing it’s a bit confusing on their website as it says the “application is closed” right at the top, but if you scroll down this link will allow you to apply and, if you haven’t previously applied, click on the Apply Now button to create your login and then apply.

Update 30 minutes later: I called and left a message and they’ve now changed the “application is closed” to “open”. Not sure if my call was the reason, but I’ll take credit for it anyway :-).