Construction & Bond Assistance Program

The Statewide Equity Office Supplier Diversity is here to assist small and diverse contractors who provide construction services for bridges, highways, buildings and maintenance. Navigate this page to learn more about how we assist small and diverse contractors and contact our Colorado Supplier Diversity Navigator (contact information below) for more information or assistance. 

Bridge and Highway Construction 

Want to learn more about the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) bridge and highway construction projects? Use the links below. For CDOT technical assistance, contact Connect2DOT. 

• Design build opportunities
• Bridge & highway construction opportunities

Office of the State Architect

The Office of the State Architect has many vertical construction and maintenance projects. You’ll find them on the Office of the State Controller’s solicitations page. 

Find agency and higher education delegates with the Delegate Contact list. 

Does your small business need help obtaining a surety bond? The Statewide Bond Assistance Program (SBAP) provides technical and financial assistance to help historically underutilized businesses, that are small businesses, understand the surety bond process, secure surety bonding, and increase contracting with the State of Colorado. SBAP partners with a bond administrator to provide surety bonds and offset all or part of the cost of obtaining a surety bond. Applicants may come from a variety of situations. Including: 

• Sole proprietor with or without employees who wants to bid on contracts that require bonds.
• Businesses interested in public works contracts.
• Subcontractor who wants to become a general contractor.
• Contractor who wants to grow the business by bidding on projects that require surety bonds.

The program guarantees $50,000 - $1,500,000 on payment and performance bonds for state contracts. Being eligible for this program does not automatically ensure bonding. Approval is based on both successful underwriting by a surety company and Statewide Equity Office review. 

How it Works

1. Apply for SBAP (more information below)
2. The Statewide Equity Office determines initial eligibility and forwards the applicant's contact information to the bond agent who will reach out to the applicant with their own application packet.
3. Complete the surety company’s application and submit to the surety company for underwriting and processing of the application. 
4. The bonding agent will notify you of the surety company’s decision and if SBAP is needed.
5. The bonding agency, on behalf of the surety company, will issue bid, performance and payment bonds should you receive favorable underwriting results. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Eligibility & How to Apply

See below for SBAP funding eligibility:

• Applicants must be located in Colorado and be a small business; that includes businesses owned by women, minorities, veterans, persons with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. 
• At least two years of business operations. 
• Bond line or project size generally ranges between: $50k- $3 million. 
• Only one open SBAP guarantee contract at a time. 
• Maximum gross revenue not to exceed $5 million in the most recent fiscal or calendar year.  
• Applicants must be able to provide a balance sheet, statement of cash flow, income statement and quarterly profit and loss statements.
• Past performance in industry and previous experience completing similar work to the contract opportunity being pursued. 
• Additional eligibility guidelines. 

Apply for the Statewide Equity Office’s SBAP using the application form. 

Contact Us

For all Statewide Bond Assistance Program inquiries, please contact Jovan Harrison, Equity Specialist, Bond Assistance, at (303) 866-5543 or email DPA_SupplierDiversityHelp@state.co.us. 

For information on access to capital, please refer to the suppliers of goods and services page.

Colorado Department of Transportation- Connect2DOT 
Connect2DOT provides unlimited consulting and free or low-cost business training.

Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network
CO-SBDC Provides no cost, a variety of courses and trainings in many formats, along with one-on-one consulting at any of their statewide, community-based centers.

Colorado APEX Accelerator - Government Contract Assistance
Colorado APEX Accelerator is dedicated to showing your company how to find, bid and win government contracts. 

Minority Business Office - Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEIT)
The Minority Business Office (MBO) Manages an online learning platform to offer learning resources for Colorado's small business community. Access the online learning platform for free.

The Small Business Navigator
The Small Business Navigator is a first point of contact for small-business owners needing support, including interpretive services (English/Spanish).

Department of Transportation Bonding Education Program
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Bonding Education Program (BEP) helps small businesses become bond-ready. It also includes one-on-one sessions with local surety bonding professionals to help gather the materials necessary for a complete bond application. 

Contractor Bonding Education & Mentoring Program
The Contractor Bonding Education & Mentoring Program is designed to help new and emerging construction businesses, particularly minority-owned and other under-represented businesses, learn how to qualify for surety bonds. 

National Association of Surety Bond Producers- NASBP
The National Association of Surety Bond Producers provides valuable guidance and information on getting bonded. Resources include short videos, links to other resources, as well as the FAQ, “Answers to 51 Questions Small Contractors Ask About Bonding.” 

The Surety & Fidelity Association of America 
The Surety & Fidelity Association of America’s website has key information about surety and fidelity bonds and resources including short videos, studies, links to local resources, and the booklet, “How to Obtain Surety Bonds.”

US SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program
The US SBA Surety Bond Guarantee program guarantees surety bonds for surety companies, which allows those companies to offer the bonds to small businesses that wouldn’t qualify for commercial bonds without the guarantee.