GAINS Training

GAINS Grants Administration Implementation and Navigation System

CDE is committed to providing system training to all potential applicants and system users and will announce future opportunities as individual grant applications open and upon request.

If you have any questions, please contact gains@cde.state.co.us.

GAINS Office Hours

The Grants Program Administration (GPA) Team will host Office Hours every other Tuesday from 12:30 - 1 p.m. to support LEAs/LEPs with accessing and using the Grants Administration Implementation and Navigation System (GAINS) CDE's new grants management system.

Please note that Office Hours will pause for summer break beginning June 16 and will resume on August 11.

Starting on August 11th, the Zoom link will be different! Please register for the meeting with the button below to receive the new meeting link. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please email the GAINS@cde.state.co.us inbox.

These sessions are recommended for LEA/LEP applicants involved in writing, submitting, and approving grants administered by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). Each session will address frequently asked questions (FAQs) and participant-specific inquiries, with a focus on providing technical assistance grants currently open in GAINS.

Office Hours Materials

Financial Management Certification and Assurance Training PowerPoint (December 2025)
Financial Management Certification and Assurance Training Recording (December 2025)
(September 2025)
GAINS 101 Training Recording (September 2025)
Grants Fiscal Training on Fund Requests PowerPoint (November 2024)
Grants Fiscal Training on Fund Requests Recording (November 2024)

GAINS Small Bites Trainings

GAINS Small Bites are short (1-5 minutes) instructional videos on the our most frequently asked system assistance questions. Each Small Bites Video is paired with step-by-step text instructions that users can download or bookmark for future reference.

Small Bites Training Request Form

Getting Started

Requesting Access To GAINS (CDE IdM):

Requesting Access to GAINS (non-IdM):

Logging into GAINS with CDE IdM:

Logging into GAINS with Native Login:

GAINS Resources

Roles, Role Definitions, and Role Permissions Within GAINS

Roles webpage

Assigning Roles in GAINS Instructions

Auditing Roles in GAINS

Workflow Notifications

Workflow Notifications Download (XLSX)

Charter School Organization Access Requests and Profile Setup

Charter School Organization Access Requests and Profile Setup

Left Side Bar Menu

Locating GALs

Application Support

Navigating and Locating Organizations and Applications

Starting an Application and Section Navigation

History Log and Comments

Revising Funding Applications in GAINS

Printing and Exporting Applications

Budget

Completing a Budget in GAINS

Downloading, Editing, and Uploading Excel Budgets

Fund Requests in GAINS

Supplemental Funding in GAINS

Continuation Budgets in GAINS

Final Expenditure Report (FER) in GAINS

Final Expenditure Report (FER) for Site Level Applications

Monitoring

GAINS Resources for the BEST Grant

GAINS Resources for State Grants to Libraries

GAINS Resources for the ESEA Consolidated Application

Previous GAINS Virtual Trainings

The GPA Team held a virtual training session on the new grants management system, GAINS, on December 5, 2023.

This training session was a system overview specially designed for Local Education Agencies (LEAs)/Local Educational Providers (LEPs) who were unable to attend the in-person training opportunities offered in September. A recording and the associated materials will be posted on the GAINS Training website following the session.

The session covered the following topics:

General Navigation
Applications for Funding
Fund Requests
Checklist, History Log, and Comments

Links:

CDE User Access Administrator Instructions and Training

CDE provided a training for District Local Access Managers (LAMs) in preparation for their capacity to continue to support district users with their IdM system access. GAINS is a role-based system, and each district staff member who will submit applications or request funds will need to be assigned a role depending on the level of access needed in the system (creating, submitting, and/or approving applications, submitting requests for funds and other fiscal reporting, completing required evaluation or data submissions, etc.). LAMs have been assigned the User Access Administrator role and will be responsible for managing the role assignment process or assigning a User Access Administrator role to an authorized user to manage roles in the system. The user access instructions, PowerPoint, and recording can be found below.