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General Funding
for black-owned small businesses
Description
This program features low-barrier, low-rate loans plus business coaching.
Eligibility
- Be a black-owned small business
Funding Amount
- Loans between $1,000 and $50,000
- 60-month term with 6-months interest only
- Maximum interest rate of 2.99%
- Flexible underwriting
Deadline to Apply:
N/A
for all small businesses
Description
This program provides technical assistance and small grants to Colorado small businesses to help businesses legally establish themselves. The program provides three training sessions and a small reimbursable grant of up to $1,200 per business to help apply the training. Businesses can take any of these training options. Businesses that are not yet legally established are encouraged to take the Legal Formation and Registration training before taking the other two training options. The three training options available are:
- Legal Formation and Registration – helps you legally incorporate your business and access the benefits of training programs and grants from local and federal governments
- Accounting and Finance – helps you create and learn to manage the accounting system for your business to be able to clearly report your company’s financial information to facilitate access to finance necessary to grow your business
- Digital Marketing and E-commerce – helps you digitize your business to improve client relationships, increase the presence of your brand in the market and create new opportunities to deliver your products and services
Eligibility
- Any small business that want to be establish legally in Colorado
- Small businesses in Colorado that want to create their basic accounting system and incorporate digital tools to improve their reach and customer service
Funding Amount
After completing the training sessions, businesses may apply to receive a small grant award of up to $1,200 to reimburse for expenses related to that training and the installation of an accounting system and digital tools for the business.
Deadline to Apply:
Open until funds are exhausted
for existing or proposed cannabis businesses that possess a social equity license
Description
This is a grant program that can assist targeted startup and growing cannabis businesses that have a social equity license.
Eligibility
Eligibility requirements are very detailed and specific; please visit the website below for details.
Funding Amount
- Up to $25,000 for foundational businesses—startup or early-stage (requires 10% private matching funds)
- Up to $50,000 for growth businesses (requires 30% private matching funds)
Deadline to Apply:
Open-ended
for cannabis business owners and professionals
Description
This is a free, online educational program focused on the foundations of business development in the cannabis industry. Registration is required. The program is self-paced and available on demand.
Eligibility
Open
Funding Amount
N/A — free technical assistance
Deadline to Apply:
Open-ended
for businesses that are short on collateral to support a loan
Description
Lenders can apply for up to 25% or $250,000 (whichever is less) in collateral to support a business loan application. The program will deposit the agreed-upon amount with the lender making the loan. The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) manages this program. Typically, CHFA looks to support businesses that will have a significant economic impact on the local community or state.
Eligibility
- Principal place of business is in Colorado
- Less than 750 employees
- Reasonable expectation that borrower will be able to repay the loan as agreed
Funding Amount
Credit enhancement of up to $250,000
Deadline to Apply:
Rolling
for established small businesses
Description
A pool of $250 million that will be used to induce small business lending through participating banks. Loans will be fully underwritten and borrowers will need to meet acceptable credit criteria. Intended for use as working capital with some exceptions.
Eligibility
- Principal place of business is in Colorado
- 5 to 99 employees
- Two consecutive years of positive cash flow within the last 5 fiscal years prior to Feb 29, 2020
- A debt-service-coverage-ratio of at least 1:1 prior to Feb 29, 2020
Funding Amount
- $30,000 to $500,000
- 1 to 5 year terms
- Up to 1 year payment deferment
- Up to 20% balloon payment
- Interest rates ranging from 2.45% to 2.95%
The fund will provide credit enhancements to the lending institution to facilitate the loan.
Deadline to Apply:
Until funds are exhausted
for businesses, governments, special districts and more
Description
The Colorado Community Revitalization Grant provides gap funding for projects in creative districts, historic districts, main streets or neighborhood commercial centers. This grant will support creative projects that combine creative industry commercial spaces, performance space, community gathering spaces, child care centers, retail and workforce housing partnerships for the purpose of economic recovery and diversification by supporting creative sector entrepreneurs, artisans, and community non-profit organizations.
Eligibility
Eligible projects will serve as a catalyst for a community's commercial center and can be new construction or renovation. Projects need to:
- Be a creative mixed-use space that includes workforce housing units
- Have a high level of community engagement in response to community needs
- Show strong evidence of being able to attract additional sources of funding and broad support from local governments and surrounding communities or neighborhoods
- Stimulate economic recovery and economic diversification
- Demonstrate an ability to commence work within a reasonable amount of time
- Meet basic energy efficiency standards
Funding Amount
- Maximum of $5 million
- Capped at 50% of total costs for projects over $100,000
Deadline to Apply:
Rolling
for events that take place in Colorado between July 1, 2021 – December 31, 2022
Description
Provides a rebate on certain costs associated with hosting an event in Colorado.
Eligibility
- Event must be held in Colorado between July 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022
- All events must generate at least 25 overnight stays in a hotel, motel, vacation rental or other lodging establishment
- Personal events must also demonstrate a significant economic benefit for the host community
- Other criteria will be established by the Colorado Tourism Office
Funding Amount
Funding amount is up to 10% of the hard costs for the event (excluding alcoholic beverages) and up to a 25% rebate for any COVID-19 related costs. Minimum hard cost award is $3,500 (eligible events must have at least $35,000 in hard costs) and the maximum is $100,000.
To ensure equitable distribution, funds will be distributed on a first-come, first served basis and a specific dollar allocation of funds will be made by county or region as defined by the program.
The fund will provide credit enhancements to the lending institution to facilitate the loan.
Deadline to Apply:
Until funds are exhausted
for startups and small- to medium-sized businesses with a focus on socially- and economically-disadvantaged groups
Description
This is a loan program with amounts ranging from $5,000 to $750,000. Interest rates will vary with a targeted average interest rate of 4% and terms of up to 20 years.
Eligibility
- Open to for-profits and non-profits from a wide variety of business sectors, including outdoor recreation, tourism, food services, hospitality and creative industries.
- To the extent permitted by federal law, will consider USDA-certified hemp businesses and value-added hemp manufacturing businesses
- Special focus on underserved groups which include: minority, Native American, immigrant, women, disabled, veteran-owned and businesses in low income and rural communities
- Underwriting criteria may include non-traditional items such as character-based lending
Funding Amount
- Principal amounts of between $5,000 and $750,000
- The fund will provide credit enhancements to the lending institution to facilitate the loan
Deadline to Apply:
N/A
for all small businesses
Description
This program provides $40 million to small businesses seeking capital to start, restart or restructure a business. Loans and small grants will be made available through a host of lenders that work in communities throughout the state. OEDIT will work with community partners to reach underserved entrepreneurs and small businesses owners.
Applications are scheduled to open in summer 2022.
for businesses transitioning to an employee-owned structure
Description
This program provides tax credits to cover some of the costs of transition to an employee-owned structure.
Eligibility
- Colorado-based companies
Funding Amount
This program provides tax credits for up to 50% of the conversions costs with a cap of $25,000 for worker-owned cooperatives and employee ownership trusts and up to $100,000 for employee stock ownership plans.
Deadline to Apply:
This program is funded through January 1, 2027.
for new business operations in designated rural communities
Description
This program provides grants to businesses that establish new operations in designated rural communities.
Eligibility
These counties are currently rural jump-start zones:
- Archuleta
- Clear Creek
- Delta
- Dolores
- Las Animas
- Logan
- Mesa
- Moffat
- Montezuma
- Montrose
- Otero
- Prowers
- Rio Blanco
- Routt
- San Juan
These counties are designated as economically distressed. They are eligible to be rural jump-start zones, but they have not yet applied to the program:
- Alamosa
- Baca
- Bent
- Cheyenne
- Conejos
- Costilla
- Crowley
- Cyster
- Fremont
- Hinsdale
- Huerfano
- Jackson
- Kiowa
- Kit Carson
- Lake
- Lincoln
- Mineral
- Morgan
- Phillips
- Pueblo
- Rio Grande
- Saguache
- Sedgwick
- Washington
- Yuma
These areas are Tier 1 Just Transition communities:
- Moffat
- Western Montrose
- Morgan
- Pueblo
- Rio Blanco
- Routt
Funding Amount
Up to $40,000 or $5,000 per new hire, plus additional tax relief
Deadline to Apply:
Rolling
for small businesses with 19 or fewer employees
Description
This program will be housed within OEDIT and will provide development support to businesses with 19 or fewer employees. Businesses selected into the program will have one year to use the support offered by the program and may receive a monetary grant upon completion of the program.
Applications are scheduled to open in September.
Need help?
The SBDC has consultants available to answer your questions about COVID funding programs and help walk you through the applications. Request a virtual appointment below.
I'M NEW TO THE SBDCI'M AN EXISTING SBDC CLIENTThe COVID funding webpages have been created through a partnership between the Boulder SBDC and Boulder County Commissioners’ Office.
