Rio Grande County, First Southwest Bank Announce ‘Business Relief’ Grants

Rio Grande County, in collaboration with First Southwest Bank, is launching a business relief grant program to assist local businesses as they continue to keep their doors open under the Governor’s Executive Orders and the Public Health Orders that have been issued.

The grant program is intended to assist businesses in the County that have experienced business interruption costs, unbudgeted expenses and other COVID-19 pandemic related expenses as allowed under the funding eligibility criteria. Funds for the grant are being provided by the Coronavirus Relief Fund as part of the CARES Act by the State of Colorado through the Department of Local Government Affairs (DOLA). Eligible expenses are those that have been incurred beginning March 1, 2020 for necessary expenditure due to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19.

FUNDING CRITERIA
All expenses must have been incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 15, 2020, and have sufficient documentation to substantiate the expense. Funds are available to reimburse actual expenses, not to fund future anticipated expenses. The maximum funding for any application is $15,000. Applications will continue to be accepted until the maximum funds available has been allocated. The initial program total is allocated at $300,000. If this funding level is reached, and additional funds are available to the program, a second round of applications may be considered.

Businesses who have over 100 employees may be considered on a case by case basis outside the structure of this program.

ELIGIBLE EXPENSES
Businesses that experienced a loss of revenue as a direct result of the pandemic may receive funding to assist in recovering lost revenue. Qualifying businesses will be required to provide:

  • A narrative of the reason for the financial impact as it relates to that specific business.
  • Profit and Loss statements from 2019 and 2020 covering the time period beginning March 1 through September 30 of each year, or from the business start date if started after March 1, 2019.
  • Documentation that the business has been in good standing with the State of Colorado as appropriate for the entity structure.
  • Demonstration that the business has conducted operations on a regular basis since at least April 1, 2020.

Businesses who took out a loan in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic to meet operational expenses can use funds to have pay off their loan in full or in part, subject to the total allotted grant amount. Loans must have been underwritten between March 1, 2020 — September 30, 2020.

Direct costs incurred as a result of complying with health orders may be reimbursed. Examples of these expenses include:

  • Personal protective equipment (PPE) for employees and patrons, such as face masks, gloves, and shields.
  • Sanitizing supplies and services, such as disinfectant, hand sanitizer, wipes, and services to provide sanitizing services.
  • Modifications to customer service or workplace areas required in order to comply with public health orders. Examples include equipment needed to allow expansion of outdoor seating area, Plexiglas shields, and physical separation items.
  • Other types of expenses unique to that business that can be justified as directly related.

Invoices for each item must be provided.

Eligible businesses must be located within Rio Grande County and may be for-profit or not-for-profit, with 100 or fewer employees.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Application may be made through this OnlineForm. Hard copies can be dropped off or mailed to Rio Grande County Office, 925 6th Street Room 200, Del Norte, CO 81132.

If you have questions please reach out to one of the partner organizations:

Judy Egbert, Interim Rio Grande County Administrator, Rio Grande County Board of County Commissioners, 925 6th Street Room 207, Del Norte, CO 81132, rgcadministrator@riograndecounty.org,
(710) 657-2744 Administration Main Line, (719) 657-4216 Direct

Marty & Bonnie Asplin, Co-directors, URG-ED, PO Box 6 Del Norte, CO 81132, bonnie@urg-ed.com, 719-657-2827 Office, 719-850-0909 Cell

Cass Walker, Executive Director, First Southwest Community Fund, Cass.walker@fswcf,org; 970-749-1600

Kay Harmon, Kay’s Bookkeeping Services, Inc. kay@ksaccounting.net, 719-852-5638

Applications are currently being accepted. The deadline for the first funding round must be received no later than November 23, 2020. Funding for those approved will be available by December 1, 2020.
If funds are available, a second round of applications will be received with a deadline of December 15, 2020, with funding available by December 31, 2020. The application process is designed to be quick and simple in order to facilitate a quick turn-around in reviewing, notifying, and disbursing grant funds. Contact any of the partners listed above for instruction on starting the application process.

Post Contributor

The Pagosa Daily Post welcomes submissions, photos, letters and videos from people who love Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Call 970-903-2673 or email pagosadailypost@gmail.com