The Disproportionately Impacted Business Grant provides funding to Colorado businesses that were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and did not receive meaningful access to federal loans and grants. Businesses will receive a minimum of $1,500 and a maximum of $10,000. This grant is intended to cover expenses that have not been covered by other federal funding.
The second round of applications will open on November 5 with updated eligibility requirements. The Small Business Development Center will be hosting 3 webinars to answer questions in English and Spanish. Please find more information here as we schedule the webinars.
Tuesday, November 9 at 11am | Join the call
Type: Grant for businesses disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
Amount: $1,500 to $10,000 per business
Application period: November 5 to November 21
Eligible businesses
To be eligible for this grant, your business needs to:
- have been in existence as of January 1, 2020
- still be in operation in Colorado
- have at least one full-time employee, which can be the business owner
- show at least 10% income loss since March 26, 2020 (compared to the prior year) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
- received less than $20,000 in federal loans and grants
- meet at least one of these criteria:
- have 5 or fewer employees, including the business owner
- be a minority-owned business
- be a business located in an economically distressed area (opportunity zone, enterprise zone, or historically underutilized business zone)
- have a business owner is located in an economically distressed area (opportunity zone, enterprise zone, or historically underutilized business zone)
- have a business owner that has low or moderate income (less than $76,000 per year)
- have a business owner that has low or moderate personal wealth based on household net worth
- have a business owner that has had diminished opportunities to access capital or credit
Ineligible businesses include:
- short-term lodging businesses such as AirBnB rentals
- non-profit organizations
Eligible expenses
Businesses cannot receive grant awards greater than the net financial loss the business experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 26, 2020 to the date of application. To determine how much money you can ask for, you will need to identify your financial need that has not already been met by other public or private funding sources like the Paycheck Protection Program, US Small Business Administration loans.
Eligible expenses include:
- inventory purchases
- equipment
- mortgage payments
- taxes
- furnishings
- payroll expenses
- lease or rent expenditures
- service agreements
- COVID-19 related expenses
- fixtures
- insurance
- consultants
- utilities
How to apply
Businesses will be able to apply for this program starting on November 5 until November 21. The application will be available in English and Spanish. The application will ask you to submit these documents over a two-year period:
- balance sheet
- profit and loss statements
- business tax returns
- personal tax returns
The application and award process:
- Review eligibility to make sure you qualify and prepare your business’s financial documents.
- Complete the application on the Colorado Enterprise Fund website.
- The Colorado Enterprise Fund reviews the application and secure financial statements, tax returns, documentation, notes, and comments. They may contact you to request additional information.
- The Colorado Enterprise Fund sends approved applicants to OEDIT for review.
- OEDIT reviews applicants and confirms the final list of awarded applicants to the Colorado Enterprise Fund.
- The Colorado Enterprise Fund informs applicants of a decision and will distribute funds.