COVID In Colorado: State Allocates $35 Million For Small Business Relief

 DENVER (CBS4) - The COVID-19 pandemic has been catastrophic for many small business, but the Colorado state legislature is delivering a late Christmas gift. One of the major pieces of legislation to come out of the special session was a bill that provides money for grants to local businesses.

"SB20B-001 allocated $35.15 million to specifically our division of local government to provide small businesses in Colorado relief," said Brett McPherson, the communications and marketing specialist for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

If you are a business and you want some of that money, it's not the state you need to be calling if you need some help. Instead you should contact your local government.

"Businesses are instructed to get in touch with their localities, whether it be their counties, their council of government, their economic development districts, or even if their county is unwilling to participate or administer these programs, they can track down their municipalities that they are a part of," says McPherson.

Not every business is eligible.

"We're talking about restaurants, bars, distilleries, wineries, breweries, caterers, movie theaters, and fitness or recreational sport centers and these businesses need to have a revenue of under $2.5 million a year," McPherson explained.

To make sure the big cities aren't the only ones who get help, 10% of program funds are reserved for counties with the highest need and populations below 100,000.

Local governments are already applying for money to distribute, so if you need help you shouldn't wait.

"Small businesses should start getting in touch with their local governments right away," McPherson said.

This program is open to those who are under state-mandated severe capacity restrictions that began on Dec. 10 or before, and are still under those restrictions through Dec. 31. Local governments will allocate funds by no later than Feb. 12.

Also funded through SB 20B-001 is the Colorado Arts Relief Fund, which provides $7.5 million to support arts, cultural and entertainment artists, crew members and organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funding through this bill will be distributed through two separate grant applications: Business/Organization and Individuals. The funding can be used to cover any personal or business expense.

For individuals, grant awards are one-time flat amounts up to $2,500. For organizations, the funding amount will be based on the size of the organization's cash operating revenue loss from 2019 to 2020.

These funds are being distributed through the Colorado Creative Industries office. More information is available online at oedit.colorado.gov/colorado-arts-relief-grant.