State taking applications for second round of Energize Colorado Gap Fund awards

Applications are being taken through Oct. 26 for the second round of awards from the Energize Colorado Gap Fund. 

Gov. Jared Polis on Friday announced the state will allocate $6 million to the fund, which will provide more than $31 million in loans and grants to businesses and nonprofits that have been hardest hit by the statewide shutdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a news release.

“The fund is a bold, ambitious proposal that truly represents a holistic effort by both Democrats and Republicans in the state Legislature and beyond coming together and putting differences aside to provide much-needed relief to small businesses and nonprofits across the state that are reeling from the pandemic,” Polis stated in the release. 

Awards from the fund will be specifically targeted toward businesses and nonprofits that have limited access or no access to other means of financing through federal, state, or local programs, according to the release. It provides up to $15,000 in grant funds and up to $20,000 in low-interest loans to entities with fewer than 25 full-time employees for a possible combined total of $35,000 in total relief.

In the first round of funding the state received saw 6,000 applications requesting $79 million in grants and $56 million in loans. More than 50% of applications were from women-owned entities, more than a quarter were rural entities, 12% were from Latino-owned enterprises, and 10% were from black-owned enterprises, according to the release.