*Applications for the Boulder ARPA Small Business Grant Program are now CLOSED.
Please read this page in its entirety before applying. The links to apply for the grant are below on this page, as well as a list of FAQs.
The City of Boulder is partnering with Colorado Enterprise Fund (CEF) to provide grants for local small businesses, including women- and minority-owned businesses, with 2 to 49 employees that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
One-time grants of $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000 that do not need to be repaid will be awarded through a competitive application process administered by CEF. Grant awards will be made until available funds of $400,000 dedicated to this program are exhausted.
To be considered, applicants must meet all eligibility requirements and must submit a complete online application to CEF on or before 5:00 p.m. MDT on Monday, June 20, 2022. Applications will be evaluated by CEF and a panel of local nonprofit organizations that serve Boulder businesses or nonprofits using a scoring model to evaluate financial and other factors.
Grant Eligibility:
Small businesses or enterprises (including LLCs, S-Corps, and other business types) that meet eligibility requirements will be considered for a grant award. Applicants will be required to provide their City of Boulder business/sales tax license number and federal EIN, Tax ID Number, or ITIN. Additionally, applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
Please Note:
For more information on resources available to Boulder businesses, visit the City of Boulder Coronavirus Business Resources page.
In response to the lingering effects COVID-19 has had on our community’s small businesses, the City of Boulder has created a competitive grant application process for small businesses, providing up to $5,000 of grant funding to assist with business-related costs incurred due to the COVID-19 economic disruption such as: rent/mortgage/utility payments; employee payroll; accounts payable and other fixed debt costs; and personal protection equipment (PPE). Under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the federal funds may only be used to cover costs that are necessary economic recovery expenditures incurred due to the COVID-19 public health emergency incurred no earlier than March 1, 2020.
The Boulder ARPA Small Business Grant Program will accept applications beginning Monday, June 6, 2022 at 8:00 AM through Monday, June 20, 2022 at 5:00 PM. Applications will NOT be evaluated on a first come, first served basis. Rather, all applications submitted during the application period will be evaluated.
Colorado Enterprise Fund will let applicants know if they have been selected to receive a grant. Grant notifications and payments are expected to be made in July 2022. The Boulder ARPA Small Business Grant Program is a grant program, and grant funds received through the program do not have to be repaid. However, this grant source should be noted as income and all taxes associated with the acceptance and/or usage of grant awards are the sole responsibility of the grantee, and the grantee shall comply with all applicable federal, state, local laws, executive orders, rules, and regulations in connection with acceptance and/or usage of grant funds.
No. We encourage businesses in need to apply even if you have already received other relief funding. If awarded, you may have to verify with program staff how the expenses you were requesting were not already supported by another relief funding source.
Information on the Boulder ARPA Small Business Grants Program (including eligibility, required information and the competitive process) can be found on the city’s COVID-19 Business Resources webpage. Boulder-based small businesses with between 2 and 49 employees, operating from a bricks-and-mortar location in the Boulder, Colorado city limits, are eligible to apply for a grant through the program. Sole proprietors and nonprofits are NOT eligible for this program. Publicly traded entities are not eligible and, because the source of funds arises out of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), marijuana industry businesses are also ineligible. The City of Boulder is offering a separate grant program for childcare businesses. More information can be found on the City of Boulder's ARPA Child Care Business Grant webpage at: https://bouldercolorado.gov/services/boulder-arpa-child-care-business-grants.
Employees (and their relatives) of Colorado Enterprise Fund and review panel member organizations having personal business interests in any applicant business will also render that business ineligible to apply under this program.
To determine if your address is within Boulder city limits, click here.
Small businesses or enterprises (including LLCs, S-Corps, and other business types) that meet the following criteria are eligible for a grant award.
The program’s selection criteria will consider a number of factors including, but not limited to:
The timeline for the grant program is as follows: