Marshall Fire Small Business Grants Program (2023)

A program implementing a $1M one-time competitive grant opportunity supporting for-profit small businesses negatively impacted by the Marshall Fire and Wind Event toward the retention and/or creation of low- and middle-income full-time jobs in the impacted area.

The Marshall Fire Small Business Grants Program (2023) will accept applications beginning Monday, April 3rd, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. through Friday, April 28th, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Applications will NOT be evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis. Rather, all applications submitted during the application period will be evaluated.

Boulder County has partnered with Colorado Enterprise Fund (CEF) to administer the grant. CEF is expected to make grant award notifications and payments in May 2023.  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. 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. The Marshall Fire Small Business Grants Program (2023) is not a first-come, first-served grant program. Rather, it is a competitive application process. All applications submitted in completion, with all necessary documentation, will be equally evaluated by Colorado Enterprise Fund staff. There may be additional communication with grant recipients to reflect federal reporting requirements.  Funding for the program is limited and it is likely that not all applicants will be awarded a grant.  

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.

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 the eligibility area, please click here. 

Boulder County will provide a total of $1,000,000 in grants through this competitive grant program. It is anticipated that grant payments will be made in May 2023. Each business that is approved will receive up to a maximum amount of $20,000.

•    Compensating low- to moderate-income full-time employees
•    Recruiting and training new or rehired low- to moderate-income full-time employees
•    Reducing business debt
•    Replacement or repair of business equipment or infrastructure
•    Marketing to replace or retain customer or client base
•    Business-offered and fulfilled community discounted goods and services

Yes. All complete applications submitted will be reviewed to determine eligibility and evaluated based on a scoring model that considers the impact of the Marshall Fire and Wind event on business operations, financial need, intended use of funds, and other factors.  Application scoring will determine the amount of funds awarded.  It is likely the number of eligible applications will exceed available funds, and not all applicants will receive grants.

Complete applications will require applicants to provide their business license number and federal EIN, tax ID number, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, as well as a modest amount of financial and other business information. Application is expected to take about 10 minutes to complete.

For-profit businesses in the Marshall Fire and Wind Event qualifying area (see exceptions below) that:  

•    are privately held, headquartered, and operating their primary business in the qualifying area 
•    have a physical (brick-and-mortar) presence within the eligibility area
•    are Low to Moderate Income (LMI) owned/operated (franchises are eligible if they are locally owned/operated). LMI is defined as the business owner having an AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) of less than $89,950 as evidenced on their 2021 personal tax return
•    were in existence before December 30, 2020 and are currently operating
•    hold an active sales or tax license at time of application
•    have between 2 and 49 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
•    has experienced one or more of the following circumstances arising out of the Marshall Fire and Wind Event for a period of at least 30 consecutive calendar days:  between December 30, 2021, and the date of application

• temporary or permanent staff reduction or reduction of staff salaries
• temporary or permanent reduction in hours of operation
• reduced sales or revenue of at least 10%
• incurred business expenses including, but not limited to, capital or construction costs of replaced or repaired facilities or equipment in excess of $1,000.

Not eligible to apply:
•    Marijuana industry businesses 
•    Membership organizations such as clubs and Homeowner Associations (HOAs) 
•    Commercial banks
•    Real estate holding entities
•    Nonprofit organizations
•    Chambers of Commerce
•    Governmental entities  
•    Sole Proprietors and Single-Member LLCs without employees
•    Home-based businesses

No. You cannot change your application once it has been submitted.

The timeline for the grant program is as follows:

• Grant application opens – Monday, April 3, 2023 – 9 a.m.
• Grant application closes – Friday, April 28, 2023 – 5 p.m.
• Grant notifications and payments – May 2023

No, Nonprofit organizations are not eligible to apply under this competitive grant program.