First National Bank awards community-development grants

FORT COLLINS — First National Bank has awarded $140,000 in community-development grants to 11 organizations in Colorado that serve the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado.

The grants are part of the bank’s $834,000 grant program to aid 47 organizations in Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas and South Dakota.

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Empowering communities

Rocky Mountain Health Plans (RMHP), part of the UnitedHealthcare family, has pledged its commitment to uplift these communities through substantial investments in organizations addressing the distinct needs of our communities.

Grants for affordable housing and neighborhood-revitalization programs in Colorado will enable the bank’s community partners to build, rehabilitate or finance 342 homes and provide 106 individuals with home-ownership education and foreclosure prevention services. These include:  

• 10,000 — Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley, Longmont:  supports affordable-housing construction.
•  $10,000 — Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity, Fort Collins: supports affordable-housing construction in partnership with high school students.
• $10,000 — Loveland Habitat for Humanity, Loveland,:  provides funding for the construction of a two-bedroom home in Loveland.
• $10,000 — Flatirons Habitat for Humanity, Boulder:  provides funding for the construction of six housing units.
• $10,000 — Greeley Area Habitat for Humanity, Greeley:  supports affordable-housing construction in partnership with high school students.
• $10,000 — Mile High Community Loan Fund, Fort Collins:  provides technical assistance to address affordable housing needs.

Grants supporting economic-development initiatives will create or retain 1,948 jobs and assist more than 2,645 small businesses in Colorado, the bank said. These include:

• $40,000 — Rocky Mountain Innosphere, Fort Collins: accelerates job-creation and entrepreneurship through specialized resources and access to capital.
• $10,000 — Accion Colorado, Denver: increases access to capital and business support for entrepreneurs in Adams, Boulder, Broomfield, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties.
• $10,000 — Colorado Enterprise Fund, Denver: supports small business lending, development and technical assistance to low income and minority business owners in Weld, Larimer, Boulder, Broomfield and Adams counties.
• $10,000 — Larimer County Small Business Development Center, Fort Collins:  provides small businesses with financial consulting, workshops/trainings and connection to resources.  
•  $10,000 — East Colorado Small Business Development Center (Greeley):  provides consulting services to small businesses and startups in eastern Colorado.   

First National Bank operates 24 retail branches along the Front Range, including multiple locations in Fort Collins, Boulder, Greeley, Loveland, Longmont and Broomfield.