Boulder to distribute small business grants through ARPA funding

BOULDER — Small businesses in Boulder will be able to receive grants from $500,000 in funds set aside from the American Rescue Plan Act. The grants from the city are set to be distributed in July and cater to small businesses, with one program directed at child care businesses specifically.

Grants will be offered in amounts of $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000 and will be available to small businesses with between two and 49 employees. Businesses must have been founded prior to Jan. 1, 2020. The application process will consider financial need, planned use and pandemic impacts on businesses.

The city partnered with the Colorado Enterprise Fund and advocacy groups including the NAACP, the Latino Chamber and the Community Foundation of Boulder County. Boulder city manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde emphasized the importance of supporting local businesses that serve Boulder.

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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.

“Locally allocated ARPA funding enables the city to offer grant opportunities to help local small businesses that continue to face pandemic-related challenges and add so much to our community way of life and economic health,” Rivera-Vandermyde said in a statement.

Colorado Enterprise Fund president and CEO Ceyl Prinster said in a statement the partnership to distribute new funds would help small businesses.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with the city of Boulder and helping to support Boulder small businesses with this new grant program,” Prinster said in a statement.

A total of $400,000 of the ARPA funding will be directed to all small business types. The remaining $100,000 available will go toward state-licensed, non-home child care businesses. 

The city of Boulder will work with the Colorado Enterprise Fund to distribute the grants. The application, which is available in English and Spanish, will open June 6 and remain available until 5 p.m. June 20. The city also worked with the Downtown Boulder Partnership, Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Boulder Small Business Development Center and the Boulder Chamber of Commerce on the program.