City of Englewood and City of Aurora Small Business Relief

As the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt across the state of Colorado, two cities outside of Denver have created grant programs to help small businesses. Both the City of Englewood and the City of Aurora have created grant and/or loan programs to help small businesses who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19.

City of Englewood

The City of Englewood has developed a Small Business Support and Recovery Grant Program. This program provides grants of up to $2,000 to small businesses in Englewood. Any non-home based business located in the City of Englewood is eligible, with priority going to small businesses frequently in contact with customers including retailers, restaurants/bars, nail and hair salons, childcare facilities and small manufacturing businesses.

To be eligible a business must (i) be physically located in the City of Englewood in a commercial or industrial district, (ii) have 25 or fewer employees, (iii) had experienced a decline in revenue between February 1, 2020 and April 15, 2020, (iv) experienced or projected to experience a decline in employment, (v) in good standing with the City of Englewood with regard to licensing and taxes, (vi) engaged in lawful activity under city and state law, (vii) able to provide financial records to support grant request, and (viii) registered with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. Businesses that are national chains/ franchises, have more than 5 locations in Colorado, food trucks, or non-profit organizations are ineligible to apply.

Eligible business can find the application here. Applicants must email their applications to ecodev@englewoodco.gov.

City of Aurora

The City of Aurora created a new $1 million Aurora Economic Relief Loan and Grant Program. This program is intended to help fund immediate needs for Aurora small businesses while waiting for federal assistance. Depending on the situation of the business, grants of up to $5,000 as well as loans from $5,000 to $50,000 are available.

To be eligible to participate for either the grant or loan, a business must be (i) be based in Aurora with a physical location (preferably with a storefront), (ii) have 50 or fewer employees, (iii) be operating in Aurora for at least 12 months, (iv) have experience a loss of income due to COVID-19, and (v) retain at least one low-to-moderate income job with the assistance (You can find a chart here for more information about this requirement).

Additionally, to be eligible for a loan from this program, a business must (a) have a minimum credit score of 600 with no recent judgments or bankruptcies and no significant collections, (b) have no more than two outstanding liens/debts for the business, (c) annual revenue to be $2 million or less (prior to March 2020), with a 25% revenue decline in the same period 12 months prior, and (d) be in good standing with all regulatory agencies.

Any loan provided will have an interest rate not to exceed 2% and the initial term will not exceed 5 years (with the possibility to extend to 7 years). Click here for more information regarding this program as well as the link to apply.