The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced today that three of its COVID-19 relief programs received statutory extensions through the passage of HB22-1187.
“These programs were established as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate the recovery of negatively impacted industries and businesses,” said OEDIT Executive Director Patrick Meyers and the State’s Chief Economic Recovery Officer. “The extensions will allow these programs to provide even more economic support to businesses and communities across Colorado as they work to recover from the pandemic.”
Impacted programs are as follows:
- The Colorado Meetings and Events Incentive Cash Rebate Program provides pre-approved applicants with a 10 percent rebate between $3,500 and $10,000 against the eligible hard costs of hosting meetings and events. The program supports the retention and attraction of events like business meetings, conferences, conventions, exhibitions, trade shows, consumer shows, festivals, and weddings. This program is extended from Dec. 31, 2022, to June 30, 2024.
- The Business Foundations Technical Assistance Program provides technical assistance and small grants to Colorado small businesses to help businesses legally establish themselves. The program provides three training sessions and a reimbursable grant of up to $1,200 per business to help apply the training. The program is extended from June 30, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2023, and extends the reporting deadline from Nov. 1, 2022, to Nov. 1, 2023.
- The Small Business Accelerated Growth Program develops and deploys tools and resources to foster the growth of existing companies with 19 employees or fewer that have moved from the start-up stage into the second-stage or are on the verge of rapid growth or profitability. This program puts emphasis on businesses located in a State Opportunity Zone, Rural Jump Start Zone, Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) zone, Enterprise Zone, and tier one transition communities and its participation deadline is extended from Dec. 31, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2023.
HB22-1187 was a bi-partisan effort sponsored by Senator Chris Hansen, Senator Bob Rankin and Representative Leslie Herod. To learn more about these and other OEDIT programs, visit oedit.colorado.gov.
