The City of Fort Collins has established a CARES Small Business Assistance Program in an effort to retain jobs and stabilize local businesses in response to the economic hardships experienced by small businesses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.  This Program provides gap financing for businesses that have lost revenue as a result of social distancing and are at-risk of layoff(s) or closure. The Program is funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act ("C.A.R.E.S. Act").

Eligible expenses for reimbursement under this grant program include:

• Verifiable economic injury due to COVID-19 public health emergency resulting in revenue loss for the period March 1,2020 to present;
• If revenue loss is less than requested award amount, proof of the following expenses can be submitted:
  • Rent, lease, or mortgage payment for real property used for business purposes
  • Personal protective equipment
  • Sanitation supplies and equipment necessary to protect employees and customers consistent with national, state, or local guidance
  • Software/Hardware to encourage remote work
  • Costs associated with critical business operations
  • Other similar costs/expenditures to be considered by the selection committee based on need and circumstance

Ineligible expenses for reimbursement under this grant program include:

• Repayment of existing loans, including Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL);
• Refinancing existing bank debt or investor loans;
• Construction and/or infrastructure work.

Thank you for your interest in applying for a City of Fort Collins CARES Small Business Assistance Program.  All Application questions must be answered.

• Complete the application on a computer, rather than your phone.
• Complete the application using Google Chrome or Firefox browsers, if possible.
• Make sure to upload the required documents. If needed, you can take a picture of the required document and upload it.
• Make sure to save your ZoomGrants username and password.
• Click the "show library" button at the top of the page to view the program guidelines and FAQs.
• Please note that to enter your address, you will need to hit the "Edit Address" button.

Statement of Understanding & Certification 

All applicants will be required to agree to the following as part of the application submittal process:

“I have read the program eligibility criteria for the Fort Collins Small Business Assistance Fund and I certify that I am authorized to sign this application as, or on behalf of, the Applicant. I agree to assist the City of Fort Collins in verifying any of the information contained in this application from any available source as requested.

By signing below, I certify that all information in this application, and all information furnished in support of this application, is given for the purpose of obtaining cash assistance to offset an economic injury sustained as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and that the information provided is true and complete to the best of my knowledge.”

Disclosure Information:

The City of Fort Collins supports the public’s right to access public records. Information submitted through the application is a public record and may be subject to disclosure under the Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. §§ 24-72-200.1, et seq (“Act”). In addition, the City of Fort Collins may be required to disclose information by subpoena, civil-investigative demand or court-ordered or court-authorized discovery. The City of Fort Collins will use its best efforts to maintain the confidentiality of financial or proprietary information submitted by the applicant, as permitted by law, but cannot guarantee confidentiality. Applicant must mark financial and proprietary documents as confidential and failure to do so, will be deemed a waiver of any liability if the City releases any information.

If an Open Record request is received, the City is required to make a determination under the Colorado Open Records Act and may only withhold documents that are confidential under the law. If the City releases documents marked as confidential in compliance with the Colorado Open Records Act, the applicant waives any claims for liability or damages.

All applicants will be asked to:

• Certify that all information is true and correct.  
• Agree that any information submitted through this application may be subject to disclosure under the Colorado Public Records Act or through another legal process as outlined above.

Please upload the following required documents, as applicable.  If you have all of your documents, the application will not take very long to complete.  Incomplete applications will not be accepted.

1. In the Pre-Application: A copy of a current City of Fort Collins Sales Tax or Business License. All Brick and Mortar, Home-Based Businesses, and Service-Based Businesses (i.e. a contractor that works/performs services in Fort Collins regardless if they live or have a business located in Fort Collins) are required to have a City of Fort Collins Sales & Use Tax License with the City. The City of Fort Collins uses a Sales & Use Tax License as a business license. For more information, please go to the new Business Licenses & Permits FAQ’s page on our website: https://www.fcgov.com/salestax/;
2. In the Pre-Application: A copy of Certificate of Good Standing from the Colorado Secretary of State (https://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteria.do);
3. In the Pre-Application: A filled-out completed W-9 for your business (For more information, and a W-9 form, please go to https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-9).
4. Monthly gross revenue/sales documentation from March 2019 to current available month 2020 (demonstrating a 20% loss or greater of gross revenue 2019 to 2020).  Financial documents can include: point-of-sales reports, bank statements, quarterly sales tax fillings, 2019 tax returns, or CPA-certified profit & loss statements
5. Pre-COVID employee count with detailed payrolls/expenses from January 2020 through March 2020 (to verify employee count in application);
6. Common government produced ID (CO DL, Passport, CO ID Card). Nonprofits - please provide a copy of your 501c3 in lieu of the government ID. 
7. 2018 or 2019 Business Federal Tax Returns
8. City of Fort Collins Liquor license (if applicable)
9. Eligible Invoices and Proof of Payment for Expenses (if necessary)
10. Any other documents the City requires to verify revenue loss and reimbursable expenditure

Upon approval of application, all parties will sign a certification that grant will not be used to cover the same expenses as PPP and/or EIDL loans – attachment.