DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis recently announced that the state will allocate $6 million to the Energize Gap Fund.

The second round of applications has opened and it will support even more Colorado businesses. The application deadline is Monday, Oct. 26.

“The fund is a bold, ambitious proposal that truly represents a holistic effort by both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature and beyond coming together and putting differences aside to provide much-needed relief to small businesses and nonprofits across the state that are reeling from the pandemic,” Polis said.

The fund will provide more than $31 million in loans and grants. They will be specifically targeted towards businesses and nonprofits that have been hardest hit by the statewide shutdown and that have limited access or no access altogether to other means of financing through federal, state or local programs.

The Gap Fund is designed to meet this pressing need. It provides up to $15,000 in grant funds and up to $20,000 in low-interest loans to entities with fewer than 25 full-time employees.

In the first round 6,000 applications requesting $79 million in grants and $56 million in loans were submitted.

More than 50 percent of applicants were from women-owned entities, more than a quarter were rural entities, 12 percent were from Latino-owned enterprises, and 10 percent were from black-owned enterprises.

To apply for Energize Colorado visit https://energizecolorado.com/

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