There’s still more than $400,000 up for grabs in the Greeley Area Recovery Fund

The city of Greeley contributed $250,000 taxpayer dollars to the Greeley Area Recovery Fund. Photo by Kelly Ragan.

There’s more than $421,000 still up for grabs in the Greeley Area Recovery Fund.

As of Tuesday, 141 businesses had applied for the grant – with 57 approved by Greeley Area Chamber Foundation Task Force.

Benjamin Snow, Greeley’s director of economic health and housing, said 67 businesses had been denied so far.

What kind of businesses are receiving grant money?

The public won’t know what businesses get the grant or whether the Greeley Area Chamber Foundation Task Force is favoring some types businesses over others, such as locally owned franchises compared to individual operations, businesses located downtown compared to out west, businesses owned by men compared to women, etc. But we do have some generalized information.

As of Tuesday, 123 applicants came out of Greeley, 12 came out of Evans and 6 came out of other surrounding areas.

Industries awarded the grants include:

• 23 restaurants, coffee shops, and bars

• 16 retail

• 14 personal and professional services

Where is the money coming from?

So far, the Greeley Area Recovery Fund, a public-private partnership, has raised a total of $604,382 dollars.

The funding breakdown looks like this:

• $250,000 from the city of Greeley

• $20,000 from the city of Evans

• $305,000 private pledges (from businesses)

• $29,382 raised on grassroots website

In an interview with the NoCo Optimist, Snow said there’s no imminent end to grant funding availability, even as businesses begin to reopen.

“If the application flow stops, we’ll stop and evaluate,” Snow said. “But we want to keep that window open. If dollars start to run out from other sources, the fund could be a useful source. We want it to work.”

The Greeley Chamber of Commerce is also ramping up marketing efforts, Snow said.

Snow also reiterated that applicants don’t have to be chamber members to apply for grant funding.

Who can apply?

According to the Greeley Area Recovery Fund’s website, applicants must be:

• Locally owned businesses and/or locally owned franchises in Greeley or the immediate surrounding area.

• Business in operation for minimum of 6 months as of the date of application.

• Must be able to demonstrate solvency (defined as positive equity and net income) prior to February 29, 2020.

• Must provide proof of application for at least one of the available government relief programs (e.g. SBA Disaster Loan, PPP Loan, EIDL Loan, etc.).

How to apply

To apply for a grant, go to https://greeleyarearecoveryfund.com/apply/