As part of the Colorado Special Session, Senate Bill 20B-01 was passed to provide one-time emergency relief payments (up to $3,500 - $7,000) to eligible small business owners who have been impacted by capacity restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic that demonstrate a revenue loss of at least 20%. Businesses that are included in this legislation authorizing this funding include: 

• Restaurants (including food trucks) 
• Breweries 
• Wineries 
• Distilleries 
• Caterers 
• Fitness Centers/Gyms/Recreational Sports Facilities 
• Movie Theaters  

A full list of eligibility requirements and additional information can be found at www.larimer.org/sbr. 

Please encourage any eligible businesses in your networks to apply as soon as possible, as the application is only open until January 27th, 2021. This funding is NOT first come first serve, all applications will be processed and awarded after the January 27th deadline. We also encourage business owners to apply as soon as possible in case additional follow up documentation or other forms of follow up is needed.  

If you have questions about how to fill out the application, please watch the Application Guide Video.

Information in Spanish: 

To better serve our business owners who have a preferred language other than English, Jose Luis Ramos, at the City of Fort Collins, will provide technical assistance for the application process. Contact Jose Luis at jramos@fcgov.com. 

Please submit your Small Business Relief (SBR) application to the hub geographically closest to your business:  

• Fort Collins Hub  
• Loveland Hub 
• Estes Valley Hub  
• Aplicar en espanol 

The U.S. Small Business Association (SBA), in consultation with the U.S. Treasury Department, opened the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan portal on Monday, January 11, 2021. PPP provides loans to help businesses keep their workforce employed during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. SBA is currently offering: 

• First Draw PPP Loans for first time program participants 
• Second Draw PPP Loans beginning January 13, 2021 for certain businesses who have previously received a PPP loan 
• First and Second Draw PPP Loans borrowers may qualify for full loan forgiveness. Learn the terms for forgiveness here. 
• To promote access for smaller lenders and their customers, SBA is currently only accepting loan applications from participating community financial institutions (CFIs). Lender Match can help you find a participating CFI. 
• Much of the information has been translated to Spanish, including sample borrower applications. 

City Council has identified reducing plastic pollution in the community as a priority and is seeking community input for developing a plastics reduction ordinance prior to an April ballot vote. Prioritizing plastic pollution, specifically single-use plastic pollution, will help protect the health of the Cache la Poudre River and make progress on our community’s zero waste and climate action goals.   

Not all plastic can be or is recycled and its lightweight nature means that on windy days it can be carried out of trash and recycling bins and into the environment, including our rivers. Single-use plastics, such as plastic bags, are widely used and easily break down into pieces too small to remove from the environment. The ordinance Council is considering would ban plastic bags and put a fee on paper bags at larger grocers beginning in 2022. This policy is a first step in a comprehensive approach to tackling the issue. Community feedback on this proposal will help Council finalize the details of the ordinance and related ballot measure. The survey is open through Sunday, January 31, 2021.  

If you or your business is included in Phase 1B of the state's vaccine distribution plan because of your employment (i.e., healthcare providers, first responders, essential workers, etc.), please contact your employer. Agencies and individuals who fall into these categories should complete the Larimer County’s Vaccine Planning Survey to be notified when and how the vaccine can be received by you and your employees.  

If you’re not in the Phase 1B category, eventually, most people will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from their healthcare provider or a pharmacy. When the vaccine becomes available, the Larimer County Health Department will share more information on their website. Stay in touch with your healthcare provider about their plans and information for offering the vaccine for their patients. 

• Larimer County Level Up Program Update - With the move to Level Orange, all Larimer County businesses may open to the orange capacity. Businesses that are certified for the Level Up program will need to wait to operate at Level Yellow until the state determines we are eligible based on local metrics. We will continue to accept applications and pre-certify businesses, but they will not be able to move to Level Yellow until we are officially told we can. Get your business prepared and complete the online application now 
• Online Restaurant Academy offering FREE Training - The Online Restaurant Academy is an online coaching mini course designed to level up your Fort Collins restaurant through proven planning and processing tools. Access the pandemic survival training for FREE by following these instructions:  
  • GO to www.onlinerestaurantacademy.com  
  • Select the Pandemic Survival Training for Restaurants  
  • Use code “nocorecovers” 
• Restaurant & Bar Special Tax Deduction - Governor Polis announced that certain restaurants, bars, and mobile food vendors may be eligible for state sales tax relief. The following are instructions for restaurants and bars and separate instructions for mobile food vendors to properly claim the special deduction allowed.   
• PIVOT Larimer County still accepting applications for upcoming Cohorts - CSU’s College of Business will provide free resources to Larimer County business owners to learn how to ‘pivot’ their business and develop a long-term resiliency plan.  
• Colorado COVID Legal Relief offers FREE legal aid to Colorado small businesses facing challenges due to COVID19. The webpage is available in Spanish.
• CO POP Program for Local Landlords & Property Managers – landlords can receive support to cover delinquent rent.  

• Business Q&A with Larimer’s Health Department - All businesses are invited to join us on Thursday, January 28, 2021, at 2:00 pm via Zoom. To help make this session as informative and helpful as possible, please submit your questions in advance. 

Sign up for weekly updates from the City of Fort Collins Emergency Preparedness and Security COVID-19 newsletter at fcgov.com/eps/coronavirus

Check out ForFortCollins.com for tools and resources created to help your business reopen safely and strongly while gaining support from loyal customers and community members.