$4M In Emergency Coronavirus Funds Announced In Denver

DENVER, CO — Denver's latest round of emergency COVID-19 funding — $4 million — will go to small businesses, workers, nonprofits and residents in need, the city announced Thursday.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security — CARES — Act provided payments to local governments, but all funding must be allocated by Dec. 30, officials said.

The city developed a "phased deployment strategy to ensure the funds were maximized and available to support Denver residents, nonprofits and businesses throughout the year," officials said.

Here's how the $4 million in funding, which will come from Denver's Emergency Special Revenue Fund, will be distributed:

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• $1.5 million to provide grants to local small businesses that have negatively affected by closures due to COVID-19 public health orders.
• $1 million support for restaurant and hotel workers who live in Denver and have been laid off, furloughed or had a severe reduction in income due to COVID-19. Funds will be deployed through a partnership with the Colorado Restaurant Foundation to ensure rapid deployment directly to workers, officials said.
• $1.5 million additional support for Denver's Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program to support residents impacted by COVID-19 to address the continued, growing need for rental and/or utility relief, and to help prevent involuntary displacement and a potential tide of future evictions, officials said.

Denver received $126.8 million from the CARES Act in April, and the city announced its first distribution of the funding — $18.72 million — in May.

• Phase 2 funds (announced on Aug. 6): $26.68 million
• Phase 3 funds (announced on Oct. 20): $12.5 million.

The city has also allocated $41.3 million to support citywide operations "such as offsetting emergency payroll and operations expenses, making public health improvements to buildings, technology to support remote city workers, and to match Federal Emergency Management Agency funds provided for emergency response ($15M), Denver officials said.

“Many people and families are hurting personally and financially due to the coronavirus, and it’s imperative we work in coordination with our state leaders to provide additional relief for our residents and local businesses,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement.

“We are doing everything we can to maximize our local funding and resources to support the Denver community hardest hit by the pandemic, but without an additional federal stimulus dollars from Congress, tens of thousands of Denver workers will lose their pandemic unemployment, businesses will lose tax credits and deductions that have helped them avoid laying off or furloughing more workers.

"Congress must act to keep our economy out of a double-dip recession and even more pain and struggle for our residents.”