Denver to distribute $20 Million in Emergency Relief Funding
The City of Denver announced that they will be distributing a COVID-19 relief fund of $20 million in federal funds to support local residents and businesses struggling through this time. The initial, emergency allotment is the city’s first deployment of roughly $126.8 million in federal, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) dollars received to address expenses related to the pandemic and support the community.
The initial, $20 million in relief funds will be distributed to support residents specifically in housing and food assistance. It also intends to assist local small businesses and nonprofits who haven’t been able to open due to the closure of the city. Along with businesses and residents, the money will be used to support widespread community testing and other public health programs.
“Our residents need more relief, and these are programs we can deploy funding to right now to support people’s and family’s housing, food and job security, as well as our community’s public health during this pandemic,” Mayor Michael B. Hancock said. “We know there is more we can do to help our community and families during this challenging time for all of us, and we’re committed to working with our partners and members of City Council to address those needs through these emergency relief funds.”
According to the press release, Phase one emergency support funds will be provided for:
- Housing Relief: $6.5 million to support rent and utility assistance ($4M) and mortgage assistance ($1M) programs and rehousing strategies ($1.5M) for those impacted by COVID-19.
- Food Assistance: $2 million to support food assistance programs, as well as city agencies conducting feeding programs for vulnerable populations, including Denver Public Schools. These funds will also be used for sanitization and retrofitting of food pantries across the city.
- Non-profit and Business Relief: $6.5 million to support grants to non-profits ($2.2M) and small businesses ($4.3M). This is in addition to existing grants and relief funds provided by Denver’s Office of Economic Development & Opportunity.
- Public Health and Safety Needs: $5 million to support continued public health programs and safety needs, including widespread community testing, sanitizing equipment for businesses, non-profits, and nursing homes and personal protective equipment.
For the remaining CARES Act funds, the city is initiating a process to collaborate with the Recovery Council and City Council on eligible priorities for the funds, an intake process for programmatic ideas, and to set aside a portion of the funds as contingency dollars to cushion the city from future potential impacts from the pandemic, according to the press release.
In the next coming days into next week, Denver Economic Development & opportunity will be awarding another $750,000 to $1 million in grants to support the most vulnerable small businesses during the pandemic. The grant is made possible by a partnership with Mile High United Way through the Small Businesses Emergency Relief Fund launched in March as one of the city’s initiatives to help with the impacts of COVID-19.
