Colorado was awarded two CARES Act Recovery Assistance planning grants from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to support Colorado’s economic recovery, including tourism, from the impacts of COVID-19.
The two programs are outlined below to help our partners identify which programs are relevant for their communities. Communities are eligible to participate in both programs.
Colorado Rural Resiliency and Recovery Roadmaps
The Colorado Rural Resiliency and Recovery Roadmaps program provides technical assistance and grants for regional teams of rural communities to drive economic relief, recovery, diversification and long-term resilience. The Department of Local Affairs’ Colorado Resiliency Office in partnership with OEDIT’s Rural Opportunity Office will select 16 rural communities to participate in this program. The rural roadmaps will look at all of the economic and community development opportunities available to each community.
The program consists of three phases:
- curriculum to connect the regional team and assess the current situation of the communities
- roadmap planning and strategizing
- implementation including matchmaking funding
Awarded communities will receive:
- paid one-on-one consulting
- connection to an ecosystem of partners
- a customized economic development plan for your community
- technical assistance
- implementation funding (dependent on project)
Eligibility
Applicants will be selected based on their rural status, COVID-19 impacts, connected economies and economic vulnerability factors. Eligible organizations include:
- rural communities
- counties
- councils of government
- team of at least three jurisdictions with a connected economy
How to apply
Applications for communities to participate opened on March 29, with a deadline to apply at noon on May 13. You need to apply through DOLA’s Colorado Resiliency Office website.
Colorado Tourism Roadmap to Recovery
The Colorado Tourism Roadmap to Recovery is a new five-year strategic statewide plan for the Colorado tourism industry to be implemented by the Colorado Tourism Office. The office will also offer technical assistance grants to support the tourism industry in adopting the statewide plan's recommendations.
The technical assistance grants will focus on customized recovery work for collections of communities within tourism destinations that share a common geography and visitor appeal. This work will be broken down into two phases. The first phase will include strategies to drive faster recovery and the second phase will include strategies to build long-term industry resilience.
Awarded destinations will receive:
- a one-day action planning workshop to prioritize tourism-related projects that drive faster recovery
- 50 hours of technical assistance to implement project(s) that were prioritized during the workshop
- $10,000 of marketing support from the Colorado Tourism Office
Eligibility
Eligible organizations include tourism leadership organizations that develop, promote and manage tourism locally. This includes:
- destination marketing organizations
- tourism lodging tax panels, committees, or boards
- chambers of commerce
- other entities that serve this role in destinations
How to apply
Applications for up to 32 destinations to participate in the first phase of programming will open in early May 2021. Stay updated by visiting the Colorado Tourism Roadmap to Recovery webpage.