Program Summary
The Partner Outreach Program supports our initiative to ensure that everyone in the state learns about and has access to the various capital and technical assistance programs available from OEDIT. In addition to the committed outreach conducted by our established partners, OEDIT partners with smaller community organizations that have strong ties to members of historically underserved communities in urban and rural Colorado.
All partners have a history of community outreach, community development, and/or experience with supporting small businesses to access capital through various programs. Many partners already work or volunteer with established community organizations and are able to implement complementary efforts that leverage OEDIT resources to support the end goal of helping small businesses in historically underserved communities access capital programs.
In addition to a longstanding commitment to reach all Coloradans, OEDIT offers several capital programs that are statutorily mandated to reach a diverse pool of businesses that were negatively impacted by the pandemic and have been historically underserved. While initial efforts have been effective at reaching these communities, OEDIT is dedicated to increasing outreach efforts and technical assistance opportunities. To this end, OEDIT assembled a partner network with an established history of supporting specific populations defined by their geographic and/or demographic status. Collectively, these partners can help OEDIT reach more Coloradans, particularly those who have previously encountered barriers to funding and technical assistance.
The outreach efforts and technical assistance opportunities are in support of a number of capital programs including: Colorado Startup Loan Fund, CLIMBER, Colorado Credit Reserve, Cash Collateral Support, and the Colorado State Small Business Credit Initiative.
Overview
Type: Outreach and technical assistance
For: Small businesses
OEDIT division: Business Funding & Incentives, Business Support
OEDIT is excited to highlight the following list of partners, the clients they are best equipped to serve, and their unique offerings.
| Partner | Client Specialty | Offerings | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Business Initiative | Indigenous and Black communities Denver Metro, San Luis Valley | Equal focus of technical assistance and outreach | Jice Johnson |
| Community Enterprise Development Services | Islamic-compliant lending, BIPOC, Korean, Somali and Ethiopian communities, non-English speakers Denver Metro, Ft. Collins, Weld, Morgan | Primarily technical assistance with some outreach | Carly Williams |
| Overwrite | Immigrant, Migrant, Hispanic, Asian/SEA, African and Black communities Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs | Primarily technical assistance | Nosa Iyare |
| Prairie Rose | Underserved communities, Spanish speakers Western Slope, Durango, Eastern Plains Lending institutions | Equal focus of technical assistance and outreach | Mike O'Donnell |
| Startup Colorado | Underserved communities Weld County, Golden Plains, Central Plains, Southeast Colorado, Pueblo, San Luis Valley, Southwest Colorado, Central Western Slope, Northwest Colorado, Rocky Mountain Resort, Upper Arkansas, and Raton Basin | Equal focus of technical assistance and outreach | Brittany Romano |
| Wezesha Dada Center | Immigrant, Migrant, Diaspora, Refugee and Black communities Pueblo, Eastern Plains, Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs Lending institutions | Primarily technical assistance with some outreach | Maya Wheeler |
OEDIT partners have knowledge on the specific requirements and best practices for the following programs below. If there is a program that you would like added to this list, please reach out to the program manager.
- Colorado Startup Loan Fund: The Colorado Startup Loan Fund provides loan capital to mission-based lenders to provide loans to Colorado entrepreneurs and small business owners needing capital to start, restart, or restructure a business, and those who are not able to obtain a loan from traditional lenders.
- CLIMBER: These loans provide up to $250 million in working capital loans to Colorado small businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Colorado Credit Reserve: This credit enhancement is for businesses that typically struggle to get access to a bank loan.
- Cash Collateral Support: This credit enhancement helps small and medium-sized businesses in Colorado access loans that they would otherwise not get because they do not have enough collateral.
- Colorado State Small Business Credit Initiative: As a part of the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the federal government passed the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) bill to fund small business credit support and investment programs.
Contact
