Rural Development Grant Program Creation

The bill creates the rural development grant program to be administered by the Colorado office of economic development. The grants are to be awarded to early stage rural businesses that are primary employers in a rural area with the potential to export goods or services outside of the rural area. The businesses must be at the seed stage of capital financing, have raised less than five hundred thousand dollars of third-party capital, and are able to provide nonstate matching funding equal to at least one-third of the grant award. The grants may be used for developing prototypes, proof of business concepts, or proof of business models. The grants are funded from the general fund and are limited to no more than $150,000 per early stage rural business per year.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)