Carbon County Economic Development Closes Micro-Grant

The Carbon County Economic Development Corporation has announced the closing of the “Moving Forward Together Micro-Grant Program” as of May 31, 2020. The purpose of the program was to give financial resources to local, small businesses adversely affected by Governor Gordon’s executive orders in response to the pandemic. 

The micro-grant was distributed to qualified applicants based on need and on a first-come-first-served basis. Project Manager, Stacy Crimmins, said “We started taking applications at 8:00 am on April 13. Sixty-two grants applications were received over the course of a few weeks, however only fifty-eight were eligible for the program.” She further explained that only for-profit businesses with less than fifty employees were eligible for the program. Crimmins reported, “As the program closes out, local business owners were awarded a total of $78,250 in grants ranging from $500 to $2500. We saw forty applications from Rawlins-based businesses, 15 from Saratoga, four from the Baggs area, and 3 from Encampment/Riverside.”

“The Carbon County Economic Development Corporation is pleased to be able to help our local small businesses during this crisis. The Moving Forward Together Micro Grant Program came about because we saw the need for an easy and fast source of financial relief. We hope this grant helped local businesses get through a few more days,” stated Chris Iacovetto, President of CCEDC.

Vice President Robert Stipe shared, “The CCEDC is using funds from the sale of the Carbon Mercantile building in downtown Rawlins. It was set aside for a future economic development project, and we felt this program certainly qualifies as such.”

As the program guidelines indicated, the check received could be used in any way the business owner saw fit. “All the CCEDC asked is that you ‘pay it forward’ when and if you can,” commented Crimmins. “This pay back can come in many forms such as future involvement or investment in the CCEDC, mentoring a fellow business owner, paying the grant back to the CCEDC, volunteering your time to serve on a local board of directors, or giving your employees a little boost.”

The Moving Forward Together Micro-Grant Program supports the CCEDC’s mission to develop economic opportunities in Carbon County that will build stable communities for future generations.