Parker offers grants to help its Colorado small businesses

The Town of Parker is offering grants to help their small businesses. If you own a business within Parker limits that has fewer than 25 employees, you could be eligible for one.

Vibe Foods owner Shannon Weston knows starting a business isn’t easy.

“We founded in 2017 and then we started expanding right when COVID hit. So we’ve been kind of dealing with the pandemic, post pandemic and all of that,” said Weston.

Today, the health food store has three locations, but still faces enormous pressure from inflation and the cost of tariffs.

“It’s always something, right? The life of a small business person,” said Weston.

They’re not the only ones.

“They’re just subject to these price increases, and sometimes passing those on to your consumer makes your consumer start stop coming. So if we can just ease that burden just enough to keep them going through these hard times. It’s a benefit to the town, and it’s a benefit to the business, and it’s a benefit to our residents,” said Weldy Feazell, director of economic development for the Town of Parker.

It’s why Parker Economic Development is now offering Business Improvement Grants.

“We were hearing a lot from our business community that capital, access to capital, bank loans, things like that, were still really tough for them to obtain, and these are small grants. They’re not big dollar grants, but they’re enough to kind of let them do what they need to do to keep their business growing and expanding,” Feazell said.

The grants give up to $5,000 to single-tenant or up to $15,000 to multi-tenant properties for one-time capital improvements.

The program launched on March 31 and already has $26,000 worth of applications.

“I signed five or six letters yesterday. They all came in on the first day of applications,” said Feazell. “It is the favorite part of my job. It’s the best part to make sure we’re supporting our businesses. Parker really does like to make sure all of our businesses feel welcome and are part of the community.”

One of those applications came from Weston, who’s hoping to launch a line of healthy baked goods.

“We realized there was no way we were going to be able to keep up with the equipment that we have, but our capital is drained from all these expenditures that we’ve been going through,” said Weston.

After reviewing her application and taking a look at her equipment, Parker awarded her a $4,500 matching grant for a new commercial mixer and baking oven.

“It’s a lifesaver,” said Weston.

“We are going to get a big one which we’re super excited about, like a 20- or 30-quart,” said Weston, while indicating their existing mixer.

Parker has $50,000 worth of grants to give, and they’ll be available until that money runs out. Parker hopes to continue the program next year.

“I love when I go down Parker Road or Main Street and you see all these independent, you know, people that have just put really their finances on the line to create a dream. And you don’t see enough of that in America anymore. It’s really, it’s really challenging, and so to see a lot of it in Parker is phenomenal. And I think what they’re doing is going to continue to help businesses like ours thrive,” said Weston. “To be in the town that actually cares about helping those businesses thrive is everything.”

The Town of Parker states eligibility as follows:

“To be eligible, businesses must be located within Parker town limits and employ 25 or fewer people. Applicants must hold a valid Town of Parker business or sales tax license for at least 12 months (for exterior improvements) or 24 months (for interior improvements), be current on all tax obligations, and have no outstanding code violations. Home-based businesses may apply for equipment-related grants. All projects must be approved in advance and completed within the same calendar year to receive reimbursement.

Business owners interested in applying for the BIG program can learn more and submit their application at parkered.com/business-improvement-grant.”