Chaffee Kindness In Action
February 2022 has been designated as “Kindness In Action” month across Chaffee County! What will you do to spread kindness within the community?
It’s a chance to focus on what is most important: compassion, care, and kindness to one another!
Read the Kindness Proclamation adopted by Chaffee County
About
The Chaffee’s Got Heart Campaign invites community members from across Chaffee County to unite and pledge to Have HEART because our kids, businesses, and residents deserve it.
Get vaccinated
Stay home if sick
Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
Wash your hands
Respect the COVID-19 safety protocols for any individual business or organization
Physically distance if unvaccinated
Wear a mask indoors and in crowded outdoors places if unvaccinated
How You Can Help
TAKE THE PLEDGE
Our Partners
Covid Resources
Chaffee County Public Health
State Relief Resources
State COVID-19 Dial Level for Each County
State of Colorado COVID-19 Website
Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)
- Click HERE for OEDIT’s COVID-19 Business Resource Center, which includes information and links to a wide range of small business resources.
Federal Relief Programs
NOTE: On August 8, the SBA stopped accepting PPP loan applications as required by current law. Federal policymakers are debating amending and reopening the Program.
Main Street Lending Program
On October 30, the Federal Reserve announced new changes to its Main Street Lending Program, a $600 billion lending effort designed to help small and medium-sized businesses. The program offers five-year loans to qualified businesses and nonprofits with deferred principal and interest payments. The recent changes include lowering the minimum loan amount to $100,000 and allowing borrowers to exclude Paycheck Protection Program loans of up to $2 million for purposes of determining maximum loan amount.
SBA Loans for Small Businesses
The SBA provides targeted, low-interest loans to small businesses and private non-profit organizations that have been severely impacted as a direct result of COVID-19. Below are the SBA’s two primary loan programs related to COVID-19:
- Economic Injury Disaster Loan
- Paycheck Protection Program
- Application
- LOAN FORGIVENESS APPLICATION
- The SBA also released a new streamlined “EZ Version” loan forgiveness application for certain borrowers that meet the following criteria:
- Those who are self employed and have no employees.
- Those who did not cut back pay for their employees by more than 25% and did not reduce their head count or workers’ hours’.
- Those who saw a drop in business activity because of health directives related to Covid-19 and did not cut back employees’ pay by more than 25%
- Click HERE for a PPP FAQ guidance from SBA and the US Department of Treasury (Updated October 13)
- Click HERE for a side-by-side comparison of the two loan programs, along with the Main Street Lending Program.
- For support navigating applications, please contact the Denver Metro SBDC
- Additional support: The Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT) has a hotline for small business owners to call with questions about how to apply: (303) 860-5881. If the hotline is busy, you can also email oedit_sbnavigator@state.co.us.
Deferment of Existing SBA Loans
The SBA announced changes to help borrowers still paying back SBA loans from previous disasters. By making this change, deferments through December 31, 2020, will be automatic.
Coronavirus Emergency Loans – Small Business Guide and Checklist
The US Chamber of Commerce created a useful guide for small businesses to help you understand and utilize the funding made available by the CARES Act, with a particular emphasis on the Paycheck Protection Program. The guide answers the following important questions:
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- Am I eligible?
- What will lenders be looking for?
- How much can I borrow?
- Will this loan be forgiven?
Other Helpful Business Resource Links
US DOL
The Department of Labor issued guidance for employers and employees regarding the new requirements for paid sick leave and paid family medical leave. See below for this important information.
Paid Sick and Family Medical Leave Eligibility
On March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) passed in the Senate and was signed into law. Effective as of April 1, FFCRA requires certain employers (under 500 employees) to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division administers and enforces the new law’s paid leave requirements. These provisions will apply from April 1 through December 31, 2020.
Paid Leave and Tax Credit for Small Businesses
To offset the costs of paid time off pursuant to the FFCRA, covered employers (under 500 employees) qualify for dollar-for-dollar reimbursement through tax credits for all qualifying wages. Qualifying wages are those paid to an employee who takes leave under the Act for a qualifying reason, up to the appropriate per diem and aggregate payment caps. Applicable tax credits also extend to amounts paid or incurred to maintain health insurance coverage. For more information, please see the Internal Revenue Service’s guidance and FAQs.
CDC, OSHA and EEOC
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers
- When to Quarantine – CDC Quarantine Guidelines
- OSHA Guidance for Returning to Work
- Click HERE for a COVID-19 Employer FAQ that compiles guidance from CDC, OSHA, and EEOC.
- On May 7th, the EEOC released its updated technical assistance document, which includes information about COVID-19 as it related to the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and other EEO laws. The guidance was updated as of June 17.
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)
- Click HERE for CDPHE’s multi-industry construction guidance. (NOTE: As of May 5, the guidance no longer requires mandatory temperature checks of employees)
- Click HERE for a COVID-19 Employee Health Screening Form for Onsite Screening.
- Click HERE for CDPHE’s website demonstrating how to conduct a facility health screening.
Pinnacol Assurance
Pinnacol has provided guidance for employers regarding short-term COVID-19 related wage replacement benefits.
Click HERE for the full document.
Business Masking Options
Calling all Chaffee County business owners, please remember to update your signage in your windows! We want to respect the COVID-19 safety protocols for any individual or organization.
Behavioral Health Resources
If you are feeling the stressful impacts of COVID-19 and need to talk confidentially to a professional, please call Solvista Health at 719-539-6502, and ask for the Colorado Spirit Support Program. These services are free of charge and do not require enrollment in Solvista Health services.
Business Spotlights
The Chaffee’s Got HEART Committee is extremely proud of local businesses and individuals that have gone above and beyond by doing extraordinary things during these uncertain times.
From innovative ways to thrive despite trying circumstances, to showering struggling members of our community with generosity, to prioritizing the health and safety of our most vulnerable, these businesses and individuals, who have been nominated for this honor by fellow community members, have shown what it really means when we say: Chaffee’s Got HEART.
