The Pikes Peak Region Business Recovery Fund (“The Fund”) is operating under the umbrella of the Pikes Peak Community Foundation. The Fund will provide support and relief for businesses affected by disasters in the Pikes Peak region.    
    
The Fund’s purpose is “to combat community deterioration and lessen the burdens of government by providing relief to businesses suffering hardship from qualified disasters.”    
Qualified disasters would be defined according to IRS rules applicable to disaster relief for individuals and would include (i) a disaster resulting from terrorist or military action; (ii) a federally declared disaster; (iii) a disaster resulting from an accident involving a common carrier or other event of a catastrophic manner; or (iv) a disaster which is determined by a federal, state, or local authority to warrant assistance from federal, state, or local government or agencies of local government.    
    
The Fund will be guided by a Board of Advisors whose sole purpose is to determine when assistance is appropriate (based on the criteria generally discussed above), and to determine and authorize allocations to organizations such as Colorado Enterprise Fund, ACCION, or specific businesses.      
    
The Board of Advisors comprises the following:    
    
•    President/CEO The Greater Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC
•    President, Southern Colorado Business Partnership
•    Executive Director, Small Business Development Center
•    Executive Director, Better Business Bureau
•    President/CEO, Convention & Visitors Bureau
    
The Board of Advisors will establish hardship criteria to ensure that only individuals and businesses faced with legitimate threats to their survival would qualify for support.  Distributions would be limited to those who have a demonstrated need.    
    
Through a partnership with Colorado Enterprise Fund (www.coloradoenterprisefund.org) and ACCION (www.accionnm.org) businesses that have sustained physical and/or economic injury as a result of the Waldo Canyon Fire can access short term loans. The Fund will pay down loan fees and interest payments for 12 months for qualified business loans made by Colorado Enterprise Fund and ACCION.