Colorado will receive up to $104.7 million from the State Small Business Credit Initiative for small business loans, especially to minority-owned business or those in rural areas, according to a U.S. Treasury news release Friday.

The initiative was initially created during the Obama Administration in 2010, then reauthorized by the American Rescue Plan.

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Colorado was the seventh state to apply in 2021 and was one of four states announced Friday as receiving up to $750 million in funds to expand capital for small businesses.

The loans, coupled with private investment from venture capital, will be administered through the State’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) via Colorado programs the Venture Capital Authority, the Cash Collateral Support Program (administered through the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority) and CLIMBER (Colorado Loans to Increase Mainstreet Business Economic Recovery).

Officials hope it will create, and help retain, up to 11,000 Colorado jobs in the next decade.

“Small businesses in Colorado, like around the country, are the engine of economic growth,” said U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper in a press conference. “They employ nearly half of all private sector workers.

“We’ll make sure those funds are deployed to the truly small businesses and those that have traditionally had fewer lending opportunities or have been overlooked by previous relief efforts.”

Every state in the U.S. applied for the initiative money.

The other states included in Friday’s announcement were Montana ($61.3 million), New York ($501.5 million) and Oregon ($83.5 million).

The amount of money was determined by a formula based on the number of people living in an economically distressed area in the requesting state, said OEDIT Deputy Director Jeff Kraft.

Colorado took advantage of the initiative program in 2010, and still has the $17 million of the original grant money, as the loans have been paid back, Kraft said.

“It was very successful … but the program was de-regulated and no new money has been infused,” Kraft said.

New money is issued after the state uses its allotments, for up to 10 years.

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Colorado recently received the initial installment of approximately $31 million.

“This exciting federal grant creates and supports over 11,000 good-paying jobs for Coloradans and builds upon our work supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs, saving people money, and making sure Colorado remains the best place to live, work, and do business,” said Gov. Jared Polis in a news release.

The news release from Polis’ office Friday included the headline “Polis Administration Secures $100M+ Funding …” But it’s obvious the lion’s share of the application and administrative work was done by OEDIT and Colorado Treasurer Dave Young’s office. Hickenlooper and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet lobbied for support for the application at the federal level.

“This is an historic investment in entrepreneurship, small business growth, and innovation through the American Rescue Plan that will help reduce barriers to capital access for traditionally underserved communities,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen in a release.

“I’m excited to see how SSBCI funds will promote equitable economic growth across the country.”

Small businesses can get access to the Initiative loans through banks and lenders.

“Go to lenders that know about these programs,” Kraft said.

The Venture Capital Authority focuses on rural area businesses, he said.

One “that has a focus on serving under-resourced businesses in the venture capital world,” Kraft said. “For us, we think that means pretty clearly women-founded businesses and those founded and run by people of color, who both get a tiny share of the venture funding out there.”

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All lenders, of course, are required to adhere to federal civil rights requirements to service everyone and be non-discriminatory, he said.

The money will also “support technical assistance and training to prepare businesses for participation in these and other access-to-capital programs.”

“As one of the largest state-involved loan efforts in America to come out of the coronavirus pandemic, we are humbled to play this critical role in helping Colorado small businesses get back on their feet,” said Young in the release. “The success of a business thriving through a financially challenged pandemic depends on access to capital.”