Rural Women-Led Business Fund

Program Details

The Rural Women-Led Business Fund is designed to give access to funding for women entrepreneurs and small businesses in rural Colorado through loans, education, and technical assistance. The Rural Women-Led Business Fund focuses on providing accessible capital to women, especially women of color in rural Colorado.

This program is dedicated to supporting multicultural, multilingual, and multigenerational women-led businesses. We encourage and welcome all women within all of rural Colorado to apply. Our definition of “women” is fully inclusive to all who identify as female or nonbinary.

Who is eligible?

Business type: Small businesses, start-ups, and nonprofits are all eligible to apply for funding.
Demographics: Business must be 51%+ women-owned. If the entity is a nonprofit, 51% of leadership must be women.
Location: Business must be located in Rural Colorado.

Loan terms:

Loan amount: $10,000 - $75,000
Deferred Payments for up to 90 days, upon request

To apply, contact:

info@fswcf.org

Success Stories

Law Office of Angela Lee

Angela Lee

Wolf Creek Anglers, South Fork

Fly shop

Sherpa Momo Ghar, Durango

Food truck

Prior to opening her law office, Angela obtained valuable judicial experience in the San Luis Valley’s 12th Judicial District Court, working with judges, drafting judicial opinions, conducting complex legal research, and learning about the legal needs and landscape of the region. She also has diverse experience in federal immigration courts, private law firms both big and small, as well as nonprofit legal organizations. After starting her own law practice, Angela needed help with startup costs that would help her transition from a remote business to a brick-and-mortar location.

Wolf Creek Anglers is a fly fishing shop and outfitter service that provides fishing trips on the Rio Grande River and private waters. They have been expanding their services and products, including becoming the only shop in town that carries Orvis. While they’ve been able to do some improvements on their own, they approached FSWCF about funding to continue their upgrades. In addition to their loan, Wolf Creek Anglers received a grant to help with needed technology enhancements, such as a website that allows for online booking and works on mobile devices.

After spending her teenage years and young adulthood helping at her family restaurant in Nepal, Neema wanted to offer authentic Nepalese food in downtown Durango. Sherpa Momo Ghar is proud to be a one-of-a-kind food trailer in Durango introducing the Himalayan dumpling “momo” and authentic recipes from the foothills of the Himalayas of Nepal.

“Because of FSWCF, my husband and I were able to get our business up and running. With the help of FSWCF funding, we were able to purchase the food truck as well as necessary kitchen equipment to start our business. Thanks to the dedicated team who were always very supportive throughout the loan application process.”
–Neema Sherpa