The Wyoming Business Council announced today that all CARES Act dollars allocated to the Endurance Fund have been fully expended, dedicated to paying applications from entities that did not previously receive COVID-19 Business Relief Program (BRP) awards.

A total of 981 Wyoming businesses and nonprofits were paid $82.8 million from the Endurance Fund. Remaining applications in the queue are not able to be funded, and applicants have been notified via email.

The Endurance Fund opened on Nov. 2 with $24 million allocated in unspent dollars from previous funds administered by the Business Council (Interruption, Relief, and Mitigation). The application period closed on Nov. 18 with 2,197 eligible businesses and nonprofits submitting applications for $215.7 million in requests.

Due to high demand, additional leftover CARES Act funding was shifted into the Endurance Fund and the Business Council prioritized applicants who had not received previous BRP funding to ensure financial help reached entities with the fewest resources and the greatest need.

The State of Wyoming is proud to have put more money into small businesses than many other states. Of the $1.25 billion allocated to the state through the CARES Act, almost $420 million was granted to 8,578 applicants with a total of 39,150 full-time employees. More than 7,000 unique Wyoming businesses (6,665) and nonprofits (396) benefited from the COVID-19 Business Relief Program.

“We are very thankful Governor Gordon and the Wyoming Legislature dedicated a large amount of the state’s CARES Act dollars to economic and business relief,” said Business Council CEO Josh Dorrell. “Wyoming is known as an extremely business-friendly state, and the Business Relief Program demonstrates we are willing to put our money where our businesses need it. Keeping our state and our businesses open has been a priority of this administration, but we also understand that focusing on health and safety in our communities is extremely important as COVID numbers are rising.”

The Business Council will continue to work with state and federal stakeholders in 2021 on any possible COVID-19 related economic development and relief efforts. The agency will also continue its efforts with private businesses and industries to adapt, add value to Wyoming’s core industries, activate new sectors and increase resiliency.