We advocate for permanent solutions to the housing crisis grounded in the vision of our community. Since 2021, our Housing Campaign has successfully stopped over 448 evictions, served over 1,728 unduplicated households, and brought over $4,083,606.71 in assistance to households in need.
EC3 assists neighbors in filing applications for the following Programs:
– Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)
– Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance Program
– Left Behind Workers Fund
– Temporary Mortgage Assistance Program
EC3 is committed to making sure that everyone who qualifies for rental/mortgage assistance in East Colfax receives this assistance in their language.
The East Colfax Renter’s Legal Clinic is a monthly community event that provides tenant legal rights training, consultations with housing lawyers, and opportunities for community members to connect to resources. The legal clinic exists to so tenants can take power into their own hands when they learn their rights and are able to document the housing violations they are facing. Residents are able to consistently learn about updates to tenant laws and in the past have learned about laws regarding security deposits, the eviction process, and much more.
Through the Mixed-Income Neighborhood Trust (MINT) Project, we acquire and preserve rental housing in the East Colfax Corridor. The goals of the MINT are to 1) Stabilize rents and prevent displacement 2) Establish long-term affordability 3) Improve conditions for residents through renovations and better management and 4) Foster community control of housing through a community-led governance structure.
EC3 is the general manager of the MINT. Trust Neighborhoods, a national nonprofit that has successfully launched MINTs in four other cities, provides technical support in implementing the MINT. EC3 has a partner for property management and a partner to advise on due diligence and renovations.
EC3 is building a coalition of majority BI-POC led small business owners that are organizing to share resources, raise money to support the independent East Colfax Small Business Relief Fund, and support each other in helping the local business community to thrive and grow together. We advocate for small businesses through support with licensing, permitting and landlord issues, among others.
We provide comprehensive support for small businesses, helping business owners navigate the complexities of business management. Our services include application assistance for permits, licenses, and certifications, as well as personalized guidance on securing loans and grants to fuel growth. Additionally, our consultation services offer tailored advice on business planning, strategy, and expansion, ensuring your small business has the resources and direction needed to thrive in the East Colfax Corridor.
Small business owners shared with us that to fight displacement and build collective power within the community, better access to business-related legal resources was necessary. With that feedback, we launched our Small Business Legal Clinic in 2022, connecting pro bono lawyers with business owners for legal consultations and providing teaching on educational topics like business owner’s rights, commercial, permitting and licensing, etc.
In 2020 EC3 small business leaders created the independent East Colfax Small Business Relief Fund to provide direct economic assistance to Small Businesses leaders from Colorado Blvd. to Yosemite Street. This program arose out of the challenges Small Business Leaders were facing in accessing COVID-19 relief funds and the desire to build a program that is directly accountable to the small business community of the East Colfax corridor. You can make a donation here.
In 2020 we Distributed $38,000 in $1,000 grants.
– 90.91% of grant recipients were minority owned.
– 27.27% were women minority owned
– 63.64% of grant recipients were multilingual.
EC3 Business Workshops have been instrumental in empowering local entrepreneurs, particularly in marketing and finance. These sessions aim to reshape financial perspectives by imparting key concepts such as budgeting, saving, investing, marketing strategies, and brand awareness. By offering practical knowledge and strategic guidance, these workshops emphasize our commitment to equipping small businesses with the necessary tools and knowledge for success in the Colorado market.
In partnership with Kitchen Network and the City of Denver’s Food in Communities, we have launched a pilot Business Incubation Program. The purpose is to help community members become professional caterers or expand their existing restaurant through extensive curriculum, hands on training, access to a commercial kitchen space, support with permitting, licensing, and business development. 100% of Incubation Participants identify as BIPOC and 65% are non-English speakers.
The Incubation Program will be celebrated through multiple “East Colfax International Markets” this summer where these businesses will be able to share their food with the greater community.
EC3 is meeting with a combination of business owners, lawyers and community partners to develop a rent to own program for property. Stay tuned for more information soon!
The East Colfax Community Collective has been actively working with DOTI and the Community Active Living Coalition (CALC) to organize quarterly walking groups that focus on safety, active transportation, community engagement, and mobility. A significant aspect of this collaboration is the newly launched safety pilot program, which aims to enhance safety along East Colfax from Uinta St. to Yosemite St. This initiative has involved business owners in a steering committee, leveraging DOTI’s grant to hire a security team and collect critical data on local activity.
The program has proven successful in increasing security and fostering better communication between law enforcement and business owners. As DOTI and EC3 continue their efforts to bolster community safety and engagement, they highlight the ongoing commitment to improving the East Colfax area.
Support local businesses by checking out the East Colfax Small Business Directory here!
If you want to be included in the printed directory, please fill the inquiry form here.
The Capital Liquors sign on the corner of Colfax and Cherry St. is a recognizable landmark that has attracted customers for generations. Capital Liquors, a minority and immigrant-owned business, has been operating since 1967. They have always leased this historic sign, never owning it. In 2020, the sign was acquired by new ownership and they increased the rent by 615% from $130/month to $800/month. Around the same time, a storm blew through Denver causing damage to the sign. Letters were blown off and the sign went dark.
Capital Liquors contacted the new sign owner requesting repairs. The new owners denied this request, and eventually “de-identified” the sign by removing the lettering until Capitol Liquor agreed to the new terms of the contract. At this point, Capital Liquors reached out to EC3 for support and guidance. EC3 quickly took action providing a voice to Capital Liquors by meeting with Denver City Council, engaging with Denver’s historic preservation communities, and contracting with pro bono legal counsel. Due to EC3’s and Capitol Liquor’s leadership, the sign is now under new ownership. Capital Liquors has a fair and just lease on the sign and after paying off the cost of repairs, they will no longer have to pay rent on this iconic landmark sign.
This year our team received a call from a recently arrived refugee family regarding a flood in their home with no support coming from the Landlord. Our team immediately visited the family’s home and saw that this was no ordinary flood. The significant black mold in the family’s home was the worst our team, and later mold experts, had seen. The unit was deemed unsafe and uninhabitable to the extent that they were recommended to vacate immediately for their health and safety.
We immediately worked with partners to find temporary housing for the family, provided daily transportation for the kids to and from school and worked with the family to find new, safe, and dignified housing. The family has been through more moves and transitions in their first year of being in the U.S. than any family should have to experience in five years, and EC3 staff and community members supported every step of the way.
Now, the family is happily settled into their new home and welcomed a new baby into their lives. Through it all, our team shared nothing but laughs and joy through all of the ups and downs and the family never lost hope in our staff or in their situation and only showed their resiliency.
Together, with community members, we identify spaces in which we would like to see policy change and actively engage in existing policy-making coalitions.
In the year we have existed, the EC3 has flipped the power dynamic of community engagement on its head through this model of intentional community driven engagement. Due to EC3’s EAP advocacy, the Community Planning and Development department for the 1st time convened an inter-departmental working group consisting of leaders from NEST, HOST, CPD, City Council, DEDO, and OFE to address EC3 concerns and this resulted in a total of 65 EC3 anti-displacement recommendations being directly incorporated into the Final Draft of the EAP. Significant improvements include the recommendation that Tax Increment Financing (TIF) projects through the Urban Renewal Area (URA) must be vetted with a Community Advisory Committee, the consideration of a “No Net Loss” policy, a recommendation to fund a local ECN legal clinic to help with eviction issues.
The EC3 launched the Housing Access Campaign after meeting with refugee leadership of the EC3 at the onset of COVID and hearing that their number one issue was the need for help accessing TRUA due to the lack of language access. We trained a group of 20 volunteers and raised seed money to employ EC3 leaders and pay for translation. EC3 then recruited ECN Residents who speak French, Swahili, Karen, Amharic, Spanish, and Rohingya to directly assist applications and do interpretation and paired the 20 volunteers with paid interpreters to assist in Oromo, Tigrinya, Dinka, Arabic, Burmese, and other languages. We then used the data we collected and partnered with GES Coalition and Enterprise Community Partners to advocate for improvements with the City and won a specific allocation from the City to fund Community Navigation and a significant re-write of the TRUA application to improve access. This program continues to grow and expand with two FTE’s currently running our Housing Assistance Campaign.
EC3 is looking to leverage language in the East Area Plan to work with the City of Denver to streamline permitting processes.
EC3 is conducting research on CAM Fees to ensure if businesses pay these fees, they receive the maintenance they deserve.
EC3 is advocating for COVID relief programs for Start-up businesses who have not been served. EC3 advocated for improvements in Access to Relief programs that resulted in the creation of the Priority Neighborhood Small Business Relief program of City of Denver.
EC3 is building a campaign to document the impact of property taxes on displacement to propose community solutions to the rising tax burden of local businesses. We are working with the Colfax Mayfair BID to implement Adaptive Reuse Pilot program to allow businesses to repurpose and share space to reduce tax burdens.
The EC3 supports the efforts of the Colorado Homes for All and Renters Roundtable Coalitions to advance just and equitable housing solutions at the Colorado State Capitol.
We create programs and events to build leadership, community connection, and pride in East Colfax. We build power at the city and state levels to advance equitable housing policy and community-centered decision making. We build power at the local, regional, and citywide level to advance equitable housing policy and community centered decision making.
Together with community centered organizations in the East Colfax corridor, the EC3 is building a unified, community centered coalition to build capacity to directly engage and drive development decisions and priorities in the communities of East Colfax and West Aurora.
EC3 is meeting with a combination of business owners, lawyers and community partners to develop a rent to own program for property. Stay tuned for more information soon!
The EC3 is building a coalition of majority POC led small business owners that are organizing to share resources, raise money to support the independent East Colfax Small Business Relief Fund, and support each other in helping the local business community to thrive and grow together.
EC3 is partnering with the East Colfax Neighborhood Association, Denver Office of Transportation and Infrastructure, Denver Police Department, and EC3 Business and Resident Leaders to create Neighborhood Walk models to increase community presence, reduce the opportunity for crime, and connect neighbors in need to local resources.
EC3 is looking for funding to pay for CPTED improvements at local businesses through grant writing and advocacy.