American Rescue Plan Act Funding

Denver's goal is to rebuild an inclusive, sustainable, economy that works for everyone (RISE).

Denver has received $308 million in Local Relief Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Denver has updated the City and County of Denver ARPA Performance Dashboard, now transformed in to a single location for all ARPA performance tracking data, including fund expenditures and the Neighborhood Recovery Index.

Denver's ARPA Performance Dashboard

American Rescue Plan Act dollars are critical to the city's financial plan for recovery which includes a mix of federal, state, and local stimulus funds.

On September 14, 2022, Mayor Hancock released his proposed budget that includes $154 million in Round 2 ARPA proposed investments. 

Round 2 addresses three principal areas:

1. Housing Stability & Homelessness Resolution Support
2. Vulnerable Populations, Community Health & Safety Support
3. Business, Worker and Nonprofit Assistance

At approximately $77 million, the housing stability and homeless resolution support area commands the largest share of the dollars, but the overall plan is wide-ranging, addressing the multi-faceted feedback the City received during its outreach efforts. Overall, 32 projects are featured across 12 separate agencies. The investment, agency and amount proposed are listed on page 40 of the budget proposal.

You can also see Denver's latest annual ARPA Report released in July of 2022 here(PDF, 35MB). 

Denver's American Rescue Plan Funding Dashboard

ARPA Community Outreach

Between 2021 and 2022, the city engaged with over 12,000 residents and received more than 15,000 surveys, comments, and ideas about how the city should invest it's ARPA funds. Through focus groups with community leaders, and through telephone townhalls with the public, residents shared their top priorities with city leadership. The outreach process emphasized reaching communities hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. The telephone townhalls were translated into English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Amharic, and outreach was focused in historically underserved neighborhoods. Over 40% of participants identified as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). 

In 2021, residents identified affordable housing, mental health, and job training and career development as top priorities. In 2022, the city dug deeper into these topics, and several key themes emerged: 

• More affordable and sustainable access to housing to increase homeownership and keep renters in their neighborhoods
• Supportive housing and wrap-around services for people experiencing homelessness
• Supportive and wrap-around services for those receiving mental health care or substance misuse treatment
• Women-owned and minority-owned business supports
• Reskilling, mentorship, and educational opportunities for workers
• Youth programming and after-school opportunities
• Decreased gun violence and neighborhood safety

The 2022 Community outreach dashboard shows all results from this spring's input process. The dashboard displays the top results across all participants, and also filters the top results by BIPOC residents and by residents in key recovery neighborhoods.   

Check Out the Community Engagement Dashboard

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