Support Programs for Businesses
The HNCEA has noted three programs that are currently available to support the needs of businesses in the region:
Business Resilience and Recovery:
Millworks Centre for Entrepreneurship has announced the Business Resilience and Recovery Program. It's a micro-grant program so they only cover up to $1,500 but that can be up to 90% of total project costs. If approved, the funds can be used to reimburse the cost of getting professional services, including digital marketing, marketing, business advisors, accounting, and other professional expertise.
More information about the program criteria can be found here: https://themillworks.ca/business-resilience-recovery-program/?fbclid=IwAR0NY5qS8XpMwbtozh1PIYnadPxU71-nGy9RK-0yr5Nk6g5LCvi3drYffZg
Transformation Teams:
Digital Mainstreet is trying to get more Northern businesses hooked up to its Transformation Teams program. Transformation Teams connects businesses with a free team of digital marketers, web designers, and creatives to help solve the wide variety of challenges that main street businesses are facing today. Each team will build a custom plan to help businesses adapt to changes in their industry while also working to deliver this plan in no more than six weeks. Transformation Teams can provide a wide variety of support to businesses that range from creating new business opportunities, making changes to a business model, improving business operations through technology and so much more.
The needs to be a registered business in Ontario. Click here to sign up! If you want to learn more about the Transformation Teams program, join their weekly webinar on Thursdays at 10:30am using this link. I spoke to Omer who runs the program and he said that he would also be happy to have one-on-one discussion with interested businesses or have a webinar just for businesses in our area if there is a lot of interest.
SNAPP:
For those in the agriculture sector, RAIN's SNAPP funding opened back up. More information is available here: http://rainalgoma.ca/snapp/
Place to Grow:
The Government of Ontario has launched its Place to Grow: Agri-food Innovation Initiative. Funding supports agriculture and food value-chain partners by offering cost-share funding opportunities to address identified industry priorities and outcomes for environmental stewardship, protection & assurance and economic development. Eligible applicants can apply for Funding for Sectors programming beginning November 4, 2020. Program details and forms are available through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership website.