Business Funding Outlook for 2014: A Fantastic Year for Accessing Government Funding

View the original article on www.mentorworks.ca for links to specif...

2013 saw billions in government funding flow into small and mid-sized businesses across Canada. It was a great year for our clients, and with several new funding initiatives launching as well as many popular programs being replenished in 2014; this year will be a great year for your business to finally dive into Canadian government funding.

Canadian & Ontario Business Grants for Agriculture and Agri-Food

In 2014 agriculture and agri-food will remain one of the most substantially funded sectors. The recently launched Local Food Fund is offering Ontario government grants to help support the demand for and awareness of local food in Ontario. The program has been allotted $10 million and will fund up to 50% of projects costs.

Small Businesses Continue to Leverage Growing Forward 2 Government Grants & Loans

Meanwhile, Growing Forward 2 offers a number of funding opportunities, including capacity building and implementation projects that fund from 50 to 75% of eligible project costs under the provincial stream of Growing Forward 2 organizations and collaborations. Our clients have also accessed funding set aside for Food and Agri-Product Processors, as well as the popular programs like AgriMarketing through the Growing Forward 2’s federal stream. With 2 streams of funding, AgriMarketing aims to enhance the marketing capacity of industries by allowing them to identify marketing priorities and thereby increasing their chances of global success. AgriMarketing’s Market Development Streamfunds SMEs up to 50% or $50,000 of their eligible expenses, with the Assurance System’s stream handling larger industry-led initiatives.

Mentor Works is Carefully Watching Out for Renewal of Funding for Capital Expenditures and HR & Training

With the fiscal year beginning in April of 2014, Mentor Works is patiently awaiting the renewal of two very popular funding programs, Yves Landry government grants for high skilled and training and CME Smart Prosperity Now funding for capital expenditures to assist with export expansion capabilities. Funding through Yves Landry covers up to 50% or $50,000 to support training related to the adoption of new technology and or processes or procedures related to business expansion. CME Smart Prosperity Nowsupports projects that improve operational efficiency, reduce waste, or contribute to global expansion efforts.

New Suite of Funding Programs Offered through FedDev Ontario

FedDev Ontario recently launched a new suite of Canadian business grants and loans called Southern Ontario Prosperity Initiatives worth $530 million collectively Included within the suite of programs is a program that we have supported in the past called Investing in Business Innovation (IBI), as well as new programs including Investing in Business Growth and Productivity (IBGP), Investing in Commercialization Partnerships (ICP), and Investing in Regional Development (IRD). These initiatives amount to more than half a billion dollars in funding for firms from early stage-start-ups, to SMEs and Not-For-Profits to grow and develop their businesses and communities. To help educate our clients about these exciting new programs we are offering a series of complimentary government funding workshops and webinars. We will also discuss the newly released $200 million Advanced Manufacturing Fundwithin our exclusive presentations.

IRAP Funding Will Continue to Play a Significant Role in Our Clients’ Funding Strategies

The Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) will continue to be a big part of many of our clients’ respective cash flow strategies. IRAP fundingcan be used to solve a technical or innovation problem. Through the use of IRAP our clients have leveraged up to over $100K for projects as diverse as improving websites and developing e-commerce portals, to ERP or CRM upgrades and implementation, software development, and more.

Grants for Hiring Recent Graduates and Skilled Professionals Front and Center Again in 2014

Programs offered by funding organizations to assists small to mid-sized businesses to hire skilled professionals and recent graduates have always been among the most popular programs highlighted within Mentor Works’ presentations and online content, as they are obviously among the most widely accessible of government grants opportunities available. Leading up to 2014, we saw a new program called the Youth Employment Fund release, adding to a handful of other programs left over from 2013. With the majority of funding for hiring programs being released in April 2014, we are looking forward to programs offered through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), the extremely popular Career Focus funding programs.

Attend a Free Canadian Government Funding Workshop and/or Webinar

Take your first step to greater financial stability and success by signing up for a Canadian government funding workshop or webinar, offered free of charge to owners and leaders of established small to mid-sized businesses. You can also sign up for our Canadian government funding weekly e-newsletter.

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