Small businesses are the heart of Canadian communities and the backbone of Canada’s economy. Canadians everywhere have been supporting their local businesses throughout COVID-19, from ordering take-out to buying gift cards. Civic-minded organizations with the resources and means are also pitching in.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has announced a new program called the Canadian Business Resilience Network Small Business Relief Fund to provide small businesses from coast to coast to coast with $10,000 grants to help their recovery efforts during these unprecedented times.
The initiative, through the financial support of Salesforce, will help 62 small Canadian businesses recover and support their resilience, for a total of $620,000 in funds.
Businesses can use the $10,000 grants to support their recovery efforts, including paying salaries, acquiring safety and personal protective equipment for staff, replenishing materials or paying for the measures required to adapt business models to the economic impacts of COVID-19, among other key priorities.
Applications open on June 1, 2020 and will close on June 12, 2020. The successful applicants will be announced in late June to early July 2020, with the funds being transferred to the successful applicants shortly thereafter.