SAVE THE DATE, you’re headed for OTTAWA!!!!

(Put it in your calendar NOW!)

The 2021 Community Futures National Event will be held at The Westin Ottawa, April 27-29, 2021.

Plan for:

• Engaging speakers and keynotes
• Networking with colleagues across the country
• Workshops specifically designed for CF/CBDC staff
• ‘Virtual’ tour with local vendors
• Special event at the National Museum of History
• Sightseeing in the nation’s capital

Click here for the latest information and bookmark the page!

With the Coronavirus in mind…

The committee is getting creative but also taking extra precautions and so is the venue hosting this spectacular event, The Westin Ottawa cleaning protocols.

If you’d like to receive email updates about speakers, workshops, tours and special promotions, simply click here.

Thanks to renewed investment in the Ontario Digital Main Street (DMS) program, even more of the province’s main street small businesses will be able to take advantage of digital technologies and e-commerce platforms to increase their revenues and create jobs. The Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA), in partnership with the Toronto Association of BIAs (TABIA), announced that additional funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (MEDJCT) will allow them to expand the DMS program to more businesses in the province.

Through this joint federal and provincial contribution, DMS will continue to help approximately 2,750 main street small businesses develop an online presence. Grants will be provided to Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), chambers of commerce and municipalities to establish local digital service squads that work with businesses to develop a Digital Transformation Plan.

*Grants of $2,500 will also be provided directly to main street small businesses to support the cost of implementing elements of their transformation plan.

More details about this program will be available July 1, 2020

Full article here.

Northwest (Tamara Murphy)

Geoff Gillon, Executive Director of Rainy River Future Development Corporation, joins the Small Business Economic Advisory Council and will be a voice for the business community in our region. The Council is tasked with providing advice to the government, as Ontario pivots from health crisis to economic recovery.

Read more

The Kenora Business Partners (KBP) have been working with the Kenora business community as a group of five organizations for more than ten years, with the team welcoming the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre as its sixth partner last year. The group is proud to lead initiatives like the Choose Kenora project, showcasing the community as a great place to live and work.

Now, more than ever, KBP is working cohesively to support the Kenora business community through the COVID-19 crisis. The group meets weekly to share information and resources and talk about creative ways to provide assistance and counselling. Members have been collecting information on local impacts to share with all levels of government.

Some of the ways the KBP continues to help the community include:

• Providing and sharing information on grants and loans
• Directing businesses on ways they can help out during the crisis (offering PPE, hand sanitizer) and highlighting those businesses
• Providing information on the stages of re-openings and offering our support
• Hosting or directing businesses to helpful webinars

Northeast (Holly Vukobrat)

The Pan-North CFDCs together with Destination Northern Ontario (DNO) are developing a cross-promotional initiative for tourism operators. The initiative aims to engage tourism operators at a wider scope and to promote RRRF programming along with related DNO programming.

In response to the pandemic, the Northeast network has cancelled their Spring conference, but will move forward with a Fall conference in Sault Ste. Marie. Numerous GMs in the Northeast are participating in local initiatives in response to COVID-19 including roundtable discussions with CED stakeholders, municipal small business hotlines, and COVID relief webinars.

The Northern networks are currently developing a reopening guide for CFDC offices to share insight on workplace safety measures and encourage best practices as offices begin to open their doors to the public.

East (Christine Forsythe)

The 15 Community Futures Development Corporations in Eastern Ontario are all engaged in supporting their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three examples:

Responding to a shortage of reusable face shields, SRB Technologies (Canada) Inc (SRBT) developed a plan to redeploy some of its production capacity to mass produce these shields. Renfrew County CFDC, along with the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development Job Creation and Trade’s “Ontario Together” fund, provided funding to assist SRBT in this plan. SRBT is now producing 10,000 face shields per week, with the first deliveries made in early June.

Trenval Business Development worked with Loyalist College to deliver COVID webinars to enable businesses and employees to upskill in response to COVID-19. There were 6 free webinars for business and another 6 for employees. These were/are available from June 4th to July 9th.

Valley Heartland CFDC has provided $200,000 at 0% to Kilmarnock Enterprises to test and deploy a portable ventilator. This project created 2 jobs immediately (with potential for 10 additional jobs) and maintained 14 jobs.

Video of the project

West (Shari Cole)

The Western Ontario Community Futures Development Corporations Association’s (WOCFDCA) 21 offices have come together throughout the past 3 months to ensure the region’s small businesses succeed through this pandemic. As soon as the province went on lockdown, we saw all managers acting fast and contacting clients to ensure they are ok and offering help and advice when it was needed.

The WOCFDCA network hosted a 3-part webinar series (FREE) to everyone on how to move your business online. In addition to this, we saw many of the offices offering up webinars and teaming up with other community partners to help businesses big or small. Nottawasaga Futures teamed up with Bob Minhas for a webinar on “Selling Your Expert Service’, Orillia CDC hosted a 3-part webinar series on “How to Take Your Business Online” and right out of the gate at the start of this pandemic we saw Community Futures Huron partner with Huron County to bring to the community a webinar on “Creating Your COVID-19 Business Survival Cashflow Plan”.

As we all know business as usual doesn’t stop when there is a pandemic, so WOCFDCA has started an SEO project for all offices in the region to help increase their online presence. As of July 1^st we will be entering our 4^th month of the project and things are going better than expected. We are also moving ahead with the creation of a new WOCFDCA website and the excitement doesn’t stop there, we are also in the early stages of planning a Western Regional Conference.

The CF offices have been keeping up with business as usual; the Annual General Meetings (AGMs) must go on! Nottawasaga Futures held their AGM in May, Perth Community Futures along with the Elgin Business Resource Centre, Community Futures Huron, Wellington – Waterloo Community Futures and Community Futures Middlesex held their AGMs this month (June) and Enterprise Brant will be holding a ZOOM AGM on July 20th, with more AGMs to come. We are all becoming ZOOM masters, although we are missing the face to face interaction. This will all give us something to look back on and say “…remember when?”!

The KDCDC Board of Directors would like to congratulate Paula Mangotich on her retirement! Mangotich has dedicated 28 years of service to the Kirkland & District Community Development Corporation! She has always stood as a strong proponent of the Community Futures Program, advocating for small business development and enhancements.

The role spanned community development projects from Englehart to McGarry to Black River Matheson, Matachewan and Kirkland Lake.

With the support of FedNor, Magnotich and her capable staff, developed and grew the organization into an important economic stimulator with over $40,000,000 invested in the region.

The KDCDC board would like to thank her for her many years of dedication and commitment and wish her all the best in her retirement!

Put your social enterprise on the map!
The Cooperation Council of Ontario/Conseil de la Coopération de l’Ontario is creating a bilingual map of social enterprises to help promote socially-minded businesses during the pandemic. Get more visibility of your social enterprise by adding it to the map.

Comment on proposed ONCA regulations
Ontario has passed legislation to update rules for not-for-profit corporations in the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (ONCA), which is not yet in force. If and when it does come into force, ONCA would provide Ontario nonprofits with a modern legal framework to meet the needs of today's not-for-profit sector. Review the regulations and submit your comments.

For Managers that haven’t filled out the latest Salary Survey yet, we’d very much appreciate your participation.

This survey is for the 2019 Tax year.

You must be signed in with your Manager-level login first, then click here to begin.

From Michael Toye, Executive Director | Directeur general, The Canadian CED Network | Le Réseau canadien de DÉC

“Last year, an award was created to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) called the Stronger Together Award. 

This award celebrates people who have made exceptional life long contributions to Community Economic Development and who have provided outstanding leadership within CCEDNet.  

Diana Jedig is the latest recipient of this prestigious award.

Jedig has served on the Board of Directors longer than anyone else in CCEDNet’s history.  She joined in 2005. 

She has participated in, and Chaired, the Practitioner and Sector Strengthening Committee and the Finance Committee. When CCEDNet’s Board said that work needed to be done to create a solid set of policies and procedures, Jedig volunteered to Chair the Personnel Committee and built CCEDNet’s policy manual (over 100 pages long). 

Jedig represented the Board at the partnership table of the largest project CCEDNet ever administered, the Social Enterprise Ecosystem project.  She has been a crucial link between CCEDNet and the largest network of place-based economic development organizations in the country, the Community Futures and Community Business Development Corporations, as part of policy work and project development. 

In 2019, Jedig hosted EconoUs2019, the biggest national conference CCEDNet did in over a decade. 

She is also the only person to have held the positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.

She has played a huge role in building CCEDNet, and for me personally, has been an unfailingly supportive mentor and provided steady leadership at the Board.

Congratulations Diana Jedig!”

Over the last few months Desjardins has been working to help manage the cost of benefits. On April 20, they announced a 70% dental premium credit per month for April and May. They have decided to extend the credit until June 30, 2020. To find out more information please visit the Plan Administrators secure site. This website is your resource to find updates in regards to your Desjardin group benefits plan and all communications will be available via this portal.

Your Lawrie Insurance Group Consultant and Account Manager can answer your questions.

Sharon Wilson – Consultant

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

1-905-525-7259 x 1314

Mariam Gobran – Account Manager

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1-905-525-7259 x 1417

The founder of the innovative First Nations social enterprise Birch Bark Coffee Company has been recognized nationally for his work in raising funds to provide First Nation communities in Canada with access to clean water.

Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow of Birch Island, and founder of Birch Bark Coffee, received a Canada Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CANIE) award during a digital ceremony held May 28, celebrating winners from Ontario.

Read more

Drones deliver COVID-19-related medical supplies to residents of Beausoleil First Nation (BSN) in a first-of-its-kind agreement.

Vaughan-based Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) will use its Sparrow drone – which can travel 30 kilometres and carry up to 10 pounds – to convey personal protective equipment (PPE), hygiene kits, test kits, test swabs, and more between the mainland and Christian Island of the southern Ontario Indigenous community located at the southern tip of Georgian Bay north of Barrie.

Read more

Below is a list of back to work government resources. You can find these and other resources on our resource webpage here (You must sign in as a member first)

Public Health Agency of Canada advice on public health measures for workplaces

• Guidance for workplaces and businesses operating during COVID-19
• Risk mitigation tool for workplaces and businesses during COVID-19
• Advice for essential retailers during COVID-19 pandemic
• Advice on cleaning and disinfecting public spaces during COVID-19
• Preventing COVID-19 in the workplace: Employers, employees and essential service workers

In addition, the following links are to specific resources for businesses to support their reopening:

• Reopening toolkit – Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Resilience Network
• Prevention infographics and posters - Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
• Resources to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace– CCOHS
• Pandemic tip sheets for specific occupations and industries – CCOHS

BDC has a number of resources including:

LIVE WEBINAR: BDC - Profit from technology: Digital tools to drive efficiency and revenue - July 15, 2020 - 3:00 p.m. (EDT)

BDC: A short guide to using the Business Model Canvas to start an e-commerce website

These can also be found on our resource page. (You must be signed in as a member to view).

Community Futures Eastern Ontario is seeking an Executive Director to guide the next stage in the development of the
organization. 

You can find the full description in our Classified section here. (You have to be signed in to view)

Or download the pdf

The Acadia Entrepreneurship Centre is offering the following free online workshop:

Wednesday, July 8^th, 2020 - Succession Planning 

• During this session you will learn more about:
• Different approaches to exiting your business
• Building your succession planning network
• Learning to let go
• Envisioning your legacy
• Leading difficult conversations
• Determining what's next

Pre-Registration is required.

Register