The health and well-being of our national Community Futures family, including managers, employees, volunteer board members, presenters, event volunteers and our RDAs, remains our top priority.

The Community Futures Ontario Board of Directors and the 2021 Community Futures National Event Committee have made the difficult decision to postpone the 2021 Community Futures National Event in Ottawa.

We believe this postponement will ensure the health and safety of all participants from across the country, while working towards a successful National Event experience in 2022.

We are committed to working with all partners to ensure that when it is safe to do so, the 2022 Community Futures National Event will provide both a space to share our Rural & Resilient stories and an engaging programme of activities to remember.

We’ve made some significant changes to the website this month to streamline things and will be making more changes incrementally.

FedDev/FedNor – These sections have been moved to the right navigation bar. 

Member Benefits – You will find this section has also been moved to the right navigation bar - see image below. 

If you have forgotten your signin credentials or you have trouble getting into the website, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

We have compiled information for the 2020-2021 MP Toolkits.

You can find an introduction and the materials for download here. (Please sign in as a member first)

Congratulations to the new Board of Directors and Executive!

2020/2021 OACFDC Board of Directors are as follows:

Region # 1 Northwest: Geoff Gillon – Fort Frances (Manager)
Region # 2 Northeast: Suzanne Viel – Timmins (Staff)
Region # 2b Northeast: Kelly Bolduc O’Hare – Gore Bay (Volunteer)
Region # 3 East: Gail Moorhouse – Peterborough (Manager)
Region # 3b East: Lila Romanko - Cornwall (Volunteer)
Region # 4a Southcentral: Wendy Timpano – Orillia (Manager)
Region # 4b Southwest: Allan Simm - Ingersoll (Manager)
Region # 4c West: Kevin Jackson – St. Thomas (Manager)

Executive:

Board President: Kevin Jackson

Vice President: Wendy Timpano

Treasurer: Gail Moorhouse 

Secretary: Geoff Gillon

Past President: Shawn Heard

If any of your offices are planning promotional events for Small Business Month and/or Week, please tag us in your social media posts and we are happy to share your news and events. That goes for any time!

FACEBOOK: @CommunityFuturesOntario

TWITTER: @CommFuturesON

INSTAGRAM: @CFOntario

*Thank you to those of you that are already doing this!

“The Ontario government is committing nearly $1 million in cost-share funding to help rural communities diversify their economies, retain skilled workers and create jobs…

The intake is directed at not-for-profit organizations with a mandate towards regional economic development and eligible projects would be eligible for up to 70 per cent of total costs to a maximum of $75,000 in provincial funding. Minister Hardeman also announced more than $3 million in funding cost-shared with applicants to be invested in 65 projects through a previous RED intake.”

Read more

Ontario Investing to Support Francophone Businesses and Recovery

“As Ontario prepares to celebrate Franco-Ontarian Day this Friday, September 25, the Ontario government is pleased to announce a new investment of $500,000 to support Franco-Ontarian entrepreneurs and businesses…

$250,000 will support the creation of a new online platform ― the Francophone Business Network ― that will help businesses share their expertise and best practices and form new strategic partnerships. The remaining $250,000 will fund a campaign focused on promoting Franco-Ontarians products and services.”

Read more

The Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) has created a video with a step by step process to assist in filling out the Digital Main Street grant application.

View video

Digital Service Squad Grants FAQs

More info

All titles in the CSAE bookstore are now 20% off (for a limited time only)!

If you would like to make purchases, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  indicating the title and the quantity of each book you’d like by October 8th, 2020 at noon EDT.

Browse available titles

George Gilfillan has joined RCCFDC as the new Business Support Coach.

Coming from Scotland in 2014, Gilfillan brings with him over 10 years of financial services experience and is very proud to call Renfrew County home. 

Welcome George!

With the help of Haliburton County Development Corporation's, Cottage Care Rentals (CCR) added 1.5FTE, increasing their rental capacity to 30%, and upgraded their reservation system. This came in handy during the pandemic for working remotely and booking online completely. When Income plummeted to $0 on March 16th due to the cottage rental ban, CCR used wage subsidies to support their team and set to work developing a 5yr succession plan in order to insure continued interest from renters. On June 5th, when the ban was lifted, CCR hit the ground running and has now booked out even into 2021!

The Canada Healthy Communities Initiative will provide up to $31 million in existing federal funding to support communities as they deploy innovative new ways to adapt spaces and services to respond to immediate and ongoing needs arising from COVID-19 over the next two years.

The initiative will support projects under three main themes:

• Creating safe and vibrant public spaces
• Improving mobility options
• Digital solutions

Find out more here

Dr. Heather Hall (University of Waterloo), Dr. Tara Vinodrai (University of Waterloo) and the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation have launched a survey to understand the COVID-19 impacts, responses and recovery needs for Rural Canada.

If you work in economic development or you are a town manager/CAO/clerk in a municipality with a population under 100,000 and are interested in participating, please click the following link or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Take survey here

“The underlying problem that creates the rural connectivity gap in Canada is: market failure. As a nation, we’ve relied on the for-profit market to deliver an essential service. If market failure is the problem, then market intervention is the solution.

The simplest way to describe the problem is that the for-profit market has failed to meet the need everywhere because the traditional business case does not exist in most rural communities. Simply, the more densely populated an area, the better the business case.”

Read more

“As the dust settles and we return to wearing pants in lieu of everyday sleepwear, some distinct patterns have emerged. Our research shows a marked increase in online shopping, an appetite for virtual experiences, more adoption of local pickup and delivery methods, and widespread support for small, independent businesses. Gift card purchases are up, too, as are payment plan purchases.”

Read more

Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) and Imagine Canada are pleased to announce that a collection of resources from the former HR Council for the Voluntary and Non-Profit Sector and its HRCouncil.ca site, retired in 2018, will be updated and relaunched in 2021.

Read more

Business Planning & Business Model Canvas

Wednesday, October 7^th 2020 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.   

During this workshop we will think about, discuss, apply, and practice:

• What is a business plan and when do you need one?
• Alternatives to a business plan
• Planning vs testing
• Introduction to Customer

Pre-registration is required.

Register 

Minimum Viable Product

Wednesday, October 14th, 2020 - 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. 

During this workshop we will think about, discuss, apply, and practice:

• What is the TEST you can do before investing lots of time, energy and money into a new product or service?
• Learning how to test your market
• Finding people who are actively looking for the solution your business provides.

Pre-registration is required.

Register

Customer Discovery 

Wednesday, October 21st, 2020 - 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.  

During this workshop we will think about, discuss, apply, and practice:

• Potential customer interview
• No sales
• Learning the language people use when thinking about the solution your business provides
• Understanding what customers are looking for
• This information becomes marketing material to sell your product

Pre-registration is required. 

Register 

Legal Info For The Entrepreneur with Meredith MacLeod, MacLeod Webber  Barristers & Solicitors 

Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 - 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

This presentation by Meredith MacLeod, of MacLeod Webber Barristers & Solicitors, covers general considerations for people starting new businesses such as:

• Incorporation, partnership
• Shareholder agreements
• Employee contracts  
• Followed by Q & A

Register