Please join Betty Langford, General Manager of the Centre For Business and Economic Development in welcoming 
Marsha Brown as the new Loans Officer. Marsha brings 
over 15 years’ experience in the financial industry. 
Located in Collingwood, the Centre For Business is a not-for-profit Community Futures Development Corporation
sponsored by FedDev serving the areas and municipalities of 
South Georgian Bay and Dufferin County.

The Western Ontario Community Futures Development Corporation Association’s Marketing & Advertising Committee has hired Carla Langhorst of Small Business Solver to create a customized ‘How to Write a Business Plan’ video for their members. This video will be available in English only.

The Committee is extending the invitation to all CFDC’s to have this same video customized for your own use (for use on your website, Facebook pages etc...).

The exact cost will be determined according to how many CFDC’s take advantage of this offer but the maximum amount will be $150 each. To view a PowerPoint presentation that includes the text and images that will be used in the video, please click on the following link http://bit.ly/1GQrax7

If you choose to take advantage of this great offer please contact Brenda LaGrandeur at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by April 17^th, 2015 with the following information:

1. Your CFDC Website Address
2. Your CFDC Contact Email Address:  We suggest a generic, timeless ‘information’ email address, i.e. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., but of course, the choice is yours!
3. Your CFDC Logo:  JPEG format is preferred please.

Be sure to keep checking the OACFDC website to get the latest updates about our fall conference.

You’ll find a tentative agenda along with information about rooms and transportation.

Don’t delay! Book early to reserve your rooms.  In order to access the special rate you must call the all-suite Casino Rama Hotel at 1-800-832-7529 and quote group code ONTI15B.                                                                                                                       

The Northern Ontario Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative has been at the forefront of youth entrepreneurship initiatives in Northern Ontario since 2001. Together with their main funders FedNor and the Ontario Trillium Foundation as well as their many partners and sta keholders they have achieved significant impact on entrepreneurial and intrapraneurial thinking in our youth. Twenty-four CFDC’s are proudly supporting and partnering this initiative.

They are extending an open invitation to High School students from all over Northern Ontario to participate in the Enterprise Olympics which will be held May 13^th-14^th at the Sault College and Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie. There will be a $500 prize for each winning team within each sector. Out of the 6 winning teams, there is also a chance to win a scholarship or bursary from a post-secondary institution of the student’s choice.01. Together with their main funders FedNor and the Ontario Trillium Foundation as well as their many partners and stakeholders they have achieved significant impact on entrepreneurial and intrapraneurial thinking in our youth. Twenty-four CFDC’s are proudly supporting and partnering this initiative.

For information please visit the website http://www.headstartinbusiness.com/

Ventura Niagara will be hiring two staff members on contract positions. The positions are Community Economic Development Officer and a Business Loans Officer. 

Venture Niagara has supported the start-up and expansion of businesses and implemented a range of community economic development projects in the Niagara region for the past thirty years.

For full details on these positions please see http://bit.ly/1EmZrkW and http://bit.ly/1Et7Vtf

Qualified applicants are requested to submit their resumes and cover letter to:

     Venture Niagara Community Futures Development Corporation

    20 Pine Street North,

     Thorold, Ontario L2V 0A1

Attention: Frank Rupcic General Manager This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

The Small Business Branch’s 2014 year-end issue of the Venture Capital Monitor publication is now available on-line at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/061.nsf/eng/h_02940.html. This year-end issue covers venture capital (VC) activity from January 2014 to December 2014.

The branch analyses the financial marketplace and how trends in this market impact small businesses' access to financing. To be added to the distribution list of online release of the Small Business Branch publications, please subscribe at the Subscribe to publications page.

The Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence program was created to recognize and foster the spirit of innovation that thrives in Ontario’s agricultural sector Your support is encouraged by recognizing outstanding agriculture and agri-food innovators by submitting an application by the deadline of 5 p.m. on April 10, 2015.

Each year the program recognizes up to 45 innovations across the province. Award recipients will receive $5,000, a plaque, gate sign and various promotional materials. In addition, there will be a Premier’s Award valued at $75,000, a Minister’s Award valued at $50,000 and three Leaders in Innovation Awards valued at $25,000 each.

Primary producers, processors and agri-food organizations are invited to submit applications. Details on eligibility, innovation categories, assessment criteria, and the application and selection process can be found in the 2015 Program Guidebook and Application Form at: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/premier_award/app_info.htm.                                                    

Questions can be directed to the Agricultural Information Contact Centre (AICC) at 1-877-424-1300 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. A description of the award winning innovations by year (2006 through 2014) can be viewed at www.ontario.ca/agrifoodinnovation.

Applications are open for the Investment Ready: Certified Site Program through the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. The application window will be open until April 17, 2015.  Applicants can receive 50 per cent of eligible costs, up to $25,000, per site to undertake the certification process as well as benefiting from an international marketing campaign aimed at site selection decision-makers, and are profiled on the province’s international website. The Certified Site Program gives developers easy access to important property information such as availability, utilities servicing and transportation access. This is Canada's first certified site program.  

The Investment Ready: Certified Site Program designation offers peace of mind to decision-makers that the site has completed a high level of due diligence such as environmental assessments. By reducing unknowns associated with development, the program encourages faster site selection and helps get projects underway faster in Ontario. Two new sites, in Strathroy-Caradoc, near London, and Edwardsburgh/Cardinal, near Kingston, add to the growing inventory of certified sites. This is in addition to three sites that were certified in 2014, including two in London and one in Lakeshore. More than 45 sites across the province are moving through the certification process.

To learn about the Investment Ready: Certified Site Program and how to apply, plan on attending the online information session on March 31, 2015 at 11am. RSVP by e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phoning 1-855-585-0475. 

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the newest member of the OACFDC team as the Communications and Professional Development Officer. My husband and I recently moved to Ontario from the South Western Nova Scotia and are living in Strathroy with our 15 year old dog Lily.

I have worked for the past 8 years as a Community Development Officer with a small rural municipality in NS where approximately 75% of the population of 8000 was Francophone. I am an Acadian who is proud of both her language and heritage and am pleased to be able to continue working in a bilingual capacity. I was fortunate to have been able to collaborate with the local CDBC in Yarmouth NS on various projects as well as having worked briefly as a Resource Development Officer with the Middlesex Business Help Centre in Poplar Hill.

I witnessed first-hand the impact that Community Futures (and Business) Development Corporations had on the overall communities in which they serve and I am very excited to be a part of this organization. I look forward to speaking with and meeting many of you in the upcoming months. I would value any input that you would like to share with me about this newsletter as well as any other communication methods that we have at our disposal. Send me your stories, pictures, successes, news bits… whatever you would like other members of the OACFDC (and the public in general) to know about the great work that you all do in rural Ontario.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 519-633-2326 or toll free at 1-888-633-2326

Do you have new staff or volunteers?

Don’t forget to send us your updated staff and volunteer email addresses so that we can add them to our communications distribution lists. Send all changes to Brenda at 

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

Also make sure to “Like” and Share the OACFDC Facebook page and follow our Twitter feed to keep up to date on events, resources and news.