In celebration of the Community Futures Program, on October 3rd the CFNC hosted a successful MP reception in Ottawa. The event was attended by more than 110 people, including 20 MPs, several Ontario and Quebec entrepreneurs, representaion from various CFDCs and all provincial CF Associations.

Click here for a brief summary of the event.

In Budget 2018, the federal government launched the first ever Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, a $2-billion investment that seeks to double the number of women-owned businesses by 2025.

Currently under this strategy,  CFDCs are eligible to apply to the WES Ecosystem Fund and the CFDC's clients are eligible to apply to the Women Entrepreneurship Fund.

Click for more details.

In January 2018, many important parts of the Cutting Unnecessary Red Tape Act, 2017 took effect.  The Act, also known as Bill 154, makes changes to current laws and brings us closer to Ontario's Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (ONCA). The government has said they are working to bring ONCA into force as early as possible, with a target of early 2020. You can read an overview of the changes  to current law here.

You don't have to do anything now, but here is what you can do.

Congratulations to new and returning members of the OACFDC Board of Directors:

Mr. Shawn Heard, President

Mr. Kevin Jackson, Vice-President 

Ms. Wendy Timpano, Secretary

Mr. Garry McKinnon, Past President

Mr. Dennis Shepitka, Member

Mr. Peter Smith, Member

Mr. Frank Rupcic, Member

Mr. Geoffrey Gillon, Member

The legalization of recreational cannabis is coming into effect this year – is your organization ready?

Registration: to October 29 2018

Session Date: November 1 2018, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm

In this month’s Live Well, Work Well newsletter, you’ll read about Workplace Bullying, Superfoods and The Importance of Eye Exams.

Refinancing is not only for companies in financial difficulties. It can also be used to free up cash to pursue your strategic goals.

For example, you might want to refinance your debts to gain additional cash to deal with sales fluctuations, market a new product or finance a new project.

Alternatively, you might want to refinance your debts to get more advantageous amortization periods that will enable you to invest more in your company.

Trenval recently had their Conflict of Interest and Consent to Serve as a Director updated for the Board of Directors and for Employees.

These documents were prepared by an HR lawyer

Understanding how a banker looks at an entrepreneur can increase your chances of success in landing the financing you need.

One thing to understand is that a banker will take an objective look at your business and his or her opinion might not jive with your vision.

Sometimes entrepreneurs think they should receive more money than the fundamentals of their business merit. They also often underestimate the riskiness of their project.

 If you work with entrepreneurs, our training has been developed specifically for you!

Join us online Thursday, November 8, 2018

Small business owners and managers wear many hats and need to do everything, from payroll to sales. Back pain and other MSD are the biggest cause of pain and disabilty at work in Ontario and world wide. The Quick Start Guide is a simple way to improve your workpace. It will improve the safety and health of your workers because work shouldn't hurt.

Privacy leaders in the European Union have spent years preparing their organizations for the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Effective May 25, 2018, Canadian businesses must comply with the new regulations to do business with EU companies.

Register now to reserve a free space for the first webinar in the series.

GDPR 101: A Toolkit to Educate Non-Privacy Professionals

November 8, 2018 at 11:00 AM ET

Register online free of charge to join our presenter Elisa Henry for this 60-minute complimentary webinar. Part one of four on November 8th will equip privacy officers with a basic toolkit they need to educate other parts of their business about GDPR and the implications around it.

Robin Ramage, pictured above (L) with Vice-Chair, Steve Ecker (R), has proudly served Grand Erie Business Centre (GEBC) in Caledonia for 20 years. 

From the moment Robin arrived he was an integral part of the team.  His work ethic and dedication are second to none, and he his greatly respected by everyone at GEBC. 

Robin recently "retired", but decided to return a few days per week.  When not at work, Robin can usually be found behind a camera lens taking beautiful scenic photos of Haldimand County.

Buy Social Canada brings together socially driven purchasers and social enterprise suppliers to build business relationships that generate social benefits for communities across the country.

This guidebook is an introduction to the why, what, and how of social procurement in Canada.

In an increasingly connected, automated and data-driven world, businesses need to embrace new technologies or risk falling behind.

This year for BDC Small Business Week, we are inviting entrepreneurs to measure their digital performance and take action to digitize now.

The Rural Ontario Institute (ROI) is preparing to tell stories of successful rural entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship programs. The intent is to profile a range of approaches to entrepreneurship programming that respond to the needs of current or aspiring rural entrepreneurs.

Highlighting_rural_entrepreneurship_programming.pdf

As part of the Downtown Revitalization program, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs provides intensive downtown revitalization coordinator training focused on identifying the processes and tools that are needed to successfully undertake a downtown revitalization initiative in a community.

DR_Training_Flyer_2018_Final.pdf

The Standing Committee on Finance has launched its Pre-Budget Consultations in advance of the 2019 budget.

Community Futures Network of Canada submitted a brief (click to read) which was presented before the Committee on Thursday, October 18, 2018 in Winnipeg Manitoba by 

Click HERE to find all the materials from the Conference Workshop presentations