CEDC, Chamber of commerce accepting applications to new local business fund
CEDC, Chamber of commerce accepting applications to new local business fund
The Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission and the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce have teamed up to launch and promote the small business tariff response fund which will fund 15 projects at $7,500 each, as long as the cost of the project is a minimum of $10,000. Applications are being accepted until the end of May, the organizations said in media releases issued Monday.
“We really felt that there was a gap in supporting some of those smaller businesses with the transition right now,” said Jamie Taylor, the CEO of the economic development commission. “We do expect that there’ll be other programs announced, but really we wanted to be able to have some sort of an offering to support businesses through this period of transition.”
The CEDC is using money from an investment fund it has access to, Taylor said. She added that the timing is difficult, given that many small and medium sized businesses are still picking themselves back up after the pandemic.
“We’ve heard from several small businesses through our entrepreneur centre, specifically, about how it’s affecting them,” she said. “There’s been such turmoil for small businesses over the past years — this is just another blow, right?”
“They finally feel like they’re caught up, they’re back on track, and then yet another thing that they have to overcome so we want to ensure that we’re providing some sort of a service to be able to support them during this.”
The fund is available to businesses with 50 employees or fewer, said Charla Robinson, the president of the chamber of commerce. She said applicants will be asked to tell them how the current climate is impacting their business.
