Growing Forward 2 Ontario Government Funding: Organization Collaborations

The application intake is currently active from now until April 23, 2015 for the Growing Forward 2 (GF2) Ontario: Organization and Collaboration Stream. Growing Forward 2 is a federal-provincial-territorial framework dedicated to innovation, competitiveness, and market development in the agri-food and agri-products sector through Canadian government funding. Government funding for business development is available in Ontario through a cost-sharing arrangement for organizations and collaborations for market expansion, profit growing, and shared risk management. GF2 and similar programs strive to double the annual growth rate and create 120,000 new job opportunities by 2020.

Organization and Collaboration Ontario Government Funding Streams

Differing from the Growing Forward 2 Ontario: Processors and Producers streams, the Growing Forward 2 Ontario Organizations & Collaborations stream requires applicants to be one of the following:

Organizations

• Are considered any not-for-profit Ontario based;
• Are a legally recognized entity involved in the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products sector capable of entering into a contract, including, but not limited to: associations; marketing boards; and aboriginal groups; and
• The organizations must have a membership comprised primarily of residents of Ontario.

Collaborations

• Are combinations of two or more legally recognized for-profit businesses and/or non-profit associations/organizations, and/or academic/research institutions in the agriculture, agri-food, agri-products sector; and
• Are primarily located in Ontario.

Organizations and Collaborations intending to apply for this stream of Growing Forward 2 Ontario government funding should consider both sub-streams when they are evaluating the program, as funding is available under both Capacity Building and Project Implementation sub-streams.

Growing Forward 2 Ontario: Orgs/Collabs Capacity Building Stream

Amount: Cost-sharing grants up to 75% on project costs to a maximum of $3M across both Organization and Collaboration Streams
Timeline: Projects under $20K: continuous intake; Projects over $20K should consider the current intake period from February 20, 2015 through April 23, 2015.
Eligibility: Refer to Organization and Collaboration Funding Streams above.
Projects: Eligible projects for Capacity Building include: strategic planning, audits or assessments, skills development and training. Projects must fit with one of the 6 focus areas of GF2:

1. Environment and Climate Change
2. Plant and Animal Health
3. Market Development
4. Assurance Systems
5. Labour Productivity Enhancement
6. Business and Leadership Development

Growing Forward 2 Ontario: Orgs/Collabs Project Implementation Stream

Amount: 50% of eligible costs with a Capital cap of $100,000 per project, and Program Cap of $3M. There is no funding minimum.
Timeline: The current application intake period is from February 20, 2015 through April 23, 2015 with future intake periods announced through the year.
Eligibility: Refer to Organization and Collaboration Funding streams above.
Projects: Eligible projects must fit with one of the 6 focus areas of GF2.

Leverage Canadian Government Funding to Develop your Business

To find out more about the Growing Forward 2 Ontario program or other government funding for business, please attend one of Mentor Works’ complimentary informational sessions on Canadian Business grants and loan opportunities available for agriculture and the agri-food businesses. For regular Canadian government funding updates, subscribe to our weekly E-Funding Newsletter.