Growing Forward 2 Organizations & Collaborations – Capacity Building – Eligibility

Ontario small business grants and loans for agricultural business are available on a cost-sharing arrangement from the Growing Forward 2 Program offered through the Province of Ontario. This 5-year Ontario government funding for agricultural program offers a total funding amount of over $400 million for Ontario small business grants and loans, funding for non-profits, and Collaborations.  (Collaborations involve two or more businesses, non-profits or academic institutions.)  These organizations can apply for Ontario government funding to support projects that fit with the focus areas of the Growing Forward 2 Ontario Program.

Growing Forward 2 Ontario Business Grants Focus Areas

The focus areas of the Growing Forward 2 Ontario Program include the following:

1. Environment and Climate Change Adaptation
2. Animal and Plant Health
3. Market Development
4. Labour Productivity Enhancement
5. Assurance Systems (Food Safety, Traceability and Animal Welfare)
6. Business and Leadership Development

Ontario Government Funding Streams Available

For Organizations and Collaborations funding is available through two streams:

• Capacity Building
• Project Implementation

The Capacity Building stream is recommended as the first project application to be done prior to submitting an application for the Project Implementation stream. Up to 75% of project costs are eligible for reimbursement under this stream. The remaining 25% is expected as a cash contribution from the applicant – in-kind contributions are not eligible for this stream.

Ontario Government Grants Project Eligibility

The following Capacity Building projects eligible for government funding under the Growing Forward 2 (GF2) include:

• Training and Skills development
• Audits or assessment
• Strategic Planning

Government Funding for Business Eligible Expenses

This Ontario government funding program will allow reimbursement for the following expenses:

• Goods, services, supplies and all related shipping or transportation costs
• Contract salaries, benefits and specific per diem fees (not applicable to full-time staff of applicant or collaboration members)
• Rental of facilities
• Administrative costs
• Communication materials including design, printing, translation, etc.
• Travel, meal and hospitality costs within Government of Ontario guidelines

Ontario Government Grants Ineligible Expenses

Ineligible expenses under this stream include:

• Normal Operating Costs
• Normal Costs for establishing a commercial operation
• Minor assets and capital items (including computer equipment)
• Purchase or lease of land
• Direct income support related to direct payments to producers to offset their loss of income due to production fluctuations
• Any cost, including a tax that is eligible for a rebate, credit or refund
• Travel, meal and hospitality expenditures beyond Government of Ontario’s Guidelines
• Financing charges and loan interest payments
• Gifts and incentives
• Costs incurred prior to April 1, 2013
• Expenses incurred for other approved Growing Forward 2 projects

Ontario Grants for Small Business Application Process

The application process for this Ontario government funding has two stages.

• The first stage is a Pre-Proposal that is evaluated and responded to within 5-10 business days.
• The second stage is a full application that is reviewed in waves, according to the following dates in 2013: September 5^th, October 24^th or December 12^th, for projects over $20,000. Projects under $20,000 can be submitted on an on-going basis. Responses for this stage of the application process should be within 6-8 weeks.

Ontario Small Business Grants and Loans –Next Steps

As this Growing Forward 2 small business grants Ontario program is now open for application submission, contact a Canadian government funding expert to get started.

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