Small businesses are the heart of our communities and the backbone of Canada’s economy. Canadians everywhere have been supporting local businesses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, from ordering take-out to buying gift cards. Civic-minded organizations with the resources and means are also pitching in.
As part of its Canadian Business Resilience Network campaign, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, through the generosity of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), will provide 62 small Canadian businesses from coast to coast to coast with $10,000 grants to help their recovery efforts during these unprecedented times.
Why do this?
The CBRN Small Business Relief Fund will help 62 small Canadian businesses recover and support their resilience, for a total of $620,000 in funds.
Businesses can use the $10,000 grants to support their recovery efforts, including paying salaries, acquiring safety and personal protective equipment for staff, replenishing materials or paying for the measures required to adapt business models to the economic impacts of COVID-19.
During the COVID-19 crisis, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s mission is to help as many businesses as possible stay afloat and remain open. Small business owners put everything they have into their businesses, and these grants will help give a little bit back. Good people coming together is how Canadians have managed this crisis, and the Canadian Chamber and Salesforce are following their lead, one business at a time.
Key eligibility criteria
To be eligible to apply, businesses must:
- Be a for-profit company; and,
- Have between 2 and 50 employees; and,
- Have been in business for two years as of March 1, 2020; and,
- Have an annual revenue between $150,000 CAD and $5,000,000 CAD; and,
- Have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
- Meet the other eligibility criteria set out in the program’s terms and conditions.
The program’s terms and conditions and its privacy policy will be posted here on June 1.
How to apply?
You will be able to apply for a grant for your business on June 1 until June 12.
Your application should demonstrate how being a grant recipient would help your business recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and support its resilience. Our assessment will be based on your proposal and expected outcome.
The successful applicants will be announced in late June to early July 2020, with the funds being transferred to the successful applicants shortly thereafter.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Salesforce will share publicly how some grant recipients use their funds by asking grant recipients to provide us with a video or a written case study showing how they used the money.
