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FedDev Ontario Investing $40 million in Community Futures

March 2, 2023
By Bob Peters

Cornwall Ontario – Rural businesses, organizations and communities make a big impact on Canada’s economy. In order to ensure they can meet challenges head on, FedDev Ontario is investing nearly $40 million over the next three years for southern Ontario’s trusted network of Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs).

ACCFutures Cornwall

“The support rural businesses and organizations receive from Community Futures Development Corporations is unparalleled,” says Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “The tools they provide rural businesses drive economic growth and create jobs which leads to more competitive rural communities. By continuing our support for CFDCs across southern Ontario, our Government is investing in the potential of rural communities and ensuring that they will continue to thrive.”

Cornwall SDG and Akwesasne is served by ACCFutures, which offers a wide range of funding, financing and capacity building services to the local business community. The organization can trace its roots back to 1987, and over the past 34 years, the organization has steadily grown its mandate, geographic coverage, and impact. ACCFutures is one of 268 organizations in Canada which hold contracts with Canada’s Regional Development Agencies (RDA’s) to deliver the Community Futures Program.

“We are delighted with today’s announcement of ongoing funding from FedDev Ontario as it means that we will be able to continue our work in supporting local businesses as they forge forward with plans of growth,” says Greg Pietersma, Executive Director with ACCFutures.

Through the Community Futures Program, FedDev Ontario’s continued investment will allow the 36 CFDCs and three CFDC associations in southern Ontario to continue on their path of growth. These organizations offer expert knowledge and tailored on-the-ground support to the rural businesses, organizations and communities they serve. This includes providing business counselling and access to capital, as well as support for community economic development and strategic community economic planning. Supporting them ensures they can help rural businesses be the best they can be.

About ACCFutures

ACCFutures delivers a wide variety of programs and services to support community economic development and small business growth. It employs local staff and is governed by a volunteer board of directors, made up of residents representing the community. The ACCFutures office is located at 208 Pitt Street in Downtown Cornwall and can be reached at 613-932-4333 or online at:

Quick Facts

  • For the past 38 years, the Community Futures Program has been a community-driven, economic development initiative designed to assist communities in Canada’s rural areas to develop and implement strategies for dealing with a changing economic environment.
  • CFDCs deliver a wide variety of programs and services to support community economic development and small business growth. They employ local staff and are each governed by a volunteer board of directors, made up of local residents representing the community.
  • Since 2015, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has invested over $90.2 million into the Community Futures Program, contributing to the creation of over 25,000 jobs and maintenance of over 51,500. FedDev Ontario also provided over $83 million to the region’s CFDCs to deliver regionally tailored business support services during the pandemic, which helped nearly 2,000 businesses, including local retail shops, restaurants and corner stores, maintain over 6,500 jobs in rural communities across the region.

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