New Intake for the Eastern Ontario Development Fund

Cornwall Ontario – The latest intake is now open for the Eastern Ontario Development Fund, a fund that has assisted a number of local employers build capacity and increase competitiveness in the Cornwall region.

The Eastern Ontario Development Fund provides support for projects and investments to businesses, municipalities and not-for-profit organizations for economic development in Eastern Ontario. It supports growing companies in eastern Ontario make investments to grow their businesses, improve productivity, invest in innovation and skills development, pursue new markets,  create good, sustainable jobs and to generate broad positive regional economic impacts.

Eligibility

To be eligible, businesses need to:

• have at least 3 years of operations/financial statements
• employ at least 10 people (5 if located rural Ontario)
• commit to creating at least 5 new jobs (or 30% increase for companies with fewer than 15 employees)
• invest at least $500,000 in their project
• be located in, or plan to locate in, a community in eastern Ontario

Please not that EODF does not support projects in the primary production (farming/agriculture), retail, construction/residential development, personal services, consulting, electricity generation, waste management, recycling, information and communication services, academic research, or the hospitality (restaurants/hotels) sectors.

 Performance-Based Grant

• Performance-based grant up to 15% of eligible project costs, to a maximum of $500,000
• Businesses must commit to a minimum eligible investment amount of $200,000.
• Grants are available for small rural companies only (less than 100 FTE)

 Performance-Based Loan

• Performance-based loan up to 15% of eligible project costs, to a maximum of $5 million.
• Businesses must commit to a minimum eligible investment amount of $500,000.
• Loan is interest free for the duration of the project.
• Up to 30%  (max $500,000) forgivable if company meets investment, job and payroll targets.

 Eligible Costs

• Equipment and machinery (i.e. new technology, new high-performance equipment and machinery, maintenance equipment associated with new technologies or systems)
• Construction and project facility modifications/upgrades , including site servicing, power service upgrades etc. required to execute the project
• One-time labour directly related to project costs (i.e. costs to set-up/commission new equipment, technology or systems for the project)
• Incremental specialized labour that is directly related to the project (i.e. R&D) is eligible to a maximum of 2 years
• Costs of direct materials necessary for and specifically identified and measured as having been used for the completion of the Project including materials used for configuring and testing production processes and systems and materials used for prototypes
• Cost of specialized expertise including third party engineering services, software development, management etc.
• Skills training including employer provided training related to the project
• Costs incurred by the recipient for permits, inspections and other fees directly attributable to the Project.

Key Dates

The following are key dates for the upcoming application period for the Eastern Ontario Development Fund:

• Application Period: July 12 – August 25, 2022
• Notification Date: November 23, 2022

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Regional Advisor in advance of the application deadline so that they have enough time to register and complete their full applications, if deemed eligible.  The Regional Advisor responsible for the Cornwall area is Denis Lapierre. He can reached at 613.415.8384 or Denis.Lapierre [@] ontario.ca

More Information

Programs details are available at https://www.ontario.ca/page/eastern-ontario-development-fund

Quick Facts

Categorised in: Business, Community, General, News