Rural Business and Community Recovery (RBCR) Program – Canada

Deadline: 19-Mar-21

The Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust (SIDIT) is pleased to announce the Southern Interior Rural Business and Community Recovery (RBCR) program. With financial support from the Province of BC, SIDIT will provide grant funding to support rural communities and their business support organizations as they take on the challenging task of assisting with COVID-19 economic recovery.

With this new funding, rural communities in the Southern Interior of BC with populations under 25,000, and non-profit business support organizations serving those communities, can access funding to create up to 20 new Community and/or Business Recovery Advisor positions. These new positions will enhance local capacity to create and implement community economic recovery plans, support local businesses and create new opportunities for growth.

Program Task

• Tasks that Community Recovery Advisors may undertake in rural communities include:
  • Economic development planning;
  • Community-based research and analysis;
  • Sector development and economic diversification initiatives;
  • Community marketing and promotion;
  • Business investment and attraction.
• Tasks that Business Recovery Advisors may undertake in rural communities include:
  • Business outreach and advisory, referrals and assistance in finding other funding;
  • Business recovery planning, including cashflow forecasting, coaching;
  • Business market research, analysis, marketing and promotion;
  • Financial coaching, restructuring options, capital requirement planning and referrals.

Funding Information

• SIDIT will be providing up to $1.5 million in grant funding.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible applicants for RBCR funding include local, municipal, regional and First Nation governments, economic development organizations and non-profit business support organizations serving the Southern Interior region. Funding is available for up to 20 full-time and/or part-time advisors in the region. Eligible applicants will receive up to 100% of eligible costs to a maximum of $75,000 per position.
• Eligible Communities:
  • Communities with less than 25,000 in population in the following Regional Districts or the business support organizations serving these communities are eligible to apply:
    • Central Kootenay;
    • Central Okanagan;
    • Columbia Shuswap;
    • East Kootenay;
    • Fraser Valley;
    • Kootenay Boundary;
    • North Okanagan;
    • Okanagan Similkameen;
    • Thompson Nicola.
• Eligible applicants for funding (“host organizations”) include:
  • Local governments (municipalities and regional districts) serving rural communities and their associated economic development organizations;
  • Indigenous communities and their associated economic development organizations;
  • Non-Profit Business Support organizations serving the region, such as:
    • Chambers of Commerce;
    • Community Futures;
    • Women’s Enterprise Centre;
    • Industry Associations.

For more information, visit https://sidit-bc.ca/funding-streams/rbcr/