Eligible activities should support the reopening, rebuilding and revival of the business, such as:
Selected projects will be eligible for a one-time non-repayable performance-based contribution up to $5,000 on eligible expenses net of HST. The minimum supported project will not normally be less than $3,000. Upon request, an initial contribution advance will be considered to support eligible activity and pending the execution of an approved project Contribution Agreement. All projects will be subject to a 20% hold back until completion of the project and all Contribution Agreement requirements are met.
The WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation is delivering the program across the Western Ontario region. Northumberland CFDC is delivering the program across the Eastern Ontario region. Please visit their website to apply if your business is located in a municipality outside of the Western Ontario region.
Western Ontario is defined to include the following Statistics Canada census divisions: Brant; Bruce; Chatham-Kent; Dufferin; Elgin; Essex; Grey; Haldimand-Norfolk; Hamilton; Huron; Lambton; Middlesex; Niagara; Oxford; Perth; Simcoe; Waterloo; Wellington; Durham; Halton; Peel; Toronto; and York.
Eastern Ontario is defined to include the following Statistics Canada census divisions: Frontenac (includes the City of Kingston); Haliburton; Hastings; Kawartha Lakes; Lanark; Leeds and Grenville; Lennox and Addington; Northumberland; Ottawa; Peterborough; Prescott and Russell; Prince Edward; Renfrew; and, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.
Eligible recipients include private, for profit Women-led SMEs located in Southern Ontario.
UPDATE: Available funding for the following geographic regions is currently exhausted: Essex, Dufferin, Grey, Lambton, Bruce, Oxford, Chatham-Kent, Elgin, Huron, Wellington, Haldimand-Norfolk, Waterloo, Niagara, Brant, York, Middlesex, Toronto and Perth. Businesses located in those areas are welcome to apply for the RE3 program, but their applications will be held in queue should more funding be approved.
A woman is, or women are, driving the direction of the business (for a minimum of one year) as Founder, Co-Founder, CEO or C-Suite Executive (e.g. CTO, CFO, COO, etc.); and/or the business is owned by a woman or women (combined) that have majority ownership (a minimum of 51% equity stake).
Projects in the following priority segments will be considered:
Eligible costs for project activities may include:
All costs must be reasonable and directly related to the eligible project activities.
Ineligible and/or unsupported costs include, but are not limited to:
The costs of all goods and services acquired from an entity which, in the opinion of the WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation (WE EDC), is not at arm's length from the Recipient, shall be valued at the cost which, in the opinion of WE EDC, represents the fair market value of such goods or services, which cost shall not include any mark up for profit or return on investment.
Eligible recipients will be required to provide Progress/Activity Reports on a monthly basis, and a Final Project Report and financial claim at project end or as required and outlined in the Contribution Agreement with WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation or projects within the Western Ontario region and to the Northumberland CFDC for projects within the Eastern Ontario region.
RE3 APPLICATION PROCESS
Online application intake opens July 13, 2020 and will remain open pending the availability of funding. For eligible applicants located in Western Ontario Region:
1. Submission – submit your application online
2. Due Diligence – WindsorEssex Economic Development will carry out review and due diligence.
3. Panel Evaluation – Evaluation by a panel of Western Ontario Eco-System Partners.
4. Committee Review – WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation Committee review and recommendation to the Board of Directors.
5. Project Selection - Decision by Board of Directors, WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation (Accept or Decline).
WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation reserves the right to extend the review and due diligence period where applicable in order to receive and evaluate any additional documentation and substantiation.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. No project will extend past January 29, 2021.
UPDATE: RE3 applications are now closed. All applications received as of November 11, 2020 will be reviewed. Applicants will be notified by email whether or not their project is approved for RE3 funding.
Questions? Contact a program officer at 519-253-6900 or fill out our contact form.APPLY NOW