Fifteen Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) in eastern Ontario will receive $10 million in new funding. These funds are to be used to advance the growth and expansion of small businesses, develop community innovation strategies and to support local economic development efforts.

The Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor) will manage the funds. The regions that will receive the funds include 13 counties from the Region of Durham boundary in the west to the Quebec border.

CFDCs are designed to develop and implement long-term, community-based economic development initiatives. They employ local staff and are governed by a volunteer-based board of directors, made up of local residents representative of the community. In the last five years, through their investment and business counselling activities, Ontario CFDCs have invested more than $196 million to help the small business sector create or maintain 22,288 jobs.

Funding for this initiative was provided for in the March 2004 federal budget. To find out more about Ontario CFDCs, visit: http://cfdc-ontario.ic.gc.ca

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