On May 13th, the Federal Government announced the Rural Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF), offering access to partially forgivable loans of up to $40,000 to local small businesses in rural communities, that may have not previously qualified for the Canadian Emergency Bank Account (CEBA).
This zero-interest loan is designed to help businesses and social enterprises through COVID-19 recovery by covering non-deferrable operating expenses that are critical to your day-to-day business. This includes payroll, rent, inventory, utilities, insurance, property taxes and regularly scheduled debt payments.
These funds may not be used for prepayment/refinancing of existing debts, payments of dividends, or distributions or increases to management compensation. Detailed eligibility criteria are available here.
If you are a small business owner on the Sunshine Coast and have not previously qualified for the CEBA, visit https://www.communityfutures.org/covid19/ to determine your eligibility for this program.
For questions and inquiries regarding the RRRF, call Community Futures at 604-865-1155 or email Mark Yellowley at mark.yellowley@communityfutures.org.