My\u00a0Main Street is a $23.35 million\u00a0investment by the federal government to provide\u00a065\u00a0neighbourhoods\/main streets\/downtowns in southern Ontario (excluding the City of Toronto)\u00a0with\u00a0support to maintain and expand the\u00a0economy on their core\u00a0\u201cmain streets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sixty-five main streets or downtown areas will be able to apply for a 12-month grant to have a Local Business Accelerator Program in their community that is administered by EDCO.\u00a0The Accelerator Program provides a main street or downtown with a Main Street Ambassador, market research & analytics to identify market gaps in the local community and 10 business grants of $10,000 each.\u00a0(Please note, 5 of the $10,000 grants are for existing businesses to take on filling in gaps identified in research, while the other 5 grants at $10,000 are to attract new businesses to the area).<\/p>\n
Applications for the Local Business Accelerator Program\u00a0will be opening on October 1st\u00a0and will be on a first come\u00a0first served\u00a0basis or until March 31, 2022 whatever comes first. BIAs, not-for-profits and municipalities are eligible for the program, but\u00a0non-municipalities should provide some type of proof (i.e.\u00a0letter of support or council motion) showing that the local municipality is aware of the program and supports it.\u00a0Applications must have a specific geographic area defined\u00a0and show that the program does not\u00a0duplicate\u00a0the activities of the local Small Business Enterprise Centre\u00a0and\u00a0Community Development Corporation.\u00a0Twenty-five percent of the grants have been reserved for communities under 50,000 and ethnic communities will be given preference\u00a0in funding.<\/p>\n