Canadian Grants: Seven Things You Should Know

1. Where To Get One
Canadian grants are widely available via the Canadian Federal Government, which has an online directory offering nine hundred government funding projects and grants. In 2007 an estimated $90 billion was the expected expenditure and that amount has been met and exceeded.

2. The Aim
The Canadian Government offers Canadian grants with the aim of assisting Canadian entrepreneurs and businesses by providing capital for funding various projects. If you need to purchase machinery, or new vehicles for your company, or something as rudimentary as office furniture and computer equipment, these local government grants are here to help you with that. A Canadian grant can assist you by providing the funds needed to purchase land or perhaps a new business premises or to fund a research and development programme. The possibilities are nearly endless.

3. Types Of Grants Available
The Grant: The basic type of Canadian grant provides a one-time cash sum, which you can spend, without any expectation of repayment, providing that you work within the stipulations of the grant.
The Loan: No interest and low interest loans are also offered by the Canadian government as a way for small businesses to set themselves up without crippling interest on borrowed cash. The loan amount is repayable over a specified period of time.
Tax And Credit Refunds: The Canadian Government has set up a system that offers tax breaks at crucial times of the year, which can be a great way to make additional funds available to small businesses.
The Awards Programme: This self-explanatory programme offers prizes of a certain cash value to groups or individuals who excel in their chosen fields.
The Apprentice: Mentoring programmes and apprenticeships are provided to students who wish to learn a trade. Such students are paid to work as they learn their chosen skill and this is a wonderful programme education and hands on training in a variety of fields.
The Bursary: Bursaries are cash amounts awarded to students who do not have the financial means to study further. The bursary funds are used to pay for furthering the students education.
The Scholarship: This wonderful resource gives students the opportunity to gain a higher education without the burden of having to pay back a hefty loan.
The Rebate: If you receive a rebate, this means that a percentage of the cash you spent on purchasing equipment or furniture and other items is reimbursed, which can be a boon to a new business venture.
Relocation Grants: That’s right! The Government will, in some instances, put up the cash for you to relocate your business to a different area.

4. The Right Grant For You
It may take a little research and inquiry to find the perfect grant to suit your purposes. Each individual or group has various needs, which will, in some cases, differ vastly. Canadian grants offer a wide variety of options and you’ll need to define your needs so that you can decide which grant will suit you best.

5. Canadian Grants For Small Businesses
The Canadian Government has provided various programmes to assist home-grown business ventures to establish or expand their various enterprises. They will even provide funding to modernise existing business enterprises. The government provides up to $250,000 in funding to assist companies in purchasing real estate, new buildings or to assist with improvements to existing buildings. They will supply money to help your business to purchase new equipment, new machinery, improved vehicles for transportation purposes and will even supply you with funding for new office furniture and computers.

6. What You Need to Qualify
Your minimum criteria to qualify for Canadian grants are fairly simply. You need to prove that your company provides benefits of an economic nature to your immediate community and that your business is an economically viable one. You should be able to prove your need for financial assistance when you submit your application.

7. A Business Start For The Unemployed
Canadian grants are available for unemployed Canadians who want to start a new business venture so that they can become self-sufficient and in doing so, offer a service or product to the community. The Canadian Government will gladly provide entrepreneurial advice and assistance as well as the initial cash outlay to support the business for a period of 52 weeks. In that time successful candidates can benefit from the guidelines of a structured business plan as well as counselling in all aspects of running a successful business and the financial assistance provided by the Canadian Government.