Small Business Financing

Venture Niagara Community Futures Development Corporation offers financing to businesses in Grimsby, Lincoln, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Pelham, Thorold and Welland. This not-for-profit organization specializes in assessing loan opportunities for businesses unable to find financing through more traditional sources. Financing may be considered for a variety of applications. For more information, go to our website at www.ventureniagara.com

Community Adjustment Fund is Well Underway

Venture Niagara Community Futures Development Corporation recently received support from FedDev Ontario to implement the Southwestern Ontario Community Adjustment Fund. The Thorold-based CFDC was one of 22 similar organizations situated throughout Southwestern Ontario that will manage a $450,000 initiative launched in the last quarter of 2009 and extending through to March 31, 2010. It is part of the federal government’s approach to stimulating the economy during these recessionary times.

The corporation’s particular focus was on creating employment and providing businesses with the opportunity to upgrade the skills of their current workforce and to assist in marketing efforts and development initiatives so as to generate new business opportunities for Niagara companies and organizations. Consideration was also given to community development and local initiatives to help with projects in Venture Niagara’s service area that includes the six municipalities of Grimsby, Lincoln, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Pelham, Thorold and Welland.

Internships a Priority – 19 positions created

The most immediate impact of the local Southwestern Ontario Community Adjustment Fund was seen with the creation of internship employment opportunities for private sector and not-for-profit employers. To date 19 internships were approved and implemented. This is important because Niagara is plagued by one of the country’s highest unemployment rates (10.4% in December) so these internships are quite timely for post-secondary graduates wanting to stay in Niagara and more mature individuals transitioning into new careers and in need of training and experience to bring value to new employers. While long term employment is not guaranteed on the internship program, an improvement in the economy could help many of these individuals extend their tenure to help meet demands as the economy improves and their employers increase the sales of their goods and services.

Another vital element of the program was the approval of funding for some 35 Business Development projects and another 15 Skills Development projects to private sector companies and not-for profit organizations. The intention of these projects was to provide financial resources to companies and organizations to upgrade the skill sets of current employees and to increase their competency and productivity by becoming more knowledgeable of relevant technology, better trained on existing or new machinery and better resourced to generate new business and sales through contemporary approaches to marketing. The success of these initiatives will take longer to determine than the internships because of the extended period of a training process and also because of the time it takes to transform new skills into practice and profitability for the employer.

To date the majority of this Southwestern Ontario CAF funding has been allocated and it is being well used by dozens of businesses and not-for-profits across rural Niagara. However Venture Niagara staff is monitoring the use of funds and should some come available it will be made available to new applicants for Skills and Business Development opportunities. The availability of remaining funds will be noted on the corporation’s website at www.ventureniagara.com

Venture Niagara Joins Social Media Hype

The Social Media trend is showing no sign of slowing down. In fact, it's still growing. From posting photos to writing blogs, the desire to share has become a universal phenomenon.

Venture Niagara is tapping social media giants like Facebook and LinkedIn to effectively inform clients, prospective clients and the community about who we are and what we can do for them. We want our presence on Facebook and LinkedIn to be an interactive experience that begins with relationships. Venture Niagara is hoping to improve our online presence and customer relations.

As announcements are made regarding loan availability or updates at Venture Niagara, we want small and medium sized businesses to know how we can help them. With the launch of any social media outlet, we are stressing the importance of privacy protection.

We would like to extend the invitation to become a fan of our Facebook Page "Venure Niagara" and also to view Venture Niagara's professional group on LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping professionals discover inside connections, business partners, recommend job candidates and view updates from professional contacts and groups. To be the first to know of any new developments at Venture Niagara Community Futures Development Corporation, become apart of our Social Media Network.