Funding available

Businesses can get 35% of eligible costs, up to a maximum of $10,000 in funding for a Project under the ROD Program - Business Development. Projects will enhance and support rural businesses in Ontario.

Eligible Project types

Applicants are required to identify the Project type they are applying for. There are 4 Project types and multiple Project types can be identified.

1. Market diversification or product diversification

Projects to support small Rural Ontario businesses to increase their competitiveness.

Example Projects

  • Complete a market analysis, and/or a marketing plan for a new product and/or a new or expanded existing market
  • Development of new marketing collateral
  • Implementation of a business or marketing plan to access or expand into a new market

2. Enhancing cyber security

Projects to support small Rural Ontario businesses to increase their cyber security.

Example Projects

  • Implementation of activities to increase cyber security measures within a business
  • Cyber security analysis

3. Succession planning

Projects to support small Rural Ontario businesses to increase their readiness for business succession.

Example Project

  • Succession plan for business

4. Accessibility

Projects to support small Rural Ontario businesses to increase their accessibility.

Example Project

  • Improve accessibility infrastructure (ramps, door opener, etc.)

Ineligible Projects

The following Projects are not eligible:

  • submissions with incomplete applications
  • Projects that do not meet the eligibility criteria
  • Projects that do not benefit a business within Rural Ontario
  • Projects receiving any amount of other provincial funding
  • debt restructuring, fundraising, or financing (for example, re-granting ROD Program Funds)
  • Projects that will influence or lobby any level of government
  • Projects seeking funding for Major Capital Costs
  • Projects with the sole purpose of becoming compliant with current Requirements of Law, including accessibility laws
  • Projects seeking funding to ready a property for immediate or imminent sale

Outcomes and performance measures

Successful Applicants will be required to describe how their Project tangibly supports one or more of the ROD Program’s outcomes in the final report, which are:

Businesses retained and expanded: the number of businesses that have remained, and/or grown within a community that could reasonably be attributed to the activities of the Project.

Example Performance measure: number of businesses retained and expanded

Investment attracted or retained: the attraction of new investments from public and private sources, or the retention of investments in a community that might not have occurred without the activities of the Project.

Example Performance measure: Dollars of investment attracted and retained

Jobs attracted or retained: the number of new paid positions created during or after the Project that will result in longer term jobs that can be directly attributed to Project activities, which otherwise may not have been created; and/or the number of existing jobs that will be maintained within a community during or after the Project that can be directly attributed to Project activities and may otherwise have not been retained.

Example Performance measure: Number of jobs attracted and retained