Desjardins opens application for small business grant

Desjardins has opened applications for its GoodSparks Grants program to bolster small businesses across Canada.

For the program’s latest iteration, Desjardin will allocate $3 million in grants to 150 small businesses nationwide.

Each successful applicant will receive a $20,000 grant to fund initiatives focused on any one of the following areas:

• Sustainable development: projects aimed at achieving objectives such as protecting biodiversity and ecosystems, promoting responsible production and consumption, and ensuring access to affordable and clean water and energy
• Health and wellbeing: projects that invest in health and overall personal well-being
• Innovation: projects to help modernize small business
• Community impact: projects aimed at making the community more inclusive, safe, resilient or sustainable

Which businesses are eligible to apply?

The grant is open to local enterprises operating in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan.

Eligible businesses must have been registered for a minimum of one year (before November 1, 2022) and should have a workforce of no more than 50 employees.

Businesses interested in the grant can apply through the Desjardins GoodSparks Grants program webpage. The deadline for applications is on December 3, 2023.

Last year, Billy Boucher, CEO of the Desjardins Ontario Credit Union, spoke with Insurance Business Canada to offer insight into the rationale behind the grant.

“We know that small businesses make a big impact,” he said. “They’re the heart of their communities. Not only do they create jobs and provide the goods and services we need — but they are also what makes each neighbourhood and city unique.”

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