The new application window will be open on Monday, October 26, 2020.
The Canada United Small Business Relief Fund will help small Canadian businesses with their recovery efforts as a result of COVID-19. Successful applicants will receive a relief grant of up to $5,000. It intends to support local businesses of all kinds from across the country (from retailers to barbershops to farmers).
The relief grant can be used for any of the following eligible expenses:
- Purchased Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks, face shields, and latex gloves.
- Renovated physical space to adhere to local, Provincial or Federal reopening guidelines.
- Developed or improved e-commerce capabilities for your business.
Eligibility
- One application per ownership group.
- Small to medium-sized (SME) companies from all sectors and all regions of Canada.
- For greater clarity, both For-Profit and Not-For-Profit organizations are eligible to apply but
Government organizations, municipalities, charities and the chamber of commerce network are
not eligible to apply. - Be incorporated, or operating as a sole proprietor/partnership, in Canada as of March 1, 2020.
- No more than 75 employees.
- Have minimum annual sales of $150,000 and not more than $3,000,000.
- Have $1,000,000 of commercial general liability insurance (self-reported). Not receiving any
other contributions from public funds towards the specific activities contained in the funding
application. - Be in full compliance with all applicable government laws, rules, regulations, guidelines and
other legally binding measures (self-declaration). - Be in operation after September 1, 2020 (grant recipients must sign a declaration included in the
approval letter to confirm). - Must attach all necessary receipts and invoices, accompanied by proof of payment, with the
application.
Document Checklist
- Your operating name.
- Your legal entity name. If your legal name is different from your operating name, you need to provide your legally registered name. This includes numbered corporations.
- Your number of employees. This includes full and part-time employees.
- Your annual sales or revenue for Fiscal year 2019.
- Your BN number.
- If you are registered for GST/HST we will need your GST/HST number.
- Your date of incorporation or business registration.
- If your business has a head office, we will need the full address of your company’s head office and the address of your operating location, if different.
- Your industry sector. If you need to verify your industry sector please visit: https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/app/cis/search-recherche?lang=eng
- Verification your business has $1,000,000 of commercial general liability insurance. This insurance certificate must be valid until March 31st, 2021.
- If your business is receiving other public funds that are being used to support the expenses outlined in your application? If yes, you must provide details.
- The CUSBRF is a reimbursement program in response to COVID-19 and therefore we can only cover expenses that were purchased and incurred by your company on or after March
15, 2020. To verify these expenses, we will need the following information:- Either a cashier’s receipt or an invoice from the vendor accompanied by proof of payment (credit card statement, e-transfer, bank statement, wire transfer, cancelled cheque
from a financial institution). (Note: we will not accept internal accounting documents marked paid). - Expense documents must clearly show the name of the item, the cost of the item/service, the quantity and the purchase date. If submitting documentation that includes multiple
purchases, highlight/make clear the eligible expenses noted in the application and - Expense documents must be legible and submitted in either JPG or PDF format
- Either a cashier’s receipt or an invoice from the vendor accompanied by proof of payment (credit card statement, e-transfer, bank statement, wire transfer, cancelled cheque
How to Apply
The new application window will be open on Monday, October 26, 2020.
- Go to website at: https://occ.ca/canada-united-small-business-relief-fund/ and click on the link related to the province in which your business is located or you can access the application by
clicking on the application link located on your participating local or Provincial Chamber of Commerce’s site - Read the eligibility criteria and conditions for participation
- Click on “APPLY NOW” to access the application
- Complete the form and click the “Submit” button. If the “Submit” button is not active, a required field has not been completed. Please complete the required field(s) and then re-click the
submit button
Learn More
Program Guideline: https://occ.ca/wp-content/uploads/Canada-United-Program-Guidelines-EN.pdf
Document Checklist: https://occ.ca/wp-content/uploads/Canada-United-Pre-Application-Check-List-EN.pdf
FAQs: https://occ.ca/wp-content/uploads/Canada-United-FAQs-EN.pdf
Program website: https://occ.ca/canada-united-small-business-relief-fund/
