Community Economic Development

Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria

Purpose of the Community Capacity Program

The goal of the Community Capacity Program is to provide funds to strengthen Renfrew County while supporting strategic projects that are incremental, address local needs and priorities and result in long term benefits including job creation, economic diversification and enhanced business competitiveness.

Eligible Recipients

• Non-profit organizations;
• Municipalities;
• Municipal organizations;
• Community development organizations;
• Associations;
• Aboriginal organizations.

Eligible Projects

Projects must:

• Support community economic development in Renfrew County;
• Be incremental (incremental is defined as a new initiative, enhance existing activities, in addition to existing activities);
• Involve not-for-profit organizations that strive to enhance the community
• Guarantee that the funding will not create a dependency on the program;

Activities and costs may include, but are not limited to:

• Innovation;
• Enhancement of technologies;
• Expansion of export and domestic markets;
• Development of economic infrastructure;
• Training;
• Business development skills;
• Maintenance of economic development networks;
• Planning, marketing, youth and other activities in support of economic development

Eligible Costs Include

• Direct Capital or non-capital costs;
• Costs must be incremental, reasonable and directly relate to the project activities;
• Expenses are net costs before PST and GST;
• RCCFDC may contribute up to 75% of eligible projects costs. Partnerships and projects with leveraged funds in cash will be given priority.

Funding Criteria

• All funds must be expended and projects completed by March 1, 2009.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted to Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation by Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. Applications must follow the format of the application form. Applications submitted after the deadline date are not eligible.

Applicants may discuss a potential project with Dana Jennings, Project Coordinator, Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation at 613.735.3951 ext. 226 prior to completing an application to ensure it fits the criteria and/or to examine opportunities to partner with other organizations/potential applicants.

Please note: The Application Review Committee will only consider complete applications.

Approval Process

Receipt of an application by RCCFDC does not indicate a commitment for funding. Projects will be reviewed by the Community and Strategic Planning Committee of the Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation. If the application is approved, RCCFDC will prepare a letter of agreement that will outline the terms and conditions of the funding. Disbursements may be tied to the achievement of specific goals.

Recognition

RCCFDC and FedNor require acknowledgement as project sponsors. The letter of agreement will describe the extent of that acknowledgement, both initially (i.e.: through press releases or other announcements) and ongoing (i.e.: by signage identifying RCCFDC and FedNor as project sponsors).

Reporting and Monitoring

Successful applicants will be required to report to RCCFDC on a monthly basis as to the progress of their initiative as well as submit a final project report when the initiative is completed.

Payment of RCCFDC Contributions

• In order to receive payment, applicants must file a claim. The claim must include a listing of all the costs incurred for the project with copies of supporting invoices attached to an invoice to RCCFDC on your company letterhead requesting the dollar amount to be reimbursed.
• If an advance payment is required, please provide justification with your application.
• RCCFDC contributions may be subject to a 10% hold back until the applicant has completed the project, met all project requirements as laid out in the letter of agreement and/or until a final report is received by RCCFDC.

Evaluation Criteria

To be considered for funding a project must:

• Be incremental (the project must be a new initiative, enhance existing activities or be in addition to existing activities);
• Have a budget that is reasonable and feasible;
• Have appropriate funding in place to complete the project or have an appropriate plan for sustainability if the project is ongoing;
• Have outcomes and measurements of success that are clearly described.

The Application Review Committee will use the following criteria to evaluate the applications for funding:

• Does the initiative contribute to building and maintaining a strong foundation for the community? (see definition below)

• Does the initiative promote job creation directly and/or have a strong connection to the indirect development of employment opportunities?
• Is the initiative innovative?
• Will this initiative help create an environment that will bring new money to the County or keep money circulating in the community?
• Does the organization have the resources (human, physical, partners) to take on this initiative?
• Will this initiative have a broad impact across the County, have a significant impact for a specific population or sector?
• Does the initiative include components that focus on youth and/or seniors?
• Is the proposal thorough and written in such a way that the project is easy to understand?