Formally established in 1985, the Community Futures Program (CFP) plays a key role in business development in rural and remote communities across Canada. The goal of the CFP is to create jobs and foster new approaches to community economic development based on community strengths and infrastructures.

Each CFDC offers free business counselling, flexible and repayable loans for new and existing small and medium sized businesses, strategic planning on local projects and community economic development in rural areas. CFDC offices are locally managed by a volunteer Board of Directors, mostly comprised of business people within their own communities.

From the outside it may seem like our offices are the same as many lenders and business development agencies. The truth is they are very different. Our members understand small business in rural Ontario like no one else. They live and work in the communities that you do, and know that rural communities thrive when small businesses do.

They care about your success. We all do.

Community Futures Ontario supports 60 Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs) in rural and remote communities across the province, in the delivery of the Community Futures Program. We are funded by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev) and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor).

Community Futures Ontario supports its members in the delivery of quality services in their communities and provides the voice for the Community Futures Program in Ontario.