Purvis Fish and Chips, based in Gore Bay, Ontario, is one of many Manitoulin Island businesses to receive Community Futures support and business advice from LaCloche Manitoulin Business Assistance Corporation (LAMBAC), a Community Futures Development Corporation.

Meet Melanie Harrington, owner of Dahlia May Flower Farm in Trenton, Ontario. Dahlia May Flower Farm is supported by Trenval Business Development Corporation.

Community Futures operates in a unique way, different to other lenders, allowing us to help those whose potential is not often recognized. These clients are proof of the success of this Program! This video is a celebration of the clients and communities we serve across Canada, and the teams who help them!

Meet Nathaniel Giuffrida-Morris of William Bond Ai in Smiths Falls, Ontario. William Bond Ai is supported by Valley Heartland CFDC.

Meet Casey Thomson, owner of The Cheese Gallery in Thornbury, Ontario. The Cheese Gallery is supported by Community Futures South Georgian Bay.

Meet Dan and Mary Catherine, owners of O'Reilly's Ale House in Perth, Ontario. O’Reilly’s Ale House is supported by Valley Heartland CFDC in Smiths Falls, Ontario.

In 1987 Peter May left his job at the Royal Ontario Museum to pursue his own business, Research Casting International that restores, casts, and mounts dinosaurs for exhibits.

When he needed financial help with his business he reached out to the Community Futures Program who believed in his dream and gave him a loan.

Six years after he contacted Community Futures, he is now the largest company that builds dinosaurs from all over the world including the new Wawa goose and building a skeleton for Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park.

Cloverbelt Country Meats Co-operative, based in Oxdrift, Ontario, benefitted from financial support from Patricia Area Community Endeavours (PACE), through the Community Futures Program enabling it to undertake key upgrades to ensure the facility’s continued operation. 

Meet The Village Pantry in Spencerville, Ontario. The Village Pantry is supported by Grenville Community Futures Development Corporation.

Meet Artizen Kombucha in Perth, Ontario. Artizen Kombucha is supported by Valley Heartland CFDC in Smiths Falls, Ontario.

Meet Marie Chinnatamby, owner of Green Gables Vines in Oxford Station. Green Gables Vines is supported by Grenville CFDC in Prescott, Ontario.

Meet Nick Falco, owner of The Noble Barber in Haliburton, Ontario. The Noble Barber is supported by Haliburton County Development Corporation.

Meet Daniel Manley, owner of Russell Red Records in Haliburton, Ontario. Russell Red Records is supported by Haliburton County Development Corporation.

Planet Shrimp - Elgin Business Resource Centre - Award of Excellence for Innovation 2018 The founder calls it, 'full scale change for global aquaculture'. It's a new innovative way to produce shrimp seafood.. without the sea! Using new technology and great minds, the company transformed a large warehouse into their own unique shrimp breeding ground. Elgin Business Resources Centre had faith in the idea when no one else would and assisted the company in finding funding and partnerships. It's good for the planet - with a 5% reduction in footprint and the proprietary process yields 20 times the normal process. A good healthy protein that's good for the planet!

Check out Community Futures Ontario's exclusive interview with the Real Miss Vickie! Learn more about the name behind the brand and how the Community Futures Program propelled her into success.

Vickie Kerr wanted to make a healthier snack for her four young children, which led her to create a recipe using the potatoes her husband, Bill, grew. She left the skins on, sliced and hand-stirred them one small batch at a time.

Eventually her potato chips became so popular that she was not able to keep up with the demand from her small kitchen on the farm.

After being rejected by multiple banks she turned to the Community Futures Program (CFP) where they approved her for a loan. From the financial support of CFP Miss Vickie was able to buy equipment that was necessary for her business to expand.

Borderland Cannabis, located in Fort Frances, Ontario, credits its successful opening to funding and business advice it received, through the Community Futures Program, from the Rainy River Future Development Corporation (RRFDC).

Meet Houle Healthcare in Carleton Place, Ontario. Houle Healthcare is supported by Valley Heartland Community Futures Development Corporation.

• Meet Lisa and Paul Castonguay, owners of Paul’s Bistro in Oxford Station. Paul's Bistro is supported by Grenville CFDC in Prescott, Ontario.

Meet Shelby Taylor, Founder and CEO of Chickapea/Earth to Kids Inc. Chickapea is supported by Community Futures South Georgian Bay.

Meet Erika Mozes and Joshua Karam, owners of Delancey Sports in Haliburton, Ontario. Delancey Sports is supported by Haliburton County Development Corporation.

Food innovation business Treewell Ltd. started in 2013 and before COVID-19 hit, had product lines that included Trewell Sparkling Maple, That Damn Tea and Carrot Bacon. When the pandemic hit, the company was unsure of what the future held but with the help of Community Futures Peterborough, the company shifted to making hand sanitizer. In the first weekend, they were selling the product as fast as they were making it, producing 8,000 units. At the time of the filming of this video, the company had grown their productivity to making 50,000 units to meet the demand!

Northern Ontario has had difficulty attracting employees for a growing number of jobs. In 2017, 5 municipalities and 5 First Nations communities came together. They knew they needed affordable and accessible broadband Internet to attract people and to compete. So they decided to take a collaborative approach. Because of the great distances between homes and cities, the big ISPs did not find it profitable, but when they got together, there was strength in numbers. Now they're making it a strategy to attract newcomers!

Recipient of the Community Futures Ontario Award for Excellence in Community Economic Development 2019 - Saugeen Connects 

Partnerships are crucial to the success of rural communities! Through a collaborative effort including Saugeen Community Development Corporation, five municipalities and one county, each member contributed $5000 to create Saugeen Connects. Through this partnership (and matched by a RED grant) the group is able to focus efforts on labour force, youth and women entrepreneurs and succession planning for existing businesses. New businesses are flourishing, youth are starting summer businesses and a focus on immigration and hiring new Canadians have been part of the many successes!