The federal government announced additional support for small businesses unable to access existing support measures, such as the CEBA. This additional support is being offered through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) The RRRF criteria is based on the amount of funding being requested by the business.
The intent of the RRRF is to alleviate hardship resulting from COVID-19 for companies that did not qualify for other relief measures. The program will help bridge the gap between lost revenue and non-deferrable business operating costs.
The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) criteria is based on the amount of funding being requested by the business.
Funding requests under $40,000
- Companies not eligible for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program or RRRF – Community Futures Stream should investigate applying for the RRRF.
- Businesses must meet the following mandatory criteria:
- Have fewer than 500 full-time employees (FTEs)
- Are not located in an area serviced by a Community Futures (CF) office (applicable only to rural Alberta businesses)
- Are not eligible for the RRRF – Community Futures Stream
- Have applied and were declined for funding from the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) or were not eligible for CEBA funding
- Were operational as of March 1, 2020
- Have suffered financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Intend to continue operations in Western Canada
- Examples of business that are eligible to apply to the RRRF:
- Pre-revenue firms (e.g. a company that has not had any sales to date)
- Businesses that do not have salaried employees (e.g. a company with a workforce of contract employees)
- Businesses with no payroll that do pay their owners a salary (e.g. a company that pays its owners through dividends)
- Examples of businesses that are not eligible to apply to the RRRF:
- Sole proprietorships
- Not-for-profit organizations
For loans of up to $40,000, the following repayment terms apply:
- Repayment of 75%, or up to $30,000, of the contribution amount, on or before December 31, 2022, will result in the forgiveness of 25%, or up to $10,000 of the total contribution
- No scheduled monthly repayments are required until after December 31, 2022
- If 75% of the contribution amount is not repaid by December 31, 2022, the balance owing will be converted to an additional three (3) year term repayable contribution (with a fixed monthly repayment schedule), beginning January 2023, with no forgivable portion
- The full balance, of the contribution amount must be repaid no later than December 31, 2025.
Funding requests over $40,000
- This program is open to any business that operates in Western Canada and meets the following mandatory criteria:
- Have less than 500 full-time employees (FTEs)
- Are incorporated to operate in Canada
- Were operational as of March 1, 2020
- Have suffered financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Can demonstrate 2019 revenue of less than $10 million, or pre-revenue businesses that received angel or venture capital funding
- Have applied for funding from other federal COVID-19 support measures, such as the Business Development Bank of Canada’s Co-Lending Program, and Export Development Canada’s Business Credit Availability Program
- Intend to continue operations in Western Canada
- Can describe the financial impact that COVID-19 has had on its operations, and outline how WD funding will help support the western Canadian economy to:
- retain diverse and valuable talent
- maintain sector knowledge and skills
- maintain capital flow
- maintain critical supply chains and increase capacity to withstand supply chain disruptions
- protect technologies and processes that improve resilience, productivity, and/or competitiveness
- protect vital intellectual property
- As part of the application, the business must:
- Complete the application for funding
- Provide financial statements for the past 2 years (internal financial statements are sufficient)
- Provide estimated cash flow needs from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020.
For loans of over $40,000, the following repayment terms apply:
- 100% of contribution must be repaid
- No scheduled monthly repayments are required until after December 31, 2022
- Three (3) year repayment period, beginning January 2023
- The full balance of the contribution amount must be repaid no later than December 31, 2025
HGA recommends:
If your business meets the criteria above, you may be eligible for the RRRF.
In order to apply, visit the following webpage for the application guide: https://www.wd-deo.gc.ca/eng/20062.asp.
You will be asked to provide details such as payroll expenses for the 2019 calendar year, expected revenue and operating costs for April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020, and various incorporation information. You may also be asked to provide additional information, based on the amount of funding requested.
