We would like to invite you to the upcoming webinar – CDAP Grant Overview and Alternate Lending Solutions – this Wednesday, May 17.
During this webinar, Kira Tchernikovsky, the CMO of Customerization, will provide an overview of the CDAP grant program, including its purpose, eligibility requirements, timelines, and possible pitfalls. Cubeler’s Erika Hild will take you through the alternative lending options that SMEs can leverage to finance their strategic business growth.
Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) is set up to help get businesses online, boost e-commerce presence on the market and help digitalize business’s operations. CDAP provides funding and support to businesses, as well as training and work opportunities for young Canadians. One of the current funding opportunities under CDAP includes Boost Your Business Technology Grant.
By the end of this webinar, you’ll not only have a comprehensive understanding of the CDAP grant program and how it can support your digital transformation projects but also you will also find out the multiple alternative financing options in Canada.
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 12:00 PM.


Need help with this or other government funding programs but don’t know where to start or how to prepare an application?
Fill out the Eligibility Check form at http://www.fairgrantwriting.ca/eligibility to find out.
Next week both the provincial and Federal government will announce the budgets for the next fiscal year starting April 1, 2023. There are several new programs we expect and we will keep you posted. But the good news about some of those new programs just came out.
Ontario introduces an Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, a 10% grant on the cost of eligible manufacturing equipment.
We will know more about eligibility and how the program will work in the next few weeks, so please, stay tuned. In the meantime, consider applying for the following grants:
CanExport – provides 50% of your export marketing costs.
CME Technology Investment Program – provides 50% of the new equipment, robotic, automation and IioT costs.
Digital Competence Centre – provides 50% of the software and hardware costs.
Need help with this or other government funding programs but don’t know where to start or how to prepare an application?
CHECK ELIGIBILITY
Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) is one of the oldest and most popular government funding programs for research & development. It is available for most of the established technology, manufacturing and agri-food firms that have specific upcoming R&D projects with a defined scope and resource allocation. Startups can also access funding if they meet certain conditions.
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) currently manages the program. In order to access the funding, you need to contact the NRC first and speak to a dedicated program representative called the Industrial Technology Adviser (ITA).
Now that’s about to change. The program is being reformed. Here is what you need to know.
- The Federal government will establish a new Canada Innovation Corporation (CIC)
- IRAP will be merged with CIC, and all ITAs will seamlessly transition to the new corporation
- There will be three program streams in the future:
– Applied Research
– Experimental Development
– Technological Adaptation
- No major changes to the eligibility rules are expected
- The amount of funding will range from $50K to 5M, and up to 20M exceptionally
- The review process of smaller projects will be streamlined to enable faster decision making
- An extensive expert review of large-scale projects will be done at the beginning of the project to secure cash flow
The corporation is expected to be up and running by April 1, 2024, so you have the entire year to apply for the good old Industrial Research Assistance Program.
Need help with this or other government funding programs but don’t know where to start or how to prepare an application?
CHECK ELIGIBILITY
As you may know, recently, the Ontario government launched a Digital Competence Center grant program that helps businesses determine the right technology for them and then implement the solution.
This launch created confusion between this new DCC grant and the Canada Digital Adoption Program that was launched by the Federal government several months earlier.
We would like to address this confusion and answer the most frequently asked questions about both programs.
|
Digital Competence Center |
Canada Digital Adoption Program |
Key eligibility criteria |
Ontario-based for-profit SMEs with between 1-499 employees and at least $500,000 of annual revenue in one of the last three tax years |
Canada-based for-profit SMEs with between 1-499 employees and at least $500,000 of annual revenue in one of the last three tax years |
Mandatory Technology Assessment prior to funding application |
Yes |
Yes |
Government grant that covers the costs of mandatory technology assessment |
50% of the cost of assessment up to a maximum of $15,000 |
90% of the cost of assessment up to a maximum of $15,000 |
Access to a Technology Consultant |
Before the application starts |
After the application is approved |
Endorsement from the Funder |
Required |
Not Required |
Endorsement from preferred technology vendor |
Required |
Not Required |
Funding for Technology implementation |
Grant of 50% of the implementation cost up to a maximum of $150,000 |
Interest-free loan for up to a maximum of $100,000, repayable over 5 years |
Stackable with each other? |
No |
No |
How to Apply? |
Submit the intake request form on the Ontario Center for Innovation website |
Submit the application form on the Government of Canada application portal |
Source of Funding |
Ontario budget |
Federal budget |
Need help with this or other government funding programs but don’t know where to start or how to prepare an application?
CHECK ELIGIBILITY
These days are very special for Fair Grant Writing. Exactly 10 years ago, on October 25, 2012, we signed our first grant writing service agreement with our first client.
At the time, there was no corporation, no team, and no experience. But we saw a good untapped opportunity and grabbed it. We are grateful to those first clients who trusted in us then.
Fast forward 10 years and over 765 grant applications and business plans written for our clients in manufacturing, technology and agri-food sectors, we feel very proud, especially for our clients, mostly independent and family-owned businesses. They secured hundreds of millions of dollars to support their growth and the creation of jobs in their communities.
Many things have changed over those years: governments, programs, and the economy. Large firms acquired our competitors. However, our commitment to helping our clients unlock their access to government funding hasn’t changed.
Many more years to come!

We would like to invite you to the upcoming webinar – Fall Grants Update from Fair Grant Writing & Easly | Finding Growth Capital During a Credit Crunch.
During this webinar, two high profile presenters – Igor Chigrin, Business Funding Expert at Fair Grant Writing, and Nikhil Rodye, Director of Channel Accounts at Easly, will share updates on the Canadian grants landscape and walk you through how you can access on-demand, non-dilutive capital during the credit crunch.
As traditional debt becomes more expensive and VC funding slows, Easly Advances on government grants and tax incentive refunds can play an ever more important role in your company’s capital stack.
Don’t let current market forces slow your growth. Access more capital with Fair Grant Writing and Easly.
Date and Time: Wednesday, October 5th, 2022 at 1:00 PM EDT.
Webinar Speakers:
Nikhil Rodye – Director of Channel Accounts at Easly.
Igor Chigrin – Business Funding Expert at Fair Grant Writing.


We would like to invite you to the upcoming webinar – Fall Grants Update from Fair Grant Writing & Easly | Finding Growth Capital During a Credit Crunch.
During this webinar, two high profile presenters – Igor Chigrin, Business Funding Expert at Fair Grant Writing, and Nikhil Rodye, Director of Channel Accounts at Easly, will share updates on the Canadian grants landscape and walk you through how you can access on-demand, non-dilutive capital during the credit crunch.
As traditional debt becomes more expensive and VC funding slows, Easly Advances on government grants and tax incentive refunds can play an ever more important role in your company’s capital stack.
Don’t let current market forces slow your growth. Access more capital with Fair Grant Writing and Easly.
Date and Time: Wednesday, October 5th, 2022 at 1:00 PM EDT.
Webinar Speakers:
Nikhil Rodye – Director of Channel Accounts at Easly.
Igor Chigrin – Business Funding Expert at Fair Grant Writing.


Can’t Attend the Webinar?
The recording will be posted on our YouTube channel within a week after the event – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj2IGeKBHIpCtnqnPKcI1lw.
Do you qualify for government funding? Check eligibility at https://www.fgwinc.ca/eligibility.
CHECK ELIGIBILITY
The Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competitiveness Stream or AMIC is back and will start accepting applications as of August 10, 2022. This fund is aimed to provide financial support to Ontario-based advanced manufacturing companies with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. It will support investments in capital equipment, technology adoption and skills development.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Have at least three years of operations/financial statements.
- Employ at least 10 people.
- Commit to creating at least five new jobs and/or upskilled current jobs.
- Invest at least $500K in their project.
- Be located in, or plan to locate in, a community in Ontario.
Eligible Activities:
- Create jobs and build talent.
- Attract and encourage private sector investment.
- Help companies to adopt technologies that improve their competitiveness.
- Lead to business growth and broad positive economic impacts.
- Encourage innovation, collaboration, and cluster development.
Funding
Up to 15% of project cost, interest-free during the project period (loan for up to four years). Grants are available only for specific circumstances for:
- small companies located in rural communities
- strategic projects that are foreign direct investments or from companies competing against other jurisdictions
- companies with significant reshoring projects.
Deadline
Application opening: August 10, 2022 – September 22, 2022
Need help with this or other government funding programs but don’t know where to start or how to prepare an application?
CHECK ELIGIBILITY
Today’s news about the nationwide outage of the Rogers network and its impact on businesses reminded me how vulnerable we are to the events like this and how our businesses depend on technology.
It also prompted me to remind you that a nationwide grant can help your business become more digitally resilient. It is called Canada Digital Adoption Program. It pays 90% of the cost of the digital assessments up to a maximum of $15K.
Digital Assessment identifies your business’ digital strengths and weaknesses across several parameters, such as strategy, business model, products and services, customer experience, operations, technology, organization and cybersecurity. It will then outline clear and actionable plan how to address weaknesses including a list of specific digital technologies (e.g. software, hardware) your business needs to implement.
Need help with this or other government funding programs but don’t know where to start or how to prepare an application?
Fill out Eligibility Check form at http://www.fgwinc.ca/eligibility to find out.
CHECK ELIGIBILITY

We would like to thank all of you for joining us at the “Information on Government Funding for Manufacturers and Supply Chain Partners” webinar. It was an absolute success and we hope you got a chance to join us live.
In case you missed it – we have the presentation deck for your refence available here: Information on Government Funding for Manufacturers.
The information is valid as of June 29, 2022.
Need help with government funding programs and don’t know where to start or how to prepare an application?
Fill out Eligibility Check form at http://www.fgwinc.ca/eligibility to find out.

We are glad to inform you that Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) is still open and accepting applications even though the maximum number of trainees is now limited to 25 per applicant. The program’s main goal is to help offset employee training costs by providing financial support to individual employers.
Key Highlights:
– Employers can get up to $10K in government support per person for training costs.
– Employers with 100 or more employees need to contribute 1/2 of the training costs. Small employers with less than 100 employees need to contribute 1/6 of training costs.
– Funding is available to small, medium and large businesses to train existing and new employees.
Speaking of the training, we would like to share a great resource for all of you trying to adopt and implement lean management principles. Here is the podcast with our friend Bill Neeve, president at Cycle Time Management Inc, “The Problem with Lean: Where You May Have Gone Wrong.” Bill shares lean management principles and how to make it work for your company. Please note that lean training is eligible for the Canada-Ontario Job Grant. Contact Bill here.
Need help with this or other government funding programs but don’t know where to start or how to prepare an application?
Fill out Eligibility Check form at http://fairgrantwriting.ca/eligibility/ to find out.
Did you know that the Canadian businesses can leverage approximately $30 billion from various federal and provincial government grants to offset the costs of strategic business expansion and meet the demands of a highly competitive landscape? These funds are available for hiring, skills training, equipment modernization, export development, software implementation, research and business expansion.
Join ASCM BC for a ZOOM Session featuring Igor Chigrin from Fair Grant Writing to learn about:
- The various funds available to Alberta and BC-based businesses
- Who qualifies to receive government funding
- How to apply and secure these funds
- Funding programs for technology projects
Although all types of businesses can take advantage of some government funding programs, the majority of those programs are reserved for the manufacturing, technology, agri-food and supply chain businesses.
Date and Time: Monday, June 27th, 2022 12:00 PM PST
Seminar Speaker: Igor Chigrin – Business Funding Expert at Fair Grant Writing.

Our friends at the Canada Bulgaria Business Network are very happy to invite you to an evening webinar – Government Help for Small and Medium Size Business.
Two high profile presenters – Jayesh Menon and Igor Chigrin, will be sharing their knowledge, expertise and recent updates in government funding and grants that are currently available to start-ups, small and medium sized business. You will be introduced to assistance programs, grants and tax incentives offered by all three levels of government in Canada and have a chance to ask your questions and make valuable connections.
Date and Time: Monday, May 30th, 2022 at 6:00 PM EDT
Seminar Speakers:
Jayesh Menon – Senior Advisor – Investment Attraction, City of Brampton
Igor Chigrin – Business Funding Expert at Fair Grant Writing.
Please register by email at: info@canadabulgaria.com.
You don’t have to be a member of Network to attend.
Make sure to share this event with your network!

Our friends at the Canada Bulgaria Business Network are very happy to invite you to an evening webinar – Government Help for Small and Medium Size Business.
Two high profile presenters – Jayesh Menon and Igor Chigrin, will be sharing their knowledge, expertise and recent updates in government funding and grants that are currently available to start-ups, small and medium sized business. You will be introduced to assistance programs, grants and tax incentives offered by all three levels of government in Canada and have a chance to ask your questions and make valuable connections.
Date and Time: Monday, May 30th, 2022 at 6:00 PM EDT
Seminar Speakers:
Jayesh Menon – Senior Advisor – Investment Attraction, City of Brampton
Igor Chigrin – Business Funding Expert at Fair Grant Writing.
Please register by email at: info@canadabulgaria.com.
You don’t have to be a member of Network to attend.
Make sure to share this event with your network!

Did you know that the Canadian businesses can leverage approximately $30 billion from various federal and provincial government grants to offset the costs of strategic business expansion and meet the demands of a highly competitive landscape? These funds are available for hiring, skills training, equipment modernization, export development, software implementation, research and business expansion.
Join ASCM BC for a ZOOM Session featuring Igor Chigrin from Fair Grant Writing to learn about:
- The various funds available to Alberta and BC-based businesses
- Who qualifies to receive government funding
- How to apply and secure these funds
- Funding programs for technology projects
Although all types of businesses can take advantage of some government funding programs, the majority of those programs are reserved for the manufacturing, technology, agri-food and supply chain businesses.
Date and Time: Monday, June 27th, 2022 12:00 PM PST
Seminar Speaker: Igor Chigrin – Business Funding Expert at Fair Grant Writing.


How to get your share of $30 billion worth of grants and incentives to adopt technology, purchase equipment, hire the right talent and expand business
Canadian manufacturing businesses can leverage up to $30 billion from various federal and provincial government grants to offset costs of strategic business expansion and to meet the demands of a highly competitive manufacturing landscape. These funds are available for hiring, skills training, equipment modernization, export development, software implementation, research and business expansion.
Join us for a webcast featuring Igor Chigrin from Fair Grant Writing to learn about:
- The various funds available to Canadian manufacturers
- Who qualifies to receive government funding
- How to apply and secure these funds
- Funding programs for technology projects
Date and Time: Thursday, May 5, 2022 2:00 PM EST
Seminar Speaker: Igor Chigrin – President and Business Funding Expert at Fair Grant Writing.
The Federal 2022 is finally out and I am happy to share some of the updates with you. I will only focus on everything related to the funding for businesses.
- Regional Development Agencies’ programs got a boost. It means that the programs such as Strategic Innovation Fund, Jobs & Growth Fund etc. will be continued through this new fiscal year.
- There will be dedicated funding support for the tourism sector but appears to be no more emergency support for the other sectors.
- Canada Small Business Financing Program will be enhanced, but was also already promised in the 2021 budget and not delivered
- A new Canada Growth Fund will be established to “attract substantial private sector investment to help meet important national economic policy goals:
1. To reduce emissions and contribute to achieving Canada’s climate goals;
2. To diversify our economy and bolster our exports by investing in the growth of low-carbon industries and new technologies across new and traditional sectors of Canada’s industrial base; and
3. To support the restructuring of critical supply chains in areas important to Canada’s future prosperity – including our natural resources sector.”
- A new Canadian Innovation and Investment Agency will be established. The agency that will specialize in boosting private-sector R&D through funding.
- Scientific Research & Experimental Development Tax Credit program will be reviewed, but no changes are promised so far – Only review.
- Supercluster programs renew and get additional boosts.
- Canadian Agricultural Partnership programs will be renewed but the intakes may not start until 2023. The budget is a bit unclear about it.
- CanExport program will be continued and gets an annual budget enough for approximately 140 applicants per year. So don’t delay applying for the program.
- National Research Council will be modernized but the budget says nothing about its Industrial Research Assistance Program.
- Agricultural Clean Technology Program and On-Farm Climate Action Funds will be extended.
- New tax credits are promised for purchasing net-zero technologies, battery storage solutions, clean hydrogen and carbon capture technologies.
Need help with applying for the government funding programs but don’t know where to start or how to prepare an application?
Fill out Eligibility Check form at http://www.fgwinc.ca/eligibility to find out.

We’ve been waiting for this news since October 2021 and almost lost hope. But, the Federal government finally launched the Canada Digital Adoption Program.
It is a combination of a grant and an interest-free loan for the following activities:
1) Adoption of e-commerce tools by customer-facing businesses (e.g. retail, hospitality) up to $2,400 per applicant
2) Technology assessment for small-to-medium-sized businesses (1-499 employees) to complete advanced technology assessment by one of the approved consultants – up to $15K per applicant
3) Purchasing and implementation of the technology (e.g. software, hardware) recommended as a result of the assessment – interest-free loan up to $100K
I will be reading the fine print over the weekend and have more information next week. But you can also visit the program’s official page here.
Need help with this or other government funding programs but don’t know where to start or how to prepare an application?
Fill out Eligibility Check form at http://www.fgwinc.ca/eligibility to find out.
You may have heard that the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, Entrepreneur Stream is now open. It was on hold for awhile but hopefully the recent re-launch is here to stay. You can learn more about the OINP program here.
Rest assured that our team of professional business writers will support you and your clients with any writing needs to apply for the program, including:
- Expression of Interest
- Business Plan
- Final Report
We can also do the market research to help applicants establish realistic performance targets.
Can we help you or your clients with their business plans? If so, request a quote here: https://fairgrantwriting.ca/business-plans-for-canadian-immigration-programs/.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a happy holiday season, whether you celebrate or just take time off to recharge your batteries. May the next year be filled with health, joy and prosperity!