The Canadian Chamber of Commerce partners with Salesforce to offer $10K lifeline to help 62 small businesses recover from COV...
May 25 2020 - 12:01AM
Small businesses are the heart of Canadian communities and the
backbone of Canada’s economy. Canadians everywhere have been
supporting their local businesses throughout COVID-19, from
ordering take-out to buying gift cards. Civic-minded organizations
with the resources and means are also pitching in.
Today, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada’s leading and
most representative business association, announced a new program,
the Canadian Business Resilience Network Small Business Relief
Fund, to provide small Canadian businesses from coast to coast to
coast with $10,000 grants to help their recovery efforts during
these unprecedented times.
The applications that best demonstrate how the funds will help
the businesses, their employees and their communities will receive
the funding.
The initiative, through the generosity of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM),
will help 62 small Canadian businesses recover and support their
resilience, for a total of $620,000 in funds. Businesses can use
the $10,000 grants to support their recovery efforts, including
paying salaries, acquiring safety and personal protective equipment
for staff, replenishing materials or paying for the measures
required to adapt business models to the economic impacts of
COVID-19, among other key priorities.
“During the COVID-19 crisis, the Canadian Chamber’s mission is
to help as many businesses as possible stay afloat and remain open.
Small business owners put everything they have into their
businesses, and these grants will help give a little bit back to
them. Good people coming together is how Canadians have managed
this crisis, and the Canadian Chamber and Salesforce are following
their lead, one business at a time,” said Perrin Beatty, President
and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
“We care deeply about the challenges small businesses across
Canada are facing as a result of the pandemic and recognize that
they have been hit especially hard,” said Margaret Stuart, Canada
Country Manager, Salesforce. “With this initiative, our focus is
supporting the resilience of Canadian small businesses owners and
helping them recover. Small businesses are some of Canada’s most
innovative and hardworking communities, and it is our priority to
help them get back to work safely and prepare for Canada’s next
normal.”
“Small business owners and entrepreneurs are innovative and
resilient. To support the businesses who make our communities
strong, our government has taken decisive action to help them keep
their costs low, keep their teams together, and keep up with their
operational expenses,” said Mary Ng, the Minister of Small
Business, Export Promotion and International Trade. “With the
Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Salesforce stepping up, even more
small business owners are going to get the help they need at this
critical time. We’re all in this together, and we’re going to be
here for small businesses every step of the way.”
The grant will be targeted at small, for-profit businesses that
have been operating for several years and are now experiencing
challenges because of COVID-19. The application period will open on
June 1, 2020 on the CBRN website and will close on June 12, 2020.
The successful applicants will be announced in late June to early
July 2020, with the funds being transferred to the successful
applicants shortly thereafter.
Today’s announcement comes on the heels of a global announcement
by Salesforce to distribute a total of $5 million USD dollars to
small business owners internationally.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce established the Canadian
Business Resilience Network (CBRN) in partnership with the
Government of Canada to help the business community prepare,
persevere and, ultimately, prosper in the face of the COVID-19
pandemic.
The CBRN is a coordinated, business-led, inclusive campaign that
will focus on providing businesses the tools they need to mitigate
the impact of the pandemic on them, our economy and communities
across the country. Its goal is also to help businesses emerge from
this crisis and drive Canada’s economic recovery. About
Salesforce
Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship
Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in
the digital age. Founded in 1999, Salesforce enables companies of
every size and industry to take advantage of powerful
technologies—cloud, mobile, social, internet of things, artificial
intelligence, voice and blockchain—to create a 360-degree view of
their customers. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM),
visit: www.salesforce.com.
Please visit salesforce.com/careforsmallbusiness to learn more
and view our full suite of resources helping small businesses
navigate the global COVID-19 pandemic.
About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce – Because
Business Matters
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce helps build the businesses that
support our families, our communities and our country. We do this
by influencing government policy, by providing essential business
services and by connecting businesses to information they can use,
to opportunities for growth and to a network of local chambers,
businesses, decision-makers and peers from across the country, in
every sector of the economy and at all levels of government, as
well as internationally. We are unapologetic in our support for
business and the vital role it plays in building and sustaining our
great nation.
For more information, please contact:
Phil Taylor ptaylor@chamber.ca (preferred and fastest
response time)
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