Support Funding Application Form for Canadian Aboriginal Tourism Businesses
Thank you for your interest in applying for a product development grant from the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC). Your application is part of a specific funding opportunity supported by Indigenous Northern Affairs Canada. This program is supporting ATAC’s overall five-year goal of 50 new market/export ready businesses by 2021.
PROGRAM GOAL: The overall goal of this program is to assist in providing expertise and funding support to Canadian Aboriginal tourism businesses wishing to improve their market-ready and export-ready status in order to have the opportunity to gain greater marketplace awareness, larger volumes of visitors and sustainable business growth.
FUNDING AVAILABLE: This program is intended to assist multiple Aboriginal tourism businesses from as many of the 13 provinces and territories as possible; this first product development support funding program from ITAC is expected to assist between 10 and 15 organizations. There are limited funds available and therefore the funding amount for any one applicant will be up to a maximum of $10,000.
PROJECT ELIGIBILITY: As part of the process to apply for this funding, this form will ask you to describe the project for which you need funding assistance. The project must be specific to helping your Aboriginal tourism business move towards market or export readiness. Your project plan can include, for example, staff training, website upgrades, infrastructure upgrades, expanding your current offering, administrative/financial advisory assistance, marketing & sales planning, business planning, business assessment, health & safety equipment etc. The key is to demonstrate how this funding assistance will help bring your Aboriginal tourism business closer to market or export readiness. If you would like to better understand market/export readiness, ITAC has produced “National Guidelines for Aboriginal Tourism” which includes a self-assessment process for market and export readiness.
ORGANIZATION ELIGIBILITY: Eligibility for this program is restricted to Canadian Aboriginal tourism businesses at least 51% owned by Aboriginal individuals OR majority owned Aboriginal companies OR Aboriginal-controlled organizations such as Bands and Tribal Councils.
APPLICATION PROCESS: The application process is designed to take you through a series of questions with an on-line application. Please respond with the best information you currently have to help us determine how best we can invest the available support funding. In this on-line application you can go back to previous pages you have filled out by clicking the ‘Back’ button at the bottom of each page of the application form. Your responses will be sent to us once you have completed the application and you have clicked on the “SUBMIT” button. You can also click “Edit your response” (found on the page after you click “Submit”) however edits are not permitted after the deadline to submit has passed. If you have any supplemental documents (descriptions, photos, spreadsheets) to help us understand your project plan, please email to: casey@aboriginalcanada.ca. Please be sure to include your name and business name in your email to allow your documents to be matched up with your on-line application. You also have the opportunity to submit multiple applications if you have more than one project or business for which you hope to be considered for product development support funding.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: Successful applicants will work with ITAC staff to confirm the amount of investment, availability of any matching funding programs, confirm the project plan, selection of suppliers/contractors necessary for the project, the specific payments required for suppliers/partners/trainers/contractors and the schedule for start and completion of the project. Successful applicants will also be responsible for reporting back to ITAC regarding the project progress, results and financial details of funding investment.
DEADLINE: The deadline to apply is Friday, October 21, 2016.
SELECTION: Applicants will be informed of the support selection results by November 4, 2016.
If you have questions or need assistance with the online application form or wish to receive a manual form to fill out on paper, please contact our ITAC staff member overseeing this project: casey@aboriginalcanada.ca.
On behalf of our organization, thank-you for your interest in the ITAC Tourism Development Funding Support Program.
Keith Henry
President and CEO
Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada
To preview or download a PDF version of the application questions prior to filling out the online application form CLICK HERE.
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