Frequently Asked Questions

What has ITAC done to create the Stimulus Grant Fund?

When the COVID-19 pandemic became a threat to the 2020 tourism season, ITAC made an immediate decision to re-profile existing funds in our revised 2020-21 Action Plan to reflect the needs of our businesses during this trying time. This included moving funds from marketing, partnership and leadership activities to dedicate to the Stimulus Grant fund. In our original plan, ITAC allocated $1.175 M to support the intake.

ITAC continues to advocate through our COVID-19 Solutions Paper for additional funds towards this program as we received more than 600 applications and $14.4 M in requests. As a result of these efforts early on, ITAC secured an additional $1M in funding from Indigenous Services Canada. We are working tirelessly to advocate
federal partners for additional resources to support the substantial gap we currently have.

Are these funds coming from the $306M announced by the Government of Canada?

No. The $306M that was announced for Indigenous businesses will be provided to the Aboriginal Financial Institutions. This funding will allow for interest-free loans, as well as non-repayable contributions, to help Indigenous businesses unable to access the government’s existing COVID-19 support measures. ITAC is encouraging our members, if they require financial assistance, to go immediately to their local Aboriginal Financial Institution to try to secure a loan.

More info about the AFI near you can be found here.

My business was not announced in Phase 1 funding. Does this mean I am out of the running?

No, this does not mean that your business is not being considered. ITAC is still working to review more than 485 applications to determine if they meet the eligibility requirements and how we can best support your business based on limited funds available. We appreciate your patience as we try to review as fairly as possible.

When will the rest of the phases be announced?

Phase 2 will be announced in the coming weeks (June 2020, subject to available funding). Phase 3 (subject to available funding) will be announced in Summer 2020 and Phase 4 will be announced in Fall 2020.

How is ITAC prioritizing applications?

Applications are being reviewed in the follow order: Export Ready (Phase 1) – Market Ready (Phase 2) – Visitor Ready (Phase 3) – Doors Open (Phase 4). The “readiness level” you indicated on your application has been compared to your membership with ITAC. See above for timelines.

How is my application being reviewed?

ITAC established an adjudication committee, with applications status blind from ITAC Board, ITAC CEO and Provincial Territorial partners to remove bias and to keep the process as fair as possible. Two adjudicators review each application to determine completeness, overall need and how funds will be used. Based on the eligibility requirements of the funding, this includes looking for answers related to maintaining/recovering jobs, diversifying revenue streams or strengthening the business for future tourism seasons.

Adjudicators use a scoring matrix based on the criteria above. The scores of the adjudicators are then averaged and funding amounts recommended based on the application’s score (to a maximum of $25,000). Final sign off is done by funding partners to meet the requirements of our contribution agreements.

I have been approved for funding, what are my next steps?

ITAC is preparing agreement letters that outline the next steps for successful applicants. You will receive these from your ITAC point of contact (see below). You can ask any questions you might have about the agreement at that time. The agreement will also include payment and reporting timelines.

What should I do if I have questions about my application status?

Please note, we are no longer accepting any changes or additional documents as the application intake is now closed. Please reach out to the team member responsible for your province or territory:

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