NEWS RELEASE
March 9, 2021
For immediate release

Cold Lake, AB – More small businesses in Cold Lake will benefit from the City’s COVID-19 Financial Assistance Program, thanks in part to a generous donation from Community Futures Lakeland. The non-profit, small business support agency donated $3,000 to the fund which provides grants to small businesses forced to incur extra expenses to stay open or re-open during the pandemic.

“2020 was a tough year and we know our local businesses are struggling; especially small business owners who are doing what they can just to keep the lights on, and often don’t have a large rainy day fund they can rely on to stay afloat,” said Lisa Ford, General Manager of Community Futures Lakeland. “We were very encouraged to see the City of Cold Lake announce a second round of COVID-19 relief measures for residents and businesses back in January, including the establishment of the COVID-19 Financial Assistance Program for Small Businesses. We hope this contribution will help relieve some of the pressure caused by the pandemic.”

City Council committed $50,000 to the fund on January 18, 2021. Since then, 79 grants have been awarded totaling $35,100. With the Community Futures Lakeland donation, $17,900 remains available for small businesses that have been hit with unexpected expenses due to COVID-19.

“First of all, we want to sincerely thank Community Futures Lakeland for this generous contribution. This Council is committed to helping our struggling small businesses get through the pandemic with as little damage as possible and this donation will help us do that,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “We’re really urging our small businesses to take advantage of this money; it may not be a lot, but it’s there for you to use. Only 7 per cent of storefront small businesses in Cold Lake have applied and we’d like to raise that number up.”

Both storefront and home-based small businesses are eligible to apply for funding. Storefront businesses can apply for a $500 grant while home-based businesses can receive $100. To be eligible, businesses must:

• Be located within the city of Cold Lake
• Hold a valid 2021 City of Cold Lake business licence
• Have provided products and/or services to the public for some portion of time since March 15, 2020.
• Have incurred expenses up to the threshold ($500 for storefront, $100 for home-based) to meet government-mandated COVID-19 guidelines. Eligible expenses include the purchase of personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, face shields), sanitization and cleaning products, and modification of work spaces to meet physical distancing requirements (installation of plexi-glass barriers, etc.)

Further questions can be directed to the Corporate Services department at the City of Cold Lake at 780-594-4494, or by email to jradford@coldlake.com.

Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis until March 31, 2021, or until the fund is depleted. Applications must be received by Monday, March 22, 2021.

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