After one of its previous business support programs saw little participation last spring, Airdrie Economic Development is launching a new voucher program to support businesses that are still struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the City of Airdrie, the Right For Your Business program offers up to $2,000 in financial aid to pay for critical advisors and financial professionals to help businesses stay resilient through ongoing economic restrictions.
“We know Airdrie businesses have been impacted by COVID-19,” said Rebecca Nielsen, an economic development officer for the City of Airdrie. “For those impacted businesses, we also recognize Airdrie business owners do know what they need in order to move their business in a positive direction."
The new program comes after Airdrie Economic Development launched the Right For Business program last spring – a similar initiative that intended to pair businesses owners with financial advisors and mentors.
However, according to a Dec. 21, 2020 presentation to City council from Airdrie Economic Development team lead Sara Chamberlain, the Right For Business program did not see the level of participation the City hoped. Chamberlain said the program had 23 participants – though 13 businesses had applied for the program, been accepted and then never followed through with participating.
“We believe the timing of the program was off,” she told council, adding $50,000 was allocated to the program, but due to the low enrolment, the program ended up costing just $5,123.
Nielsen said Airdrie Economic Development has learned from that program, and the new voucher program will be more individually tailored to local businesses' needs.
“That program was under-subscribed, so we tried to take our learnings from that program and create a system where businesses could tell us what voucher they needed this time around,” she said. “We tried to streamline it and make it a little easier to understand, with the hopes we can connect businesses with the help they need.
"We created this program so that it’s customizable and each business owner can tell us what they need. We can work together to help create that program and move them in the right direction.”
The new program does not have a specific target in mind in terms of the number of participants, according to Nielsen. She added the City has already started to receive applications from businesses, and said Right For Your Business will prioritize companies that have been placed under mandated closures or restrictions in recent months.
While an application deadline has not been established, Nielsen said the City hopes those who need some support will apply as soon as possible, as the program has a limited capacity and is on a first-come, first-served basis.
“There are a number of businesses that have been under a full closure, and then others that have been able to operate, but at a much-reduced capacity,” Nielsen said. “Certainly, in speaking with those business owners, they’re at a point where they’re concerned about their livelihoods. That may have been the case throughout the whole pandemic, but as time goes on, things get more serious for those business owners.”
To sign up, businesses can visit airdrie.ca/rightforbusiness. According to the City, all businesses will be required to complete a confidential needs assessment over the phone with a member of Airdrie Economic Development.
Questions about the program can be submitted to Airdrie Economic Development at 403-948-8844 or [email protected]
—With files from Jordan Stricker/Airdrie City View
