Farm Credit Corporation formally presented a $10,000 FCC AgriSpirit Fund Grant to the South West Centre for Entrepreneurial Development during a ceremony last Thursday.
The grant funding will be utilized to purchase equipment and make improvements at the Centre.
“Things that we are looking at targeting are getting some air conditioning units in this old school that become the Entrepreneur Centre. And also the doors are the original doors to the building, and there are many improvements that can come with some energy efficient doors,” explained Ivan Gelleta, Chairperson of the South West Centre for Entrepreneurial Development Board.
Gelleta highlighted that very little has been done in the way of previous renovations at the over decade long home for the Entrepreneurial Centre.
“Mostly just painting. It’s just been cosmetic things that we’ve afforded to do, so it hasn’t had a lot of funds to do the kind of work we’re going to be able to do now with this funding from FCC.”
“The energy costs in this building are pretty high, and the Entrepreneur Centre does have to foot the bill for that, so improvements that we can make to improve energy costs will help fund this building and make it more efficient for all the partners in here.”
A total of $1 million in Agri-Spirit Funding was made available during Farm Credit Canada’s 50th anniversary in 2009. FCC’s AgriSpirit Fund is a program which delivers funding to assist with capital projects and community improvement projects in rural Canada.
Sylvia Schwartz, Relationship Manager for Farm Credit Canada explained that last year they received 1,376 applications, with FCC selecting 115 projects to share the project funding. Approved applications received between $5,000 to $25,000 in funding, depending on the scope of the project.
“The FCC Agri-Spirit Fund is designed for assistance in rural communities with capital projects. So the idea of doing some renovations and some purchases for their building actually fit within that mandate,” Schwartz said.
“We like the Entrepreneurial Centre because it does partner with a lot of our ag production and our ag value customers who are in the business of agriculture. They can provide some resources to those businesses and they’re really a good benefit to our community.”
Approval was also given to a second project in the Southwest during 2009, as the Lac Pelletier Regional Park will be receiving $6,000 for the purchase of playground equipment for Ona's Beach Playground.
In total Saskatchewan received $172,500 to support 23 groups in 2009, while Canada wide the AgriSpirit Fund delivered $1 million to 115 community groups.
The program has delivered $602,400 to Saskatchewan projects over the past six years, with previous Southwest projects including support for a fire hall, medical centers, plus play schools. Nation wide the fund has been responsible for contributing over $3.5 million in funding to rural communities across Canada.
“Our mandate is to advance the business of agriculture. So we work with rural communities. Part of our Agri-Spirit Fund is giving back to those communities that support our business,” Schwartz said.
The Entrepreneurial Centre currently has 15 small businesses involved in their business incubator program. Approximately nine non-profit organizations also utilize the facility, and the building also houses Community Futures and Enterprise Saskatchewan.
“These funds are going to allow us to serve and add value to the services that we currently have for everyone,” said Daniel Leiva from the South West Centre for Entrepreneurial Development.
“Without the participation of the community and our partners in this building, I believe this Entrepreneurial Centre wouldn’t be open.”
