Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) — funding requests up to $1,000,000

• Who can apply
• When to apply
• How to apply
• More information and questions

Who can apply for RRRF

The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund is open to any business that operates in Western Canada.

Businesses must meet the following mandatory criteria:

• Have less than 500 full-time employees (FTEs)
• Operate in Canada
• Were operational as of March 1, 2020
• Are located in Western Canada (defined as British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba)
• Have suffered financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Can demonstrate 2019 revenue, or be pre-revenue businesses that received angel or venture capital funding
• Intend to continue operations in Western Canada
• Can describe the financial impact that COVID-19 has had on its operations, and outline how WD funding will help support the western Canadian economy to:
  • Retain diverse and valuable talent
  • Maintain sector knowledge and skills
  • Maintain capital flow
  • Maintain critical supply chains and increase capacity to withstand supply chain disruptions
  • Protect technologies and processes that improve resilience, productivity, and/or competitiveness
  • Protect vital intellectual property
• Must have previously applied for funding from all other federal COVID-19 support measures for which they are eligible, such as the Business Development Bank of Canada’s Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP) Guarantee, Co-Lending Program, Working Capital Loan, Oil and Gas Sector Capital Loan, and Export Development Canada’s Business Credit Availability Program

RRRF continues to be a backstop for other federal COVID-19 relief measures. Businesses that have successfully applied for, and received support from, any of the federal COVID-19 support measures, but still require additional funding to mitigate liquidity pressures, may still apply for the RRRF.

Sole proprietorships and not-for-profits are not eligible for the RRRF.

When to apply

Tech support ends at 5:00 pm, June 30, 2021

RRRF applications will be accepted until Wednesday, June 30, 2021, at 11:59 pm Mountain Time. However, we strongly advise you to submit your application by 4:00 pm, as there will be no support available after 5:00 pm.

The last day to submit a RRRF application is June 30, 2021, no later than 11:59 pm Mountain Time. Applications will be assessed as they are received.

You will be notified by email with a decision on your application.

Funding is subject to availability.

How to apply

Businesses interested in applying to the RRRF must submit the following:

• Completed application for relief funding (please note that this smart application form will customize the eligibility criteria based on the answers you provide)
• Financial statements for the past two (2) years
• Estimated 2020 cash flow needs for the 12-month period between October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021

Note that as of February 5, 2021, RRRF allows for a period of up to 12 consecutive months in eligible operating costs (which is an increase from the six months from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020 offered earlier under the program). If you have previously applied, but have yet to be contacted by WD, you may reapply under the new provision or contact a regional office to adjust your application.

Refer to the application guide for instructions on how to complete the form. Applications cannot be started and saved, so must be completed in one session. Incomplete applications will not be assessed and will be considered ineligible for funding.

Businesses are limited to one successful application for RRRF.

Under the RRRF, your funding request may be scaled to your operating deficit, but may not be more than $1 million for revenue generating firms. For pre-revenue firms that have received angel or venture capital funding, requests will be scaled your annual operating costs to maintain operations for twelve months up to a maximum of $500,000, less other approved federal COVID supports.

As an example for revenue generating firms: $2,500,000 (total estimated operation costs) minus $2,200,000 (total estimated revenue) equals $300,000 (estimated operating deficit) less $10,000 (other approved federal COVID-19 supports). In this example, the application for RRRF funding could not exceed $290,000.

Assessment approach

All applications will undergo an assessment of their expected impacts on the western Canadian economy as outlined in the mandatory criteria. This assessment will consider:

• The number and quality of jobs maintained relative to the funding amount requested;
• The financial viability of the business and ability to repay;
• The relative importance of your business’ impact on your community and/or your sector of the western Canadian economy;
• The ability to maintain or increase capacity in critical supply chains;
• The production of innovative goods, services or technologies; and,
• The ability to maintain a distinct competitive advantage in targeted markets such as factors that allow your business to produce goods or services better or more cost-effectively.

Please note: Demand for funding is far greater than we can supply. Your application will be assessed against the above criteria and only those with the highest evaluations will receive funding. Our objective is to support the strongest alignment to the criteria and assessment elements.

Repayment terms

The following repayment terms will apply:

• 100% of contribution must be repaid
• No scheduled monthly repayments are required until after December 31, 2022
• Three (3) year repayment period, beginning January 2023
• The full balance of the contribution amount must be repaid no later than December 31, 2025

Disbursement of the contribution

If an application for funding is approved, you will be asked to review and accept a Contribution Agreement with WD, before funds will be disbursed (may include advanced payments).

Reporting requirements

Recipients will be required to attest that the full amount of the contribution was expended for fixed operating costs, such as rent, wages and salaries, utilities, insurance, debt expenses, professional fees, and property and business taxes.

Recipients will also be required to disclose all funding received from any level of government for these same fixed operating costs.

Businesses will be required to submit a final report that includes:

• Number of jobs maintained, as a result of RRRF funding
• Confirmation that the business is continuing its operations
• Other metrics as may be requested by WD

WD will request a copy of the Recipient’s financial statements.

Other

WD reserves the right to modify these guidelines at any time without notice and may waive certain requirements on an exceptional basis.

More information and questions

For additional RRRF information, contact your nearest WD regional office.