Desjardins Insurance is supporting small businesses across the country through an innovative program called the GoodSpark Small Business Grants Program.
The $1-million initiative announced this week will provide $10,000 grants to 75 locally owned and operated small businesses, some of which will also receive local advertising support and customized business consulting services from MBA students at York University’s Schulich School of Business.
“Small businesses play a vital role in the economic health and vibrancy of our local communities and supporting communities is at the heart of Desjardins’ purpose as a financial cooperative,” said Benaaz Irani, vice president of the Desjardins Agent Network.
“These communities need our support now more than ever. Helping small businesses to survive and get back on their feet will in turn help our communities recover from the pandemic, and we are proud to provide opportunities for MBA students to play an important role in this initiative.”
The 75 small businesses supported by the program represent a cross section of industries and include restaurants, retail outlets, cleaning firms, dance studios, dry cleaners, hair and nail salons, floral shops, and sports-related firms, among others.
The firms, which must have 25 or fewer employees, were nominated by Desjardins Insurance Agents in Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick and by Desjardins Financial Security Independent Network (DFSIN) Advisors across the country.
“The financial and other supports we are providing are designed to help the companies adapt to the current challenges by developing e-commerce capabilities and other digital solutions, maintaining and hiring staff, improving energy efficiency, taking measures to protect employees and customers, and transforming their operations in other ways,” said André Langlois, vice president of growth and industry relations at Desjardins.
Three levels of support are being provided under the program:
- Tier 1 – All 75 small businesses will receive a $10,000 grant.
- Tier 2 – 20 of the 75 firms will receive support for local advertising initiatives in addition to the $10,000 grant.
- Tier 3 – Another 21 of the 75 firms will receive the $10,000 grant and support for local advertising, plus customized business consulting analysis and advice from MBA students at York University’s Schulich Business School.
“We are happy to partner with Desjardins to enable our very talented MBA students to help these small businesses to transform their operations to meet the challenges of the pandemic,” said Kostas Tsambourlianos, professor of strategic field studies at York University’s Schulich School of Business.
“The students will also benefit through the real-world experience they gain and through compensation from Desjardins for their work. For many of our students, this is also a difficult economic time and the compensation will help them to continue funding their studies.”
