Under the Local and Regional Development Support Policy, the Gatineau Valley LDC is responsible for managing a fund reserved for projects in the field of social economy.

The Gatineau Valley LDC intends to manage this fund with flexibility and without imposing too many criteria and management requirements, the purpose being to support interesting projects for the local and regional community from both the economic and social points of view.

The LDC approach is actually to adapt to the projects and not to adapt the projects to the program, while making sure minimal standards are complied with, in order to facilitate project start-ups as much as possible.

The Local and Regional Development Support Policy defines social economy as the activities and organisations originating from collective entrepreneurship that abide by the following principles :

• Services are designed and intended for the members or the community;
• Managerial autonomy;
• Democratic decision-making process;
• Primacy of people and work over capital in the distribution of surpluses and revenues.

Activities based on the principle of participation, empowerment and individual and collective accountability. Social economy can be developed in all activity sectors that meet the needs of the population and the community.

Eligible Organisations

• Any incorporated non-profit organisation;
• Mutual associations;
• Cooperatives.

Eligible Projects

To be eligible, projects must demonstrate the following characteristics:

• To be eligible, projects must demonstrate the following characteristics:
• The project must pursue a social goal by meeting social needs as identified by the community;
• The project must allow for the production of goods and/or services, and generate internal funds;
• The jobs created must be long-term jobs (as opposed to employability programs or “insertion” jobs);
• The jobs created must provide a decent income to their incumbents and be subject to labour legislation;
• The project must not result in job substitution;
• The project must be based on a complete business plan including budgeted statements for the first three years of operation, demonstrating its viability (income must show a progression);
• A contribution by the promoter is advisable. Depending on the nature of the project, a contribution may be required from the promoter. This contribution may be in different forms: capital, equipment, community contribution such as premises lending, human resources secondment, volunteer work, etc.;
• The project must be in accordance with the orientations of the Plan local pour l'économie et l'emploi (PALÉE) (Local Economic and Employment Plan) of the Gatineau Valley LDC, where applicable

Admissible Expenses

• Capital expenditures such as land, building, equipment, machinery, mobile equipment, and any other expenses of the same nature except for goodwill costs;
• Purchase of technologies, softwares or software packages, patents and any other expenses of the same nature but excluding research and development expenses;
• Working capital needs related strictly to the organisation’s operations calculated for the first year of operation and excluding the owners’ salaries, but is required to make the necessary efforts to identify alternative funding sources for employees’ salaries.

Nature of Financial Assistance

• Financial assistance will be allocated in the form of subsidy;
• The financial assistance provided constitutes an aid for starting a new business or for expanding (developing) an existing business. Therefore, subsidies cannot be recurrent;
• Exceptionally, a subsidy could be allocated for the second year of operation if it is demonstrated that the business viability is at risk for this second year of operation. In such case, the promoter is required to submit a new application demonstrating a potential for medium and long term viability.

Determination of Financial Assistance Amount

The amount of financial assistance allocated by the LDC shall be determined based on the application and the project’s specific needs and shall not generally exceed $ 5000. However, combined financial assistance from the Québec and federal governments and the LDC cannot not exceed 80% of the admissible expenses.

Payment Terms and Conditions

For all approved projects, a protocol agreement will be made between the LDC and the project promoter. This agreement shall define the terms and conditions for the payment of financial assistance and the parties’ obligations.

Limitations

• Expenses for the execution of a project that are made before the date of reception by the LDC of the official application are not admissible. However, they can be considered as part of the promoter’s equity, where applicable;
• The allocated financial assistance cannot be used for an organisation’s operating expenses, debt servicing, future loans repayment or financing an already completed project.

Follow-up with Promoter

By accepting the subsidy, the promoter commits to collaborate with the LDC in a follow-up process for a two-year period, at a rate of once every three months.