Frontenac CFDC celebrates EODP successes

Apr 01, 2010

Centre CFDC board chair Liz Crothers and CFDC executive director Anne Pritchard

The Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) invited guests to a breakfast at the Trinity United Church in Verona on Mar. 30 to help them celebrate the over 97 projects that have been completed in Frontenac County through funds received through the Eastern Ontario Development Program.

In her opening remarks CFDC board chair Liz Crothers announced that between the EODP Funds and CFDC’s community adjustment funds, a total of $1.1 million was available for various programs and out of that a total of $793,300 was given out to local businesses and organizations for various loan and grant projects.

The CFDC Youth Internship program employed seven interns including a Communications and a GIS Intern at the County of Frontenac, a sales and marketing intern at the Land O’Lakes Tourism Association, a marketing and development Intern at Wintergreen Studios, a case management intern at Rural Visions in Sydenham and a marketing Intern at The Frontenac Stewardship Council.

The CFDC’s executive director Anne Pritchard is very proud of the CFDC’s intern program and said, “I have a special soft spot for that program in particular since it is often the first real work experience these young people have and they are always very excited about it. I am also very proud of the amount of loan dollars that went out this year in the last 5 or 6 months which a lot of good will be coming out of.”

Local businesses and organizations that benefited from CFDC funding though the EODP this last year included the Verona Community Association’s local sign project in Verona, the Verona Lion’s Club and Frontenac Farmers Markets new outdoor pavilion,The Greater Sydenham Community Association new business directory, The Frontenac Cattleman’s Association research project, the Eastern Ontario “Invest in Cheese” initiative program, and The Frontenac Arch Biosphere trail mapping project to name just a few.

Another big winner this year was the Regional Green Vision and Strategy Project, a joint venture between the County of Frontenac, the Kingston Area Economic Development Corporation and the CFDC. The project received $60,000 and will focus on promoting and encouraging green initiatives in the area.

Mid way through the breakfast Anne Pritchard announced that the CFDC has received another round of EODP funding beginning April 2010 through March 31 2011 which was great news.

Anyone business or organization looking to expand and or grow their organization or business can find more information about the CFDC’s various programs by visiting the Frontenac CFDC’s website at frontenaccfdc.com. Deadlines begin in April for the Internship program.