Three new Niverville entrepreneurs graduated from the Elevate program this August, a program established by Community Futures Triple R Corporation (CFTRC) to provide assistance, support, and resources to persons wishing to become self-employed. Recipients receiving their certificates of recognition included Deb Brissette of Highland Art Studio, Taylor Hayward of Spaw Dog, and Diane LaTourelle of 1 Health Source Inc.
“Funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities, Elevate provides funding for training, mentorship, dependant care, disability and adaptive technology supports,” says Dave Smith, business analyst for CFTRC. “In order to be accepted to participate in the Elevate program, applicants need to demonstrate they have a viable business concept. We felt that these clients, in particular, had that as well as the drive and passion to make their businesses successful.”
Participants spend six months in the program and are required to create their own business plan. Upon graduation, they will continue to receive another 18 months of follow-up service from the CFTRC.
The CFTRC is a locally controlled organization, funded in part by Western Economic Diversification Canada. It was first established in 1993 as a non-profit organization by a group of southeast Manitoba municipalities.
The Niverville Chamber of Commerce has been working closely with DFTRC for a number of years.
“CFTRC offers a number of programs that are helpful to business,” says Dawn Harris, Executive Director of the Niverville Chamber. “We work with them when there are programs that are of benefit to members or useful to growing the business community into the future. We recently sponsored the first BizCamp in Niverville. Run by CFTRC, it was for kids in Grades Four to Six [and intended] to help them understand what’s involved in running a business while having fun.”
The mandate of CFTRC is fairly simple: to provide resources for economic development and growth within municipalities. They achieve this by offering business advisory services, financial assistance through an internal loans fund, counselling for business start-ups, assistance with government programs, and resource materials to assist both existing businesses and new entrepreneurs.
