Town of Halton Hills receives additional Digital Main Street funding

The Town of Halton Hills has received a second round of Digital Main Street Funding in order to help additional small businesses amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to implement another phase of the Digital Main Street program, the town has received a $45,000 Digital Service Squad (DSS) grant. Due to the program’s success, it led to a resolution by Town Council to renew and expand it. 

Digital Service Squad supports will be available in early September and will run until the end of February 2022.

“COVID-19 has caused significant hardship for our small businesses. Enhanced online tools are critical to assisting our businesses in interacting with their customers and to generate and maintain much-needed revenue,” said Mayor Bonnette.

The additional phase of the program will allow additional qualifying small businesses including those that are located beyond downtown main streets, to be eligible for the grant.

Not-for-profits and co-working spaces are not eligible to apply, however, they can still receive assistance from the Digital Service Squad. 

The first round of funding, which was received in September 2020, enabled the Town to support almost 70 small businesses and help them advance their e-commerce efforts with approximately $50,000 in grants.

Renewed government funding of the grants program, including an investment from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, will provide 3,000 Digital Transformation Grants to qualified brick-and-mortar small businesses and Digital Service Squad grants for organizations to provide help to local small businesses.

Digital Service Squad members will assist small businesses in areas including developing a Google My Business profile, enhancing their social media presence and providing support for a basic website and e-commerce setup.

Additionally, they will help eligible small businesses with a physical storefront and under 50 employees to apply for the $2,500 Digital Transformation Grant administered through the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA), which can be used towards new websites, software and hardware.

The deadline to apply for a Digital Transformation Grant is October 31, 2021.

Business owners are encouraged to contact [email protected] to set up a meeting with a Digital Service Squad Member.