Canadian Women's Foundation.

http://www.cdnwomen.org/eng/

Economic Development Collaborative Fund: Five-year funding supported by Canadian Women's Foundation, CIBC, The George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation, The Ontario Trillium Foundation, and an anonymous donor.

PARO, Thunder Bay. For an Incubator/Accelerator program for women to support the launch and strengthen the growth of their ventures. Services of the program will include access to targeted expert advice, strategy development, financing support, information technology planning, alliance building and marketing. It is anticipated that 130 women will access these services over 5 years. Email: [e-mail] $260,200

YWCA of Greater Toronto. The YWCA LinksToJobs program will establish a community based employment agency as part of the YWCA Skills Development Centre. The program will offer a range of services to women and employers, including employment matching, paid work placements, computer and typing testing, on the job coaching, small business services and outplacement services. A total of 650 women are expected to use the services of the agency. $182,281

Women's Centre of York Region, Aurora. For the Enterprising Women program to assist low-income women to become self-employed. The program will be offered annually and over a 7 month period. A rigorous process allows candidates to reflect upon and assess their suitability and readiness level, as well as the viability of their business idea before application interviews are conducted. About 450 women will use the services of the program. $189,883

Women's Employment Resource Centre, Woodstock, ON. WREC operates an enterprise called Imogene's, which offers a retail outlet featuring plus and super sized clothing for women, and a sewing work room which produces clothing under the "Imogene" label. Sewing training is available through a 24 week Industrial Sewing and Manufacturing Program. The enterprise and training program provide skills training for low income and low skilled women helping them acquire marketable skills to enhance their employability. Imogene's generates revenues which support employment and advanced training opportunities. It is anticipated that 120 women will receive training and the enterprise will employ a minimum of 6 women. $266,145

Fonds d'Emprunt Communautaire Feminin, Lachute. The self-employment training program offers coaching and support for micro-enterprise development. Women who want to work in a group can join the Women's Loan Circle, a collective approach that emphasizes peer support. Training is offered through a series of workshops focusing on preparing and improving a business plan. Alternatively, women obtain individual coaching for business plan development as well as support for access to credit. All clients gain access to information, technical and financial support. A total of 140 women are anticipated to access self-employment training services. $241,651