Charlottetown, PE – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce announced 62 $10,000 grant recipients from its Canadian Business Resilience Network (CBRN) Small Business Relief Fund, including Hive and Hollow, a licensed lounge and board game bar located in downtown Charlottetown.
“At a time when none of us know what to expect from day to day, we are grateful to have been awarded this opportunity to focus a little less on surviving and a little more on thriving,” said Hive and Hollow Owner, Amy Seymour. “We have been inspired by the innovation and ingenuity of Island businesses and are optimistic that we will be able to contribute to and count on continued support within the community as we move through this crisis.”
Hive and Hollow is a member of the Greater Charlottetown Area of Commerce and learned about the CBRN Small Business Relief Fund through a regular Chamber COVID-19 member e-mail communication.
“Hive and Hollow is an excellent example of the many Island businesses who quickly adapted their operations to serve the community in a time of great uncertainty,” said Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce Interim CEO, Gerard Adams. “We couldn’t be happier for the Hive and Hollow team and are proud to represent a business that has shown such resiliency and innovation during these challenging times.”
More than 1100 small businesses across Canada applied for the 62 grants available. The recipients were those that best demonstrated their financial strain, how the business will use the grant to change or innovate, how the change or innovation will sustain the business’s recovery and allow it to prosper, and how the grant will support the role each business plays in their community.
The fund was managed by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and made possible through the generosity of Salesforce. The funding was designed to help small businesses across the country stay afloat and support their recovery efforts, paying salaries, retrofitting their workplaces and acquiring technology to adapt their business model. Salesforce has also provided grants to small businesses in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, in addition to providing other resources.
“Reviewing the applications was both heartbreaking and inspiring. We saw how seriously small businesses across Canada have been hurt by the pandemic, but we also saw how determined these entrepreneurs are to preserve their employees’ jobs and to serve their customers and their communities. Today is a happy waypoint, not an end point, and we won’t stop finding new ways to help Canada’s businesses reopen and recover. We’ll be with them every step of the way,” said Perrin Beatty, President and CEO, Canadian Chamber.
“It has been incredible to see the resilience coming from Canada’s small business owners over the last few months. We know it hasn’t been easy,” said Margaret Stuart, Canada Country Manager, Salesforce. “The applicants have further demonstrated what we at Salesforce already knew to be true – that Canada is rich with innovation and entrepreneurial talent. We’re hopeful that these grants will provide essential support to small business owners as they return to work.”
A complete list of the winners can be found here.