Establishment of a Community Loan Fund for Ottawa-Carleton
Date
1995
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Southern New Hampshire University
Abstract
As stated in the thesis project, "For the past two years, concerned community organizations in Ottawa-Carleton have been meeting to discuss the establishment of a Community Loan Fund in the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton(RMOC). In early 1993, the Community Enterprise Centre(CEC) released funding to assist in the financing of the fund's development. The CEC is a community based organization which promotes and supports activities that improve the economic health and sustainability of local communities through partnerships, advocacy and demonstrated leadership on community economic development (CED) issues. The CEC struck a steering committee to develop a loan fund and contracted the Social Investment Organization(SIO) to facilitate the development of a model for the fund through a process which included several consultations over a two-month period with community stakeholders. In June, the steering committee issued a press release announcing the creation of the Ottawa-Carleton Community Loan Fund(OCCLF) and committed the fund to begin lending operations in the fall of 1993.
At the same time that the CEC was working on setting up the OCCLF, the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs(MMA) was circulating a discussion paper on establishing a provincial Community Loan Fund Guarantee Program. In August 1993 the model developed by SIO and the MMA's discussion paper were presented at a meeting of community stakeholders. The meeting endorsed the work to done to date and agreed to strike a working group with broad representation and appropriate skills to establish the OCCLF and to qualify as one of thirty five community loan funds to be supported by the MMA program when the appropriate legislation was passed.
The Community Economic Development Act was passed in the Ontario legislature in December 1993. The legislation earmarked $10 million to guarantee the principal of loans made by a proposed 35 community loan funds in Ontario over the next five years. The proposed MMA process envisioned that sponsors of community loan funds would express their interest in being selected for participation in this program through a request for proposals. These proposals would include a business plan with such outlines as: a financial management plan, a long-term marketing plan, sources of investment capital, technical support, etc. The community groups who were selected would be eligible to receive financial assistance of $ 15,000 to move into the start-up phase which included: incorporation, the development of bylaws, an offering statement to investors, registration, etc." (Library-derived description)
Description
item.page.type
Thesis