Elliot Lake and district small businesses that don’t currently sell online or don’t even have a website have two months to sign up to take their business digital and receive online marketing services for free.
Through the Golden Voices Reconnecting & Rebuilding Project, the DiversityCanada Foundation, an Elliot Lake non-profit, aims to help local businesses grow online and strengthen ties with local senior shoppers.
“Since the pandemic, it’s been clear that the way forward for consumers and businesses is online,” said Celia Sankar, DiversityCanada's executive director.
The project accesses federal funding that can provide each business up to $2,400 to set up or expand their website and conduct online marketing to increase their sales. That federal program will stop taking applications on Sept. 30.
“Originally, the application deadline was March 2025 but it’s been shortened,” Sankar said. “We’ve seen this happen in other government programs and it led to a surge in applications that caused those programs to close even earlier than the shortened deadline. So there’s a real urgency for local businesses to sign up right away to ensure they don’t miss this opportunity.”
DiversityCanada will host an online information session about the project on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. Interested businesses can register to attend the webinar at https://LocalBiz.GoldenVoices.com/webinar.
Whether they already have an e-commerce site or don’t even have an email address, the project will help them access tools and services they need to grow their business, Sankar said. That could include a retail shop starting to build an email list for marketing or a handyman setting up an online calendar to book appointments for estimates.
“We’ll be with them every step of the way, from helping them understand the application process right up to implementing their digital adoption plan and providing free online marketing services up to June 2025,” she added.
Golden Voices is the seniors-focused division of the DiversityCanada Foundation, which was established in Elliot Lake in 2004 to help engender a fairer and more harmonious world.
On the consumer side, the Golden Voices Reconnecting & Rebuilding Project will work directly with seniors to help them get online with training and devices, and to raise awareness about supports available to make internet service affordable. The aim is to help seniors navigate the world of e-commerce so they can enjoy the convenience and savings it offers while staying safe online.
While giant online retailers may often have an unfair price advantage, the project seeks to curb the hemorrhaging of money from the local economy by strengthening ties between local businesses and local senior shoppers, Sankar said.
“We’re a tiny, isolated community in the middle of the forest,” she said, “and this project amplifies the fact that there’s a clear link between the success of local businesses and the quality of life residents can enjoy.”
For every business that signs up, DiversityCanada will donate $100 in the name of that company to the Jamie and Jo-Ann Armstrong Centennial Arena Repair Fundraising Challenge.
Elliot Lake's ice rink has been closed since September 2023 and DiversityCanada is working towards a goal of donating $10,000 to help rebuild it.
Under the project, the organization also plans to sponsor regular recreational ice time for seniors, and swimming times for seniors when the Ruben Yli-Juuti Municipal Pool reopens.
“Participating businesses will be provided with online badges and in-store decals showing their involvement in the project,” Sankar said. “So both online and offline, local consumers will have tangible reminders that when they shop local, it strengthens our community and everybody benefits.”
Businesses that want to learn more ahead of the information session or who can't attend the webinar can book an appointment to speak with DiversityCanada's business development officer Christopher Elliott at https://Localbiz.GoldenVoices.com or by calling 705-261-1624.
