A number of funding opportunities have come across our desk in recent days and are well worth sharing.

The Ontario Catapult Microloan Fund for Social Enterprises has a fast approaching deadline (July 12). This program is designed to enable “social entrepreneurs and innovators to turn their ideas into world-changing impact by supporting promising early stage social enterprises with access to capital and [Centre for Social Innovation’s] existing programming and services.” Loans of up to $25,000 will be available to small (under 25 employees) social enterprises in Ontario. Fill out this pre-screening survey to determine if you are eligible for one of the loans. The inconvenience of the tight deadline is outweighed by the fact that, depending on your eligibility, the same application may qualify you for three other funding opportunities.

Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure has launched its Places to Grow Implementation program for 2013-14.  The fund is meant to support research, capacity building and public education in the area of growth planning. Eligible applicants include academic institutions, sector/professional organizations, non-governmental/not-for-profit organizations and municipalities / administrative organizations. There is no deadline associated with this fund. (Au francais)

Federal and provincial governments have partnered up to fund Growing Forward 2 – Helping You Reach Your Goals. This program will support “strategic initiatives” that focus on innovation, competitiveness and market development. Eligible applications will come from organizations and collaborations, and there are three upcoming deadlines – September 5, October 24, and December 12, 2013. You can find more information at the Agricultural Adaptation Council’s page (with an excellent breakdown of eligibility and application process) or at the Growing Forward 2 portal.