Application process for Indigenous capacity funding to participate in the competitive process to acquire the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC)

Eligible Indigenous organizations are invited to apply for capacity funding (contributions funding) from November 4, 2024 to January 8, 2025 to support their participation in the request for proposals (RFP) process to acquire the FFMC.

Who is eligible

Eligible recipients are Indigenous organizations based in Canada:

• an Indigenous community, band or settlement
• a district council, chiefs’ council or tribal council
• an Indigenous association, organization or society
• an Indigenous fisheries:
  • commission
  • council
  • authority
  • board
• a cooperative of fish harvesters where the majority of members are Indigenous
• an Indigenous economic:
  • institution
  • organization
  • corporation
  • co-operative
• a partnership or aggregation of Indigenous groups

What you need to know before you apply

To qualify for capacity funding, you must:

1. declare in writing that you intend to prepare a bid to acquire the FFMC in response to DFO's RFP, and that you intend to submit an Initial Letter of Intent as required by the RFP;
2. use the funds to prepare an Initial Letter of Intent.

You will be required to describe in your application the activities, timelines, and proposed budget for the preparation of an Initial Letter of Intent.

Eligible costs

Eligible costs to prepare an Initial Letter of Intent include:

• professional and specialized services;
• travel, including accommodation, meals, and allowances, based on National Joint Council’s Travel Directive;
• materials and supplies;
• meeting fees;
• rental of office space, a room, set of rooms, building, and/or facilities;
• insurance related to the activity(ies);
• telecommunications, communications/network, data communication, image/video communications services;
• administrative overhead up to 10% of eligible costs of an activity(ies) (not to be applied to agreements for support of an organization’s ongoing operations); and
• the incremental amount of an eligible cost, such as utilities, that is already incurred by the organization's operations but increases due to the activity(ies) (not to be applied to agreements for support of an organization’s ongoing operations).

Application process

Eligible Indigenous organizations may submit an application for up to $100,000 in capacity funding to assist in the preparation of an Initial Letter of Intent, as required in the RFP.

The Initial Letter of Intent will be your organization’s non-binding statement of interest in acquiring the FFMC. The type of information you may be expected to provide in the Initial Letter of Intent may include information about your organization, strategic partnerships, your reasons for interest in acquiring the FFMC, your assessment of enterprise value for the FFMC,  your future intentions regarding the FFMC's business operations, your intended sources of capital, and other relevant information that will be described more fully in the RFP.

The application form for capacity funding can be requested by sending an email to: DFO.freshwater-eaudouce.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca. Completed applications should be emailed to the same email address. Applications will be accepted from November 4, 2024 to January 8, 2025 and will be considered based on available funding. Successful applicants will be notified and required to enter into a Contribution Agreement with DFO.

Evaluation of funding applications

Following submission of an application, DFO will evaluate the application based on the following elements which must be submitted as part of the application process (as requested in the application form):

• eligibility of the organization, including legal capacity to enter into a Contribution Agreement with DFO (DFO reserves right to request documentation);
• eligible costs;
• written declaration of the organization’s intent to prepare a bid to acquire the FFMC in response to DFO's request for proposals (RFP), and intent to submit an Initial Letter of Intent as required by the RFP;
• an expression of financial need for bid preparation;
• provision of a budget breakdown and proposed activities and timelines for preparing an Initial Letter of Intent;
• provision of a breakdown of month-to-month cashflow requirements for preparing the Initial Letter of Intent.

Preference may be given to applicants that demonstrate experience in managing a business or prior experience in commercial freshwater fisheries, and to those within the existing FFMC operating area.

Reporting requirements

Eligible Indigenous organizations that receive capacity funding to prepare an Initial Letter of Intent will be required to provide a report, accounting for the use of the funds, as per the terms of the Contribution Agreement.