December 23, 2020
Holiday Hours & New Office Announcement
The BIA office will be closed from December 24 onwards and will be re-opening in our new location on January 4, 2021.
We are excited to announce that the BIA office is relocating to the east storefront of the Historic Regent Theatre! We are thrilled to have a Main Street presence and to partner with this awesome organization!
November 30th, 2020
Feed The Meter
December 1st - 31st
FREE PARKING IN PICTON DEC 1 2020 - MARCH 31 2021
Free parking in Picton starts tomorrow, but we encourage you to Feed the Meter in the month of December in support of the
Food For Learning program! All money collected from Picton parking meters will directly benefit Food for Learning programs in Prince Edward County.
NOW MORE THAN EVER, Food for Learning programs are needed in local schools.
Each school day, 4000 students across Hastings and Prince Edward counties are provided with healthy meals and snacks, including some students who are learning from home.
Because of COVID-19, student nutrition programs needed to be redesigned to ensure the safety of all students and staff. This has resulted in a significant increase in costs.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
“Gives me energy, teaches me about nutrition, and gives me something to look forward to” – Grade 10 student
For more information please check out this link http://www.hpelearningfoundation.com/
For Immediate Release
Picton BIA Launches Digital Service Squad to Help Small Businesses Adopt Online Technologies
Receives $20,000 Digital Main Street Grant
November 18, 2020: Picton, ON. In partnership with Prince Edward County, the Picton Business Improvement Area (BIA) has received a $20,000 grant from Digital Main Street (DMS) Ontario for a Digital Service Squad (DSS) to help small downtown businesses use digital technologies to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Funding for the grant is provided by the federal program FedDev Ontario. The squad members will begin visiting small businesses in communities across Prince Edward County this month.
“As a proud member of the Prince Edward County business community for more than nine years,” said Penny Morris, Chair of the Picton BIA Board of Management, “I know that the opportunity offered through the expanded Digital Main Street program has enormous potential, especially for small businesses that do not have an online presence.”
Established in 2018, Digital Main Street Ontario was recently extended thanks to an investment of $42.5 million from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and $7.45 million from the Ontario Ministry for Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (MEDJCT). The nearly $50-million investment will help small businesses across Ontario to pivot their operations to include online business models, regain lost revenue and become more resilient and competitive as the economy recovers. The Ontario BIA Association administers the DMS grant program to Ontario’s main street small businesses.
“Ontario’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and the keystone of our economic recovery,” said the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “That is why we have invested in Digital Main Street to help these enterprises adapt to doing business in a digital world, and take advantage of the record number of people shopping online. Congratulations to Picton and Prince Edward County on the launch of your Digital Service Squad. The work you’re doing with small businesses in your community will help keep our main streets vibrant, support good, local jobs and help our economy come back strong.”
Digital Service Squads are fundamental to Digital Main Street’s design and success, with trained specialists who meet with small businesses, at no cost, to help them improve their online presence. The squads assist with a number of activities, including developing a Google My Business profile, enhancing their social media presence and providing support for basic website and e-commerce set-up. Squads will also assist qualified small businesses through the application process for a $2,500 Digital Transformation Grant, which includes an online assessment, online training modules and the development of a Digital Transformation Plan (DTP).
“The COVID-19 pandemic hit Ontario’s main streets hard, so Digital Main Street is needed more than ever,” said Kay Matthews, Executive Director of OBIAA. “We know that businesses that participated in Digital Main Street last year were better able to cope when the pandemic hit, and we’re excited that FedDev Ontario and Ontario are providing the funding to extend this important program to help businesses in communities in Picton and across Prince Edward County.”
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ABOUT The Picton BIA
Picton was established as a Business Improvement Area by a group of volunteers in 1991. The BIA Board of Directors, comprised of Picton Business Owners, oversees the administration of the BIA budget, which is funded by levied commercial property taxes in the town of Picton. The BIA assists member businesses with advocacy, marketing support, special events, and streetscape enhancement.
The Picton BIA has been instrumental in the 2016 Downtown Revitalization project; the beautification of Main Street through the addition of flower baskets and holiday décor; the building of public washrooms in Benson Park; and countless other projects that have directly impacted the economic prosperity of Picton.
ABOUT OBIAA
OBIAA is the network that represents unique and vibrant BIAs across Ontario. The Association supports and advocates on behalf of its members through the building and nurturing of strong relationships and partnerships. OBIAA is a leader in the development and sharing of information, tools, resources and best practices, and is the ONE voice on common issues.
ABOUT Digital Main Street
Digital Main Street is an innovative program designed to help main street small businesses achieve digital transformation. The program is built around an online learning platform, structured training programs, grants and Digital Service Squads teams of street-level experts that help main street small businesses manage and grow their operations through technology adoption. The program was originally created in 2016 by the Toronto Association of BIAs (TABIA) and a group of strategic partners including Google, MasterCard, Microsoft, and Shopify. For more information, please visit digitalmainstreet.ca.
ABOUT Digital Main Street Ontario
Digital Main Street was expanded across all of Ontario in 2018 with funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through the $38 million Main Street Revitalization Initiative. It has been further extended through funding from FedDev Ontario and the Ontario Ministry for Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (MEDJCT). The new round of funding includes $42.5 million from the Government of Canada’s Regional Relief and Recovery Fund, a national recovery initiative delivered by Canada’s regional development agencies. With $7.45 million from Ontario, this combined federal and provincial project will strengthen Ontario’s economic capacity for innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration, and will promote the development of a strong and diversified Ontario economy. For more information, please visit digitalmainstreet.ca/ontariogrants
Media Contact:
Sarah Doiron
Manager, Picton BIA
613-476-7901 x211
info@experiencepicton.com