Chip Martin | Sun Media

Federal funding of $300,000 announced yesterday will help a Middlesex County agency survive another year to help small businesses survive.

The Community Futures Development Corp. of Middlesex County will use the money for core funding, general manager Cara Finn said.

The money comes at an important time as the seven-year-old agency focuses on trying to help county businesses deal with the economic downturn, she said.

"It's absolutely crucial at this time," Finn said.

Along with offering no-fee business consulting, the agency provides loans of up to $150,000 to help new or existing businesses in Middlesex.

"We are seeing an incredible increasing demand for our consulting and our lending services right now," Finn said.

The Middlesex agency is one of 260 such offices across Canada and one of more than 60 in Ontario.

Funding to sustain the agency was announced yesterday in Dorchester by Joe Preston, the Conservative MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London.

Finn said additional programs such as Main Street Middlesex are funded by partners such as Middlesex County, which is reconsidering funding cuts that would have put the program in jeopardy.

County council will look at a $70,000 contribution at its March 24 budget session.

The program helps spruce up main streets in small communities and has been hailed as a boost to local merchants.

Chip Martin is a Free Press reporter.