How to Fund Your Share of a Government Grant While You Wait for the Payout
Most cost-shared programs pay 50% of eligible costs or less, so your business funds the rest. When the program pays by reimbursement, you also carry the full cost until your claim is paid. You can cover both with cash, your bank, a government-backed loan, or private financing sized to your own revenue, never to the grant.
Start an applicationBy Chady Zahri, Chief Executive Officer · Updated October 8, 2026
Voxen insight
The grant letter is rarely what stalls a project. The months between paying the supplier and receiving the program's payment are. Plan how you will fund your share, and the wait, before you sign the purchase order, while your bank statements still look the way they do today.
How much of a grant-funded project you pay yourself
A grant rarely covers the whole project. The programs Canadian and Quebec businesses use most are cost-shared: the program pays a percentage of eligible costs, and the business pays everything else, including any cost the program does not accept. The table below shows the published shares for programs that are open as of October 8, 2026. Each figure links to the program's own page.
| Program | What the program can pay | What your business funds | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional Tariff Response Initiative, liquidity stream | Up to 50% of costs such as wages, rent and utilities, up to $2M | At least 50% | ISED |
| ESSOR, stream 1 (Quebec) | 50% of a feasibility study or digital plan, within set caps | 50% | Investissement Québec |
| Local investment funds, FLI (Quebec) | A loan of no more than 50% of eligible costs | At least 50%, from other sources | Québec.ca |
| FedDev Ontario contributions | Normally up to 50% of project costs, repayable without interest | Normally at least 50% | FedDev Ontario |
| Hydro-Québec Efficient Solutions | Part of eligible energy-efficiency costs | At least 10% of eligible costs | Hydro-Québec guide |
Checked on 2026-10-08. Shares are the maximums each program publishes; your agreement sets the real figure.
Why the wait matters more than the percentage
The share is only half the problem. When a program pays by reimbursement, you buy the equipment, pay the consultant or run the payroll first, then file a claim with proof of payment. Until that claim is paid, your business carries 100% of the cost, not 50%. The payment schedule is written in each agreement, so read it before you commit to a supplier. The table below shows the arithmetic for a program that pays half.
| Eligible project cost | Program share at 50% | Your share | Cash out before a reimbursement arrives |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| $250,000 | $125,000 | $125,000 | $250,000 |
| $500,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 |
Illustration only: a program paying 50% by reimbursement after the full cost is spent. Programs that pay in instalments shorten the gap.
Four ways to pay for your share of the project
Pick the source by what the money pays for, not by what is fastest to get.
Check the program's stacking rule before you choose. ESSOR's stream 2, for example, caps combined government aid at 50% of the project, so your share cannot simply be a second grant.
- Cash on hand. The cheapest source, as long as spending it does not leave payroll and suppliers short while you wait for the program.
- Your bank. An operating line or a term loan from the bank you already use is usually the lowest-cost option for a business with two clean years of statements.
- A government-backed bank loan. The Canada Small Business Financing Program lets a bank lend up to $1.15M per borrower, including up to $500K for equipment and leasehold improvements, to businesses with $10M or less in revenue.
- Private financing. Equipment financing for the equipment part of the project, and a line of credit or term loan for the rest, sized on your revenue and bank activity.
What a grant does not do for a financing file
A grant decision is good news, but it is not collateral, and it does not change how a lender reads your business. Financing for your share is assessed on your own revenue, bank statements and existing debt, the same as any other file. Be wary of anyone who says otherwise, or who promises a grant. The Competition Bureau's warning is blunt: "No one can guarantee government grants or loans."
Where Voxen fits, and where it does not
Voxen arranges financing for the part of the project your business pays, and for the months your business carries the cost. The file is built on your revenue and bank statements, never on the grant, and Voxen does not lend or advance against a grant payment. Voxen does not prepare grant applications either; when you need help with one, we point you to the program's own advisors. If your bank or a government-backed loan will fund your share, that is usually the cheaper route, and we will say so. Start with the grants hub to see which programs fit, then come back for the financing.
What to do next
Get the project quotes and the program's payment schedule in writing first. Then see what the program covers and apply with Voxen for the part your business pays. The file is sized on your revenue, not on the grant.
Frequently asked questions
Can I borrow against a grant I have been awarded?
Not through Voxen. Voxen does not lend or advance against a grant payment, and a grant decision is not collateral. Financing for your share is sized on your business's own revenue and bank activity. Whether a program payment can be assigned to anyone is set by the program's agreement, so ask the program directly.
Does a program pay before or after I spend the money?
It depends on the program, and it is written in your agreement. If the program pays on claims for costs already incurred, you carry the full cost until the claim is paid. Read the payment schedule before you commit to suppliers.
Can my share come from another government program?
Sometimes, but most programs limit stacking. ESSOR's stream 2, for example, caps combined government aid at 50% of the project. Check each program's stacking rule with the program before you count on two of them.
Does Voxen help write grant applications?
No. Voxen does not prepare grant applications. We point you to the program's own advisors, and we arrange financing for the share of the project your business pays.
What does Voxen need to look at my share of the project?
Your recent business bank statements, the quotes or budget for the project, and the program's terms if you have them. The decision is made on your revenue and existing obligations, not on the grant.
Related
- Chady Zahri — Chief Executive Officer
- Funding while you wait for a program
- Find the programs that fit your business
- Canada Small Business Financing Program
- Equipment financing
- Business line of credit
- Documents to have ready
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