The written assessment
Which programs appear genuinely open to you, which are not and why, and what the gates are.
The step after a free call
The Discovery Package
After a free 20-minute call, if there is something worth checking, the next step is the Discovery Package: $500 + GST, flat, for a written finding on which programs appear genuinely open to you, which are not and why, before anything is written. It is an eligibility and funding-strategy assessment.
What it tests
Eligibility first, writing second.
The Discovery Package tests whether a program is open to you, not whether your project is good. Seven tests, each with one example from a funder's own page.
- Which legal test applies
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Being a First Nation and being a section 35 rights holder are not the same test. Two of the largest programs we track, the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program and NRCan's Indigenous Forestry Initiative, turn on the section 35 test. We do not assess anyone's rights.
Checked September 2026
- Where you are
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Alberta's Aboriginal Business Investment Fund is open to Indigenous communities in Alberta, and to Indigenous community-owned corporate entities where Indigenous communities own and control 51 per cent or more.
Checked September 2026
- What kind of entity you are
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Sole proprietors and individual entrepreneurs cannot apply to three of the largest programs we track: Alberta's ABIF, BC's First Nations Equity Financing Program and the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program. That is a rule about those three, not a general rule about incorporation.
Checked September 2026
- Whether there is an application at all
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Some programs have no ordinary application door. The Strategic Partnerships Initiative cannot be applied to directly; Access to Capital is applied for through a local institution, not ISC; the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program takes a full application only by invitation after an expression of interest; and Access to Business Opportunities starts with a pitch and an invitation.
Checked September 2026
- Whether it is a grant or debt
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The BDC Indigenous Entrepreneur Loan, the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program and BC's First Nations Equity Financing Program are debt or debt-backed, not grants.
Checked September 2026
- How much it covers, and the matching money you bring
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Cost shares vary by program: for example, up to 100 per cent of eligible costs under Alberta's ABIF, and 30 to 40 per cent for equity gap financing under ISC's Community Opportunity Readiness Program. Matching money can be a condition too: that program requires the applicant to put in at least 10 per cent cash and show other funding sources.
Checked September 2026
- Whether the money will still be there
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Several programs run until the money is committed rather than to a fixed date, including the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program and BC's First Nations Equity Financing Program. A published close date is a ceiling, not a plan.
Checked September 2026
Much of the work is ruling programs out. Every program rule in the assessment is read from the funder's own page and dated with when it was last checked.
What you receive
The review meeting
One hour, with Brendan, to go through the assessment.
A straight answer if the answer is no
If nothing is worth applying for, the assessment says so. That is a real outcome, and you have spent $500 + GST rather than thousands finding out.
An eligibility finding is complete when it is written. It does not depend on a funder, a committee or a decision that may never come.
What it does not include
- An application. If something is worth applying for, the application work is scoped and quoted in writing afterwards, before anything starts.
- Submitting, or contact with a funder. We never press submit, never contact a funder or any government body on your behalf, never appear as your contact on a form, never arrange a meeting with a public office holder, and never answer a funder's post-submission questions directly.
- A promise about the decision. Funding decisions rest entirely with the funder, on criteria and priorities outside our control. We have no influence over any funding decision; we read the funder's own page, carefully, and report what it says.
- Odds. We will not put a probability on your application.
- Bookkeeping, audit, assurance, tax filing or legal advice. Reeve Business Solutions Inc. is not a CPA firm and gives no tax, legal, assurance or investment advice. Income tax filing is referred to an independent CPA, who bills you directly.
- A claim that our fee is fundable. We do not claim that our own fee is fundable under any program.
Why the Discovery Package is paid
The Discovery Package is the default first paid piece of work on any grant engagement. An eligibility finding is complete when it is written: it does not depend on a funder, a committee or a decision that may never come.
If nothing is worth applying for, the assessment says so, and you have spent $500 + GST rather than thousands finding out.
Is this for you?
A good fit if
- You are a Nation-owned or development corporation in British Columbia or Alberta with a capital project, or a BC First Nations administration with a capacity or emergency-preparedness need.
- You have been told to go after a program and are not sure you can apply.
- You want a written answer before you pay for writing.
Probably not worth it if
- You want someone else to submit for you, or to be your contact with a funder.
- You want a success-fee arrangement.
- You want a probability.
What happens after you book
| Step | What happens | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A free 20-minute call. If there is something worth checking, the next step is the Discovery Package. | Both |
| 2 | You complete the intake form. | You |
| 3 | You sign an NDA. | You |
| 4 | You pay the invoice, issued from Xero and paid through Stripe. | You |
| 5 | About five hours of work against the funders' own program pages. | Us |
| 6 | The written assessment. | Us |
| 7 | A one-hour review meeting to go through it. | Both |
| 8 | If application work is worth doing, it is scoped and quoted in writing before anything starts. | Us |
Work begins after steps 2 to 4 are all complete.
What the intake asks
The intake form is where the eligibility questions are asked once, at the start, instead of being discovered halfway through drafting.
It asks who on your side would press submit, receive the funder's mail and answer the funder's questions if an application is ever written.
It also asks how you heard about us; the answer is used only to learn whether anything we publish is worth publishing. Please answer "not sure" wherever it is true. A wrong answer costs more than a missing one.
Please do not send
A Social Insurance Number, bank or card numbers, business or registration numbers, a status card number, passwords or identity documents. None is needed to assess eligibility, and we keep only a reference to where such a document sits, never the number.
If it goes further
How we chargeRates are quoted in writing after a free 20-minute call and before any work starts. The one published price is the Discovery Package: $500 + GST, flat.
Who you are dealing with
Reeve Business Solutions Inc. is a Canadian corporation incorporated in British Columbia, led by Brendan Reeve, Owner and Founder, who leads every engagement.
Book a free 20-minute call
[email protected]
777 Hornby Street, Suite 600, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1S4
Questions
What if I qualify for nothing?
Then the assessment says so. That is a real outcome, and you have spent $500 + GST rather than thousands finding out.
Does the package include the writing quote?
No. If application work is worth doing, it is scoped and quoted in writing afterwards, before anything starts.
Who submits the application?
You always do, in your own name. We never press submit and never contact a funder or any government body on your behalf.
How do I pay?
The invoice is issued from Xero and paid through Stripe, before work begins.
The first step
Start with a free 20-minute call.
After a free 20-minute call, if there is something worth checking, the next step is the Discovery Package: $500 + GST, flat. You complete the intake form, sign the agreement and pay the invoice, and the work begins.
Or email [email protected].
We cannot and do not guarantee that any application will be approved or that any funding will be received. Funding decisions rest entirely with the funder, on criteria and priorities outside our control.