📢 Social media campaign closing, FrontFundr strong Q1 results & BetaKit feature

🔔 Your campaign updates feed

📱Gander Social is closing Jan 30th, 2026!

Gander Social has extended their campaign and will now close on January 30. Investors should ideally complete their applications, paperwork, and payment by the deadline. A short grace period will follow for final paperwork, but no new applications will be accepted. Gander Social thanked supporters and noted that a final update will be shared after the campaign closes.

Invest in Gander Social | $1.9M Raised | 130% of target

🔔 Alumni updates

🔋 RheEnergise announced that its first UK long-duration energy storage project has reached full power. This milestone validates its High-Density Hydro technology and reinforces the role of long-duration storage as a critical enabler of renewable energy and net-zero goals.

🥂Drink Glimmer Wine announced to have officially closed their recent funding round. The company plans to build on this momentum as it prepares for future, broader fundraising rounds and continues developing its premium de-alcoholized sparkling wine offering.

💪VEGAIN Nutrition is opening its new community space, The Grind by VEGAIN Nutrition, in Vancouver. The grand opening on January 31 will feature coffee, SURGE on tap, giveaways, and free smoothies for the first 100 guests. RSVP here.

📝 From Our Desk

FrontFundr starts FY2026 strong, driving Canadian startup growth

Canada’s startups need more than ideas, they need access to capital. In Q1 FY2026, FrontFundr surpassed revenue targets with $500K+, added 6,000+ new users, and processed $21M+ in investments from nearly 3,000 deals.

Community-driven campaigns are driving growth. Gander Social raised nearly $2M from 2,500 Canadians, marking one of FrontFundr’s highest investor participations ever, while Edison Motors secured another $1.3M this quarter, bringing their raise to $12M of their $15M target. These campaigns show how Canadians can directly support innovative companies while sharing in their success. With full provincial coverage and new AI-powered support, FrontFundr is making private market investing accessible coast to coast. 

CEO Peter-Paul Van Hoeken emphasizes: “With accelerating investor participation, full provincial coverage, and the ability to launch and scale category-defining campaigns, we are exceptionally well-positioned for our next phase of growth.”

Read the full press release →

🤔 What’s on our minds

Canada expands GST Rebate into a bigger benefit for families

The federal government has announced a major expansion of the GST Credit, named the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, aimed at giving more support to families grappling with rising living costs. The change is part of a new suite of affordability measures unveiled by Prime Minister Mark Carney on January 26. 

At its core, the GST Credit is a quarterly payment targeted at low‑ and modest‑income Canadians. It will be boosted by 25 % over the next five years, starting in July 2026. In addition, the government will issue a one‑time top‑up payment this year equivalent to 50 % of the credit, designed to deliver immediate relief. 

Under the new benefit:

• A family of four could receive up to roughly $1,890 this year, and around $1,400 annually for the next four years.

• An individual could receive about $950 this year and about $700 per year thereafter. 

More than 12 million Canadians are expected to be eligible for the expanded benefit, which reflects a direct effort to put more money into people’s pockets while food prices and everyday costs continue to outpace overall inflation. 

📊 Economic impact

The expanded GST benefit will likely boost consumer spending in the short term, especially on groceries and other essentials, giving a modest lift to retail and local businesses. While it won’t drastically move Canada’s GDP, it eases household financial pressure and could support economic activity through increased discretionary spending, which is a targeted, timely nudge for Canadian families.

🌐 Broader context

This GST expansion is part of a broader set of affordability policies that also include support for supply chain resilience, funding for food banks, and incentives for local food production, all aimed at addressing cost pressures on households.

Whether you see this change as meaningful relief or a stopgap, it represents one of the largest boosts to a core tax credit in recent years, and signals a shift toward more direct cash support for Canadian families.

 🌐 Community Responses

We received an overwhelming number of responses from the FrontFundr community on last week’s newsletter about Mark Carney’s speech. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

We’re excited to highlight the community’s sentiments and give you a glimpse of what everyone is thinking.

🎙️ Hear from our founder feature

VEGAIN: Plant-based sports nutrition, perfectedwith Melissa L'Heureux-Haché and Edan Wolk

On a breakthrough moment: Co-founder Edan experienced firsthand the struggles of being an Elite Athlete who was severely lactose intolerant. I would feel terrible after drinking Whey protein shakes, not realizing my body was rejecting it. That moment sparked a realization: 75% of the global population is lactose intolerant, yet whey protein dominates the market. We set out to create a product that works for everybody, without compromise.

On growth milestones: We saw a massive gap in the market, no vegan brand was truly serving high-performance athletes. By creating products that are powerful, clean, and gender-neutral, we’ve built a brand that resonates far beyond the vegan community. After seeing strong initial demand from the building community, VEGAIN is now backed by Pro UFC fighters, Olympians, and the Vancouver Warriors Pro Lacrosse team.

On what sets us apart: Our innovation, Surge, is a game-changer. A clear, refreshing protein drink instead of the usual heavy shake. It’s set to revolutionize sports nutrition and beyond, making protein more accessible in grocery and convenience stores.

🎧 Want to listen to the full episode?

Spotify / YouTube / Apple

📌 FrontFundr Bulletin

📰 BetaKit features FrontFundr’s breakout quarter 

FrontFundr was featured in BetaKit this week following a breakout quarter fueled in part by the success of Gander Social. The coverage highlights a broader challenge in Canada’s innovation economy: many promising companies don’t struggle because of weak ideas, but because access to growth capital is limited.

FrontFundr is giving everyday investors access to private markets can help drive productivity, innovation, and long-term economic growth, while keeping more ownership in Canadian hands.