I can see how living in an isolated small town would have a big effect on making connections. Have you thought of things like Kickstarter, where you can write a proposal and get crowdfunded. If other people think it's cool, they will fund it. Sounds like that might fit you.

I'm not sure which can or can't be used in Canada, but there are other similar sites to Kickstarter. Here are some links about them to get you started if you are interested:

The Best Sites to Raise Money and Get Your Ideas Off the Ground

http://mashable.com/2012/12/06/kicks...89e4026300340e

Kickstarter Similar Sites | 50 Websites Like Kickstarter.com - SimilarSiteSearch.com

And here's a sampling of recent Kickstarter successes, to give you a flavour of what they do:

http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012