The Oakville Community Foundation announced funding totalling $200,000 to seven charitable organizations that are leading initiatives to support women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse individuals working towards a future grounded in equity, inclusion and justice.
The following charitable organizations received funding for their continuing work in the gender equity space:
Big Brothers, Big Sisters, $30,000.00 – Girls Linking Our World (GLOW) and Healthy Education and Relationship Teaching (HEART)
Black Mentorship Inc., $20,000.00 – Moms Empowered
Halton Women’s Place, $40,000.00 – Decreasing Barriers
Home Suite Hope, $31,200.00 – Homeward Bound Halton
SAVIS (Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Services), $40,000.00 – Broaden Reach to Support Gender Based Violence
Shifra Homes, $10,000.00 – Residential Program
The Women’s Centre of Halton, $28,800.00 – Employ and Empower: 6-Week Employment Skills Series
The funding is through the Fund for Gender Equality and is part of a partnership with Community Foundations of Canada, funded through the Government of Canada. The Foundation is one of 21 local community foundations from coast to coast to coast that are taking part. In total, these community foundations are granting over $3.4M towards the gender equality movement.
Previous Rounds
As a first step in this five-year journey, the Oakville Community Foundation was 1 of 26 community foundations in the Pilot Fund for Gender Equality, which experimented with gender-lens grantmaking in late 2019 and early 2020. With a focus on initiatives that shifted power, built peace, and protected the planet, the Pilot Fund saw $50,000 granted to 5 local organizations that sought to advance gender equality at the community level.
The Women’s Centre of Halton
Women’s Empowerment Workshops
SAVIS (Sexual Assault & Violence Intervention Services)
Voice of Change, Advocacy & Leadership (VOCAL)
Oakville Public Library
Creating Gender Equity Through Education and Visibility
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Halton and Hamilton
Girls Linking Our Worlds (GLOW)
Sheridan College
Report on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Commission Event
In fall 2020, The Foundation continued its collaboration in a cohort of 21 community foundations which focused on shifting power through three core gender-lens activities: grantmaking, organizational change and investing. As part of this next cohort, The Foundation, through the Fund for Gender Equality, granted a total of $140,000 to 7 projects led by organizations at the heart of the women’s movement. As a participant in the initiative, The Foundation was required to make matching gender-lens investments which it did through a $250,000 investment in the Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Halton and Hamilton
Girls Linking Our Worlds (GLOW)
Black Mentorship Inc.
The Empowered Single Moms
Home Suite Hope
Homeward Bound Halton
Restorations Second Stage Homes
Growing Peer Support for Women Survivors of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation
SAVIS (Sexual Assault & Violence Intervention Services)
Reproductive Counselling Support
Shifra Homes
Residential Program
The Women’s Centre of Halton
Women’s Empowerment Workshops
More About the Fund for Gender Equality
In 2019, CFC became one of the founding partners of the Equality Fund, a groundbreaking collaboration that will deliver new momentum for women’s movements in Canada and around the world. As part of the collaboration, CFC and the Equality Fund have developed a five-year initiative to advance gender equality in Canada with support from the Government of Canada.
Over 5 years, this collaboration will make $8.2 million available to women-led and women-serving organizations across Canada. In 2022, the Fund will be hosted by participating community foundations who will make a total of $3.4M available to projects in their communities.
We know that investing in women is not just the right thing to do, it is a strategic choice. By funding women-led and women-serving organizations, we can deliver double the impact—support decent work for female staff at these nonprofits and support the programming that serves women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people.
