London Community Foundation grants $178,450 to local women’s organizations through the Fund for Gender Equality

London Community Foundation grants $178,450 to local women’s organizations through the Fund for Gender Equality

London Community Foundation is announcing grants totalling $178,450 to six local organizations working to support women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse individuals working towards a future grounded in equity, inclusion and justice. The Fund for Gender Equality is part of a partnership with Community Foundations of Canada, funded through the Government of Canada. London Community Foundation is one of 21 local community foundations across Canada that are taking part. In total, these community foundations are granting $3.5 million towards the women’s movement.

“We are thrilled to support these six organizations who are working on the ground to advance gender equality in our community,” said Lori Runciman, Director of Grants, London Community Foundation. “Our investment in their work is key to supporting women who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. We can work towards a just recovery by tackling systemic issues like racism, wage inequality, and gender-based violence. Along with the other 20 participating community foundations, we are committed to lasting systems-change in philanthropy, by writing gender equality into our investment practices and organizational policies. As the year progresses, we look forward to sharing more about this journey.”

London Community Foundation has funded organizations at the “heart” of the women’s movement, with a focus on those that have demonstrated a long-term commitment to empowering women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people through their mission, activities, or partnerships. The grants span a variety of purposes, including efforts to pilot new initiatives, to address long-standing community needs, or to support a just recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The initiatives themselves may touch on a wide range of areas that are affected by gender equality, including food insecurity, income inequality, racial injustice, domestic violence, and many more. In particular, the Fund prioritizes initiatives that are ‘self-led’—those that are led by the same groups that they focus on serving.

The following local organizations and projects were supported through the Fund:

Women & Politics with Urban League of London
Creating a More Equitable London through Civic and Political Participation and Leadership – $34,000
Creating opportunities for diverse women, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people to develop stronger civic engagement abilities and leadership capacity to increase representation in government and other community organizations.

London Abused Women's Centre
Survivors Speaking Out for Gender Equality – $34,000
Women and girls with lived experience of woman abuse/intimate partner violence, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and/or sex trafficking will be supported as a group to develop their capacities to speak out to end male violence against women and girls - as an essential requirement for gender equality – through sharing their stories, taking social action including developing an awareness campaign for social media, and as a survivors’ advisory group to work with LAWC to achieve gender equality.

Brescia University College
Food Security and Gender: Closing the Gap – $38,450
With collaboration from the London Food Bank, Brescia University College is planning and cultivating a community garden on Brescia’s campus, which incorporates food distribution and nutrition education networks to best serve women in the City of London.

Next Chapter Career with Pathways Skill Development and Placement Centre
Careers for Mid+ Women – $40,000
Next Chapter Career was created for women by women and will provide education and employment services for middle-to-late-career women whom, despite being well-educated and experienced, face significant barriers to employment.

Safe Space London with Anova: A Future Without Violence
Capacity Development Coordinator – $25,954
Implementation of a Capacity Development Coordinator to increase proficiency in the provision of existing services, and to coordinate the implementation of additional services identified by our community members as life affirming and health enhancing.

Deshkan Zii Bi Indigenous Women's Association with CMHA Middlesex - My Sisters' Place
Ribbon Shirt Making Workshops – $6,046
A collaborative workshop series to create traditional Haudenosaunee ribbon shirts, a symbol of surviving cultural genocide, made with the social roles of Iroquois women teachings to empower women and girls.

“From coast to coast to coast, feminist organizations have a long and rich history of mobilization to advance gender equality in our country,” said Andrea Dicks, Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) President. “As budgets get re-allocated to public health and economic programs in the wake of the pandemic, these organizations are most at risk of losing funding. At CFC our purpose is to ‘relentlessly pursue a future where everyone belongs. To create communities of true belonging and recover from this pandemic, we need to advance gender equality across the country. We’re grateful for the financial support from the Government of Canada and the leadership of London Community Foundation who is taking part in these efforts.” 

To learn more about the Fund for Gender Equality visit http://www.lcf.on.ca/equalityfund