The Community Foundation is proud to be one of 21 participating community foundations across Canada taking part in the Fund for Gender Equality in Canada, a collaboration between Community Foundations of Canada and the Equality Fund which is supported by the Government of 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.
Announcing the recipients of Phase Two grants from the Fund for Gender Equality!
In 2023, a total of $80,000 was granted to organizations at the heart of the gender equality movement in the South Okanagan Similkameen:
IndigenEYEZ was awarded $50,000 for their 13 Moons Indigenous Women+ Leadership Program. The program provides leadership development for Indigenous women+ that reclaims the powerful, united roles they held before the disruptions of colonization and builds a nourishing and rebalanced circle of women+. Goals for the program include strengthening the capacity of Indigenous women+ for leadership and changemaking, and developing self-expression and liberating the authentic voices of Indigenous women+ in our region.
South Okanagan Women in Need Society (SOWINS) was awarded $30,000 for their “Survive to Thrive” Supported Employment Program. This pilot program will assist women that have experienced violence or abuse to move from a period of survival to thriving through economic independence. The program will offer a safe and supportive environment where women can explore their strengths and interests, heal from the trauma they have experienced, and find a natural fit between their strengths and experiences and employment in the community.
Scroll down to read about recipients of Fund for Gender Equality grants in previous phases of the program:
Pilot Phase: 2019 Fund for Gender Equality Recipients
IndigenEYEZ – $10,000: This multi-phase project begins with an invitational think tank to identify the needs of emerging Indigenous women leaders in the South Okanagan Similkameen and then builds a responsive program for subsequent delivery.
OneSky/Foundry Penticton – $7,571: Quality relationship and sex education programs aimed at supporting autonomy and inner strength while providing the opportunity to have peer led discussions to form the framework for additional programming around youth health and wellness.
SOICS – $7,571: Promoting gender equality by empowering immigrant women and building their capacity as leaders in the community. The program will provide safe spaces to voice opinions and form solutions to barriers immigrant women face to achieving gender equality.
Ooknakane Friendship Centre – $7,571: The main objective for this pilot project is to bring emotional, mental, physical and spiritual support to the women who have found themselves locked up with confusion, bewilderment and desperation. The goals are to make connections, give support and information to the women who are currently in remand and awaiting court appearances in the Okanagan.
Phase One: 2021 Fund for Gender Equality Recipients
IndigenEYEZ was awarded $40,000 for their Stepping Up Together program: Empowering Women Leaders in the South Okanagan. An Indigenous-led leadership program inclusive of ethnic and gender diversity with the goal of developing skills and supportive alliances among women, Two-Spirit, and gender diverse people to increase our capacity to act as leaders in the South Okanagan Similkameen.
South Okanagan Women in Need Society (SOWINS) was awarded $15,000 for the Explore Pre-Employment Program. Explore is a workshop-based pre-employment program for women who have experienced gender-based violence to help them achieve economic empowerment and financial security.
Foundry Penticton was awarded $25,000 to build a team-based approach to gender affirming care in the South Okanagan. Advancing the gender affirming model will promote health and positive development for a highly underserved population (trans and gender diverse youth aged 12 to 24), and by integrating primary care, mental health, peer support and social services, will also work towards eliminating health disparities, discrimination and stigma.
To learn more about the Fund for Gender Equality, click here or contact Kevin Ronaghan, our Grants Administrator at grants@cfso.net.
