Pilot Fund for Gender Equality

CFSOS is please to announce the following projects were funded through the Pilot Fund for Gender Equality:

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- $7,571Promoting 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. 

As we move into 2020, communities across Canada and around the world are living a historic moment in the global fight for equality. Women’s organizations and movements in Canada and around the world are on the frontlines of change—holding the line, demanding equality and driving transformation. Building on this momentum, in 2019, Community Foundations of Canada (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.

Building on this commitment, Community Foundations of Canada and participating community foundations are developing a multi-year collaboration with the Equality Fund, with support from the Government of Canada. This collaborative effort will fund local initiatives and activities that will work to advance gender equality from coast to coast to coast, by engaging girls, women, trans* people, and other community members from across diverse lived experiences.

The Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen will distribute $25K to local organizations in grants between $5,000 – up to $25,000 for projects working to advance gender equality. The grants will be issued to eligible local projects and the recipient organization(s) must spend the full grant by March 31, 2020.

WHO CAN APPLY FOR A GRANT?

The Pilot Fund for Gender Equality will support projects led by organizations that are registered with the Canada Revenue Agency as qualified donees.
Examples of qualified donees include:
● registered charities;
● registered Canadian amateur athletic associations;
● registered Canadian municipalities;
● registered municipal or public bodies performing a function of government in Canada.

WHAT PROJECTS ARE ELIGIBLE?

The Pilot Fund will support a wide range of projects that advance gender equality in Canada through at least one of the Pilot Fund’s three core themes:
● Peace – Supporting girls, women and trans* people as they build lives free from gender-based violence;
● Power – Shifting economic, political, and social power, as well as power over one’s own body, towards increased equality between genders;
● Planet – Strengthening participation, leadership, and climate justice for girls, women and trans* people as they building more sustainable futures.

In addition to working towards these key pillars, projects are encouraged to:
● Involve women with diverse lived experiences and other community members who are affected by the issue being addressed by the Project;
● Work in strategic partnership with others;
● Engage with regional or national networks and centres of expertise that focus on gender equality

Eligible projects must take place between September 5, 2019 and March 31, 2020. While some expenditures can be backdated, at least some activities and expenditures must be incurre between January 1, 2020 and March 31, 2020.

Be sure to download the Applicant Guide below to learn more about eligible projects and importnat information about the application process.

CFSOS will accept applications from December 2nd, 2019 to January 13th, 2020.

For more information on the involvement of the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen in the Pilot Fund for Gender Equality, email: sarahtrudeau@cfso.net