The Fund for Gender Equality
*Applications arecurrently closed. Grants were awarded to the Cortes Island Women’s Centre, SCCA and CCHA. Funds will be recieved by the selected applicants in 2023.
The Cortes Island Community Foundation takes part in national Fund for Gender Equality.
CICF is proud to be one of the participating community foundations across Canada taking part in the Fund for Gender Equality in Canada, a new 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.
We believe that to create communities of true belonging, we need to advance gender equality across the country. By participating in the Fund for Gender Equality, we and other participating foundations are also committing to a number of other actions, including an examination of our own organizational and investment practices for women. By catalyzing the community foundation movement and the thousands of Canadians we connect with each day, we believe we can do more than just foster gender equality. We have an opportunity to begin removing the long-standing barriers to it.
To learn more about the Fund and whether your organization might be eligible to apply:
- Link to the Applicant Guide, including the template application questions:
- Applicant Guide: English, French
- Application Process and Questions: English, French (forthcoming)
- Link to CFC’s national application portal
- To learn more about the collaboration between Community Foundations of Canada, the Equality Fund, visit the CFC website.
- The Fund for Gender Equality is supported by a collaboration between The Cortes Island Community Foundation, Community Foundations of Canada and the Equality Fund, with support from the Government of Canada.
2023 Successful Applications
SCCA Playschool
The Playschool provides quality, affordable and accessible daycare services, essential to gender equality. The program is overseen by certified Early Childhood Education (ECE) staff. They are working on growing the program by maintaining the newly extended days (growth from 2 and a half days per week to 4 full days) and working towards expanding the age group to all ages.
The program supports Caregivers (predominantly women), with respite time and the ability to work. When affordable daycare is not available women are often forced to leave their jobs. This increases financial stress on the family, and exacerbates the gender wage gap. In addition, children benefit from socialization with other children, learning through play, and increasing their readiness for school.
The program is accessible, and accommodation plans are co-created with caregivers to maximize inclusivity. The SCCA strives to keep fees affordable, and SCCA staff provide additional support to caregivers (taxes and subsidy applications) to further reduce financial barriers to participation.
Cortes Women’s Centre
They provide free food, hygiene products, access to computers, internet and phone, in a safe space available 24 hours a day to members. The Women’s Centre is also used for counselling, workshops, office space, support circles, and education. This project aims to continue providing support to women and children in crisis to escape domestic violence, ensure their safety, and help them rise out of poverty, while also educating the community on how to create safe and healthy environments.
CCHA Young Family Lunches
The Cortes Community Health Assocation, through the Family Support Program’s First Years Caring Collective is now offering Young Family Lunches weekly on Thursdays at Mansons Hall. Primarily aimed at supporting parents, and especially mothers of young children, simple meals of soup, bread and crudites are offered. These multigenerational afternoons bring women together for connection, peer support and mentorship while providing some food security to women experiencing poverty. The lunch is be made by women and we hope to be able to provide some skill sharing through preparing the meals together.
Several big announcements were made and a robust list of collaborators were present on February 1st, for an update on the development of the land that is known as the ‘Village Commons’ in Mansons Landing. The meeting had about 36 attendants, including 6 people that virtually attended via zoom. The evening of presentations had a strong theme of collaboration and neighborhood togetherness.
Cora Monet introduced the night and warmly welcomed all attendees. Manda Aufochs Gillespie then spoke on behalf of the Cortes Island Community Foundation (CICF) by announcing that in January of 2023, the Foundation was offered to take over the stewardship of the Village Commons, from the Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA). The land came with an established trail system, hydro, and the possibility of $907k worth of grants to continue into ‘Phase One’ of development. These grants came from Destination Development Fund (DDF), Rural Economic Diversification & Infrastructure Program (REDIP) and Island Costal Economic Trust (ICET).
CICF has hired architect Bruce Haden, who offered a thorough presentation on the South island scene and simple design for the Village Commons. He broke down the region into the 5 ‘L’s; The Loop, the Lake, the Lane, the Lagoon, and the Landing.
Richard Andrews has lived on Cortes for 23 years and is the general contractor for Phase One Development of the Village Commons. He also just completed the Mansons Hall deck renovations, which were funded by the Healthier Communities Grant. The development is slated to begin now until October 31st, 2024.
Phase one of the Village Commons development will include a Welcome Pole, carved by local indigenous artist, Ernie Puglas, a covered outdoor pavilion, containers for storage/commercial vending, and a shared social profit work space. The CICF is also supporting the SCCA to make the Manson's Hall parking lot more effective and functional.
Cora Moret spoke on behalf of the Southern Cortes Community Association to discuss the enhancements completed and eminently planned for the exterior of Mansons Hall. The new deck for the hall is now complete. Further fireproofing is planned and already funded for the exterior of the Hall.
Sadhu Johnston also spoke at the event to announce plans for the Cortes Housing Society (CHS) and the Fire Department. He is the Executive Director of CHS, and confirmed that the society has submitted a more robust, third application to BC Housing in hopes to fund the Rainbow Ridge project. Johnston is also the President of the Fire Department, and was enthusiastic to share plans to improve the island’s ability to fight fires and prepare for emergencies.
Several community members were acknowledged for their contributions thus far to a multifaceted journey in growing the usefulness of this downtown area. Kate Maddigan, Tammy Collingwood, Matt Cuscianna, Isabella McKnight, Andrea Fisher, and Sandra Wood were all thanked for their work on these efforts.
Project designs blur the property lines between several community owned plots, creating more flow and capacity to support popular events like the Friday Market. An extra parking near the skatepark was recently completed to help facilitate this community flow. Ideas for future phases were also discussed such as a bathhouse with showers and laundry, as well as a youth center.
Neighbours were encouraged to sign up for updates and to engage in future conversations. Please reach out to outreach@cortesfoundation.ca or manda@cortesfoundation.ca if you would like to get involved or offer insight.