Expansion of Status of Women grant program

The Voice of Canada News:

More than 60 projects are supporting women and girls across the province by ending gender-based violence, training women in leadership and providing new business opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

Minister Larivee and MLA Carson with staff from the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton and University of Alberta Sexual Assault Centre to announce more funding and another intake for the Status of Women Community Grant Program.

These projects are made possible through the Status of Women Community Grant Program. Given the overwhelming response to this initiative, the province is allocating $1 million in new funding for the program.

“Organizations around the province are doing life-changing work in improving the circumstances for women and girls. We’ve seen such a tremendous response to the community grant program that I’m so pleased we’re expanding it to provide even more benefits. These new grants will foster innovation and build on frontline expertise to help women and girls across Alberta.”

Danielle Larivee, Minister of Status of Women

Established non-profits and charities will be eligible for up to $100,000 to develop programs or tool kits to share with other community partners seeking to improve the lives of women and girls. New organizations can receive up to $10,000 for creative initiatives like career workshops or podcasts.

This is the third year of the grant program, which has provided funding for 65 community-based projects, including:

Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton’s 5 Minute Friend bar staff training.

Expansion of WiseGuyz, a program providing guidance for Grade 9 boys on healthy relationships.
Leadership programming for girls led by Women’s Centre of Calgary.

New resources on family violence awareness and prevention, spearheaded by the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta.

“The Status of Women Community Grant Program has allowed us to better respond to community demand by Edmonton’s nightlife industry for training and guidance to prevent sexual violence. 5 Minute Friend trains hospitality managers and staff to recognize non-consensual or predatory behavior and safely and appropriately intervene. Together, we are creating a real safety net for girls and women and increasing safe access to Edmonton’s nightlife for all.”

Stephanie Olsen, head of Major Initiatives and Strategic Partnerships, Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton

“With the support of the community grant program, the Centre for Sexuality has been able to scale our WiseGuyz program across the province of Alberta, ensuring that boys in Grade 9 have access to education on the issues of gender equity, healthy relationships and helping them to become active community bystanders. We are grateful to the ministry for their ongoing support of gender equity initiatives.”

Pam Krause, president and CEO, Calgary Centre for Sexuality

“Support from Status of Women allowed the Women’s Centre of Calgary to build projects that respond to community need and empower women and girls. The community program enabled us to create two projects that build up leadership skills for women and girls. Both projects were enthusiastically received by the community, and responsive curriculums are now built into our ongoing programming. Thanks to this community funding, we had the staff time and resources to respond to community interest.”

Susan Gillies, executive director, Women’s Centre of Calgary

“Together with the Alberta government, we are helping to address domestic violence in Alberta. Project funding allowed the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta to create a downloadable tool kit full of resources to help landlords and residential property managers recognize and prevent domestic violence and to know what to do if it does occur. The tool kit has been downloaded over 1,400 times by landlords representing thousands of rental units around Alberta, making them safer places for women and girls to live.”

Jeff Surtes, executive director, Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta

Projects must meet one of these criteria:

Improving women’s economic security.

Increasing women in leadership and democratic participation.

Preventing and responding to gender-based violence.

Applications for the new grant funding must be submitted by Jan. 14, 2019.