Ending gender-based violence requires a whole-of-society approach. Collaboration between these two large societal institutions creates stronger, more adaptive supports for women, children, and gender-diverse people fleeing violence.
Shelters for women, gender-diverse people, and children fleeing violence have never been adequately funded. Post-pandemic funding shifts and rising costs of living, coupled with escalating demand for services and increased severity of violence, are making things worse. Research for an upcoming Women’s Shelters Canada (WSC) national report, which will be published in March, found that more than half of shelters surveyed experienced a chronic shortfall in core operational funding – basic expenses such as rent, staffing, utilities, and food for clients. As one shelter leader reported, “We fundraise 35% to 40% of our $4.5-million operating budget each year just to maintain core services. This level of fundraising is not sustainable and places immense pressure on our staff and organization.”
You may be wondering, “Doesn’t government fund these life-saving services?” Yes and no. While many shelters receive annual funding from their province or territory, these funds fail to keep pace with inflation, do not cover all operational costs, and are not distributed evenly. The federal government funds some shelters through limited, application-based project funding, but these funds are often limited to service delivery, excluding innovative, long-term projects aimed at reducing violence.
This isn’t to say that government funding isn’t helpful. It is essential, and more is needed. However, our women’s shelter system requires the stability that comes from a diverse funding base, which ensures staff well-being and retention, continuous and innovative programming, and uninterrupted support for the women and children who need it most. This is why women’s shelters need philanthropic support from individuals, corporations, and private foundations.
Our women’s shelter system requires the stability that comes from a diverse funding base, which ensures . . . uninterrupted support for the women and children who need it most.
One of the risks of relying on government funding is that political parties cycle in and out of power – which has a drastic impact on policy. Even though ending gender-based violence is a non-partisan issue, the differing political priorities of centrist, left-leaning, or right-leaning governments can mean vastly different approaches. Even changes in leadership within the same political party can have implications.
Another challenge with government funding is the restrictive funding parameters. For example, emergency funding to women’s shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t initially cover capital improvements or renovations. If a shelter had a broken fridge, for instance, and it cost more to repair it than to buy a new one, they still had to repair it. In general, provincial and territorial funding is often restricted to operational costs covering basic services such as wages, utilities, and food, with no room for unplanned or preventative expenses.
In short, government funding plays an important role in funding the basics of emergency shelter operations. Yet, shelters do so much more than provide a safe roof over people’s heads: they are places where people rebuild their lives. The services they provide include 24/7 helplines, counselling, children’s programs, parenting classes, mental health and addiction services, legal and housing services, men’s programs, and assistance with applications to educational and apprenticeship programs. And all of this requires funding.
What shelters need are long-term, stable funding sources. For example, Women’s Shelters Canada has benefited from the long-standing support of both the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation and Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health. But more than that, individual Royal LePage professionals and Shoppers Drug Mart stores have deep partnerships with their local shelters. These shelters can rely on that funding stream year in and year out, and their staff and clients can feel the support of their local community.
Because they have fewer constraints than government, philanthropic organizations can provide unrestricted funding, confident that shelters know best what they need. For example, The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation took this approach as one of the founding supporters of WSC’s Shelter Ready Fund, a three-year grant program that provided $1.5 million of flexible funding to more than 50 shelters across the country. This funding enabled a wide range of projects, from a retrofitted van for outreach services, to accompanying women to family court, to healthy-relationship workshops in schools.
Because they have fewer constraints than government, philanthropic organizations can provide unrestricted funding, confident that shelters know best what they need.
And importantly, they can fund outside direct service delivery. For WSC, that can look like funding our groundbreaking research and policy work, or our sectoral advocacy, such as the push for a national action plan on gender-based violence. For shelters, it can be awareness campaigns or prevention work within their communities. This more systemic approach provides resources for longer-term solutions, with the goal of reducing the need for shelters over time by addressing the root causes of violence.
We understand that many foundations, corporations, and individual philanthropists don’t explicitly focus on gender justice. However, they can still deploy their funding through a feminist or gender justice lens. A foundation focused on housing can prioritize housing for women-led households; an individual who wants to change the world through the arts can fund art therapy for children in shelters. A bank can fund financial literacy programs for new immigrant women or single mothers.
For example, Nestlé Purina PetCare Canada partnered with WSC because they know that many survivors don’t leave abusive homes, or delay leaving, out of concern for their pets. The Purple Leash Project provides meaningful grants to shelters to make their buildings more pet-friendly. This flexible funding allows the shelter to purchase the items it needs most, whether that’s new kennels, ramps for older pets, a pet-washing station, or a complete refurbishment of an outdoor or basement space. All of this keeps pets and their loved ones together at possibly the most stressful times in their lives.
Philanthropists and governments are powerful partners in closing the funding gap for women’s shelters. Ending gender-based violence requires a whole-of-society approach. Collaboration between these two large societal institutions – governance and philanthropy – creates stronger, more adaptive supports for women, children, and gender-diverse people fleeing violence. While government support keeps life-saving front-line services operating for the thousands of people across the country who need them, philanthropy fuels the bold, systemic change that can help us build the Canada we want. Together, we can reach the ultimate goal – a Canada free from violence.
