Organizations

We hosted a day with more than 35 organizations and initiatives to learn about their goals, strengths, and challenges.

During this day, we heard from:

  • organizations that focus on direct service, including but not limited to those focused on violence;
  • organizations that are not exclusively dedicated to women or gender-based issues, but offer women-specific programs or work on issues that are gendered;
  • organizations that primarily engage in advocacy activities; and
  • unions.

In our survey for women, we asked participants what is working well to improve the lives of women in New Brunswick. Almost half the answers were: organizations dedicated to or with programs that focus on women or gender-based issues.

Goals

Top goals that were common across the organizations were:

  • women's empowerment; and
  • ensuring the existence of quality services that address women’s needs.

Organizations providing direct service to women also listed referrals and assisting with systems navigation as top goals.

Strengths

Top strengths that were common across the organizations were:

  • passion for and exceptional commitment to the work from staff and volunteers;
  • collaboration and partnership;
  • being client-centered; and
  • being informed by experience and possess a high level of expertise.

Challenges

Three key challenges were common across the organizations:

Funding

What does this challenge look like?

"

  • "Mutes us - fear of losing funding. If government funded, does this impose restrictions on advocacy/protest"

  • "Underfunding: Pitting agencies against each other. Always competing for the same pot of money"

  • "Lack of operational/core funding"

  • "Completely financed by volunteer donations- no formal funding"

  • "Compromise our goals for goals of funders"

  • "Project funding- inability to offer long term programming sets people up for disappointment and failure"

  • "For immigrant women, we don’t know where or how to find funding." *

  • "No funding for child care or transportation for women to attend services"

How do these challenges impact your organization’s ability to do its work?

"

  • "Contributes to burn out - volunteers providing significant unpaid labour - unsustainable, women's unpaid work unrecognized again"

  • "We can’t offer services to their full potential and respond to women’s needs." *

  • "Lack of flexibility to address emerging needs or take advantage of unexpected opportunities"

  • "Insecurity creates difficulty in creating long term plans for services and supports"

  • "Energy directed to meeting the needs of funders- takes time away from clients"

  • "We’re drifting from our mandate" *

  • "Time dedicated to funding instead of provision and improving services"

  • "Brain drain as staff come and go"

  • "Time spent retraining new staff"

  • "Limits opportunities for more inclusive engagement"

What action is needed to address this challenge?

"

  • "Funding attached to basic outcome such as 'housed' or off the street. Remove focus on 'success' - let women define"

  • "Move towards multi-year funding to create some 'certainty' in system"

  • "Higher salaries/more benefits for staff = continuity and stability for NFPs [not for profits]"

  • "Flexibility to shift within contracts"

  • "More value placed on nonprofits, less value placed on big corporations (which are run mostly by men)"

  • "Attitudinal shift- non profits should not be expected to do more with less"

  • "Sharing services to create efficiencies and cost savings"

  • "Involving groups in the development of funding criteria." *

Inclusion

Organizations described the challenge of inclusion in three ways:

  • barriers to inclusion faced by particular populations;
  • inclusion at the level of service provision; and
  • inclusion at decision-making levels.

What does this challenge look like?

"

  • "We can be blind to the challenges faced by women who are different than us. If these women aren’t at the table, our actions won’t reflect those differences." *

  • "Services in other languages"

  • "Improved frontline services for women with physical challenges"

  • "Traumatized women need time to heal so while they are not voiceless they are absent while they heal"

  • "Social isolation/lack of networking for immigrant women"

  • "Grassroots organizations don't always fit in an 'outcome-based model'"

How do these challenges impact your organization’s ability to do its work?

"

  • "Having a membership that is very uniform and lacking diversity can make it difficult for us to be the voice for all women when advocating"

  • "If we immigrant women don't have support we will be more and more isolated and vulnerable"

  • "Will not access service due to fear of judgement and loss of anonymity"

  • "Decreases their willingness to voice issues"

  • "Missing representation, of comprehension of the complexity of the issues" *

  • "Travel long distances for maternal/newborn care leads to lack of care"

What action is needed to address this challenge?

"

  • "Need to make connections with people and organizations that are working on other issues." *

  • "Need to assure confidentiality, provide private access, educate to overcome stereotypes"

  • "Re-thinking needs with those who are absent." *

  • "Make opportunities accessible (affordable child care, transportation, etc)"

  • "Support the associations of immigrant women"

  • "Ensure diversity on our boards, committees, etc." *