Category: News

Good morning! 

We’re currently gathering with grantee partners at West Coast LEAF’s Equality Breakfast, alongside community members, advocates and activists with a shared passion for gender justice. It’s one important way we commemorate International Women’s Day, a time for global recognition and celebration of the remarkable achievements of women in all spheres—social, economic, cultural, and political.

The significance of International Women’s Day has never been more pronounced as women worldwide confront unprecedented challenges to their rights. In recent years, we’ve seen gender-based violence and economic inequalities escalate, and witnessed alarming assaults on the rights of women, trans and non-binary people, both in Canada and around the globe.

As I step deeper into my role as Program Director, with a focus on gender justice and community, I’ve been curious about the joys, challenges and learnings that overlap in these movements. Whether it’s ensuring shelter and meals for women and their families, championing accessible childcare, fostering mentorship connections with young women and girls, or advocating for fundamental rights, each aspect of this work holds greater significance than ever before.

We are proud to partner with many organizations tackling these challenges directly through movement building and organizing, policy and advocacy and by providing direct – lifesaving – services.

Below is a list of our grantee partners working on gender justice everyday. 

• Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights
• Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland
• Canadian Women’s Foundation
• Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC
• Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre Association
• Equality Fund
• Family Services of the North Shore
• FRIDA
• Justice for Girls
• Options for Sexual Health
• Oxfam Canada
• Pacific Immigrant Resources Society (PIRS)
• Rise Women’s Legal Centre
• Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week
• WISH Drop-In Centre Society
• YWCA Metro Vancouver

Proud to do this work alongside you. Happy International Women’s Day.

Lizzy

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What our team is inspired by this month: 

• Reading: Building political power when everything is at stake, jumpsuits are the worst uniforms (except for all the others), and a feminist guide to investing. 
• Watching: A powerful feminist film at the GEM Festival in Vancouver, or a living room screening one of the 100 best feminist movies of all time. 
• Listening: A global feminist playlist and these feminist anthems, Tracy Chapman’s revolutionary sounds and diving into care and endurance practices.

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This past year, it has felt like the earth beneath us is shifting.

It was the Earth’s warmest year on record. We’ve been witnessing wars that are displaying the darkest sides of humanity. We are seeing a cracking down of civil rights and personal autonomy. It is easy to get lost in the sorrow and feel isolated in the polarization of this time. I have certainly had my days feeling that way.

It is for that reason that I want to end this year focusing on what has brought me hope and helped to ground me. These milestones from our grantee partners remind me that amidst the shifts in the world are powerful examples of progress and shared humanity.

• Two provinces are bringing in free contraception for their residents after years of advocacy work to make this happen. British Columbia pioneered free prescription birth control in Canada, and Manitoba is on track to provide universal cost coverage for prescription contraception. Our grantee partners Action Canada and OPTIONS – amongst many others – played an important role in this significant step towards reproductive health equity.
• Attending City Hive’s community showcase event for the Youth Climate Innovation Lab was both affirming and hopeful. Witnessing a close-knit group of young individuals from diverse backgrounds present tangible recommendations for addressing climate challenges with humour and joy was truly inspiring.
• In the realm of climate action, the provincial government’s adoption of an Energy Action Framework last March marked substantial progress. This framework, which includes an emissions cap on the oil and gas industry, owes much to the efforts of our grantee partners Pembina Institute, Clean Energy Canada, and the David Suzuki Foundation. All climate action that gets us closer to our targets is significant.
• The implementation of $10 a Day childcare has far-reaching impacts, touching families across the country, including my own. Low-income mothers, in particular, benefit significantly, thanks in part to our grantee partner, Coalition of Childcare Advocates of BC. This initiative has resulted in increased wages for early childhood educators, reduced fees in school age and preschool programs, and eliminated waitlist fees.
• Major strides have been made in conservation in BC this past year including the establishment of a new, $300-million conservation fund to advance Indigenous-led conservation, Canada’s first tripartite conservation agreement between federal, provincial and First Nations governments, and a $60 million investment by the province for marine protection in the Great Bear Sea. These commitments have come through years of hard work including from THF grantee partners Nature United and Coast Funds.

The work of our grantee partners is complimented by the hope I feel when speaking to our impact investment partners. In a different way, they are instigating advancement in gender justice and climate solutions. Their work is a powerful reminder that not one sector can solve these challenges alone. We need each other.

Our focus of the upcoming year will be to find intersections in our work that make individual efforts of one organization stronger through collaborations to expand the narrowness of this moment. Our Holiday Open House highlighted for me that connecting across sectors is where the best ideas and partnerships emerge.

In a world marked by polarization, we aim to fight back by fostering unity. We look forward to our continued work together. 

To that end, please join me in thanking four Executive Directors the Houssian Foundation has partnered with who have moved on from their leadership roles this past year. They include: 

• Mebrat Beyene, WISH
• Alexa Pitoulis, Fresh Roots
• Maryam Al-Khawaja and Majandra Rodriguez Acha, FRIDA
• Michelle Fortin, OPTIONS

We hope you enjoy rest and connection this holiday season.

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As part of our ongoing commitment to leverage philanthropic giving to promote environmental protection, gender justice, and resilient communities, The Houssian Foundation is proud to announce new and renewed partnerships with these organizations. 

New Grants in 2023
• Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland
• Coast Funds
• Harmony Foundation
• Metro Vancouver ZEIC 
• My Climate Plan
• Wildsight
• Youth Climate Corps BC 

Renewed Grants
• Canadian Women’s Foundation 
• Clean Energy Canada
• Climate Justice Organizing HUB
• David Suzuki Foundation
• Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre 
• Low Carbon Funders Group 
• Nature United 
• Saint James Music Academy

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Partnership: Gender Equality Learning

Together: Urban Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights

In early June, The Houssian Foundation had the honour of hosting Kate Kroeger, Executive Director and Dr. Val Napoleon, Board Chair of Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights – one of our core grantee partners in our gender equality portfolio – in conversation with Globe and Mail reporter Nancy Macdonald.

If you are looking to support women, trans and non-binary human rights defenders before, during and well-beyond a crisis with rapid response grants, look no further than Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights.

Thanks to so many of you for joining us, and creating a space for connection and learning together.

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Partnership: Environmental Protection

Iron + Earth: A not-for-profit worker-led organization with roots in the fossil fuel industry

Congratulations to Iron & Earth on the recently announced $16 million investment from the Government of Canada in support of fossil-fuel workers, Indigenous peoples and communities transitioning to a net-zero economy. 

Iron & Earth’s vision is that the fossil fuel industry, Indigenous Peoples, and their communities will play a leading role in building the policy and infrastructure required to reach global climate targets. Their top-level goal is to help ensure a prosperous transition towards global carbon neutrality by 2050. 

The Houssian Foundation was proud to be early supporters of Iron & Earth’s work and are thrilled to see this organization scale with this support.

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Partnership: Resilient Communities

Saint James Music Academy: Spring Concert a Great Success

One of the highlights of the year for the Houssian Foundation is attending Saint James Music Academy’s Spring Concert. In front of an audience of hundreds, the students are given an opportunity to be seen, valued and appreciated.  

Saint James Music Academy is a non-profit music school that is committed to social change through the power and love of music. They provide free classical music education to the children and youth in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and use orchestras and choirs as models for healthy community living.

The Houssian Foundation is proud to be a long-standing partner to the music school.

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