23-38 2021 ImpactReport FINAL ereader - Report - Page 27
INVESTMENT READINESS
PROGRAM
Through the Investment Readiness Program, we support Social Purpose Organizations (SPOs) –
charities, non-profits, social enterprises, for-profits with a social purpose, and co-operatives – led by
and serving diverse women and Two Spirit, trans, and non-binary people. SPOs advance social, cultural,
or environmental objectives while generating revenues that can be reinvested into their work in
communities across the country. This model can help gender justice and equity-advancing organizations
fund and boost the change they create. Since 2019, 90 social purpose organizations have received
funding through this program – 80 per cent of which are led by the communities they serve.
Program Spotlight:
The Abundance Store,
Elizabeth Fry Society Mainland
Nova Scotia, and ElevateHER,
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
The Abundance Store employs women
and gender-diverse people who have been
criminalized, giving them an opportunity to
gain professional experience and learn new
employment skills. They also sell items they
create in the store, and profits go back into
the program.
“The women we work with have been
through some of the most intense traumas
that I have ever seen, and the majority
have never had a job before. But through
their work at the store, we see their skills,
empowerment, and confidence grow.
One of our original employees has since
transitioned into meaningful employment as
an Indigenous peer support worker, which
feeds her soul, and she’s doing amazingly
well in her position. Being able to offer this
program has been a game-changer in terms
of reintegration and recovery.”
– Kaleigh Smith, Abundance Store Manager
“It’s nice to be supported by brave,
empowering, strong women. I really enjoy
the store; I feel like it’s a beautiful little
space. It’s beautiful because I never had
the proper support before, and I just want
people to know recovery is possible.”
– Abundance Store program participant
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