ScotiaRISE is a proud sponsor of The 519’s 2SLGBTQ+ Economic Resilience Project which was created to support the economic resilience of LGBTQ+ newcomers and refugees. This grant program is closed.

2SLGBTQ+ Economic Resilience Project

The 2SLGBTQ Economic Resilience Project (ERP) is a partnership between The 519 and Scotiabank established in 2020 that seeks to address the ongoing systemic challenges related to social and economic inclusion faced by 2SLGBTQ refugees. As a demographic cohort, our communities are at a higher risk of mental health issues, substance use issues, homelessness, and suicide, and continue to face labour market discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

In response to this reality, the ERP was created to support the economic inclusion and resilience of 2SLGBTQ communities and help realize the hard-fought rights of our communities not just on paper, but into our everyday lived realities. Creating affirming social supports and providing opportunities to build community is foundational to developing the economic resiliency needed to thrive in today’s economic context, and works best when paired with a collaboratively approach to systems-wide change.

Recognizing that while there is a large, unmet need for 2SLGBTQ programming in smaller urban communities, the ERP has allocated $160,000 to be disbursed as 4 grants of $40,000 awarded to partner organizations located within Canada, but outside of Ontario.

The following fund parameters have been established to guide the use of these funds.

Funds must be used to:

• Increase organizations’ ability to meet the diverse needs of 2SLGBTQ newcomers and refugees.
• Develop partnerships between the organization and local community through the use of outside facilitators.

Funded projects:

• Will work with The 519 to increase capacity and competency in development and implementation thorough measurement and evaluation tools.
• Will contribute to the development of a rich data set that will assist organizations in future program planning.
• Will provide opportunities for Scotiabank staff to lend their expertise within programming (i.e. financial literacy and goal planning) and within programming planning (i.e. measurement and evaluation, data management).
• May use funds for the following purposes: staffing, transit, honorarium, food, program supplies.
  

In March 2024, after an extensive application process, the following agencies were selected as the recipients:

Qmunity (Vancouver) | Black Pride YYC (Calgary) | AGIR (Montréal) | Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia (Halifax)

At the mid way-point of the grant-cycle, collectively, 105 participants have accessed programs through the project.

Organized with The 519 Settlement Support for Refugees and Newcomers Program.