This text is part of the special Philanthropy section
Thanks to the initiative of the Collective Fund for Social Equity of the Foundation of Greater Montreal (FGM), 16 community organizations dedicated to supporting people seeking asylum, refugees or migrants, whether they have no status, temporary status or precarious, will receive financial support allowing them to continue their work.
This aid aims to support and perpetuate the efforts of community stakeholders who work tirelessly with increasingly limited resources. “We launch our initiatives based on the information we receive from the community,” explains Marie-Andrée Farmer, director of strategic initiatives and community partnerships at the FGM. We really feel pressure on the community environment. »
Stopping inequalities
The approach adopted by the Foundation of Greater Montreal for the distribution of the fund is based on philanthropy based on trust. According to Community Foundations of Canada, this method addresses existing power imbalances between funders, non-profit organizations and the communities they serve. Favoring listening and trusting relationships, the FGM wishes to better respond to the real needs of organizations. “We moved from a very transactional approach to a much more relational approach,” explains Marie-Andrée Farmer.
It is through this listening process that three areas requiring assistance were determined. These mainly concern administrative and legal support. “Right now, almost every organization is helping [les personnes demandeuses d’asile] to fill out asylum and employment application forms, to enroll children in school,” emphasizes Marie-Andrée Farmer. In addition to this component, the funding also aims to strengthen influence on public policies and support initiatives allowing the people concerned to strengthen their individual or collective power of action.
For greater autonomy
The mission of the non-profit organization Femme en or, although only officially registered since 2023, is rooted in informal activities begun in 2012. Its project, Immigrant woman facing social and family exclusion, is part of the number of winning projects from the Collective Fund for Social Equity. The founder, Laure Henriette Ella, draws her motivations from her personal history. Divorced, remarried, and a victim of domestic violence herself, she is now dedicated to helping other women overcome similar challenges. “I took up the cause of women head-on, I went through some pretty dark periods in my life and that made me want to help other women, I couldn’t do it. “explain differently,” she says.
Femme en or, which counts on the help of around twenty volunteers, tries to offer a safe and trusting space where women can express themselves freely on subjects often considered taboo in their cultures of origin. “These women need a climate of trust to be able to talk about quite difficult things,” confides Laure Henriette Ella. I wanted to help women who come from countries where it is taboo to expose your vulnerability. »
The organization also addresses the multiple challenges faced by immigrant women who arrive in Canada without financial resources. To stimulate entrepreneurship among these women, Laura Henriette Ella organizes discussion groups to promote the sharing of ideas and encourage business creation. “Femme en or is a setting where we can come and express ourselves, they listen and support,” she explains.
However, despite all the support offered, the founder notices a persistent problem: “There are few women who manage to find a job. And those who find it are in precariousness. This reveals a much deeper problem, a societal problem. » Faced with this reality, Laure Henriette Ella is determined to strengthen the autonomy of women, in particular through mastery of the French language. “Language is power,” she says. If we have access to the language, we also have access to employment, to a social life. My greatest wish is that someone helps me to help these women who prove to be full of talents, fighters. »
The FGM does not wish to simply finance the organizations, but expresses the wish to support them in a sort of learning cooperative over the next three years in order to create links between community organizations. “It encourages us to know that the funder is not just a check, it is someone who supports us, who wants to see what we are really doing and even participate in the solution,” says Laure Henriette Ella in referring to the arrival of a member of the Foundation at one of the Femme en or events.
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