FAQ

What is Women Moving Women?

• Women Moving Women (www.womenmovingwomen.ca) is the Canadian Women's Foundation's groundbreaking national movement to change the face of poverty in Canada: it harnesses the power of one woman to launch another woman on her journey out of poverty and toward financial security.
• The concept is simple: 2500 women (and men!) donating $2500 ($41.70 a month) over five years to move 2500 low-income women out of poverty. To date 962 donors (nearly 500 in Toronto) have joined Women Moving Women, raising a total of $2.4 million.
• Each $2500 donation will fund one woman's participation in a life-changing economic development program funded through the Canadian Women's Foundation.
• Women receive practical on-the-job training and skills in the areas of self-employment, social purpose enterprise or trades and technology
• Through these programs, women are empowered to get back on their feet not only financially, but personally, by receiving support in other aspects of their lives like building confidence, learning to network and securing child care.

Why $2500?

The average cost for a woman to go through a program that will launch her on her journey out of poverty is $2500. Depending on the woman, the program could help her start a business, develop job skills or learn and gain work in a skilled trade.

Is women's poverty a critical issue in Canada?

• One in seven women in Canada lives in poverty.
• Over half of single mothers live in poverty.
• When mothers live in poverty, so do their children: more than one million children live in poverty in Canada.
• Poverty limits women's choices and can make them more vulnerable to abuse
• Almost half of Aboriginal women live in poverty.
• The number one predictor of health for a woman in Canada is her income.
• Infant mortality rates are higher when their mother lives in poverty. They face increased susceptibility to infectious disease and heart disease along with a heightened vulnerability to mental illness.

Does my donation go directly to a woman in need?

Your donation goes to a woman in need through the programs we fund. The Canada Revenue Agency regulates that, as a registered charity, the Canadian Women's Foundation, can fund only registered charities (not individuals).

To learn more about the programs we fund, visit: http://www.canadianwomen.org/EN/section05/3_5_2_2-funded_programs.html.

What percentage of my donation will go directly to
programs that move low-income women out poverty?

The Canadian Women's Foundation keeps administrative costs low so that your contribution goes directly to those who need it. For every dollar donated, $0.78 goes directly to registered charitable community programs and CWF's charitable activities (consultation and capacity building, research and evaluation, skills institutes, grantee meetings) which directly benefit the organizations that serve women and girls across Canada.

How are the programs chosen?

Funding recipients go through a rigorous selection process which is informed by a national strategy on each issue. Applications are screened by a national panel of experts and community leaders, and initiatives that promise the greatest long-term impact are selected.

What is the Canadian Women's Foundation?

The Canadian Women's Foundation (CWF) is Canada's only national foundation dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls. CWF researches, shares and funds the best approaches to ending violence against women, moving low-income women out of poverty, and empowering girls with confidence, courage and critical thinking skills. For more information, please visit: www.canadianwomen.org.

Ranked as one of the ten largest women's foundations in the world, the Canadian Women's Foundation has supported nearly 1000 programs across Canada since 1991.