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Enchanté Network
Enchanté Network’s micro-grant program helps 2SLGBTQI+ groups build organizational capacity.
Imagine going to a doctor and being denied health services on the basis of your gender. Now imagine applying for a job or looking for an apartment and getting turned down due to the way you express yourself. Now imagine not being taken seriously by police when you report a crime because of how you dress or look.
These kinds of discrimination are all too common for queer, trans, and Two-Spirit people. But there are organizations working across Canada to change this reality – and the Enchanté Network is a uniting force that’s helping to make it happen.
Based in Ottawa, the Enchanté Network is Canada’s largest network of 2SLGBTQI+ organizations. They connect queer, trans, and Two-Spirit organizations with each other, with key capacity-building programming, and have a clear focus on collective public policy advocacy. Their network is made up of more than 200 2SLGBTQI+ organizations spanning every province and territory in the country.
“We answer questions, provide training through workshops, and advocate on behalf of an exploding movement of centres and providers that support 2SLGBTQI+ communities,” says Rachel Loewen Walker, board chair of the Enchanté Network. “I think that the Enchanté Network’s work is especially valuable because it links organizations from across Canada, providing opportunities for collaboration and learning at all stages of contact.”
Micro-grant program helps 2SLGBTQI+ groups build organizational capacity
The Enchanté Network is one of 76 organizations who received financial support from the federal 2SLGBTQI+ Community Capacity Fund through Women and Gender Equality Canada. The first round of this $15 million fund was spread out over these 76 2SLGBTQI+ organizations to help them address challenges faced by 2SLGBTQI+ and gender-diverse people.
The Enchanté Network used part of its share of the 2SLGBTQI+ Community Capacity Fund to create a micro-grants program. The program consists of an anti-racism, Indigenization, and equity stream and a general capacity-building stream.
Nine groups received capacity-building micro-grants in 2021. One of them is the Northern Mosaic Network.
Formerly known as the Rainbow Coalition of Yellowknife, the organization offers youth and peer support programs, services, workshops, and training to make communities in the Northwest Territories safer, more open, and more knowledgeable places for 2SLGBTQI+ people and their allies.
Examples of services the Northern Mosaic Network offers include identity workshops – sessions that introduce participants to the concepts of identity, the complexities of gender and sexual orientation, inclusive language, allyship, and more.
The Northern Mosaic Network is using its financial support to create a leadership structure, consult with people and groups in the territory, and expand its reach to serve more rural and remote Indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories.
Five groups obtained funds from the Anti-Racism, Indigenization, and Equity Stream. One of them is Sher Vancouver LGBTQ Friends Society.
The organization provides educational and outreach services to South Asian members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities in British Columbia’s largest city. Sher Vancouver is using the financial support they received to create a teacher’s discussion guide to accompany a film about queer youth and their families, provide anti-oppression training, and give a platform to parents of 2SLGBTQI+ children to share their struggles and triumphs.
“We’re building capacity for all of the wonderful folks doing work within and beyond urban centres,” says Tyler Boyce, Executive Director of the Enchanté Network. “We truly believe that when you lift up and amplify voices that are really on the margins of an already marginalized community, you will find innovation and create the conditions that really raise all tides. That’s what we do through our micro-grants program.”
Deeper, stronger relationships
The Enchanté Network now wants to scale up its support so it can provide resources that are in line with the level of need that 2SLGBTQI+ organizations see on the ground every day.
“If you’re only just ever working on the budget for the year, it affects the work you can do,” says Rachel. “But if all of a sudden, the timeline is two, three, or five years, the work you can do deepens and strengthens. That’s what we’re really looking forward to do.”
Tyler agrees. “We’re looking to make long-term impact,” he says. “We’ve had this wonderful investment of resources into queer, trans, and Two-Spirit work in Canada. We have the Enchanté Network that’s able to continue that momentum and provide support beyond an announcement. Now it’s up to us to think about what comes next in terms of supporting 2SLGBTQI+ leaders across Canada, who we expect to drive change for years to come.”
To this end, the Enchanté Network is sponsoring a five-day in-person conference of CEOs and other executive leaders with fewer than five years of experience in queer, trans, and Two-Spirit organizations. “We’re reaching out to members to ask what kinds of leadership supports they hope to see from us,” says Tyler. “We’re spending this year really doing a comprehensive engagement that recognizes that the Enchanté Network is here to amplify the leadership and innovation that we know exists within our community. I’m really excited.”
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