Core funding impact story: Quadrangle Community Centre

Quadrangle NL’s mission is to create and operate Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial 2SLGBTQIA+ community centre with dedicated services that are led by and for the community. This mission is to create and allow for shared space for any and all 2SLGBTQIA+ group or initiatives to have a home that supports our growth, wellbeing, and contributions. Newfoundland and Labrador is currently one of the last remaining provinces without a hub for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and with our mission, we will change that. 

The lack of core funding creates an instability which makes it hard to effectively reach our goal of creating a provincial 2SLGBTQIA+ Community Centre. Not having annual core funding means that our limited staff of two lack the necessary employment stability for sustainable program planning and long-term vision, and our volunteer board must take on multiple roles and responsibilities simply to keep the organization afloat and serve the community. Having to seek out funding opportunities, deliver programming, build partnerships, foster community investments, speak with elected officials, plan fundraisers while concurrently looking after the day-to-day administration of a growing organization with a budget that hardly covers operational needs depletes our ability to achieve our mission. Our current operational budget for organizational essentials like staffing is thanks to the LGBTQ2 Community Capacity Fund from the Government of Canada, but it does not provide annual ongoing financial support for continued success and growth. Our organization relies heavily on our supportive board to fill the gaps left by a lack of core funding. This however makes it difficult for them to perform the necessary planning and strategy for our work.

Without core funding we are unable to have sustainable staffing or continue to grow our staff to meet the needs of the community. This limits our ability to provide support to the local community which deserves and desperately needs it. Having long-term staff creates generational knowledge within the organization while creating reliable and trusted programs for the community seeking connection or support. Core funding is an investment in the health and well-being of the community we serve as well as the long-term sustainability and health of staff and the organization itself. Without this type of investment we open ourselves and those that work with us to burnout, along with both mental and physical health concerns. As a group led by and for the underserved 2SLGBTQIA+ community we know first hand what the community will do to support each other, many times at our own expense. An expense that would be avoided with core funding.

If we had annual core funding we’d be able to better plan and be more strategic, thinking more about growth rather than survival. We'd be able to collect more data and be even more research-driven than we currently are. It would help us better provide for those coming to us for guidance and connection. It would also ensure staff their job security and remove fear of them leaving for more stable and long-term offers. With core funding we’d be able to focus our sights on bigger opportunities for funding and program creation, allowing us to get back to our mission of serving people first over focusing on the funding needed for organizational survival. We’d be able to create a stable space for the community with trusted and reliable services that would reach intersectional identities deep in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.