Once a year, Joanne Fong takes an evening or two to personally call and thank some of our donors for their support. One year, a name on her list was that of a woman who gave just $5 a month, every month. When Joanne called her, the woman was very quiet for a moment before telling a story that Joanne will never forget.
“She said that it’s only $5 a month and it’s all she could afford but she wanted to give back to the organization that gave her her life back,” says Joanne, adding that the woman had explained that in her culture, spousal abuse was common and when she chose to leave with her sons, her own family had refused to support her. “That was the moment when I realized it is one thing to know the privilege I have, but it’s another thing to hear about someone’s terrible circumstances and know that, because of Nellie’s, they turned their life around from one of fear, abuse and shame, to one where they are thriving.”
It was that call, she says, that truly solidified her sense of purpose in serving on Nellie’s board.
A board member since 2015, Joanne’s three-term maximum tenure is coming to an end in September. She brought to the organization a strong background in social work, as well as a solid knowledge of the non-profit sector from her work in management roles at the YMCA of Greater Toronto, WoodGreen (creating opportunities for survivors of intimate partner violence to develop professional experience) and working with marginalized, vulnerable clients at Neighbourhood Link. She’s proud of the work she has helped accomplish in her time at Nellie’s—the biggest being successfully buying the building for the new shelter, renovating it and selling the current shelter.
“This project has been in the works for so long. We put into motion a huge undertaking and now we will have a space where most woman can have their own separate rooms,” says Joanne.
She’s enjoyed the opportunity to use her professional experience to serve on Nellie’s board in a governance capacity, rather than an operational one. Some boards, she says, are very focused on the daily details of an organization’s operations, whereas at Nellie’s, she and her fellow board members are responsible for legal and financial oversight, focusing on policy and strategy. The board looks five or more years down the line and is responsible for ensuring the organizational structure is in place so staff can meet not only today’s needs, but can continue to meet clients’ evolving and increasingly complex needs.
“Through my time serving on the board, I’ve met some incredibly talented and highly skilled women whom I’m proud to know and trust. We come from all walks of life; while we’re professionals, several of us have experienced being marginalized, the challenges of being low-income, etc. so we bring many perspectives to the table. I hope that the new members coming in feel as enriched by the experience as I have been and feel that the work they do truly makes a difference.”
Thank you, Joanne for your time and service to Nellie’s.
