Choosing to leave an abusive partner is often a decision that a woman thinks long and hard about. But, the moment she actually decides to do so, she is often in a hurry—maybe her partner is at work or maybe he just stepped out to go to the store. Whatever the reason, when women and their children arrive at Nellie’s, they frequently have little more than the clothes on their backs.

The scenario is similar for homeless women who come to Nellie’s—they have few possessions and part of the way we help them get back on their feet is with the items donated to us.

At Nellie’s, we accept monetary, non-perishable food and new, and unused, gifts-in-kind donations. We don’t accept gently-used items.

Gifts-in-kind donations can include many things such as, baby and kid items, toiletries and personal care items. But while almost all in-kind donations are helpful, there are certain things that we always need and consistently need to replenish: gift cards and TTC tokens or loaded Presto cards.

Giving the gift of a gift card means that a woman in our shelter can buy exactly what she needs—maybe it’s a new pair of shoes because the only pair she owns are worn down or maybe it’s just a new lipstick in her favourite colour or a package of underwear.

Gift cards can also be for small luxuries, such as to a fast food restaurant where she can get a take-out coffee, or to a movie theatre where she can treat herself and her children to a movie. These every day happenings are often out of reach to the women and children at Nellie’s.

“With gift cards, a woman can also use them to buy a present for her child for the holidays or a birthday. Picking out a present herself is empowering,” says Wendy Bray, Nellie’s Senior Development Officer.

As for TTC tokens and loaded Presto cards, we need them so that the women living in our shelter can travel to court cases, appointments and visit potential apartments. Other items that we often need at Nellie’s is baby supplies for the newborns and toddlers living in our shelter. This includes Emfamil stages 1, 2 and 3, diapers and wipes.

If you’re unsure as to whether we are able to accept your in-kind donation, or if you would like to make a donation or become a monthly donor, please contact Wendy Bray at wbray@nellies.org.

Hon. Jill Dunlop, Minister for Children and Women’s Issues, Sherece Taffe Board Co-Chair, Margarita Mendez, Executive Director. and Paula Fletcher, City Councillor for Ward 14 Toronto Danforth

Government invests $12 million but additional funds still needed:

On July 15, the Ontario Government announced a capital investment of $12 million to Nellie’s Shelter, making it possible for us to begin the process of moving to a new building.

For almost half a century, Nellie’s has sheltered women and children in a beautiful, historic residential building. But this space was designed for just 16 beds. Today, 36 women and children, kids from newborn to teenagers, reside within the same footprint. They share a total of nine bedrooms, five toilets, four showers and one bathtub.

“Women and children must live free from violence,” said Jill Dunlop, Associate Minister of Children and Women’s Issues, at the announcement at Nellie’s administrative offices. “Nellie’s is operating at capacity, and as a result, women and children in need of support are often referred elsewhere. This investment enables Nellie’s to build a new, welcoming space to help more women and children fleeing violence.”

For nearly a decade, we have been searching for a new building and are pleased to have found one in the same east end neighbourhood as our current shelter. The $12 million government investment helps us complete the sale and begin the necessary renovations. But in order to complete this important project, we need your help.

To support the renovations of the new building, Nellie’s is launching a fundraising campaign to help finance the cost of preparing and adapting the building for the women and their children who need us. We need an additional $3 million to complete the renovations and fund the purchase of the necessary furnishings and appliances. These much-needed funds are above and beyond our regular fundraising efforts, which provide the vital programs and services to meet immediate, specific and emerging needs of the women who come to Nellie’s every day.

The new Nellie’s will have private rooms equipped with individual washrooms, some rooms will be fully accessible, meaning they can accommodate women and children using mobility devices, an elevator for not only women with mobility issues but for moms with baby strollers and it will be pet friendly. The new shelter will still retain the charm, comforts and homey feeling of our current building.

“The new shelter will allow us to treat vulnerable women with the dignity they and their children deserve,” said Sherece Taffe, co-chair of Nellie’s board of directors.

When we move to our new shelter in the fall of 2020, we will also no longer be faced with the challenges of managing a separate outreach and administrative location as it will be large enough to house our office and programming space.

Ontario’s violence against women’s shelters serve more than 17,000 women and children yearly across the province. Nellie’s has a strong focus on supporting marginalized women who have experienced violence, including women who may have been impacted by other issues such as addiction and mental health challenges.

“Our government is committed to combatting violence against women in all its forms and lifting individuals out of poverty,” said Dunlop.

Help us prepare and adapt a new shelter for the women and children who need us. Donate today.

GlobalMedic brings Nellie’s the ‘little things’ that many take for granted!

Every woman who arrives at Nellie’s Shelter is welcomed and cared for. Her immediate needs are met as quickly as possible – this could mean finding her a warm meal, clean clothes or toiletries for the night. And it’s because of our generous donors that we are able to provide all of these day-to-day necessities of life.

Recently, a donation from GlobalMedic, a Canadian charity whose mission is to provide short-term, rapid response in the wake of disasters and crises both at home and abroad, helped ensure that the women and their children at our shelter, and in our community, have the basic toiletries they need. The agency donated over 180 toiletry kits. Of those, 150 kits contained a bar of soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush and a package of sanitary pads. The remaining 32 were considered men’s kits, meaning rather than sanitary pads, they included men’s scented deodorant and body wash.

The Toronto-based organization also donated similar kits to Nellie’s in 2018.

“There are women who come to the shelter who need stuff for their kids too. The toiletries in each of these kits can spread pretty far and can help a whole family,” says Tara Kranics, Emergency Programs Officer at GlobalMedic. “These items are the little things that so many of us take for granted as simply always being there when we need them,” says Tara.

Our staff hand out the kits to help women when they first arrive at the shelter. Others go to women already living in the shelter or who visit our community office who may not have the means to purchase these necessary items. Every product in the kits were donated by Proctor & Gamble Canada. Several P&G employees also helped GlobalMedic pack the kits.

“At GlobalMedic our mission is to help abroad and here at home. It’s important to us to help people right here in our community. We truly want to help as many people as we can.”

Thank you GlobalMedic for helping us with your generosity. You have made a huge difference in the daily lives of the women and their children in the Nellie’s community.

It’s a Tuesday morning and at Nellie’s Shelter that means the Second Harvest truck will soon be by to make its weekly delivery for our Supper Surprise program. Every week, the food rescue charity brings a variety of fresh, frozen and packaged foods, so that our staff and volunteers can divide it and hand it out to the about 65 families enrolled in our food program.

This week, Second Harvest delivered pasta, rice and an assortment of fresh vegetables to our administrative office on Queen Street East. Other weeks, it may be processed meats, fresh fruit and yogurt. Other weeks still, it may be peanut butter, milk, prepared salads and crackers. Anything goes when it comes to what’s in the Second Harvest delivery — hence why our meal program is called Supper Surprise!

“The women enrolled in the program are seniors, single moms and individuals experiencing food insecurity. Because of Second Harvest, we are able to provide them with fresh, pre-cooked and non-perishable food donations so that they can maintain stable housing and cover their basic needs and emergency expenses without going hungry,” says Anna Morgan, Nellie’s Program Manager.

According to Toronto Public Health, food insecurity affects one in every eight households in Toronto. This can be for a variety of reasons. For some it may be because they work in low-wage jobs; for others it may be because they are unable to work due to injury or illness; some still may face accessibility and mobility challenges; and others still may have dietary restrictions (either for health or cultural reasons) that are challenging to meet.

At Nellie’s Supper Surprise, every woman also receives TTC fares to get to and from the program to ensure that travel isn’t a barrier to getting fresh food.

Second Harvest is Canada’s largest food rescue charity with a dual mission of environmental protection and hunger relief. The organization recovers nutritious, unsold food before it becomes waste and distributes it to its broad network of over 370 social service organizations, including Nellie’s.

Partnerships with agencies such as Second Harvest are essential for us at Nellie’s, as they allow us to expand our programs and services to meet the needs of the women and children living at Nellie’s, as well as those using the programs and services at our community support and outreach site.

Back at our Queen Street East offices, it’s been less than three hours since the Second Harvest truck left and already women are eagerly arriving to find out what’s in this week’s Supper Surprise.

Message from our Executive Director: New strategic plan to help Nellie’s take brave steps towards the future

As our 2018/2019 fiscal year drew to the end, we closed the books on one of our best fundraising years ever. These donations came from all sources—grants, bequests, events, and individual donations. And because of every single one of them, we were able to meet so many of the priority needs of the women and children who come to Nellie’s every day.

The trust and support of our donors last year, and every year, means that we can offer so many of the programs and services they need to build the confidence to take the brave steps towards accomplishing the next chapter in their lives.

And while they are taking brave steps forward, so are we. As the year drew to a close, we finalized our new three-year Strategic Plan from the framework first laid out in our Transitional Strategic Plan in 2015/2016. This plan will improve our organizational capacity and resilience and strengthen our expertise and leadership around women and children with complex needs. It focuses our scarce resources, both in terms of finances and staff time, and plots a course to create the greatest impact on our clients and our community.

Over the next three years, we will:

• Restructure the organization to ensure our long-term stability and responsiveness. This means looking inwardly at ourselves to enhance and strengthen what we do and how we do it.
• Expand our board capacity for fund development and strengthen our branding and marketing — because having one of our best ever fundraising year simply means we need to raise the bar.
• Create an onboarding and ongoing training plan for board, staff, management, volunteers and students.
• Formalize our service model so that we can promote and share our knowledge with other service providers. Partnering and sharing knowledge is what makes us all stronger.

Sadly, there is as much a need for Nellie’s shelter as there was when we first opened our doors 46 years ago. But the successful outcomes of the women and children we serve and the continued generosity and trust of our donors gives us the strength and determination to continue meeting their needs now and in the future.

Christmas themed bar raises $30,000 for Nellie’s

As 2018 drew to a close, a pop-up bar on Queen Street West drew a lot of attention from both the media and Torontonians alike. This bar, which was only open from Black Friday until Boxing Day, was a fun project by Nick Kennedy, owner of the bar Civil Liberties, and Lauren McKenna. It was decked out from top to bottom with everything Christmas, served up only speciality Christmas-themed cocktails, and many days, had lineups around the block.

And, $1 of every drink sold was donated to Nellie’s Shelter.

After they closed the doors for the season, Nick and Lauren presented Nellie’s with a cheque for $30,000. The funds supported our transitional housing program, which helps women living at the shelter and in the community secure safe and affordable housing.

“We are really impressed with the work Nellie’s does so it was an easy choice when we were picking which organization to donate to,” says Nick.

Adds Lauren, “When I learned about Nellie’s and what they do, I was really impressed. Because they don’t just give women a place to land, their programs and services help women get back on their feet.”

Miracle on Queen Street was the Toronto franchise of the worldwide Miracle pop-up concept. Started in 2014 in New York City, the concept brings holiday-themed drinks and over-the-top Christmas decorations to cities across Canada, Europe, Asia and Central America. Nick and Lauren’s project, which took over an event space on Queen Street West, was the first in Toronto.

And when we say over-the-top, we mean it! The bar proudly celebrated everything Christmas, with tinsel, twinkly lights and other holiday kitsch at every turn. Unique festive cocktails were served by bartenders wearing ugly Christmas sweaters.

“Because of Miracle’s success in other places around the world, we knew it would be popular. But it was even more successful than we expected,” says Lauren, adding that Miracle on Queen Street was featured in all of the major media outlets in Toronto. “It blew up way more than we thought it would. Some days there were four-hour waits just to get in!”

Nick and Lauren are already making plans to open a 2019 Miracle pop-up bar. “We definitely want to continue supporting Nellie’s going forward. We want to support the expansion of their programming and services for women and their children,” says Nick.

Thank you, Nick and Lauren! Your generosity helps the women and their children who come to Nellie’s learn, gain support, find friends and build the confidence they need to successfully accomplish the next chapter in their lives. We can’t wait to visit this year’s Miracle pop-up bar!

Nellie’s is currently looking to hire a Development Officer to strengthen our development team. The incumbent must be organized, enthusiastic, adaptable, detail oriented, a strong collaborator, able to work in an open concept office environment, and have a strong interest in fundraising for marginalized women.

Nellie’s is committed to the development of an agency that reflects the women it serves. This position is open to all women*. Woman* signifies anyone who self-identifies as female, femme and/or woman. This includes transwomen, cisgender women, non-binary people who identify as femme or female presenting. Applications from equity seeking groups are strongly encouraged.

 JOB DESCRIPTION

Under the general direction of the Director of Development, the incumbent is accountable for overseeing the planning, implementation and achievement of all Annual Giving campaigns, including direct mail solicitations and online giving. The incumbent is also responsible for developing fundraising opportunities (gifts up to $25,000 annually) from individual and family foundations and helping to grow corporate donors to support the agency’s strategic fund development priorities. The incumbent will also ensure effective stewardship takes place following a gift to maintain the donor’s involvement, interest and continued support.

Development Activities:

Advance the profile of Nellie’s to donors, prospects and the community to inspire ongoing commitment which will ensure necessary resources to meet the agency’s current and future needs.

Contribute to an annual fund development plan and budget for the organization

Participate in major gift revenue projections, forecasting and budget monitoring

Support and work closely with the Director Development to actively engage new prospects and build strategic moves for existing relationships with donors at all giving levels

Develop targeted solicitation strategies, customized proposals and grant submissions to secure gifts up to $25,000

Direct proactive research and participate in ongoing prospect identification, taking responsibility to acquire new corporate donors

Ensure that all gifts are received in accordance with Canada Revenue Agency and Nellie’s gift acceptance policies

Collaborate with the Fundraising Development Admin Worker to engage community and corporate partners who host fundraising events for Nellie’s

Help grow revenue generating third party fundraising initiatives

Donor Relations and Stewardship:

Connect with donors on a regular basis to share news, updates, Impact Reports, annual reports; provide customized correspondence and reports

Foster relationships with a diverse community of donors

Work within a “donor-Centered” framework, helping to advance a culture of philanthropy throughout the agency

Communications:

Working in conjunction with the Director of Development, and external consultants draft and ensure consistent messaging and quality in development and stakeholder communications, including customized Impact Reports and Twitter posts

Draft customized proposals and communications

Working in conjunction with the Fund Development Admin Worker schedule Tweets

Represent Nellie’s at select meetings and events to support fund development initiatives

Lead and/or participate in public speaking presentations and 1-on-1 stakeholders meetings

Required Criteria:

1. University degree or equivalent experience
2. Minimum 3 years fundraising experience
3. Demonstrated track record in cultivation and solicitation of gifts over $5,000
4. Demonstrated ability in proposal writing
5. Must possess the ability to think strategically and work independently in driving new initiatives or enhancing existing programs
6. Superior communication and interpersonal skills
7. Public speaking experience to small and midsize groups
8. Experience using social media tools (Twitter; Facebook etc.)

Advantageous Criteria:

1. Experience working in a social service organization
2. An understanding of working within an Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression framework
3. Demonstrated commitment to working with marginalized women
4. Knowledge of IMIS database
5. Working towards your CFRE an asset

 Application Process:

 Please send a resume and cover letter to fundraising@nellies.org by 11:59pm Friday, April 26, 2019. We thank all applicants for applying, however, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

 The successful candidate will be required to obtain a Police Records Check for the vulnerable sector.

Interviews: Week of May 6^th, 2019

Start Date: June 3, 2019

“We are always forever grateful for you, our donors.”
– Margarita Mendez, Executive Director

A new year always brings promises of new growth, new opportunities and new achievements. This is no different for the women and children who come to Nellie’s. After experiencing abuse and trauma, many women first come to us seeking nothing but shelter. And it is through Nellie’s that they learn, gain support, find friends and build the confidence they need to successfully accomplish the next chapter in their lives.

And they are able to do all of this because of your support.

We are forever grateful for the generosity of our donors near and far. It’s because of you that we can provide the day-to-day necessities of life as well as the outreach programs and services that are designed to foster learning and support. You have always ensured that we are able to tailor our responses to meet the needs of the women and children living at Nellie’s, as well as those using the programs and services at our community support and outreach site.

We bring together women from all walks of life; women who may never have had the opportunity to meet but who are now meaningfully connecting with each other as they learn to support each other. As we at Nellie’s look towards our 50th anniversary in 2023, we will continue to take the much-needed courageous steps to help women and their children experiencing abuse and trauma overcome the multitude of barriers they face.

I am confident that the persistent diligence and enthusiasm of our Board of Directors, the ongoing dedication and hard work of our talented staff and the support of our generous donors will ensure that we will continue to rise to every challenge in the coming year.

Thank you for your continued trust and support.

Forty-five years ago, Nellie’s opened its doors as one of the first women’s shelters in Toronto. As the city has changed, so has Nellie’s. What was a shelter of 16 beds for young homeless women has become a safe space of 40 beds for women and their children fleeing domestic violence, poverty, mental health barriers to accessing housing or other systemic oppressions.

As our shelter’s occupancy rate has increased to its present day capacity, so have our challenges — challenges we continue to successfully meet.

Last year saw an unprecedented number of babies, toddlers and older children living in our shelter. Being in a building that was designed to house less than half the number of people, none of them being children, providing for their personal care and wellbeing has posed a unique challenge. We quickly adjusted our budgets and programming to adapt to the needs of our youngest residents and we reached out to the community for help. A call-out on social media filled one of our most pressing needs—diapers. And our community support stretched far and wide as donations flooded in from across the city, across the country and even from around the world.

These considerate in-kind donations became a great support to our general operating budget, allowing us to allocate funds to the vital services and programming specific to the needs of the women and children living in our community. Often, our funding is tied to providing a specific program or service, which although essential, does not give us the flexibility to meet emerging needs. General funding allows us to provide programs and services with the women’s specific and immediate needs in mind. This creates the greatest impact.

Last year, generous general donations from organizations such as the Greater Toronto Apartment Association and the Tippet Foundation went towards designing and running such programs. One such program is our food program, which supports community volunteers. And, without the support of all our donors, so much of what we do wouldn’t be possible — for which we are profoundly thankful.

Our role in the community is a demanding one. And our board members have risen to the challenge by actively engaging in robust training, healthy discussions and an intensive revision of our policies to ensure that we are fulfilling our mission and vision to the best of our abilities. They are our leaders and we look to them for clarity and guidance as we take the brave steps towards creating a new three-year Strategic Plan from the framework laid out in our Transitional Strategic Plan (outlined in the 2016-2017 Annual Report Agency Report).

Our Strategic Plan will focus our scarce resources, both in terms of finances and staff time, in order to create the greatest impact on our clients and our community. We will look at the women we serve and how we can continue to best meet their current and future needs to result in more successful outcomes.

To see a full report on the shelter please read our 2017-2018 Annual Report

Food program helps volunteer build confidence in her abilities

“Nellie’s has always been my cheering section”

When Jolene first came to Nellie’s Shelter over 15 years ago, she was quiet and reserved. She had tagged along to a program with a friend and almost immediately felt a connection with the women there.

At first she just watched and enjoyed the company but it wasn’t long before she began rolling up her sleeves to get involved. She started small by helping with program or meal setup and clean up. Challenges in her life and with her health had always made it difficult to hold a job, but by volunteering at Nellie’s she felt good about putting her abilities to use while also helping others.

“Nellie’s is like home to me and it feels really great to be a volunteer here. My organizational skills really shine when I’m helping here and it feels good to know that I’m using them to help others,” says Jolene.

Helping out turned into a more official role and Jolene began volunteering regularly in the running and logistics of Nellie’s food program. Every Tuesday morning, she and other volunteers, sorts and packs fresh and non-perishable food into bags for the Supper Surprise program. Then, she gives those bags to the approximately 80 families who visit the food program. The need for this program has been increasing every year while donations are not always able to keep pace, meaning that many families in our community must sit on a long waiting list.

“I know I’m making a difference. I hand each woman a bag and I see her smile. It makes me feel good knowing that I helped and that each one of those women has at least one good meal to eat that week.”

Volunteering at the food program has helped build Jolene’s confidence in herself and in her abilities. So much so that about two years ago, she got a job at St. John’s Compassionate Mission as a host and hospitality member where she greets their community members as they arrive for a warm meal or other programs.

“The skills I learned helping the women here at Nellie’s gave me the confidence to help the community members at St. John’s,” says Jolene, adding that even though she’s working now, she still continues to volunteer for Nellie’s food program every Tuesday. “The people at Nellie’s have always been my cheering section; they have encouraged me forward and are excited to see me succeed.

“Nellie’s is like my family and it’s the place where I know I can always be myself.”