Welcoming Communities Grey-Bruce (WCGB) is a not-for-profit organization committed to building a welcoming and inclusive community for all residents in the region. WCGB incorporated in 2019 and was instrumental in bringing Grey Bruce Settlement and Language Services (GBSLS) and a Local Immigration Partnership (GBLIP) to the region in 2020. With the launch of formal services to support newcomers, space opened up for WCGB to consider their role going forward and to explore community needs that lie outside system responses.

In 2019, a five-year strategic plan was developed with a draft mission statement and value proposition. Three tasks were identified by the Board of the newly formed corporation:

• Communicate about WCGB: Create a narrative for the community about WCGB’s purpose
• Create spaces for the Big Conversation about systemic racism in our community
• Carry out the practical work of ensuring inclusion. The COVID pandemic interrupted the execution of the strategic plan but did not substantively change the overall direction. These tasks remain relevant to the work of WCGB in 2024. Conversations as to the role of WCGB continue with GBSLS Services and GBLIP.

WCGB plays a critical and unique role in providing leadership and commitment to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in Grey and Bruce counties. The success of WCGB to date is due to dedicated, passionate volunteers and time-limited project funding. Increasing equity in government and government services, businesses, and across communities is too important to rely solely on volunteer efforts and project work. Project funding needs to be supported with ongoing revenue that will allow WCGB to hire staff and build capacity. Sustainability is essential for WCGB to continue to grow and evolve.

In 2023, two grants were awarded to Welcoming Communities Grey-Bruce (WCGB). Both were funded by Community Foundations Canada under different programs. The first project focused on conceptualizing a social enterprise to generate revenue. A social enterprise is defined as a business with specific social objectives that serve its primary purpose. Social enterprises seek to maximize profits while also maximizing benefits to society and the environment. The profits are principally used to fund social programs.

The resulting Everyone Belongs report was submitted to the WCGB Board in December 2023 with a proposal to develop a social impact network as the social enterprise for WCGB. Networks are webs of relationships connecting people or things. When they seek to address social and environmental issues, they are called impact networks. This special type of network brings individuals and organizations together for learning and coordinated action, based on a shared purpose. (Ehrlichman, D. (2021) Impact Networks. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.) Social impact networks are often sustained through membership fees. Members have access to networking and education events for employers, coaching and training options, and celebratory events to mark the accomplishments of individuals, groups, and employers.

The second grant, and the subject of this report, is a one-year project that allowed WCGB to engage community members and partners to explore the wants and needs of the community to guide the evolution of the WCGB over the next five years. The timing of the two projects proved to be synchronous in connecting the social enterprise proposed with strategic planning and community consultations that have shaped the direction of Everyone Belongs with a social impact horizon.

With discussion, the Board clarified that Welcoming Communities Grey-Bruce has been functioning as a social impact network for many years. Everyone Belongs is the action that is needed to become sustainable.

The report has three sections:

Activities and Consultations describes the consultation process that occurred over the course of the project to identify priorities, challenges, and opportunities for WCGB that can inform the conceptual frame and scope for Everyone Belongs.

Putting the Pieces Together sets out an action plan that spans four areas to grow the network. Everyone Belongs proposes an alternative narrative to the focus on the many problems and failures of social injustices. Without ignoring the very real challenges, WCGB will place emphasis on the many contributions that are made every day to create a welcoming and inclusive community as a way to grow the membership using a strengths-based approach.

Four Areas of Activity describes actions based on the strategy and goals for the coming year, first grouped under the focus areas and then broken down in a work plan.

The catalyst for social impact is found in every encounter, to be acted upon when individuals recognize their role, responsibility, and choice point in contributing to a welcoming and inclusive community. Everyone Belongs is a way to help people move from seeing themselves as often isolated, victims of circumstances beyond their control, to seeing themselves in a network of relationships, acting as creative agents in ordinary everyday ways, to affirm individual dignity and human rights for themselves and others.

Read the full strategic report here.