March 8 is International Women’s Day, an opportunity to empower, uplift and celebrate the women in our community. Each year a theme is chosen to unify our voices and for 2025 the call is to “Accelerate Action.” According to the International Women’s Day website, “at the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum.” As a community foundation, we are all about playing the long-game, but when it comes to gender equity, we can not wait five generations!
This is why NCF recommitted ourselves to our diversity, equity and inclusion priorities in our recently adopted Strategic Plan. NCF will continue work to foster equity as a foundation and increase representation and inclusion of diverse groups within our staff, volunteers and charity partners. We are proud of the work that we have done thus far, being named one of Canada’s Top 50 Equitable Funders but we know that we are still on the path of this vital and enduring journey.
Today we celebrate the women on our Board of Directors; representing over half of the Board. Their leadership, guidance, empathy and strength continue to shape our organization and our reputation as leaders in the philanthropic sector in Niagara and amongst our Community Foundation peers across the country. They provide invaluable insight into our governance practices, while being overtly supportive of our staff team. Together they uplift one another and our entire Board, they advocate tirelessly for our community and they are ambassadors for philanthropy here in Niagara.
With these incredible women at the helm of our organization, NCF is confident that we will continue to accelerate action as an organization and as a community. Gender equity is not a lofty aspiration that we hope to achieve in five generations, it is call to action and something we continue to commit to today and every day!
Women on the NCF Board: Natalie Apparicio-Farrell, Linda Boich, Marisa Brown, Natasha DiCienzo, Jennifer Feren, Ann Godfrey, April Mitchell-Boudreau, Joanna Stubbs, Louise Veres
For a full listing of the board visit: Our Team
