Spectrum paves way forward with Rainbow Community Fund: Partnership with Waterloo Region Community Foundation aims to add future stability
As Waterloo Region’s rainbow community space for the past decade, Spectrum has worked tirelessly to serve, affirm and support the well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals in Waterloo Region and the broader community.
A new fund established in partnership with Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) indicates the work has only just begun – Spectrum is in it for the long haul.
Spectrum recently set up a Charitable Organization Endowment Fund with WRCF. Spectrum’s Rainbow Community Fund was launched in December 2022 with an initial investment of $5,000.
“The goal behind the fund was to signal to the community that we plan to be here in the long-term,” said Spectrum’s Executive Director, Scott Williams. “We’ve been working to build a more stable and sustainable organization and that includes finding funding that is more sustainable.”
Spectrum’s Rainbow Community Fund is one of 36 Charitable Organization Endowment funds held by WRCF. These funds generate income that then gets distributed back to the charity each year to support their work as they see fit.
In the case of Spectrum, it has up until now relied on donations from community members and businesses along with sporadic grants and money raised through labour-intensive fundraising events.
Those same efforts will continue but with grants from the new fund helping as part of the long-term vision. The Charitable Organization Endowment means, as a registered charity, a fund provides a sustainable source of revenue back to an organization through annual grants. The focus is on building the endowment through donations and WRCF takes care of the rest, including building a custom donation page, issuing tax receipts for donations and most importantly managing the investments for the endowment.
All it takes are a few simple steps and an organization can be on its way to generating a consistent flow of income for years to come.
“We do not receive any kind of annualized funding,” Williams said. “Support from the community is really vital in order for us to be here and to continue to not only offer the programs and services that we currently do but, hopefully, to expand those in the future to help meet the needs.”
Any income generated by the Fund is used for operating costs, including rent payments toward Spectrum’s physical space in downtown Kitchener insurance. The organization also has full-time staff members on payroll, which marks an evolution for Spectrum. It was entirely volunteer-run until 2021. Spectrum continues to rely on more than 30 volunteers to deliver peer support groups and social recreational programming that are at the heart of what the organization offers.
“We’re best known for offering peer support groups,” Williams said, adding there are more than 30 groups and activities monthly. “We have things like a monthly book club, weekly game nights or one-off events. All of these are offered with the hope that they will help to increase the participants’ social networks and increase their sense of belonging, leading to improved overall well-being.”
Added Williams: “The why of Spectrum is belonging. We exist to create a sense of belonging.”
Spectrum was born back in 2012 out of a desire within the 2SLGBTQ+ community for a community space of its own and it continues to expand based on the needs and wants of the community, including a recently added youth program for children under 12. Some of the organization’s recent focus has been on providing training to its personnel on anti-Black racism, learning about community justice issues and working with Indigenous groups in an effort to “start to decolonize the organization,” Williams said.
“That’s the journey we’ve been on the past few years and it will continue as we constantly work to better ourselves,” he said.
It's all in the name of inclusion – sometimes life-altering.
“Lifeline is a good word,” Williams said. “We’ve had people tell us, ‘this group has literally saved my life and makes life continue to be worth living.’ It has been a lifeline for some people.”
Donations can be made to Spectrum’s Rainbow Community Fund at www.wrcf.ca/spectrum. For more information about contributing to the fund, please contact WRCF at 519-725-1806 or info@wrcf.ca. If you want to learn more about Spectrum and the programs that they offer in community, please contact info@ourspectrum.com.
If you would like to learn more about setting up a Charitable Organization Endowment Fund, contact Dan Robert at dan@wrcf.ca or 519-725-1806 x 205.