Commentary, Opinion

Monthly Message: How to help My Sister’s Place support women and children

August 28, 2025   ·   0 Comments

As a not-for-profit organization fundraising is a major part of our yearly finances, the Ministry of Children, Community & Social Services provide about 80 per cent of our budget with this money going to running the shelter (such as utilities, building maintenance, food for three meals a day, etc.), and everything else that is shelter and outreach related. 

All other expenses must be covered by grants or fundraisers to fill the funding gaps. About 20 per cent of our basic budget (over $300,000 annually).  This includes our transitional housing opportunities.

Our fundraising coordinator’s role includes applying for and securing funding through corporate grants, community funds, and other donation avenues to keep the shelter, our in-shelter services, and outreach programs running when expenses exceed our government funding. Along with covering unexpected expenses and ensuring that we can always deliver the best service possible for our women and children. 

We also rely on our community members, donors, and supporters to reach our monetary goal each year. Many people don’t realize that there are many ways to support My Sister’s Place.  We have many types of giving to suit different donors and their needs.

Third-party events or community fundraisers are created and managed by businesses, organizations, groups, or individuals, with funds raised donated to My Sister’s Place. These can be as simple as a bake sale or garage sale, or as large as a sit-down dinner or golf tournament.

We have created documents that can be found on our website – www.mysistersplace.ca – under the “Get Involved” tab to make planning a Third-Party Fundraiser easier.

The most common type of giving would be a one-time individual donation.

Recurring monthly giving by an individual, corporation, organization, or estate can be set up through your bank and our office by emailing kgarwood@mysistersplace.ca.

Corporate giving comes in several forms, such as a cash donation, whether it be one-time, monthly, or annually. In-kind giving, where a company donates goods and services that are in need at My Sister’s Place, can be one-time, monthly, or annual as well. Corporations can also donate volunteer time from their employees.

Matched Giving is when a corporation or organization pledges to match donations that their employees make to a charity. These matched donations can be made from employees’ monthly or annual giving or from a third-party fundraiser run by employees, with the funds raised matched by employers.

A Giving Challenge is when a company, organization, community group, or team challenges another to raise funds for charity.

In Memorium or Tribute Giving is when a donation is made on behalf of someone who has passed away.

Legacy Giving is a gift of any amount made through a donor’s estate planning. There are many forms of Legacy Giving. Speak to your estate planner about what would be best for your estate.

You can donate to our Shelter List, which can be found on our website. 

We are appreciative of everything that donors want to give, but due to our limited storage space, we can’t always accept all items offered.

The shelter wish list is a list of items that are needed in the shelter at any given time, which can be used most and right away without having to be stored. 

Monetary and gift cards donations are always much appreciated so that necessary items can be purchased. 

For clothing donations, we suggest that items be taken to The Clothesline in Alliston. We have a wonderful connection with them that allows us to supply our women with vouchers to shop there for free. 

This system works well for us for a couple of reasons: 

1) It saves us from storing clothing that can not be used at the moment.

2) It gives the women a chance to shop on their own for the style of clothing they want. This may be something they have not been able to do before, so giving them that freedom of choice and independence is nice for them.

3) We support another amazing community agency to meet their fundraising goals, too. 

We also have an Amazon Wish List, which can be accessed through our website homepage.

You can support us by attending an event or supporting one of our fundraising campaigns. You can support by attending events, donating silent auction or raffle prizes, sponsoring an event, or by helping us get the word out that an event or campaign is happening.

If you are interested in supporting My Sister’s Place in any of the ways listed above, more information can be found on our website, or you can email our fundraising coordinator at fundraiser@mysistersplace.ca. 

We are truly appreciative and grateful for all the support our communities provide; we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without your generosity.  

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