Women United Donor Report 2024-25
Your donor report is more than numbers — it’s a reflection of lives changed, paths reimagined, and the growing force of equity-driven leaders refusing to wait for change.
Table of Contents
A Message from our 2024-25 Co-Chairs
To our powerful Women United community,
This past year wasn’t just remarkable — it was transformational.
Together, we raised $1,195,572 to remove barriers for women, girls, and families across the Alberta Capital Region. That’s what 1,471 determined changemakers can accomplish when they act with courage and purpose.
Because of your generosity and conviction, more women have access to shelter. More kids are walking into classrooms with what they need. More families led by single-moms are finding strength through trauma-informed support.
You showed up in force time and time again — and it mattered. This is what collective power looks like:
- You built 1,607 backpacks filled with school supplies, giving children the confidence to succeed in the classroom.
- You stood up to gender-based violence (GBV), raising $30,370 through our online fundraiser — then watched as three visionary donors DOUBLED your impact to over $60,000.
- You packed the room at our biggest-ever Women United networking event, where we heard fierce calls for action against GBV and connected with frontline partners including the Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation, 211 Alberta, and YWCA Edmonton.
- You showed up at our signature event and helped flip the script on women’s leadership with a panel discussion that defied outdated norms and celebrated leadership that uplifts, collaborates, and transforms.
And we’re just getting started. In the year ahead, you can expect bold ideas, deeper partnerships, and even greater impact.
For now, read on to learn more about the countless lives you have already changed through your support of United Way.
With unstoppable gratitude,
Corrina Mulyk & Heather MacCallum
Co-Chairs, Women United Cabinet 2024–25
How Women United is helping meet emerging needs in our community
Women United’s tremendous outpouring of volunteer time, advocacy, and financial support has a positive ripple effect. Your generosity has meant essential programming, resources, and services are there when people need them the most.
With more people reaching out for help, local agencies must be able to adapt to face complex needs and emerging issues. In response, in 2024 our United Way embarked on a new investment strategy that provides front-line agency funding to 52 local non-profits without requiring agencies to designate funds to specific programs.
This shift is empowering our partners to be more agile, allocating resources where they’re most needed, and we are helping more women and girls, because we’re supporting the entire agency, not just select programs. We estimate that 150,894 unique services were accessed by women and girls through our funded agency partners this past year, while 25,512 women and girls participated in United Way programs and initiatives.
Supporting agency partners and the women they serve
With your support, in 2024/25, United Way allocated more than $1.7 million in funding towards 21 social agencies that serve women and families in our community. Many of these agencies are new to United Way’s network, including:
- Alberta Immigrant Women & Children Centre empowers immigrant women and their families with relevant and inclusive programs that meet their specific needs.
- Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation breaks the cycle of domestic violence through advocacy, awareness, community engagement, education, and safe housing.
- Stop Abuse in Families (SAiF) Society provides prevention strategies for healthy relationships, free counselling services, and additional supports for individuals and families as part of their healing journey after family violence.
Because of our new investment model, agency partners tell us that they’re able to expand or enhance programming.
We hear that our funding is a safety net that not only supports people in need, but staff too. When agencies are empowered to direct funding to staff training and wellness, it prevents staff turnover that could otherwise increase pressure on the sector. Front-line agency funding is helping to keep the doors open and the lights on at agencies across the region, helping more women and girls realize their full potential.
It’s because of your dedication to Women United — and your trust in United Way’s work — that we can strengthen the social sector in this way.
Addressing financial pressures today and into the future
The rising cost of life’s basic needs are pushing more people to access resources like food banks and shelters for the first time. Thanks to the generosity of Women United supporters, United Way and its agency partners are helping them tackle complex challenges like housing, food security, and cultural supports through a wholistic lens.
- Leduc Food Bank runs bulk-buy co-ops and school-supply drives that help families – many of which are led by women – access essential items in between hampers. Organizations like Bent Arrow Healing Society have opened free urban markets, allowing participants to pick fresh vegetables with dignity.
- Empower U helps participants – with a special focus on women and newcomers – increase their knowledge, tools, and access to resources to meet their financial goals with confidence. After taking part in Empower U, 96% of participants report increased financial knowledge and hope for the future.
- Last year, United Way’s Period Promise initiative distributed more than 10,000 free menstrual products to 16 local frontline agencies, helping thousands of people who menstruate access this essential item with dignity.
Supporting survivors of gender-based and family violence
Your support of Women United helps local women and girls experiencing gender-based violence (GBV) find safety, support, and the strength to rebuild their lives.
- United Way funding supports nine non-profits working in the areas of GBV and family violence, including Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation, Stop Abuse in Families (SAiF) Society, and Riseup Society Alberta. These organizations offer counselling, housing, and other wraparound supports.
- 211 Alberta, delivered in partnership by United Way, Discress Centre, and CMHA Edmonton, makes it easier for survivors to get support. Trained resource navigators help people access a range of services, from emergency shelter to mental health counselling to financial or legal advice.
As the need for support for survivors of violence continues to grow, the passion and commitment of Women United’s network of changemakers will be key to helping them along their healing journey.
Lifting up children and youth to create generational change
We know that when we lift up women, we lift up entire families. When caregivers and their children have healthy relationships and can rise to meet challenges with support from their community, those positive ripple effects endure through generations.
- United Way supports Boys & Girls Club locations in Strathcona County and Leduc, as well as BGCBigs programs in Edmonton. Children are supported to develop confidence and skills for life through mentorship opportunities, out-of-school programming, and summer camps, supporting entire families on the road to success.
- With funding from United Way, Skillcity Institute is developing tailored, culturally responsive, equitable strategies to meet the needs of racialized neurodiverse individuals and their caregivers, helping improve economic and health outcomes.
- Last year, 100% of caregivers said they make positive decisions after receiving support through United Way’s All in for Youth collaborative at their children’s school. This demonstrates that empowering youth sets the entire family on the path to success.
Stories of Impact
Behind every statistic is a story — and these are just a few of the real lives changed thanks to your support. The challenges facing women and families in our region are complex and deeply connected: poverty, violence, mental health, financial strain, and access to education often intersect. But thanks to Women United donors, United Way and its partners provide community-based solutions that meet people where they are — and create pathways to safety, stability, and strength. While names have been changed to protect individuals’ privacy, the experiences and impact you’ll read about here are very real.
Tanya's Story
Tanya*, a mother of four, arrived in Edmonton from Saddle Lake, determined to build a better future for her children. As an Indigenous and Trinidadian woman, she had witnessed violence and instability in her community and made the difficult decision to leave behind housing and financial security in search of something more. Alone and without income, she struggled to navigate a new system without support.
That changed when she joined Bent Arrow’s Transitions to Success program. Through the program, Tanya gained access to income support, an access leisure pass, and back to school kits for her children. But the greatest shift came when she began confronting the deep-rooted belief that past setbacks defined her future. Having left a Child and Youth Care Worker program without completing her practicum, she saw herself as unworthy of trying again.
With guidance focused on confidence, communication, and career exploration, Tanya found the courage to reach out to her college. After three long weeks, she got the news: she could complete her practicum.
Today, Tanya is a certified Child and Youth Care Worker. Her journey is a powerful reminder that healing and hope grow stronger with community by your side.
Maya’s Story
After the sudden loss of her husband to suicide, Maya* was left to navigate a devastating grief while trying to hold her family together. With three children reeling from the loss of their father, Maya didn’t know how she’d get through each day.
She found support at BGC Leduc.
The children were welcomed into a safe, supportive environment where they could express their grief, connect with others, and most importantly, feel like kids again. Through games, conversations, and shared moments, they found a space where sadness didn’t define them. For Maya, it meant time to breathe, to process her own grief, and to begin building a new path forward without placing that emotional weight on her children.
Raven’s Story
After the birth of her oldest daughter, Raven* found herself isolated and cut off from healthy support due to toxic relationships in her life. She knew something needed to change. That’s when she was referred to Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre.
From the moment she walked through their doors, Raven felt seen and supported. Through home visits and compassionate listening, Norwood staff helped her begin the courageous work of breaking generational cycles of abuse. They offered parenting classes, counselling, respite care, and drop-in groups — always at Raven’s pace and without pressure or judgment.
Norwood didn’t just support Raven, they supported her entire family. Whether it was meals at evening parenting sessions or snacks during drop-ins, every detail reinforced that her family belonged.
What stood out most was Norwood’s deep respect for Indigenous roots and its commitment to healing through conversation and community.
With Norwood by her side, Raven began to build the kind of future she’d always wanted for her daughters — one rooted in love, safety, and belonging.
Layla’s Story
Layla* arrived at Terra Centre for Teen Parents with big goals: earn her high school diploma, find stable housing for herself and her child, and eventually begin a post-secondary program. She joined Terra Centre’s Services for Educational Achievement (SEA) program, where responsive support from her Relentless Empowerment Coach helped turn those goals into achievable milestones.
Through that relationship, Layla was connected to Terra’s childcare and housing supports that made it easier to stay focused on school. As her confidence grew, she joined Terra Centre’s Youth Leadership program, where she found mentorship, community, and eventually, her own voice as a mentor for other students.
Layla’s next chapter began when she secured safe and supportive long-term housing through Terra Centre’s partnership with the Brentwood Community Development Group. With her living situation stabilized, Layla reached her next milestone: in June 2023, she graduated with her high school diploma, earning multiple awards for her perseverance.
Her ambition didn’t stop there. With help from her Relentless Empowerment Coach, Layla was accepted into Women Building Futures to pursue a career in the trades. Terra Centre supported her with essential gear and continues to stand beside her through the Post High School Transition program.
Now, Layla is building a future where she and her child can thrive.
*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of agency clients.
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