Scaling

Organizational capacity

Capacity

Our team grew by 45%. While encountering the challenges of a national and remote workforce, we doubled down on our investments in people.

+ 45%  
30
total staff
92
of our team agree that they feel included in VFC’s DEI work
92
understand why we have placed significant time, intention and resources into these efforts
100
of staff feel proud to work at VFC

*these results are from an all staff survey conducted in November 2021


Internal staff training and DEI sessions

Our team continued its journey of learning and unlearning. We reflected and created spaces for discussion about inequities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and how these show up in our work. We focused on action over intention and questioned our processes and policies to avoid accidental exclusion. We revised how we interview and onboard staff to setting virtual working hours and communication best practices centred on accessibility.

Over the year, we hosted close to a dozen internal sessions for our team including:

  • Anti-Racism with Doug Stewart
  • Indigenous Relations with Indigenous Corporate Training
  • Creating Trans and Queer Inclusive Spaces with the 519 in Toronto
  • Mental Health and the workplace with CAMH
  • Neurodiversity Awareness with Viability
  • Defining Inclusion & Belonging led by our team
  • The Comeback, a Conversation about Indigenous relations with John Ralston Saul

We looked for industry leaders and smaller organizations trying to shift the conversation when seeking facilitation. We approached voices from within these communities that could direct our learning in the right way. We thank the leaders and participants of these sessions. We're grateful for the vulnerability, personal stories and tools you shared and have already applied to our work.

Ecosystem building