News Release

For immediate release

May 22, 2019, Calgary, AB – A three-year memorandum of agreement (MOA) between The City of Calgary, the United Way of Calgary and Area, Momentum, and Vibrant Communities Calgary will be signed at a special celebration on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at The Kahanoff Centre (200, 105 12 Ave SE) at 5:30 p.m.  This a renewal of the current MOA that ends on December 31, 2019.

The MOA commits the four partners to support the Enough for All 2.0 strategy through their active engagement in the realizations of the strategy and to provide the necessary funds to Vibrant Communities Calgary to steward and guide its implementation.

Enough for All, Calgary’s 10-year community-driven poverty reduction strategy was adopted unanimously by City Council and the United Way of Calgary and Area in 2013. Vibrant Communities Calgary has been guiding its implementation since January 2015. In light of the economic downturn and the social policy developments such as the Alberta Child Benefit, the strategy was refreshed in 2018.  Enough for All 2.0 takes the original strategy to its conclusion in 2023.

Implementation of the strategy is in partnership with the community and jointly supported and funded by The City of Calgary and United Way of Calgary and Area. Vibrant Communities Calgary will continue its role as the backbone organization stewarding the implementation of the strategy.

The mission of the strategy is to create opportunities to align and leverage the work of hundreds of organizations and thousands of Calgarians to reduce poverty in our city.

The strategy outlines a number of goals including:

• All Calgarians live in a strong, supportive and inclusive community
• All Calgarians have sufficient income and assets to thrive
• All Indigenous People are equal participants in Calgary’s future

The strategy identifies 10 levers of change that will assist Calgarians to lift themselves out of poverty. Organizations and agencies are invited to align with the refreshed strategy.  By harnessing the collective power of Calgarians the strategy has an aspirational target of reducing Calgary’s 2015 poverty level by 30 per cent by 2023.

“Poverty hurts us all. We all must fight hard, together, every single day, to meaningfully reduce poverty in Calgary,” says Mayor Naheed Nenshi. “This strategy was created by the community, and now it’s been refreshed by the community to address the changing world we find ourselves in. All Calgarians have a role to play to make the Enough for All strategy a success. Today we are reaffirming our commitment to making that vision a reality.”

“The refreshed Enough for All strategy, and our combined commitment to this, presents a greater opportunity to align as partners with the community on issues that affect us all,” said Jeff Loomis, Executive Director of Momentum.

“The signing of this refreshed Memorandum of Agreement represents our ongoing commitment to reducing poverty across our city,” said Karen Young, President & CEO of United Way of Calgary and Area. “With 1 in 10 Calgarians currently living in poverty, we are working together to positively impact the lives of those who are unable to meet their basic needs. Poverty limits peoples’ abilities to fully participate in the economic, social, and political life of our communities. It not only affects the people touched by it; it represents lost potential and opportunity for our entire community.”

“Collectively as a city we have come to understand the impact of collaboration, said Franco Savoia, Executive Director of Vibrant Communities Calgary. “Many leaders and stakeholders have identified the need to work differently.  We are at an exciting moment to collaborate and deepen our work and effectiveness in making poverty a thing of the past in our community.”