Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic

About Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic:

Founded in 1985, the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic’s mission is to offer legal representation, professional counselling and multilingual interpretation to women who have experienced violence. It also aims to change the conditions that threaten women’s safety, dignity and equality. 

The Clinic’s counselling program provides therapeutic counselling, information and support for women leaving an abusive situation, or remaining in their current relationship. It offers individual and group counselling, and transitional and housing support. In F2015, 1,616 women received counselling through the Clinic’s counselling program.

The Clinic’s legal program provides free legal services to women who have experienced violence and abuse. Its legal services include family law, criminal law, immigration and refugee law, and family court support. In F2015, 1,360 women received access to legal rights and remedies through the Clinic’s legal program.

The Clinic’s interpreter services provide free interpretation to women in many settings, including those participating in counselling sessions, workshops and legal appointments. Interpretation is available in more than 200 languages, including sign language. In F2015, 1,358 women benefited from the Clinic’s interpreter services. In addition, the Language Interpreters Service was created as a social enterprise in 2009 to provide exceptional interpreting services to health, legal, business, government and other organizations in the Greater Toronto Area. This organization trains immigrant women to operate interpreting businesses of their own.

Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic also engages in advocacy initiatives to change the social conditions that generate and perpetuate violence against women. The Clinic advances legal reform by intervening in court cases to ensure that women’s dignity, equality and security are defined and scaled in law. It also provides many statements and submissions about government policies and to the United Nations.

Financial Review:

The Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic is a small-cap charity, with donations of $746k in F2015. Government funding makes up 70% of its revenues, with $2.4m in funding in F2015. Its administrative costs at 6% of revenues have dropped from 12% in F2014 due to renovation expenses recorded in F2014. Its fundraising costs at 8% of donations have dropped from 17% in F2014 as donations were significantly lower in F2014. For every $1 donated to the charity, 85 cents is put towards its programs, falling within Ci’s reasonable range. Its funding reserves of $363k results in a program cost coverage of 11%. This means that the charity can run only 1.3 months of its programs using its current reserves.

This charity report is an update that is being reviewed by Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on May 25, 2016 by Lynn Tay.