Watch this session with Lilian Chau, CEO of Entre Nous Femmes Housing Society (ENFHS), sharing how and why this housing provider needed to evolve into a growth-oriented organization with strong development, financing, leadership, and partnerships. The webinar was moderated by Severn Nelson, Program Manager for British Columbia.
As a part of the Centre knowledge sharing series, this webinar explores how ENFHS has undertaken a major strategic shift by adopting an approach focused on partnership capacity and business mindset in service of a charitable purpose. It also highlights the critical role of resolute strategic thinking, organizational self-exploration grounded in theory of change, and internal capacities (including governance, financial expertise, and leadership) as essential foundations for organizational growth.
The complexity of the housing crisis, rising costs, and growing demand, combined with expiring operating agreements, made it clear that a purely operational focus would not be enough to meet community needs or ensure organizational sustainability.
In this recording, you’ll find practical guidance on how to:
- Shift from an operational focus to a mission-led entrepreneurial focus that can sustain itself and grow despite funding environment shifts;
- Become a housing provider capable of delivering large-scale, mixed-income communities while maintaining deep affordability and equity
“A lot of organizations already do strategic planning, but I would say that we really need to look at the future, and assess the health of the organization, as well as scanning the landscape. I guess another thing I would say is, don’t start with a project. You really do need to start with understanding your organization.
More than ever, strategic planning is really critical to understanding where your organization is at right now, and where you want to go in the future.”
Lilian Chau, CEO of Entre Nous Femmes Housing Society
Watch the webinar replay:
Want to learn more? Here are some additional resources
Related resources from our Resource Inventory:
- Beyond bricks and mortar: Building capacity for women-centered housing operations
- The social economy as a solution to the housing crisis
- Reports on the right to safe, adequate and affordable housing for women, Two Spirit, Trans, and gender-diverse people – Neha Review Panel
- Webinar – Transforming organizational culture, rethinking finance: Lessons from Connections for Seniors
- Browse our Resource Inventory for more.
