Why support Rise
Women in BC need Rise. Rise needs you!
Family law is widely acknowledged as the largest gap in access to justice in BC, and lack of access to comprehensive family law legal aid disproportionately impacts women and gender diverse people. Access to family law advice and representation is an equality issue.
Without Rise, women and gender diverse people in BC who can’t afford a private lawyer and who are not eligible for provincial Legal Aid are faced with the choice of trying to navigate the legal system by themselves.
It is either self-representation or to abandon their rights and entitlements – and possibly those of their children – for no other reason than that they can’t afford to claim them. Women and children who experience family violence are left at risk.
Rise Women’s Legal Centre is an independent community clinic and we rely heavily on grants and private donations to operate. Support Rise and support greater access to family justice in BC.
To ensure accountability and transparency, you can see our financial statements for 2022-2023
Our Supporters
Grantors and funders:
Rise is also grateful for the support of foundations and major donors who have requested anonymity.
Major donors:
The Hon. Risa Levine
Lori Lothian
J. Scott Stanley
Sustaining Circle
The following donors have pledged their support to Rise by committing to an ongoing annual contribution. Their ongoing commitment strengthens our financial foundation and helps to ensure Rise’s future. We’re grateful for their generosity.
Partners
Scott Booth KC
Magal Huberman & Ury Segal
Jenkins Marzban Logan LLP
Advocates
Nancy Bradshaw & Robert Brown
Morag MacLeod, KC
Murray Jamieson LLP
The Hon. Catherine Ryan
Patrons
The Hon. Marion Allan
Roberta Beiser
Susan Boyd & Claire Young
May Chan
Margaret Clarke
Nicholas Cotton
The Hon. Kirsti Gill
Andrea Glen
Agnes Huang
Judith Korbin
The Hon. Donna Martinson
Jane Reid
Michelle Simpson
Brenda Scragg
and other members of the Sustaining Circle who wish to remain anonymous.
Monthly Giving Circle
Susanna Allevato Quail
Soleil Belanger
Elizabeth Cameron
Matthew Chan
Morgyn Chandler
Ross Collver
Georgeann Glover
Kasari Govender
Claire Haaf
Narintip Hornby
Tevia Jeffries
Emily Kydd
Rhona Lichtenwald
Raji Mangat
Kimberly McAfee
Ana Mihaljovic
Jasmine Nielsen
Debra Parkes
Rachel Roy
Gabrielle Sheung
Tanya Thakur
Amanda Tipper
Eva Ureta
Coralie Wood
Volunteer
Thank you for your interest in Rise, and we wish you safety and good health!
Please note that our ability to accept volunteers is extremely limited at this time. We remain grateful to all interested volunteers, and hope that we will be able to welcome you at a later date.
If you are a lawyer who wishes to volunteer your services with Rise’s Virtual Legal Clinic, please email us at [email protected]
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is Rise funded by the government?
Rise is an independent legal clinic that relies on a variety of funding sources including personal donations, grants and foundations. While we have received project grants from government sources, we receive no ongoing core funding from either the provincial or federal governments.
I already donated to Rise through UBC. Why is Rise doing a separate fundraiser?
UBC helped to found Rise, and continues to make a generous financial contribution to Rise’s operations every year which supports our Student Legal Clinic.
UBC provides rise with a set amount of funds each year, and engages in fundraising activities to support this commitment. Donations to UBC for Rise will be received by us indirectly as part of UBC’s regularly scheduled contribution, but will not be in addition to UBC’s contribution.
Although we do our best to coordinate our activities, Rise works separately from UBC to raise the additional funds we need for the continuing success of of our programming and operations. Since UBC’s full financial commitment is taken into account when Rise passes its annual budget, additional donations to UBC for Rise do not impact Rise’s annual fundraising goals.