Giving birth isn’t easy. Whether it’s giving birth to a child or a dream, unexpected struggles can hit anytime. Amber found this to be especially true when she developed diabetes type 1 shortly after she had her first child. “When you’re pregnant, you don’t envision having to now also pay for insulin, medical supplies, and additional health services for yourself,” she explains. Familiar with living… Read more
Money Management
Canadians know that sickness can get expensive. One of Momentum’s participants, Ben, experienced this truth personally when a Schizophrenic episode led to a long hospital stay. Time away from work eventually led to the loss of a meaningful engineering job and a family breakdown. One can only imagine how paralyzed his doctors might have felt as these events advanced; Medicine can only do so much…. Read more
Community Matters
Newly released data from Statistics Canada shows that the rate of child poverty in Alberta fell by 50% between 2015 and 2017. While child poverty was reduced in almost every province, the greatest drop was seen in Alberta. Two specific public policies implemented in 2016 have contributed significantly to this decline: the consolidation of a several federal child benefits and credits into the Canada Child… Read more
Community Matters
In the Spring of 2017, you joined Momentum to help us envision the future. Together we shared dreams and hopes for Momentum through stories, drawings and action plans. From this process, we’ve created a new strategic vision for our work. We’re excited to present our new strategic vision that you helped us to craft. Thank you for being an engaged part of the Momentum community!… Read more
Community Matters, Our Results
It’s a wrap! After more than 12 months in the making we are thrilled to say EconoUs2017, the 8th annual community economic development conference, and our first-go at co-organizing an event of this scale was a success. Quantifying ‘success’ in this instance is more than being on budget and exceeding our attendance targets (don’t get us wrong, we’re celebrating that too). But the conference, very… Read more
Community Matters
Hey friends, Momentum belongs to a non-profit association called REAP, which stands for Respect for the Earth and All People. REAP businesses like ours care about the community and the planet. Each year REAP’s Be Local Awards encourage Calgarians to vote for their favourite local businesses. Winners are recognized at REAP’s annual Be Local Awards Gala with a Be Local trophy. Voting is open August… Read more
Business Development, Community Matters, Get Involved, Our Results
I am new to Momentum. A week ago Thursday marked my fourth month here. From my first day, it’s been a whirlwind of learning and growing and experiencing. In my research of Momentum prior to joining the team I learned a lot. I read about housing programs and I read about how Momentum is recognized for social innovation in Calgary. I read about the Savings… Read more
Money Management, Our Results Momentum is partnering with Bootkik Video to share the stories, successes, failures and lessons learned from some of our city’s leading entrepreneurs. Our hope is that these stories can provide inspiration to the entrepreneurs that we are connected to as well as inspire our wider community to support local businesses and build a stronger Calgary. We hope you enjoy the stories in this series. This… Read more
Business Development
Momentum celebrated a big anniversary in 2016. For 25 years now, we have been taking an economic approach to social issues, and adding a social perspective to local economic development. The pressures of our struggling economy brought out the best in us, and this year has been one of our finest. We are grateful to our board and staff, participants, investors and community partners. We… Read more
Community Matters, Our Results
Marquesa Shore had always wanted to be a business owner but, until one casual drive through the mountains, she had no idea what that could mean. She had been earning good money in Fort McMurray, but lost her job during layoffs in 2014. When she later visited Banff, she was immediately inspired: Banff needed a women’s clothing boutique, and she would be the one to… Read more
Business Development, Community Matters, Our Results