General Operations FAQ
Q. What criteria or qualifications will be used to determine a seat on the board?
A. The Renewal North board consists of 3-10 people representing a cross-section of the fellowship. Board members include those with specific skills relevant to ongoing operation of the charity, as well as those who understand the difficulties of meeting living needs on a limited budget. Board members commit to serve 1-2 years and should expect an ongoing time commitment of 4-8 hours/month on average.
Q. Can anyone apply for board membership?
A. Anyone with a desire to help CSA/SA victims/survivors and transitioning workers can be a Renewal North advisor or board member. Board members and advisors are not required to be active members of the fellowship. Membership to the board requires a majority vote of the current Board of Directors. All Renewal North board members are voluntary and uncompensated.
The Renewal North Bylaws define the terms and conditions of our operations and can be reviewed upon request.
Q Will you be able to report on the number of survivors or workers who you have helped?
A. Yes, the Funds Overview and Activity page lists these specifics and more.
Q. If I want to help Renewal North, how can I do that?
A. There are a variety of ways that you can help to support our mission. Donating, serving as an advocate for a transitioning worker, serving as an independent third party, serving on the Board or as an advisor to the Board or communicating our mission to others by directing them to our website are all ways you can help. Please send us a message at the Contact Us link below or email [email protected] if you have ideas for assisting our mission in other ways or if you have additional questions about how you can help.
CSA/SA FAQ
Q. Why would CSA Survivors come to Renewal North rather than other therapy funds that are available?
A. When survivors have multiple options, they should pursue the option that makes them the most comfortable. Renewal North endeavors to ensure we follow an ethical, survivor-centric process for getting them care. However, we are not competitors — we simply hope all survivors are able to receive the much-deserved care they need.
Q. Does Renewal North accept money from the ministry to help fund CSA/SA survivors?
A. No. As of now we decided that it’s best for Renewal North to not receive funding from assets given to workers. This is primarily to ensure Renewal North is able to operate without potential conflicts of interest in our operations.
Q. Do people need to be in certain regions to be supported by Renewal North?
A. Renewal North will support any survivor anywhere within Canada. Currently, Renewal North is unable to provide assistance to survivors and workers that reside outside of Canada.
Q. Do you require survivors to identify themselves to Renewal North staff in order to support them with therapy requests?
A. No. Renewal North anonymously directs all survivors to engage directly with a third party, who does the evaluation and establishes a plan for care for the individual. The third party or the therapist then invoices Renewal North to pay for the therapy for the individual. Refer to the CSA / SA Assistance Fund page for contact and other information.
Transitioning Worker FAQ
Q. What is the difference between helping people through Renewal North compared to giving money directly to those transitioning workers?
A. We encourage you to continue supporting individuals directly as you feel moved. However, Renewal North is different in a variety of ways compared to individual support:
- Assisting through Renewal North enables you to support the transitioning worker community with a broad, holistic view of their needs for equitable distributions. We collaborate with workers or their advocates to determine their financial status and complement the income of those that need assistance on an ongoing monthly basis.
- Renewal North volunteers can provide transitioning workers or their advocates the ability to comfortably communicate their needs and provide updates as their needs change. We hope to reduce economic and overall uncertainty for transitioning workers through a structured, predictable, and empathetic process.
- Currently, donations through Renewal North are NOT tax exempt. We are in the process of getting charity status, so that in the future this would result in an approximately 25-30% increase in the funds available to workers and CSA/SA survivors.
- If you already support a transitioning worker on a periodic ongoing basis and wish to continue doing so through Renewal North, you can use the “Individual Worker Recommendation” preference on the Donate page to identify that individual by name. We will use your donation to assist that worker as their needs dictate.
Renewal North provides an equitable funding process and a set of transparent, published, and standardized guidelines for determining transitioning workers’ financial needs helps to provide fair and equitable living conditions. Transitioning workers or their advocates will be guided by the website or Renewal North volunteers to document their living expenses, any current income, and compute any financial shortfalls.
Q. How does the assistance amount for transitioning workers get established?
A. Transitioning worker assistance usually involves supplementing or covering the costs of specific activities or needs on a one-time basis, although there can be exceptions to that model. Assistance to transitioning workers can also include living expenses, transportation costs, healthcare costs, etc.
For transitioning workers who have recently left the work, the Transitioning Worker Needs Survey is designed to identify and prioritize transitioning goals. We understand that newly-transitioning workers may need assistance in projecting their anticipated living expenses. Renewal North can provide general information regarding typical costs for rent, utilities, food, and other categories as a guide for workers as they make their initial projections.
Once the above survey is completed or if you are a transitioning worker who has been out of the work for awhile and have specific items or goals you would like help in funding, the Transitioning Worker Funding Survey will help us understand your more detailed financial needs. We will then work with you directly to establish the assistance amount and frequency.
Q. Does this eliminate the need for people in the fellowship or the ministry to support transitioning workers?
A. No. The transitioning worker fund provides an ongoing external funding mechanism, independent of the ministry, that complements income that transitioning workers already receive to provide for their basic living expenses.
Q. What if I already contribute to a worker and want to use Renewal North to support that worker instead?
A. If you already periodically contribute to a specific transitioning worker and wish to transfer that contribution over to Renewal North, please use the “Individual Worker Recommendation” option on the Donor page and check the “In Lieu of White Envelope Contribution” box. That will enable us to adjust the income portion of their budget calculation appropriately.
Q. Why shouldn’t the ministry alone be responsible for funding transitioning workers?
A. With Renewal North, we aim to supplement the care already provided to the ministers. We also want to ensure that the care to the workers is equitable, so we can fill in gaps to the extent they exist.
Q. What if a worker isn’t comfortable asking for money?
A. We realize that transitioning workers are often reluctant to reach out and request financial assistance from anyone, especially a charity. In these cases, a close friend or relative can advocate for them by contacting Renewal North and helping us to get the information needed to assess their financial situation & establish their assistance level. If you know of a transitioning worker who may be in need and you can advocate for them to help us understand their budget and assistance needs, please contact us through any of the methods listed on the Transitioning Worker web page.
Q. What if a transitioning worker is uncomfortable using the website or online tools?
A. Transitioning workers who are uncomfortable with working online can call us at xxx-xxx-xxxx and leave us a message with your contact information. We will then contact you and walk you or your advocate through the process of determining your financial needs.
Q. If there is a worker in need, can I help them anonymously?
A. All donations to Renewal North are anonymous unless the donor checks the “Donor Name on Website” box on the donation page. By defining worker donation preferences, donors can steer funds toward workers in specific situations, or even recommend the donation be made to a specific worker. If a donor wants to monitor what Renewal North is doing for a specific worker with a donation they recommended for that worker, we can do that.
Q. If a worker has been removed or resigned because of SA or CSA allegations, would they be eligible for assistance from Renewal North?
A. No. Transitioning workers with reasonably substantiated allegations of abuse are not eligible for assistance from Renewal North. Please see the full list of transitioning worker assistance policies here.