Addressing poverty at its root
VCC’s journey began in 2002, when leaders from United Way of Calgary and Area and Momentum connected with the Tamarack Institute through its early Vibrant Communities initiative. Tamarack’s model emphasized collaborative, community-driven change—bringing together nonprofits, governments, businesses, and people with lived experience to tackle complex social challenges.
That framework helped inspire the creation of Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC), which was formally incorporated in 2005. Unlike traditional nonprofits, VCC was designed as a backbone organization focused on advocacy, coordination, and awareness rather than direct service delivery. Its role was to connect people, align efforts, and push for systemic solutions to poverty.
VCC has stewarded Calgary’s community-led poverty reduction strategy, Enough for All (E4A) since 2015. The vision of E4A is simple: to live in a community where there is enough for all. In 2019, Enough for All underwent a refresh and evolved into Enough for All 2.0. In 2023, E4A received it’s traditional Blackfoot name,
iih kanii tai staiiwa, meaning “everything is there.”
Branching out: Champions, lived experts, and local government
Over it’s history, VCC has advanced poverty reduction measure in many ways, including:
- Calgary’s Living Wage: VCC was an early champion of Calgary’s living wage movement. VCC calculates and shares Calgary’s living wage every year in collaboration with the Alberta Living Wage Network. This work led to the certified Living Wage Employer program and the Living Wage Outcomes Harvest.
- Low Income Transit Pass (LITP): VCC helped design and implement a sliding scale program that improves access to transportation for thousands of residents. The LITP has helped people access employment, education, healthcare, and community supports.
- Affordable Housing: VCC helped coordinate community input into the City of Calgary’s Housing and Affordability Task Force. All recommendations from the task force were ultimately approved by Council, with VCC recognized as a key contributor in shaping the process. VCC has also been an active advocate for the City of Calgary’s Home is Here affordable housing strategy.
- Social Policy Collaborative (SPC): Chaired by VCC and The Alex, the SPC brings a clear and collective voice to government advocacy. They outline key policy recommendations to improve the economic and social well-being of Albertans.
- Calgary’s Well-being Dashboard: Following VCC’s “Beneath the Surface” community well-being report, several well-being indicators were introduced. These are tracked and regularly updated in the Well-Being Dashboard.
Beyond these initiatives, VCC has played an important role in keeping poverty reduction visible in public conversations through wide-scale community engagement and proactive media outreach. VCC has established a strong reputation as a reliable source on community well-being and affordability.
The case study identified that a defining feature of Calgary’s progress in changing systems to reduce poverty has been a growing commitment to diversifying voices and shifting power. Through initiatives like the
Kaleidoscope Spaces lived experience network and
E4A Champions Network, VCC has engaged partners from business, government, and the non-profit sector, while also creating meaningful opportunities for community members to shape decisions and priorities.
This reflects an important lesson from two decades of work: poverty reduction efforts are strongest when they are co-created. Centring lived experience not only leads to more effective solutions, but also helps shift traditional power dynamics—an essential part of long-term systems change.
The seeds of systems change were originally planted through Tamarack Institute’s Vibrant Communities network. As communities across the country continue this work in their own ways, there is a shared sense of momentum—moving us closer to a future where there is enough for all.
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