Like so many nonprofit leaders today, Liz Gomes was searching for ways to combat inflation and funding precarity in order to sustain her organization’s growing impact.
She began her career fresh out of university as a child and youth counsellor at South Okanagan Women In Need Society (SOWINS), a role that aligned with her post-secondary training and lifelong passion. “I always knewthat I wanted to work with children and youth,” she says. After two decades in that space, Liz transitioned into the housing programs in 2015 and later stepped into the role of Executive Director. 
Over the 30+ years she has been with the organization, she has seen it grow from just two programs (a transition house and a child and youth community counselling program) into a multifaceted agency with nearly 50 staff and a wide range of services, including sexual assault response, victim services, and mobile outreach. As SOWINS grew, so did the pressure to sustain its impact.
“Like most organizations, we found funding to be a challenge, and we were struggling,” Liz explains. “Especially the last few years with inflation, we just haven’t been able to keep up.”
The team recognized the need to diversify revenue streams and saw an opportunity to revisit a long-standing community idea: reopening their thrift store. SOWINS’s previous store had been shuttered in 2014 due to operational challenges. “We still get people coming in every day wanting to donate and support a local organization that’s making an impact.”
To explore the potential, Liz joined the Impact & Leadership Development Program (ILDP) and partnered with Purppl Entrepreneur In Residence Amy Moroni.
Together, they developed a business plan and identified what it would take to make the store both impactful and sustainable. One key insight was the importance of hiring the right staff.
“It’s not just a retail job,” Liz says. “It’s part social work. You’re supervising volunteers who may be survivors of violence, engaging with donors who want to share their stories, and representing the organization in the community.”
Educating board members on the complexity of the role and the importance of offering a fair wage was part of the process. Amy’s own experience with owning a thrift store and retail operations helped the team clarify startup costs and prepare a pitch deck to present to funders and community partners.
Now, the team is focused on securing a suitable location, one with strong access, visibility, and space for donations. In the long term, SOWINS is also working with BC Housing to expand second-stage housing, with hopes of creating up to 40 supportive housing units for women.
“Right now, our second-stage housing is attached to our transition house; it’s a quick fix, but it doesn’t work long term,” Liz says. “We want a permanent, off-site solution that offers up to 18 months of safe housing and support. That could change lives. We’re taking the time to do it right.”
