Thunderbird House fights to keep doors open amid financial woes

It has a hole in its roof, but Winnipeg's iconic Thunderbird House has troubles that go all the way down to its foundation.

With mounting bills and few revenue options, the non-profit Indigenous cultural and spiritual centre, located on Main Street and Higgins Avenue, is relying on donations to get back on track and secure the future of what people who use Thunderbird House say is a much-needed gathering place and cultural hub.

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"When I'm here I feel really safe … it's a place to be yourself, where you could express yourself or do anything you like. No one will make fun of you," said 14-year-old Kenzie Fagnan Twoheart.

Fagnan Twoheart was a recent participant at an elders' teachings night, an event that brought together the laughter and chatter of about 50 teenagers as they attempted games such as "caterpillar" and "countcoo."

"All people had games in their communities … so I try to tie in games that relate to here but also games that teach values," said elder Vern Dano in the time between a pipe ceremony and the first Indigenous game of the evening.

The night was hosted by Action Therapy, a consultation and intervention program aimed at supporting at-risk youth. Many of the young people at the elders' teachings night are involved with child and family services, and the centre provides an opportunity for them to connect with their culture.

"When you see these kids just wake up and flourish, and they're meeting elders and they're meeting medicine people, it's like family for them," said Mitch Bourbonniere, a social worker with Action Therapy.

"It's just glorious because we can still smell the smudge on ourselves. And we talk about the teachings and we talk about the experience and how their ancestors lived this way. It just makes them feel so connected."

Mistakes made along the way

Last year, a newly formed board of directors took a hard look at the centre's financial position and came away with a lot of unknowns. The missing details meant that Thunderbird House's 2016 audit could not be verified.

"We've been working really hard on fixing a lot of those mistakes that were made along the way. I think it was just lack of experience in operations management, so there were some things that were missed," said Kevin Koroscil, co-chair of Thunderbird House's board of directors.

One area of concern is the centre's charitable status. In July 2015 that status was revoked because of a failure to file the necessary reports to maintain it. That meant that Thunderbird House missed out on approximately $70,000 in funding for a staff position and potential donors were lost due to the centre's inability to provide a charitable tax receipt, said Koroseil.

The board is working on a self-sustaining funding model for the long run, but money is needed now.

"It will be tough for Thunderbird House to apply for grants unless they have a recovery plan in place," said Darlene Proctor, the accountant with Thornton and Co. who handled the centre's most recent audit.

"I think the history [of Thunderbird House] and its purpose will help them to persuade funders of the needed funding. We did advise them and helped them in the filing of the charity return, in which they are trying to get reinstated … now. I do believe the board is working very hard at getting some of the issues at hand solved."

In 2016, the province provided $30,085 to cover a series of repairs and the cost of an audit. The audit was a necessary step to re-apply for the centre's charitable status.

According to a government spokesperson, that money was a "one-time only allocation", and there is currently no provincial money earmarked for Thunderbird House in 2017.

Funding from the City of Winnipeg also came to a halt for 2017. In 2015, Thunderbird House received $106,567 through the city's Homelessness Partnering Strategy, and in 2016 that amount dipped to $51,184. Thunderbird House will be ineligible for that funding until 2018.

Recovery plan

The centre's charitable status is critical to its survival, as it has a 2017 fundraising goal of $250,000. That amount, according to Koroscil, would let the centre get caught up on its bills and fund Thunderbird House-initiated programming.

"We're trying to expand the amount of knowledge that's being shared from elders to young people, or people who are searching for identity, " said Chuck Copenace, the facilities manager for Thunderbird House.

Copenace is the centre's only paid staff member, a cost that is barely within the budget. Last year, the centre's expenses totaled $174,082, leaving it with a surplus of $11,002. The surplus was made possible by more than $100,000 in government grants and funding, an amount the board of directors will now have to find through other sources of revenue.

Going forward, the board of directors is focused on transparency and healing relationships within the community.

"Some of [the relationships] were burned because sometimes the doors were closed, and so that clarity that people know that we're not rolling in money and that we are doing everything possible to meet the community's need is really important," said Koroscil.

Thunderbird House's next annual general meeting is planned for the spring.