Canada Chapter Toolkit

Canada Chapter Toolkit

Canadian Leadership U

2007 Post-Event Report

Resources

Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy (A Powerpoint Presentation)
Role of the Board of Directors

Leadership, Volunteer Management and Association Management

There are several good on-line resources, many of them specific to Canada:

Recruiting Board Members This resource is specific to Canadian not-for-profit associations. It was developed by the Government of Alberta in conjunction with the not-for-profit Muttart Foundation.
Revising Bylaws This resource is specific to Canadian not-for-profit associations. It was developed by the Government of Alberta in conjunction with the not-for-profit Muttart Foundation.
Developing Job Descriptions This resource is specific to Canadian not-for-profit associations. It was developed by the Government of Alberta in conjunction with the not-for-profit Muttart Foundation.
Hiring and Reviwing the Executive Director This resource is specific to Canadian not-for-profit associations. It was developed by the Government of Alberta in conjunction with the not-for-profit Muttart Foundation.
Primer for Directors of Not-for-Profit Corporations This is a guide produced in conjunction with the Government of Canada. It is a MUST read for chapter leaders.
Ken Blanchard Company offers free webinars monthly. An archive is found at www.kenblanchard.com/news. Topics include Leading High Performance Teams; Developing Coaching Skills; and Working Together as a Team
Charity Village is Canada's largest "supersite" for the not-for-profit industry. They can be found at www.charityvillage.com.
The Canadian Society of Association Executives has an on-line archive of their magazine, Association, located at: http://www.csae.com/public/public.asp?WCE=C=47|K=221850|RefreshT=220485|RefreshS=Container|RefreshD=2204853
The Board Cafe is a newsletter designed for not-for-profit Boards of Directors. It can be found at: http://www.compasspoint.org/boardcafe/index.php
Centre for Non-Profit Management (Canada) http://www.cnpm.ca/
Volunteer Canada has a newsletter called eVOLution, found at: http://www.volunteer.ca/volunteercanada/e-zine.cfm
Energize, Inc! is for leaders of volunteers: http://www.energizeinc.com/
Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations: http://www.calgarycvo.org/
Human Resources for the Voluntary/Non-Profit Sector (Canada): http://www.hrvs-rhsbc.ca/council/index_e.cfm
Corporate Social Responsibility and Volunteering: http://www.energizeinc.com/art/subj/corpres.html
Government of Alberta/Muttart Foundation Board Workbooks: http://www.wildrosefoundation.ca/bdp/resources.aspx. This the link to the workbooks at the beginning of this section.

Finance

Handbook for Financial Management. This handbook is specific to Canadian not-for-profit associations. it was developed by the Government of Alberta and the not-for-profit Muttart Foundation.

Foundation Grants: Each chapter can apply for grants totalling no more than $5000.00 USD. Grant applications are found at:http://www.mpiweb.org/CMS/MPIweb/MPILandingPages/MPIFoundation.aspx. This money can be funnelled into education. Please contact your Chapter Business Manager for any required assistance.

Quick Ratiosfor use in determining chapter health:

Current Ratio: This ratio helps determine if you have enough assets to pay bills during the year. It is total current assets/total current liabilities – current ratio. A ratio of 1:1 means that for every dollar of debt there is exactly one dollar of assets to cover it. A ratio of 1.5 – 2 is usually an indication of solvency. It is a good medium to long-term ratio.
Acid Test Ratio: This is a quick measure of liquidity in the immediate short-term. The formula is: (cash + cash equivalents)/current liabilities = acid test ratio1:1 is considered satisfactory.

Membership

HQ Partnership: There is an opportunity to provide membership leads to the Membership department at HQ. Membership leads will be followed up on from Dallas to ease the burden on local volunteers. Contact your Chapter Business Manager.

Toolkits: There is a membership toolkit on the web under Community Connections (Chapter Leaders). You will need to log in using your user name and password to access them.

Some ASAE-suggested membership survey questions:

Why do members join?
Why do prospects NOT join?
What do members like/dislike about the association?
What products and services are valued? Which are not? Which would be if they were offered?
What mechanisms would be used by members wanting to communicate with the chapter?
How can the chapter help their members achieve their objectives?

Communications

Toolkit: There is a communications toolkit on the web under Community Connections (Chapter Leaders). You will need to log in using your user name and password to access them. It contains templates for press releases, house ads, and other items.

Email Policy: Consider writing an email policy for the Board and any employees/contractors. Email has been ruled a record of permanent communication by the courts in the US, meaning that it can be treated as evidence in a court case. It can also be considered as a legally binding offer/counter offer in the case of contracts. This could include things such as:

Harassment (i.e. forwarding of inappropriate jokes)
Defamation or libel (i.e. degrading somebody in an email or forwarding of this email)
Copyright (i.e. using copyrighted information in a newsletter without getting the right permissions)

Provincial Privacy Laws Web sites