Annual Report
WATERLOO WELLINGTON FUND RAISING EXECUTIVE
Annual General Meeting – July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017
Tuesday, September 27, 2017
Fork and Cork, Kitchener
Present: Brian Banks, Marlow Gingerich, Dawn Gill, Craig Stevenson, Melissa Parker, Robin McLean,
BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES
Welcome/Opening – Dawn Gill opened the meeting and welcomed the members.
Agenda Review –There were no additions to the agenda.
President’s Report:
The past year has been a busy on for board providing us with the opportunity to reflect on who we are, how we serve and what we are capable of when we work in collaboration other entities that have a similar mission to WFRE; which is to strengthen the local fundraising community by offering local, affordable and engaging opportunities of professional development, & networking opportunities.
Last year we set out to present key speakers that we believe provided value to you. As well we identified opportunities for connections outside of our typical lunch and breakfast meeting format– such our Penelope Burk workshop last May co-hosted by CAGP in Woodstock and the Fundraisers happy Hour at local pubs and restaurants that is… gaining traction (I’ll announce dates and times later
We are intentionally diversifying the networking venues we choose in to hopes to introduce the membership to new venues to best showcase our great speakers and to give a sneak peek at venues available for your fundraising initiatives.
You will hear the dollar and cents details later, but since our books are in order, we are planning to re-direct even more funds back to the members, in the form of reduced fee for specialty workshops (such as the Penelope Burk member rebate). We plan to provide more rebates and bursaries in the future – so watch for these in our regular communications.
I would l like to end with a shout out these amazing volunteers that make up the WFRE board! Their patience and professionalism makes it easy and fun to do my job. They are committed to serving you, to help you better serve each of your organizations and ultimately expanding philanthropy in Waterloo Region. We all look forward to serving you in the up-coming year.
Treasurer’s report: Moved Brian B, seconded Melissa Parker
See attached or website at http://wfre.org/annual-report/
Membership Report : Moved Robin Mclean, seconded Craig S.
WFRE Membership Report – Oct 3, 2017
Submitted by Marlow Gingerich
For the event year Sept 2016 to June 2017
I am pleased to report that 30 memberships were taken out for this year. As well a number of guests and one time attendees continue to be well represented in the crowd.
The executive of the WFRE organization continues to promote membership in two ways. A corporate membership allows an organization to send various people to our events and allows flexibility as to who attends each event. An individual membership is for one specific person from an organization for the year. We have also started a “free guest once per year” to encourage all current members to reach out their peer group and introduce the WFRE organization to others.
Furthermore, we trust that we are providing good value as the $125 membership fee pays for all the events, speakers, and meals for the entire year. One flat fee at the beginning of the year covers all the costs to all the events and allows the member to bring a friend to one event for no extra charge.
As new people attend the events, we follow up with an introductory email as a welcome, with a further explanation on how to become a member if that is of interest.
Another new initiative this past year allowed a rebate exclusively to WFRE members that attended the Penelope Burke event in Woodstock. Several local organizations collaborated to put this event on. This was well received with 12 members taking advantage of the $25 rebate. We were able to offer this on two counts, one that we wanted to encourage members to attend because of the quality of the speaker and we had the funds to do so. But also because of the structure of the sponsorship funding in that this was contingent on total attendance, so anything we could do to encourage people to attend was positive.
Our website and app continues to be a good way to promote our membership. As well, advocacy from current members is always a strong avenue when they enjoy the speakers and find that they get good value from the cost.
Communication Report: Moved Craig S , seconded Melissa Parker
Submitted by Brian Banks
We have strived to keep members informed of events, job opportunities, events, networking and learning sessions of interest of members via the Website, Mailchimp Email service, LinkedIn, Snap Event Listings, and social media via Facebook and Twitter. We have kept our website up to date and will be redesigning it shortly and open to suggestions for content. Our APP is available to download at the Google Play Store and has a directory of members, and one touch access to our website, social media, upcoming events and more.
We are open to ideas and suggestions to improve communications and any help for those that feel inclined to share their communication skills
Meeting Adjourned
DOWNLOAD WFRE-AGM-Minutes-September 27. 2017
