HxBIA 2012 AGM

Executive Director’s Report

First year 2010-2011

• Develop brand (brand alignment survey with local businesses, shoppers, residents, RFP process etc.)

• Grow and develop our board and internal governance • Foster good working relationships in the community• Build legitimacy with funders, government, and business

community• Begin identifying partnerships and other funding to

create major program streams• Create awareness of our initial work and the fact that we

exist!

Second year• Social Capital building: connecting local businesses and non-profits/social

enterprises together through speaking and networking events• Foster trust with neighbourhood organizations who are still learning about

us• Influence discourse on DTES local economy, business, gentrification and

improve dialogue between poverty activists and businesses and framing of DTES in the media

• Demonstrate value to local businesses and property owners by rolling out important initial program streams – safety and security, crime prevention, management of public spaces, advocacy on behalf of business community on issues of policy, taxation, zoning and permitting, approved uses, crime etc.

• Role out major program streams, including crime prevention, safety and health of public spaces

Media as of late… (good media)

• BC Business Magazine• Georgia Straight• The Courier • News 1130• The Vancouver Observer• Tweets from numerous council members, the

mayor, local foundations and non-profits, VEC• Open File

Grants and Sponsorship received

• Great beginnings $15k for marketing and web development

• $10k from COV and $5k from Real Estate Foundation for hosting of first Vancouver Urban Farming Forum (land use, policy, regulations)

• $40k capital grant (split with SBIA) for more urban trees and foliage along Pender and Hastings – held up due to bureaucracy…

New website and Business Directory – hot damn!

• http://thesum.ca/client/hxbia/website/ • http://www.sfu.ca/~clc7/hxbia_map/#

• Website Launching Friday• Map and directory next week

Major Program Streams:MP Neighbours – Safety and Crime Prevention,

Cleaning and Maintenance

Marketing the service for 6 months

Events we sponsored or organized

Taste Of Hastings (above) a networking event and tasting tour of several local restaurants in partnership with loco BC

Lunch Meet (Left) – funded by Viva Vancouver HxBIA and The Vancouver Public Spaces Network

Battle of Hastings….

Immersive game played by over 300 people, brought them through several businesses and public spaces looking for clues, including the Sun Tower (shown above)

More events we sponsored, supported or helped organized…

• Fair in the Square (Central City Foundation)• Victory Square Block Party (Megaphone)• Word on the Street• The Takeaway• Local Area Planning Committee business outreach

and input workshop• DNC Street Market• Fashion Art Design Week (Potentially November)• Victory Bootcamp (September - October)

Behind the scenes advocacy

• Connecting issues that small businesses face on the ground with the City’s economic development policy (Vancouver Economic Commission)

• Local Area Planning Committee (Fought to keep Victory Square and Chinatown Revitalization Strategies from being vetoed by interim rezoning policy)

• Inner-City Neighbourhood Coalition 30 + orgs• Inner-City Safety Society• BIA Partnership

Program streams in development

• BIA Banner Program• Continue building comprehensive safety, crime

prevention and environmental health initiative• Local Area Plan • Advocacy for improved permit facilitation, more

flexibility of approve uses, taxation and zoning/assessment issues

• Friends of the Park Stewardship Committee• COME TO ME WITH SUGGESTIONS

THANK YOU

Wes ReganExecutive Director, Hastings Crossing BIA604-805-3591wes.regan@hxbia.comLinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleyregan