CommunityWise Annual Report 2015 - 2016

CommunityWise Board of Directors 2015-2016 The CommunityWise Board of Di-

rectors is a passionate and com-

mitted collection of individuals who

represent the interests of the mem-

ber organizations and the commu-

nity at large.

Seth Leon Alberta Cooperative and Community Association Rick McFerrin Two Wheel View Corinne Craig SEEDS Connections Sally Truss This is My City Curtis Boudreau SMART Recovery Ginger Carlson Untitled Art Society Ernesto Gudino Venezuelan Canadian Asso-ciation of Calgary Susan Bare Shin Bone Aboriginal Friendship Centre Reg Tiangha Gear Station Tove Engebretsen Community Member Lori Deluca Community Member Dheny Rivas Community Member Courtney Robertson Com-munity Member

Sierra Love

Community Member

Supporting diverse organizations, to enhance their collective impact by providing affordable, inclusive community space.

“The Fun Developers!” CommunityWise reps at the Make Dollars Make Sense Conference Nov. 2015 Top left: Jian Hong (CW finance staff), Corinne Craig (board member), Ginger Carlson (board member), Reg Tiangha (board member)

The Board is accountable to the Theory of Change and Stra-tegic Plan created and updated by board and staff in an ongo-ing process each year.

8 objectives by which to measure success: 1) CWRC has a strong members community 2) CWRC is a place people want to be 3) CWRC is a safe and inclusive space that fosters a sense of be-longing 4) CWRS’s building operations are rooted in the practice of steward-ship 5) CWRC and Member organizations have adequate resources to support their missions 6) CWRC uses evaluation and measurement to learn, adapt and improve operations 7) CWRC has presence, influence, credibility, and accountability 8) CWRC’s Member organization’s are better able to reach their goals

Many thanks to outgoing board members! Thank you Rick McFerrin (2013—2016) Tove Engebretsen (2014—2016) and Ginger Carlson (2014—2016) for your valu-able contributions and leadership during your terms on the board. Wishing you all the best in future endeavours!

Training and Presentations in 2015-2016: Jian completed an Advanced QuickBooks course through Bow Valley College.

Erin, Phil, Son and Jian attended Deep Diversity, a workshop facilitated by Shakil Choudhury of

Anima Leadership (Toronto-based) hosted by the Ethnocultural Council of Calgary as part of their Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination celebrations

Erin was a panelist for the Nonprofit Centers Network webinar on the topic of evaluation in

shared spaces on March 23 connected to CommunityWise’s outcome harvest work. Philip was a panelist at Development students for change: Alumni panel on careers and state of

development work on March 24.

Son presented their thesis research Sharing Space Across Difference at the American Associa-tion of Geography Conference in San Francisco on March 30.

Phil participated in the CCVO’s workshop called Code red: Business continuity planning for

emergencies on April 6.

Erin attended the Nonprofit Centers Network trainings Energize: High Impact Shared Spaces and Streamlining Social Good in Philadelphia on April 27 & 28.

Staff Collective Report

Left to right: Dheny Rivas (Summer Student Employee), Erin McFarlane (Community Development Coordinator), Son Edworthy (Admin Coordinator), Jian Hong (Finance Coordinator), Philip McCutcheon (Facilities Coordinator)

Role Name Hrs Schedule 2015-16

Facilities and Membership Philip McCutcheon 35 hrs Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri

Finance Jian Hong 24 hrs Tues, Wed, Thurs

Community Development Erin McFarlane 20 hrs Tues, Wed, Fri

Governance and Admin Son Edworthy 16 hrs Tues, Wed

Social Work Practicum Students CommunityWise is lucky to regularly work with practicum students from a number of academic institutions in Calgary. Over the past 12 months, we have hosted students from Mount Royal University (social work), the University of Calgary (social work), and Columbia College (human services). Students are always an amazing asset to Community-Wise, bringing new and different perspec-tives, helping to build capacity within the Staff Collective and member organizations, and ultimately strengthening connections between the Staff Collective and members. We would like to recognize the following students who worked with us this year: Tigist Workineh (U of C); Anne Mbugua (Columbia College); So-bia Noreen (MRU); and Kyla Myles (MRU). These students they contributed time toward member organizations: SEEDS Connections; Arusha Centre; Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids; Social Workers for Indigenous Social Justice, ACT Alberta; the Women’s Health Collective and the Alex: Home Base. Thank you all! CommunityWise will be hosting two social work students from the University of Calgary in Fall 2016: Marylynda Abeghe and Diana Harrison

Staff Report Continued

Anti-Racist Organizational Change Project This year CommunityWise received funding from the Alberta Human Rights Education Fund to work on organizational change, strengthening our capacity and increasing support for member organizations to address structural racism. While the concept of equity is not new to CommunityWise (e.g. the organization’s current vision is “equity and well-being achieved with collaborative work”), what is new is the commitment to develop a rigorous framework to ensure that this concept is integrated into the organization’s structures and practices going forward. Over the next 18 months staff, board and member representatives will work with consultants from Calgary Anti-Racist Education to build shared awareness of how racism impacts non-profit and community organizations and to develop processes and tools to assist in anti-racist organ-izational change.

Contact son@communitywise.net for more information

Top: Tigist Worki-neh and Hannah Ramos (U of C practicum fall 2015) at Burnout Prevention League. Middle: Sobia Noreen and Kyla Myles (MRU prac-ticum winter 2016) Left: Ann Mbugua (Columbia Col-lege fall 2015)

CommunityWise Member Database: CommunityWise has contracted Semper IT inc to develop a database using

CiviCRM. The project scope is also designed to include several applications in-

cluding unique member logins, payment processing, booking confirmation, event

management, skills and resource bank sharing between members, and more.

After relying on filing cabinets and DropBox folders the database will save Com-

munityWise significant administrative costs!

New Members 2015-2016: Aspen Family Services Calgary School of Informal Education Calgary Can: Community Development Association Cantares Venezuelan Cultural Founda-tion Foothills Library Association Maid’en Cosplay Migrante Alberta Plan Calgary – The Road Ahead Refuge Recovery Oriana Pagnotta (Individual Member)

Members Moved on or Ceased to Exist 2015-2016: Alternative Poverty Eradication Bu-reau of Africa Calgary Alternative Transportation Cooperative Eye on the Ball Facilitation Lead Now Parkland Institute Sugarbox Dance Iris Photographic Society

Left: Green Footprints Artist Collective used participatory mapping to trace members’ routes to the building. Right: Members of the Eritrean Cultural Civic Centre talk with KaffeeKlatsch staff at Members Night

Member Report

Building Facility Studies:

-CommunityWise conservation study for the Old YWCA building completed. -Utilities Assessment Study. Measuring

use of water and electricity Beltline and

CommunityWise completed by City of Cal-

gary Rec.

Interior work:

-Fiber Optic Internet Service Installed. -Security Camera System Installed -Harm Reduction Initiative: Main floor washroom dispensers and sharps box installation -Painting: Room #104, BGCC washroom hall, BSMT landing, BGCC lower hallway. -Flooring: Room G4 in BSMT -Boiler Room Project and abatement: removal of old coal boiler and brickwork, level concrete slab to be installed (City of Calgary) -Boiler Pump replaced -3

rd Floor Copier and Printer obtained free of charge

Exterior Work:

-Accessibility parking spot, non-rush hour parking, and loading zone retained. Original plan was to remove all parking on 12

th avenue.

-Removal of trees and completion of the Front Yard Streetscape Project (City of Cal-gary) -Prospect Services Mural Installation backyard -Beltline Youth Centre Murals: Side fence -Vegetable garden partnership with Members including Alex Home Base re-established

Facilities Report

Top: Prospect Mural Left: Beltline Youth Centre mural Right: Alex: Home Base garden

Definition of the Collaborative Framework: Since 2013, CommunityWise has been developing a Collaborative Framework to amplify, document, and evaluate opportunities for member capacity building – both individual and or-ganizational - through collaboration. This Framework responds to the increased need for ser-vices provided by CommunityWise’s member organizations alongside reduced organizational resources in the context of heightened economic strain, a situation that has only intensified more recently. The overall aim of the Framework is to increase the resiliency, collective effi-cacy, and sustainability of members via a continuum of collaborative opportunities while pro-viding multiple flexible entry points for diverse participation in the community. The Collaborative Framework currently defines collaboration in the following way: Collaboration: A relationship entered into by two or more organizations to achieve common goals. Collaboration includes things like:

socializing or having personal connections, attending an activity/event with other CommunityWise members, sharing information or resources, sharing space, practicum students, or material resources (like equipment), doing work or planning together, and/or defining a shared vision and trying to achieve common goals.

Integrating Developmental Evaluation into the project since its inception and using a range of methods (member surveys, asset mapping, interviews, staff reflections, member gatherings, outcome harvesting, case studies, knowledge exchanges with other nonprofit centres) aligns with CommunityWise’s goal to be adaptive, responsive and accountable to its membership. It has resulted in a continually revisited theory of change and the identification of priority areas for additional elaboration during a second phase of project development. The following is an example of a learning that emerged from CommunityWise’s recently com-pleted outcome harvest (which looked back over the past couple of years):

“In 2014 and 2015, members learned about each other's events and activities, engaged in deeper learning, and found new audiences for their educational and awareness efforts. CW communication infrastructure (newsletter and bul-letin board) provided new opportunities to learn about each other’s work. Stronger relationships led to planned custom workshops for members' stake-holders about the needs and possibilities of other stakeholder groups (e.g. sin-gle parents, members of LGBTQA communities). Relationships with practicum students resulted in new learning for members who could not otherwise access student support [note: 16 distinct member organizations worked with CW coor-dinated practicum students in 2014/2015].

For more information about these learnings, please talk to the Staff Collective. We would like to acknowledge the work of Robyn McLean from Tapestry Evaluation and Roman Katsnelson from KRD Consulting Group for all of their hard work and support throughout these proc-esses!

Collaborative Framework & Developmental Evaluation Update

Community Events

Members’ Night (August 2015)

Annual Winter Party (December 2015)

Burn Out Prevention League Lunch is a monthly low-key way to meet others in the building, vent about frustrations, find support from peers and share ideas or inspiration.

Collaborative Programs Green Footprints Garden Party (with the Green Footprints Collective, June 2015) Organizing Team Member, Board Leadership Calgary (with Government of Alberta, Community De-

velopment Unit; Federation of Calgary Communities; Sport Calgary; Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary)

Make Dollars Make Sense Learning Event (November 2015) Board Basics for Non-Profits Learning Event (May 2016)

Equinox Vigil (September 2015) March 21

st International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (with Beltline Youth Centre,

Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary, March 2016) Youth Week (April 2016) Mini Zine and Mini Colouring Book Fairs (Zine Tree Collective and Prospect, multiple dates) Community Helpers Trainings (with Canadian Mental Health Association, multiple dates) Practicum placement host site (with University of Calgary, Social Work; Mount Royal University, So-

cial Work; Columbia College, Human Services, ongoing) Stewardship Group, Meet-Up Learning & Action Team, and Outcome Harvest Learning & Action

Team (with Community Development Learning Initiative – CDLI, ongoing)

Programming Committee’s

purpose is to build community and promote skill sharing by pro-viding relevant programs, work-shops and events for CommunityWise members and the general public. Anyone is wel-come to participate in this committee, not limited to board members. The committee meets monthly.

Programming Report

The following is a snapshot of the pro-gramming and collaborations that oc-

curred over the past 12 months.

CommunityWise Programs Burnout Prevention League (semi-

monthly) Lunch n’ Learns Wills: Everything You Should Know

About but Were Afraid to Ask (co-hosted with Equinox Vigil, July 2015)

Co-Operative Education Opportuni-ties for CommunityWise Mem-bers (co-hosted with U of C Fac-ulty of Arts Cooperative Educa-tion Program, October 2015)

Community Helpers Info Session (co-hosted with Canadian Mental Health Association, December 2015)

Left: Making dumplings! Right: F.O.C.U.S. on Seniors, dance performance at the Win-ter Party Below: Burnout Prevention League Lunch

Income

CommunityWise

Rental Income

Miscellaneous Income

Interest on Investments

Casino Event

Government Grants

Non Government Grants

Mailbox rental

Membership Charges

Office Services

Income

CommunityWise $ 6,113.50

Rental Income $ 174,248.17

Miscellaneous Income $ 634.25

Interest on Investments $ 995.14

Casino Event $ 22,828.62

Government Grants $ 3,672.00

Non Government Grants $ 21,960.02

Mailbox rental $ 1,175.00

Membership Charges $ 2,150.00

Office Services $ 5,767.65

Total Income $ 239,544.35

ExpenseAudit

Bad Debts

Bank Charges

Employee

Salaries

Expenses Audit $ 6,006.15

Bad Debts $ 1,658.34 Bank Charges

$ 910.00 Employee Salaries

$ 129,231.86 Casino Expenses

$ 2,309.75 Insurance $ 4,760.09

Janitorial Services $ 24,198.00

Office Supplies $ 1,398.00 Community Develop-

ment $ 2,350.00 Repairs and Mante-

nance $ 13,330.00 Self-supporting pro-

grams $ 26,405.00 Outside Consulting Ser-

vice $ 6,988.74 Building Supplies

$ 9,091.00 Utilities $ 16,146.00

Total Expenses $ 244,782.93

Finance Report

Grants

Provincial Grants

(CFEP)Federal Grants

(Summer Job)Innoweave

Knowledge Builder

TCF Collaborative

Framework

Offices $ 140,826.17

Common Room $ 17,168.00 Other Meeting Room $ 33,422.00

Total Rental Income $ 174,248.17