- Call to Order
The meeting started at 6:05 PST.
- Roll Call
- Approval of Agenda
Attendees:
Alexander Abdulla
Patricia Burletoff
Chan Oh
Soyeon Kim (Recorder)
Vi Ly (Chair)
Quan Ngo (Jessica)
The House approved the agenda.
- New Business
- Review and Discuss Quarterly goals and roles
The Chair presented the following chart outlining the goals for each quarter and areas where Board support is needed.
Programs/Products | Grants/M&E | Operations and Finance | Business Development | |
Purpose | Develop, refine, and scale your nonprofitās programs and products to maximize impact. | Measure program impact and secure funding through grant applications. | Ensure smooth operations and financial sustainability. | Build partnerships, secure funding, and grow the nonprofitās reach. |
Q1 | - Set clear goals and objectives for your programs/products for the year.
- Develop training materials or resources for program facilitators or users. | - Complete Theory of Change, identify metrics, set goals
- Revise grant proposal template for future use | - Develop basic operational policies (e.g., expense reimbursement, volunteer -guidelines). | - Research potential partners (e.g., corporations, foundations, community organizations).
- Develop a partnership outreach strategy. |
Q2 | - Launch a pilot program or product (if new) or refine an existing one based on feedback.
- Make adjustments to improve program effectiveness or product usability. | - Create data collection tools (e.g., surveys, feedback forms)
- Collect baseline data for your -programs/products
- Submit 1-2 grant applications to fund your programs. | - Streamline operational processes (e.g., volunteer onboarding, reporting).
- Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements (e.g., tax filings). | - Identify 5-10 potential partnership
- Initiate outreach to 3-5 potential partners.
- Work with Grants team to secure grants that involve partnerships. |
Q3 | - Finalize app and publish on app stores
- Recruit participant for youth training program. Run training program | - Analyze data to assess initial impact and identify areas for improvement.
- Submit 1-2 grant applications to fund your programs. | - Research and implement a tool for tracking expenses (e.g., QuickBooks, Wave).
- Develop a financial sustainability plan (e.g., diversify funding sources). | - Secure 1-2 partnerships or sponsorships.
- Collaborate with Grants team to increase the chance of secure Grant application. |
Q4 | - Conduct a comprehensive review of program/product outcomes.
- Document lessons learned and best practices. | - Prepare Impact Report and publish it.
- Set goals for improving M&E processes and securing grants in the next year. | - Prepare a year-end financial report.
- Conduct a review of operational efficiency and identify areas for improvement. | - Evaluate the effectiveness of partnership efforts. |
- Programs/product development: The Chair has primarily focused on programs and product development and plans to continue doing so. Two courses have been developed with the support of a BCIT intern who built the learning app. To achieve the goal of developing six additional courses by the end of the year, the Chair has reached out to BCIT for another intern.
- The approach of training youth to develop their own courses has been challenging due to both time and financial constraints. The current model is difficult to sustain without sufficient mentors.
- Grant: The Chair shared a list of grants that have been applied for and noted that another application is currently being prepared for BC Hydro.
- Despite significant effort in grant writing, no grants have been awarded so far. The Chair raised the question of whether it is worthwhile to continue pursuing grants and, if so, how much time should be allocated to this effort.
- Chan suggested that while grant applications should continue, more focus should be placed on smaller grants with a higher likelihood of success.
- Another suggestion was to seek a volunteer to assist with grant preparation.
- M&E: Soyeon will support M&E efforts by working closely with the Chair over the next few months to review grant applications and strengthen program impact metrics. Next week, Soyeon and the Chair will meet to develop the organizationās vision, mission, goals, and Theory of Change.
- Operation and finance: After consulting with the accountant, it was confirmed that organizational tax filing is not required for 2024, as no income was generated. There are currently no operational documents (e.g., onboarding, compliance). While there is a need to develop these materials, it is a lower priority at this time.
- Business development: Jessica suggested creating marketing materials that clearly outline the organizationās mission and vision before reaching out to potential partners. She offered to assist in developing these materials and conducting outreach efforts.
- Update Board Governance
- Minimal Meetings: The Board agreed to prioritize action over frequent meetings, opting for quarterly check-ins to review progress. However, ongoing collaboration and communication will take place via WhatsApp. With the Boardās agreement, the Chair will set up a WhatsApp group chat for all board members.
- Board governance: The Board approved a rotating leadership support model. Each quarter, a different board member will either host meetings or assist the Chair with meeting planning and note-taking.
6. Vote for new Chair, Secretary, and Treasury
Jessica volunteered to serve as Chair, and Patricia as Secretary. The Board approved their appointments.
The Treasurer role is not needed at this time; a vote will be conducted once funding is secured.
- Set Meeting Dates
The Board will meet quarterly, with the next meeting date to be determined.
- Adjournment
The meeting closed at 6:50 PST.