Minutes

I. Call to Order

The meeting started at 6 pm (PST) on April 9, 2024.

II. Roll Call

Attendees:

1. Alexander Abdulla
2. Quan Ngo (Jessica)
3. Soyeon Kim (Recorder)
4. Vi Ly (Chair)
5. Chan Oh

Regrets:

1. Patricia Burletoff

III. Approval of Agenda

The House approved the agenda.

IV. New Business

1. Report on creating a Corporate Bank Account - sign an authority letter

The Chair reported that a Corporate Bank Account has been created at the BMO. While it is a corporate account, it has advantage of using online service for free and there is no maintenance fee.

According to the BMO financial advisor, management of the bank account needs an in-person presence of all Board of Directors at the bank. The Chair explained that we are a voluntary organisation and there is a challenge of having presence of all Directors at the bank. In response, the bank suggested developing a letter with the signature obtained from all Directors, which grants full authority of opening and managing the bank account to the Chair. The Chair shared the draft letter with the Directors for any comments and asked for the signature at the earliest.

2. Report on the activities
1. Piloting stage “Can-do Attitude” course

The Chair reported that 15-20 people have been recruited for the course pilot. Marketing work has also been done along with the course content development. The Chair will further update when the course pilot is over.

The Chair explained that she will complete and submit a funding application which is due in April 2024. While the grant amount is small ($500), this would be a good start for any future development.

Although there is a need for translating course content into English, due to a current limited capacity, the work would be focused on piloting the course in Vietnamese. And translation work would be done gradually.

The Chair showed the budget breakdown and asked for advice on grant utilisation if we receive it. For instance, the grant can be used for video production for the course contents or monthly payment for application maintenance.

Soyeon suggested that depending on the funding agency’s requirements, it is good practice to use the grant on activity that can lead to results instead of maintenance costs. She also suggested including a cost per learner when filling out an application form.

Chan also made a suggestion, considering the expansion of the targeted audience, including the youth community in Canada. In response, the Chair explained that due to time and resource constraints, the primary audience at this stage is Vietnamese youth. However, work will gradually expand to the youth community in Canada with Asian backgrounds.

She also welcomed any new ideas from the Directors by email.

V. Set Meeting Dates

Tuesday, May 7 at 6 pm (PST).

VII. Adjournment

The meeting ended at 6:50 pm.