(continued from the last electronic newsletter)
In the last newsletter from PCPC, we discussed the first two steps to take to manage your organization during tough times, and today we will continue with steps three, four and five!
To help you remember…
It is often said that in good times you need good people; and in tough times you need great people. Every organization has a small group of people who are critical to its success — current and future. If you were to name your strongest performers, who would they be? Odds are not all of them are your direct reports. Some are likely to be Board members and volunteers; others are probably less senior colleagues. These are the people who should be receiving the lion’s share of your attention, so that they can feel like allied partners in keeping the organization focused on its mission and pulling through. This is a time for shared goals and creative solutions, not individual priorities and business as usual. Members of the management team, for example, might agree to take voluntary pay furloughs in order to keep frontline staff at full strength.
Getting clear about who your strongest performers are also will stand you in good stead should the decision to lay off staff become necessary; it won’t make the process less painful, but it can reduce the odds that the layoffs will compromise the organization’s current and future effectiveness.
The individual donors and organizations that know you best are the ones that are most likely to help you navigate this downturn. Remember that you don’t have to wait for your key funders to call you. You can — and should — use this as an opportunity to pick up the telephone and call them; to let them know what you’re seeing and how you plan to respond; to explain the choices you’re making or expect to make; to ask whether they can be equally transparent with you about what they expect their payouts or donations to be over the next 6 to 18 months. You might also consider asking your established donors or foundation funders to talk with their friends and peers on your behalf. Downturns are usually a time to be cautious about trying to establish new funding relationships, but a referral from a trusted source might induce others to co-invest, at a time when they wouldn’t willingly do so on their own.
As a general rule, work to free up as much funding as possible for your highest priority activities, for example, by renegotiating the guidelines on restricted grants. It’s also worth taking the time to analyze your sources of revenue and to categorize each according to whether it is ‘in the bank’, ‘committed’, ‘fairly certain’ or ‘at risk’. Such analysis will allow you to think through more nuanced financial scenarios over the coming year.
Running the kind of organizational marathon that a recession triggers requires planning, focus, commitment and stamina. Like most feats of endurance, however, it can also engender healthy habits that will prove invaluable whatever the economic climate. The imperative of belt-tightening can facilitate hard-to-contemplate changes that could make your operations more efficient and your impact greater. Should you merge positions or programs, for example? Could you combine operations with another non-profit provider in your field to lower back-office costs, create economies of scale, or leverage best practices across operations? Can you consolidate purchasing with other organizations in your field or geography?
Similarly, tough times can be the catalyst for taking advantage of low- or no-cost opportunities to improve internal operations and make it easier for people to work smarter — and not just longer and harder. For example, identifying the organization’s critical decisions and then being explicit about whose responsibility they are will reduce the amount of time spent on inconclusive discussions (and the attendant frustration) dramatically. Establishing formal or informal linking mechanisms, such as cross-functional teams or liaisons, can make it easier for people to co-ordinate their efforts and to share knowledge. Clarifying and refining essential work processes will allow everyone to take advantage of best practices and avoid reinventing the wheel.
Finally, while this obviously isn’t the moment to engage in high-growth-mode hiring, it may be the time to think strategically about brining someone with different skills, or skills you previously might not have been able to access, onto your leadership team. Chief financial officers are a prime example. In the face of huge demand for the best-and-brightest financial talent, non-profit organizations have typically had great difficulty filling this position. But with a decidedly less robust for-profit job market and many folks re-evaluating what matters most in their work, this may be changing. The challenge (as always) is to be scrupulous about your due diligence, so that if you do make an offer, you’re sure it’s to the right person.
The new College of Early Childhood Educators in Ontario requires that employees of Early Childhood Education Centres be registered with the College and that both their certificate and good standing remain with the College throughout their employment.
If you are still working on your Employee Contracts, the following wording might help to guide you in developing a section for this new requirement…
‘It is a term and condition of your employment that you are registered with the College of Early Childhood Educators and that you maintain both your certificate and your good standing with the College throughout your employment with this Centre. Suspension or revocation of your status as a registered ECE will lead to discipline, up to and including termination of your employment.’
Additional tip sheets: Generic Job descriptions for Supervisor, Program Staff and Support Staff now posted on the PCPC members’ only section at http://www.pcpcontario.org/members (members, if logged in, can also click the highlighted links for each tipsheet above).
It is a good idea that each committee (a.k.a. working group or sub-group) of an organization be clearly defined in writing. This promotes understanding of who is in the group, what they aim to achieve and how they intend to go about doing it. PCPC has created a detailed template of what such a committee charter or definition sheet might include — of course, your Centre should customize this format to best match your committee’s unique needs and tendencies.
To view this informative new tipsheet, visit the following link (within the password-protected PCPC members’ pages): http://www.pcpcontario.org/committee-terms-of-reference
WHMIS provides workers and employers with information about the hazardous materials to which they may be exposed. Both provincial and federal regulations require employers to provider proper training to all workplace parties who are likely to handle, store or otherwise be exposed to hazardous materials.
HeartSafe EMS is offering sessions that include an overview of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act; WHMIS Legislation; Labels and Material Safety Data Sheets; Occupation Health and Controlling Hazards.
Time Required: 2 hours
Location: On-site for your convenience!
Tuition: Inquire about pricing
For more information or to schedule a session for your Centre: HeartSafe EMS — Contact: Glenn Burke
(416) 410-4911 extension: 21; (888) 322-3791; gburke@heartsafe.ca
Childcare providers put a lot of love and hard work into their careers, and they’re often rewarded with little hugs and a ‘thank you’ every now and then. As your child spends time with their childcare provider, a special bond begins to form. This person is an additional teacher, friend and trusted caregiver. Your child shares many special moments with the childcare provider, and you enjoy the benefits of these relationships on a daily basis.
This year, take some time to show your childcare provider how much you appreciate what they do for your family.
Here are some ideas adapted from http://www.providerappreciationday.org.
Your child’s caregiver is special to both you and your child. Provider Appreciation Day is just one day set aside to recognize the work childcare providers do. Make sure to take time throughout the year, as well, to let your childcare provider know how much you appreciate them!
Before starting work in a childcare program, all staff, students and volunteers should be immunized according to the schedule recommended for the general adult population (visit Caring for Kids for the schedule: http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/immunization/VaccinationChild.htm. In many jurisdictions, tuberculosis (TB) screening is also required!
PCPC would like to help your Centre celebrate their milestone this year, and we would like to announce it to our whole membership, so that they can join in the celebrating too!
If your Centre is celebrating a milestone, please send along your anniversary date and any information about the celebrations that you have planned so that we can announce it in an upcoming newsletter!
PCPC will also forward the information to the Ontario Co-operative Association for announcing in both their electronic newsletter, and The Co-op Advantage magazine — this would be great marketing for your Centre… please hurry though; the deadline for announcements for ON Co-op is May 15th !
SNAP Newspaper Group Inc. is a private company that was founded in 2004 in Newmarket, Ontario by Paul Dutton and Jon Henderson who brought their extensive knowledge of advertising, marketing, technology and print production backgrounds together to deliver the publication SNAP Newmarket.
Visit the SNAP Newspaper website (http://www.snapnewspapers.com.) and click on the link to Current Locations. After reviewing the list of locations that currently produce a SNAP Newspaper, chose the location closest to you for an opportunity to post information about your Centre, community events, and celebrations — this is an unique format for free advertising that is definitely worth a look!
Remember that all of these fundraising ideas, and many more can be found in the Governance Series Workshops (Members’ Only Section) of the PCPC website http://www.pcpcontario.org/members.
Car Wash: Car washes are one of the most popular small fundraisers. They are great for groups who do not have a lot of time to spend planning big events. You also have little to invest except time on the actual car wash day.
Some tips to maximize your results:
Rotary Club of Leaside Charitable Foundation
Address: 1 Concorde Place, #2301, Toronto, Ontario, M3C 3K6
Contact: Frederick L. Hill, Secretary-Treasurer
Telephone/Fax: (416) 449-9661 (telephone); (416) 449-9644 (fax)
Funding Interest: Physically Disabled Children
Granting Region: Toronto Area
Rotary Club of Toronto Charitable Foundation
Address: c/o The Fairmont Royal York, 100 Front Street West, ‘H’ Level, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 1E4
Contact: Valerie Clark, Secretary and Executive Director
Telephone/Fax: (416) 363-0604 (telephone); (416) 363-0686 (fax)
Email/Website: office@rotarytoronto.on.ca and http://www.rotarytoronto.com.
Funding Interest: Children; Physically Disabled Children
Granting Region: Toronto Area
Grant Information: Application should include general organization information, project description, how it is to be funded and budget, audited financial statements, list of officers and charitable registration number
Sir Joseph Flavelle Foundation
Address: c/o Scotiatrust, 130 King Street West, 20th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1K1
Contact: Susan M. Rowbottom, Secretary
Telephone/Fax: (416) 933-2257 (telephone); (416) 933-2226 (fax)
Funding Interest: Children
Granting Region: Ontario
Grant Information: Application should be a two-page letter describing the organization’s objectives and activities, reasons for funding, list of Board of Directors, most recent audited financial statements and charitable registration number
A hippo can open its mouth wide enough to fit a 4 foot tall child inside!
The new Scotties EnviroCare addresses Canadian consumers’ growing demand for environmentally responsible purchase options without having to sacrifice quality or aesthetics — it is believed to be Canada’s first ever 100% recycled premium facial tissue — this new brand will be packaged in four chic, new and natural designs!
In addition to its 100% recycled fibre content, the new product also features environmentally responsible packaging — with 152 sheets per box, it uses less packaging compared to cartons with fewer sheet counts — and the box itself is recyclable!
PCPC: Parent Co-operative Preschool Corporation
1571
Sandhurst Circle, PO Box 63512, Toronto, ON • MIV 1V0
Tel 416-410-2667 (Toronto)
E-mail info@pcpcontario.org
Website www.pcpcontario.org or
www.pcpctoronto.org
Terms and conditions
PCPC is a registered charity. You can make a donation
by credit card via PayPal here.
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