Consultant Needed

With the generous financial support of the Calgary Foundation, CommunityWise has been given the opportunity to employ a consultant who will act as an evaluator in regards to our Membership and Engagement model. We have an available budget of $11,000 and would love to get started as soon as possible. The project is expected to run from mid-March until the end of July.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

  • Examine service provided to existing and new members and provide a report and recommendations on how it can be streamlined or better developed.
  • Speak with necessary stakeholders (members, community, staff & board) to develop a clearer image of membership expectations and highlight strengths and areas to develop and how.
  • Review current member engagement strategy and provide recommendations on how to increase current and new member engagement.
  • Use effective strategies to undertake a needs-based service approach, identifying members needs and recommending appropriate solutions.
  • Proactively engage in team and whole staff activities to continually develop a practical understanding of overall business strategies and programs of work.

Deliverables

A toolkit or step-by-step document of sorts is expected to come out of this project with a focus on participative process. The toolkit will be shared under the guidelines of the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International.

Accountability

The hired consultant will work closely with the Member Programs Coordinator. Organizational changes are subject to board vote.

If interested, please send your proposal, quote and portfolio/resume or questions to us at info@communitywise.net.

CommunityWise is committed to inclusion and equity and strives to ensure that our Board reflects the diversity of our Membership. We are committed to removing barriers to participation that are faced by equity-seeking groups and encourage (but do not require) members of these groups to self-identify as such in their application

Farewell Mark!

Mark(he/him) was hired in February of 2023 to a part time role of Building and Member supports coordinator. He took care of the building and members at once during his time here. He was the project lead on The Place and even named it! Dedicating himself to the programs that took place there, such as the Conversation Club, Liminal Landing and a self-testing clinic, Mark created a community among users of The Place. He acted as a point of contact for those who wanted someone to relate to and provide them guidance.

In December 2023, Mark’s contract with CWRC ended and he has gone over to our member organization End of the Rainbow foundation where he can continue to do similar work helping 2SLGBTQ+ newcomers. He is able to relate to and provide them with peer support to make their experiences easier and less isolated.

Not being with CWRC doesn’t mean he won’t be around. Pictured below are CWRC staff and Mark at lunch!

2023 Membership Renewal!

Annually on October 1st, membership renewal emails and forms go out. In the renewal, members confirm their desire to continue being CommunityWise members and renew this membership in a semi-short but streamlined process. This renewal involves some old and new things. This new membership renewal cycle will involve;

  • Payment of the annual $40 membership fee
  • Payment of $40 annual mailbox fee
  • Re-sign membership rules and expectations
  • Signing the new code of conduct
  • Signing the new building use waiver
  • Survey
  • Provision of copy of tenant insurance (tenant members only)

So what’s new?

Membership Rules and Expectations

CommunityWise similarly to a lot of it’s members is a non-profit however, our existence as a non- profit hub makes procuring funding more complicated. Feedback from funders regularly asks for data on services from CWRC’s members as well as direct services from CWRC itself. As a result, CWRC will be including a data-sharing clause in the updated Member Rules and Expectations going out in October. The only information CWRC will need is numeric data such as the amount of families, adults, members of a community served. We will not need information on how they were served.

Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct hopes to develop on the previously provided Anti-Harassment policy. CWRC is committed to ensuring that the building continues to be a SafeSpace for all who use the building and in response has created a new code of conduct to aid in ensuring the continued inclusive and welcoming atmosphere of the building.

Building Use Waiver

The Building Use Waiver, indemnifies CommunityWise of any harm or injury that occurs to anyone in the building due to a member’s activities. This is in line with the Member Rules and Expectations where members agree that they are responsible for everyone in the building such as volunteers or staff, due to their programming or activities.

Survey

We appreciate all the responses we got on the Need Assessment Survey. This followup survey is aimed at gaining information on what goals CWRC’s members have and how we can better serve members to achieve these goals. In addition, we hope to use this feedback to inform programming and services.

Any questions? Contact us!

“THE PLACE” open house event

CommunityWise is launching an exciting new space and community project!!!

When: Wednesday June 14th 4:30pm-6:30pm

Where: CommunityWise Resource Centre 223 12th Avenue SW Calgary Room 103

What: An Open House event for members QTBIPOC to hear more about the project and plan project and to discuss program ideas, partnerships, and community needs together

Snacks provided.

Contact Mark Audu at mark@communitywise.net for more info and to register to attend.

Indigenous and Racialized Communities have been pushing for true recognition, equality, and inclusion since the beginning of the LGBTQIA+ movement. QTBIPOC folks must navigate the effects of both racism and anti-LGBTQIA+ discrimination. “The Place” aims to honor these experiences and create supportive, enriching, and accessible space for QTBIPOC.

The project is led by and for QTBIPOC. It offers a wonderful, accessible, free, and collaboratively shared space within CommunityWise. We are looking for collaborators and users (organizations and individuals) of the space to meet community needs, events, and programs going forward.

Welcome Imole!!! Newest CommunityWise Staff member

CommunityWise is excited to announce the the latest addition to the CommunityWise staff group. Imole (She/Her) has experience in program and project planning and management, as well as is currently completing her Masters in Digital Marketing. She is joining Community Wise as a Member Programs Coordinator, to provide support to our members. She hopes to use her experience and knowledge to help Community Wise and its members in the work they do. Imole believes in art as one ofthe purest forms of self expression and engages in different types like crocheting, painting and singing in
her spare time! CommunityWise is increasing staff resources overall to better meet member needs and their overall impact of CommunityWise Programming. This will also allow CommunityWise to prioritize the reallocation of other staff resources to building operations. WELCOME IMOLE!!!

CommunitWise would like to acknowledge the generous funding support of the CAlgary Foundation to make this possible. We’re looking forward to exciting seasons ahead of organizational and community development.