To do this, we will hire a consultant to help us define and develop culture statements and review our values to ensure they align with our organisation’s direction. Many learnings have come out of COVID, programming changes driven by our strategic plan, especially in the areas of barrier reduction and being a resource to other youth-serving organizations, and our focus on DEI initiatives and organizational change. All of these need to be reflected in our values. As we grow in the number of youth we serve and staff, and increase our awareness in the community, we need to establish a solid foundation from which to grow. Defining our culture and values is a key step in this.
The purpose of the project is to update all HR policies related to terms of employment and working conditions. External expertise from an HR professional is necessary to ensure organizational policies are compliant with Alberta Employment Standards, mitigate related risks to the organization in the event of terminations/layoffs, and align reasonably with best practices for the sector.
This project will align our HR practices with our funding arrangements to mitigate financial risks to the organization.
As CSI engages in this leadership development ahead of our program development for athletes within the indigenous communities, we anticipate it will set our team up for success with written and verbal communication both on and offsite. In turn creating a higher value service delivery from CSI to our partners/customers, and ensuring our staff are operating with a higher level of emotional intelligence when it comes to our new indigenous partners. Ensuring we all receive the same training will improve our ability to work together more effectively on more projects with other nations in the future if this program continues to expand.
The Recycling Council of Alberta (RCA) is an Alberta based non-profit who has promoted resource conservation, circular economies and zero waste for 35 years. Until January 2024, the RCA had the same Executive Director. The RCA is governed by an ever-changing board of directors. In the past several years, there have also been significant changes to waste management policies at the federal and provincial levels. With significant change, both internally and externally, the RCA has embarked on a facilitated process to develop a future-focused strategic plan to help sustain, guide, and grow the organization into 2030.
The Anatolian Turkish Islamic Center (ATIC) aims to strengthen its governance and financial management systems through the “Strengthening Foundations: Governance and Financial Management Enhancement for ATIC” project. This initiative will involve a comprehensive audit and assurance review by PKF Antares CPA and targeted training for the treasurer. By enhancing its governance structures and financial transparency, ATIC will be better equipped to manage larger grants, complex projects, and expanded services, ultimately benefiting Calgary’s diverse and multicultural community.
Following the successful launch of EcoCooks School (grades 7-12) in Calgary in 2022/23, demand has consistently outpaced growth. In particular, there is a burgeoning demand from teachers to expand to Elementary grades. This project will address the gap that exists by designing an elementary-level program that is relevant to Calgary students and supports teachers to implement environmental education that is connected to the provincial curriculum.
Building off of the success of the Secondary program, and an initial Elementary pilot in Vancouver, Elements will develop a Calgary-relevant curriculum, which will be piloted in 3-5 classrooms this Fall (2024), prior to evaluating, adapting and launching the program in full in Spring 2025.
Airdrie is one of the fastest growing cities in Alberta, with an estimated population of over 80,000. Studies have demonstrated the correlation between community resilience and personal wellbeing (mental, emotional and physical health) with volunteerism. Increased levels of volunteerism results in social connections and increased social capital that can reduce mental health issues, crime, domestic violence, substance abuse, while increasing employment. This initiative will advance Volunteer Airdrie’s work by assessing the impact of our existing programs and services, relative to the 2017 and 2019 results and identify new opportunities to improve stakeholder outcomes and address any newly identified community needs.
The Poet, The Preacher and The Painter is a Black History Walking Tour, co-presented by Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre and Esker Foundation, with support from cSPACE Projects. It represents the first time a tour of significant sites in the history of Calgary’s Black communities has been conducted. The goal is to recognize and preserve Black life and culture in Calgary’s past, present and future heritage, and to give this history life through the personal stories of the people who made it.
JFSC is implementing a technology program to support vulnerable seniors in the community with group and one-to-one support to better understand technology, their devices and how to avoid being subject to scams or financial exploitation.
Our goal is to access the broader Calgary autistic community in a timely manner to survey them in three different formats (online surveys, in-person interviews, and feedback forms/questionnaires) to strategically advance the Autism For Life Foundations work by piloting multiple new program ideas, testing an innovative enhancement to current program offerings, and improving outcomes for program participants. We will ensure to target the indigenous, black, and female communities as there are literally no autism services for these demographics within Calgary and/or Alberta. Our goal is to ensure that our services are services that actually autistic adults want, and will willing participate in, to ensure that they get the best we can offer.