Planning For A Strong Future

As most of you know from previous Newsletters, the Financial Planning Committee of your Executive has been involved for some time in plans to ensure that the future of RSCDS Toronto is secure from the standpoint of both membership and financial resources. Through the counselling of a Consultant with expertise in the management of non-profit organizations, we have developed an action plan to pursue RSCDS Toronto?s objectives of stability and growth for the 21st century.

Using the above catch phrase, we invited those present at the AGM to join us in a Planning Workshop on May 16th, in which a Professional Facilitator would help us get our collective ideas on the table for general discussion. Workshop details were also included in the May Newsletter. We would like to summarize the content of that Workshop for the benefit of all members.

What was the outcome of the May 16th Workshop?

SUMMARY - click here to view the full report in pdf format

With 38 members present, the Workshop commenced on time under the direction of our Facilitator, Andrea Bourrie. Andrea had developed a skilled program to take us through the evening, which lasted about two hours. The first exercise we all undertook was to idealize the components of our vision for a successful future. These components fell into eight key theme headings:

• Membership Outreach and Education
• Funding
• Growth
• Diversity in age of membership
• Increased participation
• Refined organizational structure
• Effective advertising
• Dance & Music

Priorities?

The next exercise was to break the Workshop participants into three separate subgroup locations, and ask each to address the question: "Which of the eight themes is the most important to achieve, if RSCDS Toronto is to be a healthy and secure organization in the year 2015?" The groups were also asked to prioritize the other seven themes in order of importance.

Following this, the full workshop reconvened, and each group made a presentation of their findings. Without exception, each discussion group concluded that the themes summarizing our future vision are interrelated and as such NO ONE THEME EMERGES AS THE SINGLE-MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY.

Much discussion took place about whether the Dance & Music were really a vision component or simply integral to all the themes combined. Also, much was said about the importance of sociability to the organization?s ultimate success. Molly Robbins wrapped up these discussions with a fitting analogy:

"The Toronto Association is like a building.....the dance and music are the foundation, the members are the bricks, and the sociability is the mortar" At which point, another participant spoke up to say that "and the teachers were the ivy that helped hold everything together."

Although priorities were established within theme groupings, it was concluded that they all supported "growth" as a theme that had a significant role to play in ensuring the health of RSCDS Toronto through the next ten to fifteen years.

Growth = A Strong Future -- What Was The Message?

Three key messages came forward in the context of "growth". They were....

1. Growth must be supported by funding, advertising, and outreach.
2. Growth will stem from an effective organizational structure, age diversity within members, and increased participation among members.
3. Growth was an essential component of the ?Dancing into the 21st Century? findings of the Membership Development Committee back in 1999, which identified a number of viable tools and a plan for implementing them. These must be incorporated into any future planning process.

What's Next?

To move the planning process forward involves four basic phases, of which the first is now complete. They are:

1. To initiate the project (completed)
   • Establish the detailed work plan.
   • Hold a Membership Workshop to confirm our vision
2. To document all relevant information (expected completion ? end of July 2001)
   • Review all RSCDS files.
   • Conduct interviews with several members.
   • Obtain and analyze information re all Association trends and funding sources.
3. To prepare a Strategic/Business plan (expected completion ? end of October 2001
   • Prepare documents in draft form (strategic plan and implementation plan)
   • Undertake membership review and consultation
   • Prepare final documents
4. To prepare funding proposals (expected completion ? November 2001)<
   • Confirm why RSCDS Toronto is requesting funding.
   • Prepare packages that convey the appropriate data and information.

(This phase may be completed concurrently with the Strategic Plan depending on application dates required by funding sources.)

We encourage RSCDS Toronto membership to participate throughout the process. Watch for progress updates in your Newsletter and on the organization?s website. Information can also be made available at Association events (Monthly dances and Classes), or by contacting members of the Financial Planning Committee (Keith Bark, Ron Bell, Barry Pipes, Don Large, Stan Trevor, & Molly Robbins).

This is your Association....by sharing your ideas, you help secure its future.

To conclude, we are grateful for the valued professional support provided by Andrea Bourrie, who has been contracted to help us find our way successfully through the intricacies of this entire process. We hope that all members will continue to give her every assistance in helping her to fulfill her mandate.