The Friends of the Federation of Calgary Communities, along with our charitable partners, has accomplished a lot over the years.  Here are some of our successes for 2020:

1. Acted as the charitable partner to improve walk-ability by re-imagining catwalks .  We were able to offer urban planning and artistic support, as well as a resource guide, to help residents walk through the “dream, scheme, activate” process.
   • 13 charitable partnerships
   • over $41,000 in funding to engage residents is “activating” forgotten pathways
   • 1 resource manual
2. As a charitable partner to a collaborative, acted as the fiscal agent to offer Board Leadership Calgary, a one-day learning event (governance, finance, funding and people) for volunteer board members – now in its 6 year.
   • 350 participants
   • Pre and Post Test Results:
     • on  a 10 point scale, improved participant knowledge of each subject covered by 3.1 points (or about 31%)
     • on a 10 point scale, improved participant confidence to act on what they learned by 2.9 points (or about 29%)
3. During summer months, we offered a ‘financial literacy coach’ to member organizations to assist in understanding their cash flow during the first COVID shut down.
   • 21 organizations offered about 15 hours of consultation time
   • 21 cash flow analysis completed
   • developed self-learning workshops on How to Read Financials, New Treasurer and Grant Funding that will launch on a learning management platform in October 2020
   • Pre and Post Test Results:
     • on  a 10 point scale, improved participant knowledge of cash flows by 2.5 points (or about 25%)
     • on a 10 point scale, improved participant confidence to act on what they learned by 2.5 points (or about 25%)
4. Launched a Table Talk series in which we hired a part-time staff to offer 15 minutes of learning and 15 minutes of Q&A.  This format broke down topics into bite sized chunks.  Some topics included fiduciary duties, conflict, voting, minutes, bylaws and burnout.
   • 92 volunteers attended
   • Pre and Post Test Results:
     • on  a 10 point scale, improved participant knowledge of subject by 1.43 points (or about 14%)
       on a 10 point scale, improved participant confidence to act on what they learned by 1.26 points (or about 13%)
5. Produced an Engagement Toolkit offering exciting recipes on different ways to inform, to gain input, to create belonging,  and to “activate” spaces.
   • 325 sold – we needed to go to a second reprint
   • shipped to organizations in Kamloops, Victoria, Ottawa and Lethbridge

1. Charitable Partnerships

The Friends of the Federation works through partnerships to accomplish most of our work.  For example, we are often the charitable partner of the Federation of Calgary Communities.  They have the staff to “execute” on our learning initiatives, for example, they wrote the Engagement Toolkit, while the Friends acted as the publisher of the tool.

Board Leadership Calgary is another example of our leveraging our charitable status to support a collaborative “education” team to support more than 350 volunteers to learn more about non-profit governance.  We also provide a staff person and an accountant to manage the funds.

We are also a partner of The Calgary Foundation’s Neighbour Grants.  Many of our members work with us to build community gardens, capture the history of their organization or to add a mural or two to the community.

2.   Direct Programming

The Friends hires part-time staff to achieve our educate and support objectives.  This past year, we hired a financial literacy coach and a Table Talk presenter.  Due to COVID, we also found ourselves sourcing lower cost hand sanitizer and masks to assist our members in re-opening their community gardens and centers.  We hired a student to manage this service.

 Ways you can help:

1. Direct some of your funds to the Friends.  We can work with you to find the right priority for your interests.  Here are some examples of current needs:
   • Financial Literacy Support – $75,000 per year
   • Organization Development Resource Development – $10,000
   • Development of on-line self directed courses – $2,500 per course
2. Join us as a volunteer.  Here are some opportunities:
   • Activate Microgrant Committee (paused during COVID)
   • Enmax Energizing Spaces Committee
   • Volunteer – proofreader and/or beta tester (need feedback on our materials)