Orientation Material for NCF Board
Members
March 2002
NCF is a large group of people, getting together to
share costs and do something good for themselves and the
community.
This large group of people is structured as a
not-for-profit corporation, with members as owners and an
elected Board of Directors governing NCF on behalf of
members.
The Board has three main assets to employ, to pursue the
interests of members:
- Donations from members ($60/year is suggested), which
totaled to about $170,000 in 2001
- Willingness of members to volunteer time and
effort
- Goodwill in the community; contributions from
institutions and corporations
NCF has two employee positions (a System Adminstrator
and an Office Administrator) and a contracted Executive
Director position. The Executive Director is contracted to
maximize the productivity of the resources provided by the
Board, in pursuit of the mission and direction set by the
Board. The Executive Director inspires staff, volunteers,
and community partners to contribute to NCF.
Donations are expected to be spent wisely and prudently
to purchase items that cannot be donated by corporations or
institutions.
To maximize the productiveness of staff and volunteers,
the Board expects the Executive Director to create a
positive, creative, can-do environment, managing by use of
inspiration, recognition, and responsiveness. The Board and
members recognize that not every behaviour can be
accommodated, and expects the Executive Director to be
assertive in maintaining a positive, productive
atmosphere.
NCF's goodwill-generating activities include efforts
that are recognized to reduce internet and computer
illiteracy, and operating an online public commons for open
public discussion and exchange of information. NCF must do
things to earn the goodwill and contributions it receives
from institutions, corporations, and volunteers. NCF must
earn a good reputation in the community; it's part of NCF's
mission, and it is the source of the three resources NCF
depends upon: donations, volunteers, and goodwill.
In 2000, the Board faced donation shortfalls. To avoid
lay-offs or closing down, the Executive Director at the
time, Chris Cope, pursued funding from HRDC and
SmartCapital for projects of joint interest. Chris was able
to secure funding from HRDC for thin client. Thus NCF was
able to avoid shortfalls by having staff work part-time on
contracts and be partially paid by the contracts. The staff
now split their time (and cost) about equally between what
they formerly did (eg., maintain the modems and services)
and the contracts (which are expected to benefit NCF
members in different ways). The Executive Director is
contracted for skills at managing progress in all aspects
of NCF's activities, making best use of available
resources: donations, volunteers, goodwill, and
contracts.
In 2001 and early 2002, the HRDC thin client contract
moved into implementation phases, and recently, the
SmartCapital contract was solidified (involving thin
client, web-mail, and extended modem access).
In 2002, staff are budgeted to spend about half their
time on contracts. The Board expects that by 2003 new and
improved services will attract and retain a membership of
approximately 12,000, providing sufficient donation revenue
to support three full-time staff.
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