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Annual General Meeting Report
General Meeting November 18, 2009 Management Report
“There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
These are difficult times for Agencies that contract with the government. With the disclosure of the large deficit came budget cuts to all Ministries. The Ministry of Children and Family Development was faced with a $3.6 million dollar shortfall which they have apparently now “found”. They are reviewing all contracts and will be meeting with all Agencies to review contract amounts in hopes of reducing the costs. We are once again nearing the end of our three year accreditation; we have been hard at work preparing for the survey in February 2010. The Ministry has always covered the full cost of the Accreditation Survey; they have now announced that they do not have the funds in the current fiscal budget to continue to pay for accreditation. Agencies are stuck in a Catch 22 situation as you must be accredited to contract with the Ministry but if you do not have the funds to pay for it you will not be accredited. The total cost for our agency will be $11,800, which we are lucky to have through donations and fundraising. This is a daunting amount of money to have to put out and not all small agencies will be able to come up with it. It is our belief that this is in part a strategy to reduce the number of small agencies that the Ministry contracts with. We have received direction from MCFD that they anticipate making a decision on their budget early next year which may allow their covering some of the survey costs. Once Accreditation is completed the Agency must focus on future growth and development. We cannot continue to rely on funding from the government alone. We must implement our Strategic Plan in order to obtain other sources of funding. This will help to ensure more financial stability as well as maintaining the qualities that keep us unique as an Agency. Fundraising continues to be an area that we fall behind on. There are many fundraising opportunities that we should take advantage of in the coming year. On a positive note, the lease for Nelson Island was finally transferred to another agency. This lease was a major concern as if it could not be transferred we were faced with returning the property to its original condition which would have meant demolishing all the buildings and then disposing of all the materials. This would have cost the agency a minimum of $60,000. While it is sad that the Nelson Island program no longer exists, it is a relief to no longer be responsible for it. In spite of the current negative climate within the Ministry we will continue to provide the youth in our care with the high quality of services that we are recognized for. Management would like to thank all staff for their commitment and dedication to the youth and the Agency. Alternate Shelter Society’s current Board of Directors has been a pleasure to work with. Their enthusiasm for the Agency and support to Management is greatly appreciated. Thank you for volunteering your time to be on our Board.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
:: Board of Directors Denise Wells - President Rhonda Peters - Treasurer Penny McDonald - Secretary Nancy Beal - Member at Large Dr. Richard Busse - Member at Large :: Management Team Anna Glait - Managing Director For more information please e-mail info@alternateshelter.com.
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