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Brian. btaylor001@sympatico.ca 905-319 0470
Hello to you April 6/10 Donations are coming in but at a trickle and hopefully the reason is that clubs and associations have not yet had time to meet. TIMES ARE STILL CRITICAL AND NOW IS THE TIME TO COME TO THE AID OF YOUR CLUB. IT IS ALSO THE TIME TO GIVE STAFF THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE BOARD AND THE TOOLS TO WORK WITH. There will be lots of time for evaluation and correction later but right now we need $$$$ to survive. Please dig deep. Brian. INFORMATION MEETING re CKC Finances MAY 4/10 ST CATHARINES AND SEAWAY kENNEL CLUBS Port Weller Community Centre St Catharines Time 8pm now confirmed. As of April 20th we have had $30,000.00 in donations and a big thank you goes to all donors (Clubs and individuals). The above amount represents $1.50 per member and we are hoping the reason for it not being larger is that clubs have not yet had time to have a meeting to approve donations. TIME IS CRITICAL AND MONEY IS NEEDED FOR DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS. May 12/10
Please accept my apologies for missing the May 4th meeting in St Catharines due to a family medical emergency. A new meeting date will be provided when arranged. In the meantime please find listed below the latest news from the CKC working committee :- A working group was structured by the CEO and included the Interim chair Lee Steeves and Mike Shoreman along with input from the Board and membership. Since early April much has been accomplished :-
Board Accomplishments during the Recovery PeriodEnd March – early MayIn the fall of 2009, the Board was advised by the Audit
Committee that the organization was facing a deficit budget.
By December, the Committee advised that a deficit was a reality that
could not be avoided. The Board was
prepared for this eventuality and was of the understanding that the money in
reserve would be sufficient to cover the projected shortfall.
This position was brought forward at the point that the 2010 budget was
to be approved. After extensive
questioning, the budget was approved with reservations by the Board, noting that
both the process used and the forecasts would require considerable work in the
months to come, with changes to occur in the 2010 process. Waiting for the year end numbers, Board members worked in
their zones to discuss the financial challenge with members and to prepare them
for the less than positive financials in the 2009 audited statements to be
presented at the AGM. By mid- March,
the Board was advised by the CEO that the revenue situation had become worse
through the last quarter and that our deficit was far greater than had been
anticipated. With this information,
we began the AGM week end and moved forward to establish an agenda to stabilize
the CKC. Decisions were taken
at this meeting, with the assistance of members in attendance from many zones in
the country, to work on fees, expenditure reductions and a rationalization of
the office to ensure efficiencies were gained. At the end of March:- ·
there was insufficient money in our account
to pay salaries for the next pay period, ·
our ability to cover other obligations was
minimal, ·
our reporting mechanisms were inadequate to
support the financial crisis we were facing, ·
our
communication was inadequate to meet the needs of staff and
our members and we were in the midst of a crisis.
·
Our mandate to register dogs was able to
continue but all other activities of the CKC were in question.
With this state of affairs now clear, immediate actions were
taken to manage our situation. The
interim Chair was tasked with meeting with the CEO to develop an action plan for
the organization, with input and direction from the Board.
During this meeting, a three phase strategy was developed.
Phase one was the resolution of the cash flow crisis.
Phase two is the development of a Business Plan to respond to our changed
circumstances and to move the organization forward until more substantive
changes can occur. Phase three is
the longer range strategy that requires by law revisions to better enable the
CKC to operate efficiently. This
strategy was outlined to staff that week and the beginning of a dialogue was
established with the membership through the use of the CKC Special Bulletin.
That same week, the CEO structured a Working Group to assist
him in moving the organization through the financial crisis.
Michael Shoreman joined the group on Friday and the following week began
a file review and analysis of the financial situation the CKC was facing.
Supporting the three phase strategy, Mr Shoreman offered sound advice in
areas of increased and more current forecasting requirements, decisions to be
taken on major areas like APEX’s position within the CKC and a mid-range
beginning on a Business Planning process. Since early April, much has been accomplished.
Our accomplishments in this short timeframe (1 month) are as follows:- 1.
Donation
program (Club and member) established with moderate success to date ($65,000 as
of mid-May). 2.
Improved
communication plan established to ensure members, staff and partners are
informed and aware of changes occurring and an openness to accept input 3.
A
cash flow reporting system was developed and established as a financial tool now
able to be used to ensure our obligations are understood, reported and able to
be managed effectively 4.
Monies
were managed so that wages were able to be paid through improved cash flow
management practices 5.
A
cost-benefit analysis was begun, by sector, to identify all costs to the
organization by type and to enable analysis based upon the service provided 6.
A
staff reduction plan was instituted and reductions to date are at 15% (one
month) with one resignation and the remainder of the staff in lay off status
until money is available for severance. 7.
A
new contract was implemented for printing and mail room services as a result of
an RFP for service. This has netted
a saving of $22,000/month. 8.
A
system has been implemented to suppress billings with credit balances 9.
With
its’ actions, the Board was able to maintain the show season, uninterrupted. 10.
A
staff bulletin and communication process has been instituted to ensure staff are
aware of actions taken, the focus of the Board and management and the reason for
actions being taken that impact workloads in the office 11.
We
have moved our year end projection from a loss of in excess of $600k to a
positive $200k. While this is not
yet a full answer to the issues facing the organization, it is a quantum leap
from our position just one month ago. 12.
Decisions
taken at the March meeting are now coming into effect, raising revenues from
shows and trials to better support that sector of our operation. 13.
Have
moved from our March deficit position to today’s bank balance of $410,688.25
– an amount that covers not only our June obligations but also takes us into
early July. 14.
We
have had countless meetings with members, have responded to thousands of emails
and have opened a dialogue that has been useful to us in taking decisions that
will help support the future of the organization 15.
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communicating with other kennel clubs, we are advised by AKC that their
registrations have dropped at a level consistent with the numbers we have seen
in CKC. Open communication with our
partners has resulted in encouragement and support. 16.
The
layoffs and resignation have netted a 2010 saving of $252k to the end of 2010 in
salary commitment 17.
A
top down registration process is being developed to maximize full registration
of purebred dogs 18.
Member
benefit packages are being explored to ensure value added is more able to be
quantified 19.
Have
begun the process to move to a paperless financial statement 20.
The
move of Kennel and Bench to an on line property will result in a saving of
$84,000 21.
Options
are being developed to streamline standing committees, streamline workloads and
to save significant cost and to better support members in the registration,
discipline and appeal processes. 22.
A
space analysis is underway to release space in the office as a sub-let 23.
Dialogue
has been established with Agriculture Canada 24.
A
major study of APEX publishing has been undertaken by the APEX Board with a view
to fundamental change in our not for profit arm.
Recommendations will be brought to the Board table in June. 25.
Instituted
a hiring freeze 26.
Terminated
term employees 27.
Instituted
a discretionary spending freeze 28.
Are
beginning to make plans for the future to include the addition of an accountant
to the staff of the CKC as funds are freed up 29.
Future
plan to better support our IT staff to make efficiencies and reduce paper and
time 30.
Plan
to be developed to manage termination expense 31.
Standard
to be developed to institute operating costs as a % of revenues 32.
Beginning
of a change in culture of the CKC from policing to client focus.
This will require policy and procedure changes and will reduce costs in
the office, reduce workloads, reduce paperwork and should increase membership For the future we will be considering hikes in Membership and Registration in addition to the already introduced $1.50 recording fee. These items along with a very strong reduction in costs should see a much leaner CKC through 2011 and enable us to accumulate a goodly reserve fund to help us through the next inevitable downturn.
Business Planning GoalsIn support of 2011 Business Plan On June 11 in conjunction with the June Board Meeting, the Strategic Planning Committee led a Board retreat concentrating on a Goal setting exercise in support of the 2011 CKC Business Plan.
Financial Stability The CKC is currently working to stabilize its’ financial
position after a substantial loss of revenue in 2009.
Implementation plans to ensure this Goal is met will include: Developing the organization to better position it to respond to change including a Sector and staff restructuring to improve efficiency Ensuring the bottom line for 2010 is adequate, with surplus funds available in an amount to carry the organization through the January – March 2011 period Reducing expenditures in areas of salary, space (subletting) and wherever possible other variable costs to improve the bottom line Analyzing the potential for more flexible and less interdependent revenue streams Restructuring of the fee schedule Analyzing the benefits of APEX publishing (Dogs In Canada and Dogs Annual) and implementing a change to support stronger relevance of the magazine to the core values of the purebred dog Developing a work from home policy Adding a Finance Committee role to the Audit Committee function Increasing reporting to the Board and membership to better support financial understanding and currency of information Analyzing the efficacy of prepayment for services Program Change Existing programs are not affordable nor do they completely meet member needs. Change is necessary to respond to members and to our revenue position: Analyzing potential for by law change to reorient the CKC, reduce expenditures and maximize funds available Allowing non-purebred dogs to compete in performance events Implementing the breeder certificate program to raise the profile of CKC breeders and differentiate them from those less capable and qualified to breed dogs Implementing a 3 – 6 month puppy class, Veterans Class and Altered Class at all breed shows Removing the limit on multiple shows Developing new models for shows for testing/piloting across the country by interested clubs Reducing the Regulatory function to reduce expenditures (with corresponding by law changes and policy changes as necessary) Implementing a forms simplification process Analyzing functions within Sectors to apply a cost/benefit analysis and reposition functions that are not affordable or optimal (i.e. observer judge program; judging application and approval process) Revisiting the production schedule for rule book updates Developing a revised life member program that is affordable and with value added Responding to the Federal requirement to add Rules of Eligibility to the CKC By laws Communication Goals Defining benefits of membership to support CKC value added Raising the profile of the CKC with an emphasis on service provision to attract new and retain current members with a goal of a 10% increase in each of 2010 and 2011; developing a stronger member acquisition program Better promoting the value of the purebred dog Working with members to develop a stronger dog lobby municipally, provincially and federally Increasing Club participation in the affairs of the CKC Promoting the value of the CKC and of CKC membership Adding an ombudsman Implementing total bilingualism for the CKC Developing a regular customer satisfaction survey Undertaking an external benchmarking exercise to compare our CKC template for service provision to those of our kennel clubs around the world with a view to changing practices based on successes internationally
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