Date: June 3rd, 2014, 4:00pm – 6:00pm

You’re standing on the sidelines of your daughter’s soccer game, completely engaged in the game. A parent approaches you and says, “hey, you’ve come to every game and practice. You must really enjoy watching her play”. You nod in the affirmative, eyes still on your daughter. The parent then says, “we’re looking for a few parents to help us out organizing the soccer club. Can you stay after the game to chat for a bit?” Still absorbed in the game, you nod your head and say “sure!” – anything for your daughter. The game ends: your daughter’s team played a great game against a worthy opposing team and you’re both excitedly breaking down the plays. The same parent beckons you over to where they, the coach, and a few other parents are standing. Uh-oh. What did you agree to?!

Often, this is how many of us start our volunteer “careers”: someone asks us to “help”, and we agree to become involved, not necessarily knowing or understanding the scope of what we’re taking on. What we do know is that we want to help and are likely passionate about the cause, club, or issue that we’ve been invited to participate in.

Board Boot Camp 101 will give you a complete understanding of the not-for-profit sector. You’ll also learn the questions you should ask before becoming involved in a not-for-profit organization; and the types of answers you should expect. Lastly, Board Boot Camp 101 will increase your understanding of a Board member’s role and responsibilities and help you determine when, and whether becoming a Board member is right for you.

Facilitator: Louise Elliott

Louise Elliott has been working with not-for-profit organizations for over twenty years as staff, volunteer, and consultant. Her first love, and passion, in her not-for-profit work is volunteer development: engaging citizens in their community through volunteer service that inspires and transforms their lives. Louise recently practiced this philosophy by traveling with Soles4Souls to Haiti in October 2013, where she and a team of 10 distributed over 800 pairs of shoes to children in the Port Au Prince and Montrouis areas.

When not actively practicing what she teaches, Louise is a legal assistant with Geoffrey W. White Law Corporation providing legal services to not-for-profit organizations and registered charities under the guidance of Geoffrey White. Louise is also fortunate to work directly with not-for-profit organizations providing meeting facilitation, guiding strategic planning processes, and assisting organizations to maximize their volunteer engagement strategies. In previous years, Louise has been a regular full time employee of the Salvation Army, the YMCA of the Okanagan, and Kelowna Community Resources.

A former director of the Central Okanagan Foundation, Louise served in the following leadership roles during her 14 year tenure: Communications Chair, Grants Chair, Fund Development Chair, Chair and Vice-Chair. Louise’s current volunteer activities include Chair of the Okanagan Catholic Family Camp, establishment of a Canadian foundation to support education in Haiti, and coordinating the first all Canadian Soles4Souls mission trips for travel in 2015.