The program kicks off on May 1^st with a half-day introductory session that will set the stage for subsequent workshops on specific fundraising topics to be held in May and June.  Our currently scheduled sessions are described below.

Session 1:  Run With the Big Dogs

Wednesday, May 1, 1:00 – 4:30 pm 

Becoming a registered charity is not difficult, and opens a wide world of potential donors to any good cause. The rules are simple and clear, but firm. And, believe it or not, Canada Revenue Agency is your friend.

Presenter(s): TBD 

Session 2 – Why Should I Give You Money?

Wednesday, May 15

Your case for support should be clear, short, and compelling. A successful campaign professional outlines the keys to making your case.

Presenter: Dr. Charlotte S. Caton has a broad understanding of what appeals to donors. Her experience includes leading the development function for University of Lethbridge, the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta, and a lead role in raising funds for the Crossings Branch of the Lethbridge Public Library.

Session 3:  Looking for Love in All The Wrong Places

Wednesday, June 5, 1:00 – 4:30 pm

80% of donations in Canada come from individuals. Move beyond corporate gifts and special events to where the real money is. This session will also look at gifts in kind, and deferred gifts such as bequests. 

Presenter: John Webster Hochstadt has worked with some of the largest – and smallest – charities across Canada to raise money from a broad spectrum of donors and funders.  He has lived in Twin Butte for the past 20 years.

Session 4 – Connect the Dots

Wednesday, June 12, 1:00 – 5:00 pm

Granting agencies have their own goals and objectives. Successful grant applications are based on understanding how to express your organizationʼs requirements in terms consistent with the operating guidelines of the funding agencies.

Presenters: Jane Brenner is Executive Director of Taber and District Community Adult Learning and the Regional Leader for the Community Learning Network in southern Alberta. She has years of experience writing proposals at the federal and provincial level, and will share her expertise with participants.  George Hall is Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta, which receives hundreds of grant applications from our area and region. Most are not successful. He will illustrate how successful applications are developed, and will also explain the role of the community foundation in receiving and managing large or complex donations on behalf of smaller organizations.

Participation in the program is free and open to representatives of non-profit community service organizations and charities in southwest Alberta. 

All sessions will be held at the Ramada Inn in Pincher Creek.  Refreshments will be served.

To learn more about this program and to register for one or all of the sessions, please contact our manager, David Green, at sasci@telus.net or 403-627-1750.  Venue details will be provided to registered participants.

We also welcome event sponsors to help cover venue and catering costs and volunteers to help run the sessions – our sponsors and volunteers are valued partners who help us help our community!  

Building on the first round of local meetings in November and December 2012, these final sessions aim to generate proactive solutions and build support for necessary stewardship actions to protect the health of the Oldman River headwaters … for people and for the environment. We will discuss:

• What speci!c stewardship practices or actions are currently happening in the headwaters? What else is required? What are the opportunities?

• How can watershed stewardship activities be further fostered and supported to increase their effectiveness over the long term?

You are invited to attend any of the community conversations. Participants in this second round need not have attended an earlier session. Your voice is important!

Dates and locations of the sessions are provided below:

Wednesday, Feb 27: Springpoint Hall* 5:30 supper followed at 6:30 by dialogue session (RSVP to Pat Ness: 553-2625)

Thursday, Feb 28: Stavely Community Centre 5:30 supper followed at 6:30 by dialogue session (RSVP to jnbee"ady@gmail.com)

Friday, March 1: Lundbreck Hall* 5:30 supper followed at 6:30 by dialogue session (RSVP to Ted Smith 628-2004)

Wednesday, March 6: Pincher Creek,* Heritage Inn 7:00 PM

Thursday, March 7: Crowsnest Pass,* Country Encounters 7:00 PM

Tuesday, March 12: Lethbridge, Nord-Bridge Seniors Centre 7:00 PM

Wednesday, March 13: Cardston Seniors Centre 7:00 PM

Thursday, March 14: Picture Butte, Warren Kleeman Hall, Prairie Tractor and Engine Museum 7:00 PM

To present this one day workshop, SASCI has engaged the services of David Hartley, formerly Director of Imagine Canada’s Insurance and Liability Resource Centre for Non-profits.  David has trained over 12,000 leaders in the past 5 ½ years in areas of risk, leadership and governance.  David’s dynamic presentation style and great sense of humour promise a full day of meaningful interaction with participants from small to large non-profits and charities. The agenda includes:

• Boards:  The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
• 12 principles of a highly successful non-profit Board
• Role of the Board vs role of the Executive Director
• Developing a more engaged Board
• Board behaviours / dealing with challenging personalities
• Board recruitment and Board evaluation
• Legal duties of Boards
• 4 ways to protect yourself as a Board Member

Registration is free but space is limited.

Please contact us early to reserve a spot.  To reach as broad an audience as possible, we are suggesting participation by Board Members, general members, managers, and other paid staff.  Although the workshop is taking place in Pincher Creek, participants from the entire southwest Alberta region are welcome.  The workshop will run from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM on May 8, at the Heritage Inn in Pincher Creek.  Lunch will be provided.

To reserve your spot, please contact David Green at sasci@telus.net or leave a message at 403-627-1750.

This program is made possible in part by a Rural Community Adaptation Program from Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

The workshop will run from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm; lunch and information materials will be provided.  

Space is limited for this workshop, so please contact SASCI as early as possible to confirm your registration! Participation is free, thanks to SASCI's project funding from the Government of Alberta's Rural Community Adaptation Program grant.

This workshop is part of SASCI's ongoing series of capacity-building for community service organizations in our community, and is open to participants from southwest Alberta, from Nanton south to the US border and Highway 2 west to the BC border.

For more information or to reserve a space in the workshop, call 403-627-1750 or email sasci@telus.net.

Where:  Town of Pincher Creek Council Chambers

When:  Thursday, February 28, 4:00 - 5:00 pm

RSVP to economic@pinchercreek.ca or 403-627-3156.

Where:  Council Chambers, Town of Pincher Creek, 962 St. John Ave.

Fee: Free, but registration at least 48 hours ahead is required.

Register: economic@pinchercreek.ca or 403-627-3156

Wednesday February 13, 1:00 - 3:00 pm:  Google Plus, Google Places, and YouTube

Wednesday March 20, 1:00 - 3:00 pm: LinkedIn, FourSquare, and Yelp

5 pm - Socialize and Registration

5:30 pm - Complimentaty Dinner catered by Twin Butte Country Restaurant

6-8 pm - Guest Speakers and discussion on Wildlife Research in the Eastern slope; presentations by Dale Paton and Jason Blackburn.

For more information contact Chelsea at 403-627-2848 or chelsea.jagger.natureconservancy.ca

"This Forum strives to bring together researchers, policy actors and representatives from specific watersheds to bring greater clarity and collaborative capacity to collectively recognizing:

(1) the multiple dynamics and functions that complicate watershed-level analyses, programming and public policy;

(2) the need to acknowledge and work within watersheds in a fashion that acknowledge integrative watershed management and planning;

(3) the need to better and more clearly address a core issue of both horizontal (across policy domains) and vertical (across levels of authority or governance) integration that is often acknowledged rheotorically, but is rarely and explicitly included in policy-making and programming in Canada."

For more information and to register, click here to visit the event website.

The event will run from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm on August 9 and 10 in Camrose, Alberta.  Registration is $47.62 per person, maximum 50 people.

"Climate variability, water scarcity, flooding, and the various demands of population and economic growth are influencing developers, infrastructure managers, city officials and provincial planners.  Governments, industries, and community development professionals are responding to the emerging need to plan for and manage risks associated with extreme weather events, flooding, droughts and other climate related stressors on our community infrastructure systems.

This full-day workshop will provide an introduction to the drivers and trends toward low impact and green development and the "state of" municipal and provincial water and water management policy and legislation (rainwater & storm water capture, reuse, water infrastructure management), as they influence the planning and construction of provincial, municipal, and residential infrastructure-related projects."

The workshop content will include:

- climate change, variability, and adaptation

- legislation, policies, guidelines, and best practices

- LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

- low-impact development tools & technologies

- sustainability of watersheds and water balance model

For more information and to register, click here to visit the event website.

The event runs from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm in Lethbridge on July 30.  The registration cost is $400, but may be subsidized for non-profit organizations and community citizens.  The event is hosted by the Oldman Watershed Council and delivered by Sustainability Resources Ltd., a consulting firm.  SASCI is not associated with the event in any way.