January 31, 2024 BOARD MEETINGS
Canton Community Center, Room C: WIFI COLLINSVILLE 2015; *6:15pm-8:30pm
*6:15pm-6:30pm:
New CCHF Treasurer Kristin W. Oswald was introduced & welcomed to the Board!
Present: Janot Bente, Sylvia Cancela, Jim Gavin, Deirdre Lloyd, Kristin Oswald, Allie Southworth-Eck, Sandy Trionfini, Nancy Triou
Absent: Shelly Millane (out of the country). Sylvia followed up with Shelly to review the Board Meeting (copy of the Annual Report Statement was emailed to her). Sylvia got Shelly’s input on Vision/Values, Tag Line, SWOT. Her comments are included below. She did not participate in any Motions or votes.
OPEN MEETING #1: ANNUAL MEETING FOR 2023 REVIEW & 2024 OUTLOOK
Sylvia opened the Annual Meeting for 2023 Review & 2024 Outlook for Canton Community Health Fund at 6:30pm on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 with a Board quorum. She presented the following Annual Report to the Board.
I WANT TO BEGIN BY CONGRATULATING THIS BOARD FOR A VERY PRODUCTIVE & SUCCESSFUL & COURAGEOUS 2023. THAT LAST WORD IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT TAKES COURAGE TO CHANGE, TO LOOK FORWARD, TO TRY NEW THINGS– SEEING NOT JUST WHO WE WERE OR ARE, BUT WHO WE CAN BE.
RATHER THAN PRESENTING A TRADITIONAL ANNUAL REPORT, I’VE ORGANIZED THIS PERSENTATION AS A PREAMBLE TO OUR NEXT MEETING AT 7PM — OUR STRATEGY WORKSHOP, BECAUSE 2023 WAS A CRITICAL STRATEGIC RE-BUILDING OF CCHF THAT WILL DIRECTLY INFORM OUR DECISIONS & OPPORTUNITIES IN 2024.
THERE ARE CERTAIN WELL-DOCUMENTED PHASES IN THE LIFE CYCLE OF ANY STRATEGY. SO, I’M GOING TO BEGIN WITH PHASE 1 TO PRESENT OUR ANNUAL REPORT REVIEW:
PHASE 1: WHO WILL WE BE IN 2023? RE-BOOT STAGE: Years 1 – 2
WE STARTED ASKING THIS QUESTION in OCTOBER/2022 (first live meeting post pandemic & my 1st as Chair).
ANSWERING THIS QUESTION, THIS CHALLENGE REQUIRED A TOP TO BOTTOM HONEST ASSESSMENT OF WHO CANTON COMMUNITY HEALTH FUND WAS — AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME.
THAT WORK LED TO A NEW 2023 STRATEGY BASED ON 2 MAJOR RE-DIRECTS:
1ST RE-DIRECT
– SENT US BACK TO OUR ROOTS, TO THE 100-year LEGACY FROM THE CANTON VISITING NURSE ASSN THAT WAS GIFTED TO US – NOT JUST THE MONEY IN THE FUND, BUT THE WORK & THE REPUTATION & THE INTENTION THE REASON WHY WE EXIST TODAY…. TO MAKE A MEANINGFUL IMPACT IN PEOPLE’S LIVES – THE BIG HOLISTIC PICTURE, COMMUNITY-WIDE.
– AND MAKE NO MISTAKE BEING KNOWN/RECOGNIZED FOR THAT REPUTATION – OUR INHERITED BRAND – WAS EARNED BY THE WORK OF THE CVNA THAT IS OUR CHARGE TO CONTINUE TODAY.
2ND RE-DIRECT
– REBUILDING THE CCHF INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THAT LEGACY – BUT FOR 2023+: HOW WE’RE ORGANIZED, HOW WE COMMUNICATE, UPDATING OUR TECH AND RECONFIRMING OUR RESPONSIBILTIES AS A NON-PROFIT BUSINESS: HOW WE FUNCTION, PROCESSES, RECORD KEEPING, RULES & REGULATIONS, BYLAWS, CERTIFICATIONS PAYING OUR BILLS ALL THAT IS REQUIRED TO STAY IN GOOD STANDING & COMPLIANCE WITH NOT ONLY THE COMMUNITY, BUT THE ST OF CT & THE IRS.
SO, TO REVIEW, HERE ARE JUST 5 OF THE MANY STEPS IN A PHASE 1 STRATEGY RE-BOOT THAT WE UNDERTOOK TO MAKE ‘WHO WILL WE BE IN 2023’ HAPPEN:
STEP 1 OF PHASE 1 REBOOT: MINIMIZE LEARNING CURVE
What do we have working for us already?
o An Interested Board – with both OG (long term) & fresh voices & OPEN TO CHANGE.
o The Fund: – Up net $108,903 between Jan 1, 2023 & Jan 18, 2024, 19% return.
o A Stable Pool of Long-Term Grant Applicants IN THE COMMUNITY.
o Re-dedication to the ADMINISTATRION OF THE Dr. Diters Scholarship, post- Dollars for Scholars.
STEP 2 of PHASE 1 REBOOT: QUICKLY REMEDY DEFICITS
Organization: at the end of 2022, CCHF had 8 Committees & 7 Board members, with 3 who were leaving in 2023. ideas with no working infrastructure to support moving forward.
So, in 2023 WE PIVOTED hard & CONSOLIDATED into 3 Committees (1. Admin/Operations with a new Administrative Officer; 2. Marketing/Project Management.
With the designation of a New CCHF Marketing Officer, All Board members now had the opportunity to participate in any new Marketing projects. & 3. Funding (Laser Focus on the future of our core biz: Scholarship & Grants programming).
Tech: Last major update OF THE WEBSITE was in 2017. Unbeknownst to us was that our Scholarship, Grant applications & email were all housed on a system that was unsupported & collapsing, starting around 2021. This is in the process of being remedied as we sit here tonight.
Communication: We had no social media presence. In 2023 our new Facebook page gave us the opportunity to begin to define ourselves & to build awareness – nearly every week.
We still have issues with the operation of our Instagram account, but I am confident they will be resolved in this Q1/2024.
STEP 3 of PHASE 1 REBOOT: POSITION AGAINST SPECIFIC COMPETITORS/THREATS
BRAND: We were so invisible that in 2020/21 a cookie-cutter marketing campaign from Hartford, who knew nothing about this community, took as one of its names the Canton Community Fund & started aggressively positioning themselves as THE in-community Canton organization.
Again, we pivoted hard & leveraged what & who was right in front of us – our long-term community relationships with our grant applicants. From that we created the Community Partner pilot that served as the foundation for the revitalization of our Brand.
Collaborating with our Community Partners – these affinity groups, the boots on the ground doing the work – gave us a HALO effect in the most basic way – demonstrated the extent of our deep & wide commitment to the community. Just like the nurses cared for the community from cradle to grave, CCHF supported the community’s health, safety & well-being through our diverse network of Partnerships.
And, our long-standing scholarship program was also a strategic opportunity that was right in front of us. We took inspiration from a 1980 report that followed the successes of the first batches of CCHF Scholarship recipients and in 2023 we created Dr Diters Scholar Alumni pilot that became some of the most compelling FB posts.
Step 4 of PHASE 1 REBOOT: GAIN BUY-IN FROM CURRENT ORGANIZATIONS
I visited with every Community Partner I was told over & over again, no one ever asks about our work. And, No one has taken an interest in what we do. These are volunteers largely. These community partnerships are personal. That’s a Distinctive Competency FOR CCHF. LET’S KEEP THAT IN MIND FOR THE WORKSHOP DISCUSSION.
So not only did the HALO affect of THE WORK OF our Community Partners rub off on our re-booted Brand, but we were value-added asset to our Community Partners, beyond a pay check, as a professional Marketing resource through our Story Sharing initiative, driven by what the Community Partner was comfortable with – from a simple PSA, to new opportunities for public relations (Food Bank), to a live fire dept drill put on just for us.
As a bonus, our Board visits to Community Partners were valuable learning experiences that will make us more responsible & responsive stewards of the Fund since we have more data & experience & community respect with which to make decisions.
Step 5 of PHASE 1 REBOOT: DEVELOP WIDESPREAD AWARENESS OF THE BENEFITS OF THE BRAND
Our April/2023 Today Magazine cover feature was a benchmark, that we’ll be able to continue to leverage to explain who we are.
After our May Awarding Meeting, we spent the rest of the year (June – Dec) posting interesting items/updates, on a weekly basis, on our new FB page. In addition, we merchandized 5 of these posts to a larger audience, into print articles in Valley Press, Valley Life that appeared every month starting in summer ending in March/2024 with a Valley Life Spotlight on SpiritHorse, just as our new Application season launches. We also had a significant presence in Today Magazine (2 times).
Dr. Diters Alumni Stories have been a special bright spot-on Facebook bringing in New ‘Likes’ from people who are not us! It’s a start.
– WHAT’S MORE IN 2024? BUILDING ON 2023
The frustration of increasing the visibility of CCHF goes back decades to every other board who has ever run this organization. I think in 2023 that we may have cracked the code on invisibility to visibility. But, there’s more to be done in the next phases of our strategic life cycle.
Before I adjourn this annual meeting I have one more congratulations for this board for the hard work completed in our Phase I Re-Boot.
o Present $500 donation check from Kathy Taylor.
MOTION TO AJOURN MEETING #1:
SANDY MADE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE JANUARY 31, 2024 ANNUAL BOARD MEETING OF THE CANTON COMMUNITY HEALTH FUND AT 6:43pm. JANOT SECONDED THE MOTION. THERE WAS NO FURTHER DISCUSSION. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
OPEN MEETING #2: ANNUAL STRATEGY MEETING
It’s 6:45pm on Wed January 31, 2024 and we have a quorum, so the Canton Community Health Fund Annual Strategy Meeting is open.
Members were reminded that taking additional Minutes notes to augment those of the Chair is appreciated.
As outlined in the Annual Report, there are certain well-documented phases in the life cycle of any strategy. Phase 2 is the Growth Stage – typically the next 2-5 years after a phase 1, Re-Boot.
Before starting on Phase 2 there is some basic building blocks that underlie every strategy & decision we will make that must be agreed upon:
ITEM #1: CORE TENANTS THAT UNDERLIE WHO WE ARE AS AN ORGANIZATION
– MISSION STATEMENT: (Why/Purpose. Currently using our Mission as our Tag Line)
o Contributing to the Health, Safety & Well-Being of the Canton Community
-STATEMENT OF VALUES: (Ethics & Core Principles inherited/inspired from our Roots)
o Generosity, Integrity, Respect, Service to people, Empathy, Community, Health, Wellness/Well-being, Support.
SHELLY: Accountability to the community especially with regards to the money donated to us to facilitate our work. Doing our due Diligence by being aware of what the community needs and how service needs are evolving within that community. Attention to compliance with operational/administration to ensure our reputation as a credible granting nonprofit corporation.
-VISION: (What we hope to achieve or become in the future)
o Making the evolving lives of our friends, family & neighbors better. Empowering, Creating Value, Easily Accessible Funding, Maintaining Accessibility. To partner with community organizations & leaders who want our success as much as we want theirs.
SHELLY: Being actively & totally in touch with what the community needs. Being involved. Paying Attention. Listening is the only way to know how our vision should be realized.
-TAG LINE: (To Clarify a Point, leave Impression, ie: Just Do It. Think Different. I Love NY)
A few options were brainstormed:
o By, For and About the Canton Community. (This line has been used in a number of press stories already.)
o By, For & About our Healthy Community
Recommendation: Service Marks
-Currently our Masthead & logo has no tag line attached to it. Expires March/2027; Filing Fee: $50; Good for 5 years – done in 2022, defensive measure against confusion in the community caused by the new ‘Coming Together Canton Health Fund’ campaign from Hartford Foundation.
-By a unanimous vote, the Board agreed that a New Service Mark: ‘Contributing to the Health, Safety & Well-Being of the Canton Community’ would be applied for from the State of CT, and that the working draft Tag Line (‘By, For & About the Canton Community’) would be re-visited at our June Marketing Meeting.
ITEM #2: SITUATION ANALYSIS (SWOT)
– MARKET OVERVIEW/TRENDS
-Rather than conducting a separate research study on trends in our Community, the Board acknowledged that listening to our Community Partner our ‘Boots on the Ground’ & leveraging their experiences in serving Town residents, was far more valuable.
INTERNAL FACTORS (impacting of work of the board)
-STRENGTHS
-Feedback from Community Partner meetings: Professional & friendly & Interested.
From the Board: Longevity as an organization. Depth of Community Relations. Consistency. Uncomplicated application process. Good Financial Resources.
– Distinctive Competency/Our Singular Super Power: Our significant relationships with community
-short term: Community Partners &
-long term: Scholar Alumni- Influencer?
SHELLY: The Board comes from different walks of life, so a good representation of the community at large. Diversity of angles, opinions & experience.
-WEAKNESSES (challenges that could hinder progress)
-No Marketing Officer, No Administrative Officer, Burnt out Chair. Challenges to recruitment oof Board members & upcoming retirements (2024/2025). Limited on time we can commit. Scholarships are not large and only a small piece of CCHF’s strategy.
SHELLY: It’s hard to get people which is a significant issue when trying to recruit volunteers. It’s good to have new blood and to rotate out Board members to reinforce and evolve our history and experience.
EXTERNAL FACTORS
-OPPORTUNITIES
-Community Partner Collaborations: 2024 SpiritHorse Fund Raiser. New way to promote ‘Spotlight’ stories from a more ‘personal’ POV from Community Partners or their clients.
SHELLY: Collaboration with those who have Big Thinking. CCHF was once better known in the community.
Carmen &, Vincents Funeral Homes when families want to consider who to donate to. She will touch base with Vincents & determine any opportunity to present at Sept Board Meeting when Projects & Communication are reviewed.
-THREATS
-Continued confusion with ‘Canton Health Fund’ marketing campaign from Hartford Foundation
-Liability to CCHF from Substance-Free CHS Sponsored event. Need to consider how to protect CCHF from possible issues posed by this event. To discuss at March ‘Awarding Prep’ meeting.
ITEM #3: WHAT’S MORE IN 2024?
PHASE 2: GROWTH STAGE Of The Strategic Cycle: TYPICALLY, THE FOCUS OF THE NEXT 2-5 YRS IS ON THE FOLLOWING 5 Steps:
STEP 1 OF PHASE 2 GROWTH STAGE: ESTABLISH/DEFEND BRAND IDENTITY/POSITION
o Formalize/Establish the two 2023 Pilots.
– Community Partners: The Board discussed the success of the Community Partners Pilot in defining our unique Brand.
By majority rule, the board voted unanimously to incorporate the pilot into our formal Brand strategy.
– Dr. Diters Alumni: The Board discussed the value of continuing to pursue the Alumni stories project. Janot suggested that we continue to test the best way to promote this pilot for an additional year, to determine additional/enhanced ways/timing to pursue Alumni & to promote their stories to define the Scholarship arm of our Brand.
By majority rule, the board voted unanimously to continue the Alumni pilot for another year.
STEP 2 OF PHASE 2 GROWTH STAGE: AS WE BUILD AWARENESS/BRAND PRESENCE BALANCE OUR WORK WITH DEMAND & OPPORTUNITIES (**POST 2024 COMMUNITY PARTNER ASSIGNMENTS/JUNE)
o Discussion of Roles, Responsibilities & Setting Priorities
STEP 3 OF PHASE 2 GROWTH STAGE: SEEK OUT OPPORTUNITIES & STRENTHEN RELATIONSHIPS (**POST 2024 COMMUNITY PARTNER ASSIGNMENTS/JUNE)
o Do we look for Community Partners who are serving a need that isn’t being fully addressed by our Community Partners/Sponsorships? i.e.: CHS Substance Free Sponsorship is only one night vs longer term, more impactful programming. Possible resources: resources: school, library.
STEP 4 OF PHASE 2 GROWTH STAGE: FIND NEW DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS FOR PROMOTION & FUNDING
o Instagram for Alumni Stories
o NEW Story Sharing vehicle: ‘Community Voices & POVs’: i.e. FAVRAH apartment resident story (Shelly)
o Social Media Advertising (Doreen Cohn as resource for Strategy & operations)
o NW Bank Foundation (consistent with our holistic, community-wide strategy.
o Canton Main Street
o Former Donor Awareness letter (Sept, post 2024 Marketing Plan)
o Personal Board outreach
STEP 5 OF PHASE 2 GROWTH STAGE: BEGIN TO REAP FINANCIAL BENEFIT OF WORK/REPUTATION
2024 STATEMENT of GOALS
– Expand Awareness: Goal: 100 FB Followers
– Have a smooth & successful Awarding Season
– No one says ‘I’ve never heard of you’ ever again!
– Become very well known
– BE ABLE TO SAY IN 2025 …. & NOW WE THRIVE!
ITEM # 3: ADMINISTRATION (Sylvia)
Minutes: Approval of Nov/2023 Minutes
Sylvia asked if all members had the chance to review the Minutes & if there were any edits. Kristin was not present for this meeting, so she recused herself from voting.
There being no edits, Sandy made a Motion to waive the reading of the Minutes and to accept them as written. Nancy seconded the Motion. There was no further discussion. The Motion passed with a unanimous vote in favor.
ITEM # 4: FINANCE (Kristin)
Jan/2023 Treasurer’s Report (Exhibit A)
Kristin presented her Financial summary: There was a 19% gross increase between Jan 1, 2023 – January 19, 2024, $118,902.
Total Assets (11/6/23-1/18/24): $794,303.10. Expenses of $1,980.74 included, Tech, Goulet Printing, Check Reorder and the Q/A and Certificate of Incorporation review from our Accountant. Donations totaled $251.
Kristin answered questions from the Board about the types of accounts that CCHF is invested in. Our Vanguard funds are invested in stocks, so this is a high growth, high risk strategy. The Board agreed to continue the discussion of the appropriateness of the risk in future meetings.
Kristin will be setting up a phone call with our new accountant, Chris (same firm, but he’s a Partner with the departure of Dan Davis) to discuss the timeline for & document requirements for 2023/2024 tax prep. Chris suggested that Kristin use QuickBooks as an organizational aid going forward. (Kristin & I agreed, post-meeting, that this is not a good use of her time and better suited to the CCHF Administration officer (when we get one).
Deirdre made a Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report for January as presented. Allie seconded the Motion. there was no further discussion The Motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Update on Credit Card – DEBIT CARD
Kristin and Sylvia researched and initially applied for a CCHF credit card, but found the process needlessly burdensome, confusing and frustrating. Instead, they pivoted to opening of a Debit Card with Collinsville/Northwest Bank. Both have a card.
Budget Draft (Exhibit B)
As required by CCHF Bylaws, a 2024 Budget draft, totaling $49,645.00, was presented by Kristin. Given that there has been no budget presented in at least 5 years, this draft is subject to change in June after Marketing Opportunities with 2024 Community Partners are set.
Allie made a Motion to accept the draft #1 Budget for 2024 with the caveat that it will be reassessed at our June/2024 Marketing meeting. Jim seconded the Motion. There was no further discussion and the Motion carried unanimously.
ITEM #5: NEXT STEPS/ASSIGNMENTS (Sylvia)
-TESTING GRANT PACKAGE/IMPACT REPORT, DR DITERS & PAY IT FORWARD SCHOLARSHIPS: Testing and edits continue with the goal of completion by CCHF’s April 1st Application Opening season.
-INFO@ EMAIL TESTING: Testing continues to work out the bugs on accessing this new Microsoft email with the goal of having it working for the April 1, 2024 Application season.
-PAYPAL: Kristin continues to work with PayPal to provide documentation (new info@email) in order to transfer the $250 donation made in December) to CCHF’s checking account at Collinsville Bank.
– DISTRIBUTION OF MEDIA ALERT: This distribution is pending resolution of the issues above & MAY BE Postponed.
-Sylvia will apply for a State of CT New Service Mark for ‘Contributing to the Health, Safety & Well-Being of the Canton Community.’
-NEXT MEETING: MONDAY MARCH 18TH: Administration PREP for MAY AWARDING/FUNDING MEETING: PROCESS, Review of 2023 OUTCOME REPORTS. Nancy & Shelly will be leading a review & discussion on the review of Outcome Reports, to determine if there are any questions that require following up.
NOTE: Sandy will be in Florida and may join us via Zoom. If not Sylvia will review the Meeting upon her return.
AJOURN MEETING #2
KRISTIN MADE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE JANUARY 31, 2024 BOARD MEETING OF THE CANTON COMMUINTY HEALTH FUND AT 8:15PM. JANOT SECONDED THE MOTION. THERE WAS NO FURTHER DISCUSSION. THE BOARD VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.
All were thanked for attending this double session of meetings & for their participation.
Last modified: January 10, 2025