Board Meeting Minutes 2024
| Date | Tuesday, January 16, 2024 |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Courage, Troy Dunn, Yuri Hernandez Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | Yuri Hernandez |
| ASL Interpretation | Jo-Ann Martin and Marcia Adolphe |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda |
Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair Grant Gonzales |
Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: leZlie lee kam |
| Land Acknowledgement | Grant delivered land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes |
Approval of Minutes
|
Motion: To approve the December 18, Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: leZlie lee kam |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest |
Grant requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Grant advised on document for reference | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Grant advised on the document for reference about expectations during the Board Meeting. | Discussed |
| Standing Item: ED Report | The Executive Director (Kojo Modeste) provided the monthly organizational update. Discussion was held on supporting the application for the Two-Spirit powwow; it was confirmed that a letter of support from Pride Toronto will be sent for the application. leZlie advised on the workshop they attended and suggested use of the ‘sunflower scheme’; Kojo to look into this. It was advised that the Accessibility Committee is in a good place with a number of people that are part of the committee. |
Discussed
|
| Standing Item: Treasurer Report |
The Treasurer (Osmel Maynes) Board Members provided general updates that the organization was in a good financial state. |
Discussed |
| Annual General Meeting and Board Elections |
Annual Meeting Preparations for Annual Meeting underway, including a tech rehearsal the week before the Annual Meeting. Grant explained that proxies and that certain motions require certain voting options (ie. some motions are for/withhold and others are for/against). In compliance with the Ontario Not for Profit Corporations Act (ONCA), the meeting will be referred to as a ‘Annual Meeting’ rather than a ‘Annual General Meeting’ Board Elections
|
Discussed Motion: To Board approves all Board candidates to be voted on at the upcoming Annual Meeting (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Troy Dunn Action item: |
| Membership Approval |
Grant checked in with the Board Members to ensure they have reviewed the list of Membership approvals. Approvals list to include current Member and Board Director, Courage Bacchus. Staff to follow up on one Member application to check the applicant’s full name. |
Motion: To approve Membership Applications (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: leZlie lee kam |
|
Committee Updates
|
Policy Committee Advocacy, Equity, and Human Rights Committee Finance Committee This update was provided by Osmel earlier in the meeting during the Treasurer Report. |
Discussed |
| Other Business/Updates |
lezlie provided thank you to interpreters. leZlie thanked Nipuni for doing an excellent job of taking the minutes of board meetings. |
Discussed |
|
Standing Item: In Camera
|
Chair |
Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumer Seconder: Troy Dunn Motion: To move out of in camera |
| Next Meeting: February 3, 2024 | Grant advised that the Board Orientation for new and current Board Members, and monthly Board Meeting will be held on Saturday February 3rd, 2024. |
Discussed |
| Adjournment | Board Members. Meeting ended. |
Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Osmel Maynes |
| Date | Saturday, February 3, 2024 |
| Time | 2:00-4:00 pm EST |
| Location | In person at Pride Toronto office and online |
| Attendance | Board: Anmol Budhiraja, Courage Bacchus, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Mariana Mota, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Osmel Maynes, Troy Dunn, Victor Perez-Amado, Viviana Santibanez Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | None |
| ASL Interpretation | Cindy Muskat and Vanessa Bailey |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair Grant Gonzales | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
| Land Acknowledgement | Grant delivered land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes
| Motion: To approve the January 16, 2024 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: leZlie lee kam |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Grant requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. Nirmalan noted that while not a conflict of interest, he has recently changed positions and works closely with the City of Toronto unit that oversees Street Event permitting. He noted he does not take part in conversations that involve Pride Toronto permitting. Mariana noted that she currently works at the City of Toronto that oversees policies regarding grants to festivals. If there is a discussion about advocacy/grant applications regarding the City of Toronto that may lead to a conflict of interest; Mariana advised that she would not be a part of that conversation. Grant advised that both of these are standing conflicts and will need to be included in the attestation form when we have it. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Grant advised on document for reference. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Grant advised on the document for reference about expectations during the Board Meeting. | Discussed |
| Standing Item: ED Report | The Executive Director (Kojo Modeste) provided the monthly organizational update. Explanation of what to expect with ED Report (monthly high level updates from different departments) was discussed. Updates for this month included the following: the staff is in full Festival planning mode and hiring of contract staff is almost finalized. Confirmation from Canadian Heritage was received advising that our Festival grant was approved. There was also an update on the upcoming Sankofa event (second annual Black History Month event). It was mentioned that staff are also looking into plans for International Women’s Day and Asian Heritage Month. Osmel provided an update on the Creating Change Conference which was held in January in New Orleans. He said it provided an opportunity to meet other organizations and other Prides from grassroots activists to academics and more. Kojo advised that Nirmalan will be representing Pride Toronto at 365 Pride in St. Lucia. leZlie, Grant and Kojo will also be attending the Fierte Pride Conference in Prince Edward Island. Kojo mentioned that another priority is Requests for Proposals; this will be emailed to the Board soon to review for approval. Discussion held on the plan about Alberta’s anti-trans legislation and Pride Toronto response/comment. Kojo led the discussion on changing our Pride Toronto logo from the six colours to incorporate all the colours of the Progressive flag. All Board Members were in agreement. | Discussed
|
| Standing Item: Treasurer Report | The Treasurer (Osmel Maynes) provided the Treasurer’s report. He noted that we had re-appointed our auditors at the Annual Meeting. Osmel advised that he welcomes other Board Directors to join the Finance Committee. | Discussed |
| Board Administration: 2024 Board Agreement / Attestations | Board Administration Discussion held about 2024 Board Agreement | Discussed |
Board Officers Elections Co-Chair (2), Treasurer (1), Secretary (1) | Grant advised on the need to choose Board Officers at the first meeting after the Annual Meeting. It was mentioned that it is important to have folks with some experience in these roles for continuity. Also important for Board Directors to consider shadowing the meetings of the Executive Committee Officers to support the change in Officer positions in the future, for succession planning.Officer positions are one year in length – from one annual meeting until the next annual meeting. Currently, the Officer positions are two Co-Chairs, one Treasurer and one Secretary. The Board can also create other Officer roles as needed. Kojo chaired the nomination process. Co-Chair Grant and Courage nominated leZlie for Co-Chair. leZlie nominated Grant for Co-Chair.
Treasurer Courage nominated Osmel for Treasurer.
Secretary Grant, Courage and leZlie nominated Nirmalan for Secretary.
Congratulations to all Board Officers! Grant advised that this is a great opportunity for leadership to have a fifth Board Director join the Executive Committee (which is composed of the Board Officers), to start shadowing to get a better understanding of the Officer roles. The Executive Committee deals with emerging issues and provides support and guidance for the ED. Board Directors can reach out to leZlie, Grant and Kojo for more information on this. Kojo and leZlie raised the issue of gender equity on the Executive Committee. leZlie expressed concern about the need for a woman to shadow this committee. | Action item: Grant to add to Board Meeting agenda in March the following: for the Board to discuss electing a Member at large. |
Board Committees
| Grant advised Board Directors to start thinking about which Board committees they want to be a part of. This will be revisited in March. Committees organize their own meetings and the first priority will be to develop each committees’ Terms of Reference. Policy Committee This committee is responsible for overseeing policies and governance, such as the bylaws and overseeing specific policies. There needs to be a full review of policies. There is also a need to build an orientation package for new Board Members and solidify Board recruitment processes. Advocacy, Equity, and Human Rights Committee No updates at this time. leZlie is currently the only remaining member of this committee. Finance Committee This update was provided by Osmel earlier in the meeting during the Treasurer Report. Grants and Sponsorship Review Committee No updates at this time. Executive Committee No updates at this time. Kojo advised that someone on the senior leadership team will be on all the committees. | Discussed |
| Policy: Expenses | Policy: Expenses Kojo explained that there should be a buffer with the per diems provided to the Board, considering that costs of meals can get really expensive with traveling. In terms of meals to expense during Board Meetings, the recommendation is to increase the meal allowance from $20 to $30 per meeting since the cost of food is expensive and because there is savings in terms of travel (since the meetings are online). | Motion: To approve the increase of the Board meal allowance from $20 to $30 per meeting (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Anmol Budhiraja
Action item: Osmel and Nipuni to touch base on the form. |
| Membership Approvals | Grant advised that approval of Membership applications to be deferred to the next Board Meeting. | Discussed |
Other Business/Updates
| Other Business Sankofa was discussed during the ED report. Brief discussion was held on headshots for the Board of Directors. Grant advised that the Executive Committee would look into this. | Discussed |
Standing Item: In Camera Session In Camera Minutes: January 16, 2024 | Grant advised that the approval of in camera meeting minutes will be deferred to the next Board Meeting. | Discussed |
| Next Meeting: February 20, 2024 (HOLD) | Grant advised the next meeting will be held on February 20. | Discussed |
| Adjournment | All Board Members. Meeting ended. | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Victor Perez-Amado Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
| Date | Tuesday, March 5, 2024 |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST |
| Location | In person at Pride Toronto office and online |
| Attendance | Board: Anmol Budhiraja, Courage Bacchus, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Mariana Mota, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Osmel Maynes, Victor Perez-Amado, Viviana Santibanez Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | Troy Dunn |
| ASL Interpretation | Alex Skrzyniak and Cynthia Carruthers |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Amended the meeting agenda to include a discussion on Palestine during Other Business | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Victor Perez-Amado Seconder: Courage Bacchus |
| Land Acknowledgement | Grant delivered land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes:
| Motion: To approve the February 3, 2024 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Mariana Mota Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Grant requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. Anmol works at 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations and so, will not be part of the agenda discussion about 2Spirit Bursary. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Grant advised on document for reference. The only addition to the document was the email to approve moving forward with the staff recommended vendors. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Grant advised on the document for reference about expectations during the Board Meeting. leZlie reminded Board Directors about ASL interpretation etiquette. | Discussed |
| Standing Item: ED Report | The Executive Director (Kojo Modeste) provided the monthly organizational update. Discussion on current state of other Festivals, and meetings with Elected Officials and city developments (upcoming FIFA games in Toronto). Update provided about new development with new insurance broker: all vendors that are using equipment will need liability insurance – these conversations are ongoing. There have also been discussions with other Pride organizations about Palestine/Israel – has been top of mind for organizations. leZlie commended Kojo for their work in supporting other Prides and thanked Kojo for the video made regarding trans hate based on statements made by Pierre Pollievre, Leader of the Official Opposition. Enchante Summit update provided: to establish the first national 2SLGBTQI+ organization. Discussions held on the need and next steps (how can this be made into a reality). | Discussed |
Standing Item: Treasurer Report
| The Treasurer (Osmel Maynes) provided the Treasurer’s report. Finance committee meetings going to start up with Amit. Discussion of the creation of a new 2-Spirit bursary, which would be $1000 and would come from the Board advocacy fund. This decision is based on our ongoing efforts to build our relationship with indigenous communities and would support young 2-Spirit folks. Anmol did not participate in the discussion about the 2-Spirit Bursary and recused themselves from the vote. | Motion: To approve the sponsorship of a $1000 bursary with 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations to support 2-Spirit community members for 2024 only. (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Osmel Maynes |
Board Committees
| Advocacy, Equity, and Human Rights Committee No updates at this time. Board Directors who will be in committee: leZlie, Courage, Victor Finance Committee This update was provided by Osmel earlier in the meeting during the Treasurer Report. Board Directors who will be in committee: Osmel (Chair), Nirmalan, Anmol Grants and Sponsorship Review Committee No updates at this time. Board Directors who will be in committee: Nirmalan (coordinate the meeting to elect the chair), Osmel, Anmol Policy Committee This committee is responsible for overseeing policies and governance. Board Directors in the committee: Grant, Mariana Executive Committee No updates at this time. Board Directors in the committee: Grant, leZlie, Nirmalan, Osmel Mariana and Viviana would like additional information/description of the committees, and schedule. Grant advised that there is no set schedule (aside from Finance). All committees need Terms of Reference and to elect a Chair. Governance
| Motion: To approve ‘Employee Leave of Absence Policy’ and ‘Board and Staff Performer Policy (as amended to include six month grace period) (Approved). Mover: Grant Gonzales Seconder: Anmol Budhiraja |
| Board WhatsApp – Guidelines and Expectations | Board WhatsApp – Guidelines and Expectations. Osmel advised the Board on the interest in creating a WhatsApp group to have conversations around the Board and to keep in touch with each other. This would not be a personal WhatsApp group, and more about being in tune with each other; ie. to ensure Directors are where they are needed to be. Grant expressed the importance of having ground rules; it would not be appropriate to have debates/complaints in this group, and rather the focus would be more for administration, reminders, and coordination. It would be a good way to keep in touch with each other. leZlie: Okay to move forward with very clear boundaries and guidelines. Important to note that this would not be an official method of communication. Important to communicate via email for Board matters. Osmel, as Treasurer will be the administrator of the group, and will monitor and ensure it is running smoothly. | Motion: To approve the creation of a WhatsApp group for Board Directors to communicate with each other (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Viviana Santibanez Action item:
|
Membership Approvals
| leZlie checked in with the Board Directors to confirm they have reviewed the list. Nirmalan provided more context into the application process – individuals apply online (and affirm that they agree to our organizational values). Team does a quick search. However, there is a need to look into a more thorough application process. The Board discussed a request from two members to hold a Special General Meeting, and decided not to proceed. | Motion: To approve Membership Applications (including February and March) (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Victor Perez-Amado |
Other Business/Updates
| Other Business International Women’s Day Pride Event This was discussed during ED report Update from Enchante Summit This was discussed during ED report Discussion on Palestine Discussion between the Board Directors and ED on making a statement on the increasing humanitarian crisis and the difficulty of individuals in Gaza accessing basic supplies, and making another statement. It was noted that many other Pride organizations are also navigating on the best way to respond and are looking for additional support and leadership. Important considerations need to be made, including who are the communities that people want Pride Toronto to speak out on/for, as we received a lot of backlash from our last statement, and in making a new statement, staff and Board would be impacted. Board Directors agreed that it would be best to do more action based support for communities, and ensure we increase transparency around the positive work we do; this would include looking at how to support advocacy and queer folks on the ground. | Discussed |
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| Grant advised | Discussed |
Next Meeting: March 19, 2024 (in-person)
| leZlie advised the next meeting will be held on March 19. This will be an in-person meeting at the Pride Toronto office and will include a presentation from staff about the upcoming Festival. leZlie expressed support to Nipuni and the Interpreters, Alex and Cynthia for support with the Board Meeting. | Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Victor Perez-Amado Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumer Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
| Adjournment | All Board Members. Meeting ended. | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Grant Gonzales Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
| Date | Tuesday, March 19, 2024 |
| Time | 6:20 pm – 9:17 pm EST |
| Location | In person at Pride Toronto office |
| Attendance | Board: Anmol Budhiraja, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Mariana Mota, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Osmel Maynes, Troy Dunn, Victor Perez-Amado, Viviana Santibanez Staff: Kojo Modeste, Bobby MacPherson, Anna Lee, Nick Ramdass, Amit Kumar, Kais Padamshi, Dania Niles, Marvin Maverick Regalado, Jamie Nicholson, Jaden Slawter, Derek Kang |
| Regrets | Courage Bacchus |
| ASL Interpretation | N/A |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business: Board of Directors Meeting Agenda – March 19, 2024Amended the meeting agenda to move the ED report to the end of the meeting after the staff presentations.Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair Grant Gonzales. | Motion: To approve the agenda as amended (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Troy Dunn |
| Land Acknowledgement | Grant Gonzales delivered land acknowledgment | Discussed |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Grant Gonzales requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. No conflicts declared. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Grant Gonzales advised on document for reference. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Grant Gonzales advised on the document for reference about expectations during the Board Meeting. | Discussed |
Staff Presentation
| Marketing and Communications Manager & Marketing and Communications Director presented to the Board. | Presentation |
Staff Presentation
| Operations Manager & Senior Director of Operations presented to the Board | Presentation |
Staff Presentation
| Senior Director of Operations presented to the Board. | Presentation |
Staff Presentation
| Fund Development Manager presented to the Board. | Presentation |
Staff Presentation
| Director of Development presented to the Board. | Presentation |
Staff Presentation
| Executive Director presented to the Board. | Presentation |
Staff Presentation
| Finance Manager presented to the Board. | Presentation |
Staff Presentation
| Community Engagement Manager presented to the Board. | Presentation |
Staff Presentation
| Visual Arts and Events Coordinator presented to the Board. | Presentation |
Staff Presentation
| Programming and Events Manager presented to the Board | Presentation |
Staff Presentation
| All Nirmalan: Question about brown/out stage move. Programming: Curators are aware of the move and ask for the move. leZlie: Will the Influencer Program use community activists? Marketing: Still building out the influence program. Many of the influencers are advocates in their own way. Grant: Is marketing able to share any of the international influences. Marketing: No international influencers yet. Being strategic and establishing a process to be used year-over-year. Viviana: Will there be someone to monitor the Be___ wall. ED: Yes Troy: Go really heavy in TikTok. Instagram and other social media are getting out–of-touch. Marketing: WIll be strategic this year. Victor: Is there a campaign for the general public about sustainability? Senior Dir. Op: Will be working on something with the contractors this year and with Marketing. Mariana: How can the Board support the Sponsorship Cultivation program? How has the breakdown for revenue year-over-year? Finance: Sponsorship will create a schedule for Board members to attend and meet with sponsors through the cultivation program. Working on major individual donors. Revenue breakdown is similar to 2023. leZlie: Was Buddies in Bad Times considered for Major Cultural Sponsors? What about a Pride t-shirt as merchandise? Major Cultural Events and Visual Arts: Will look into it. ED: The staff team won’t be able to do merchandise this year. A consideration for the future. Grant: Following-up on previous comments. Board members have participated in various sponsorship events throughout the year. The EA Manager will be sending out a schedule. Troy: Is there an update on the Pride Run? ED: The Operations team is working with Pride Run. Nirmalan: What is the proportion of funding for each stage? Programming: Same proportions as last year. | Presentation |
In Camera Session: ED Report
| Chair | Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Troy DunnMotion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
Standing Item: ED Report
| The ED provided the organizational update. Discussion on Grants Board: Discussion about if we have the expertise and how it will be resourced online. Staff will move forward with writing proposal. No submission until Board approval. | Discussed |
In Camera Session: ED Report
| Chair | Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Troy Dunn Seconder: Victor Perez-AmadoMotion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
Next Meeting:
| Nirmalan advised the next meeting will be held on April 16, 2024. | Discussed |
| Adjournment | All Board Members. Meeting ended. | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Anmol Budhiraja Seconder: Troy Dunn |
| Date | Tuesday, April 16, 2024 |
| Time | 6:00pm – 9:00pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Anmol Budhiraja, Courage Bacchus, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Mariana Mota, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Osmel Maynes, Troy Dunn, Victor Perez-Amado, Viviana Santibanez Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | N/A |
| ASL Interpretation | Christie Reaume and Marcia Adolphe |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair leZlie lee kam | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Grant Gonzales |
| Land Acknowledgement | Osmel Guerra Maynes delivered land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes:
| Motion: To approve the March 5, 2024 and March 19, 2024 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Grant Gonzales Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. No declarations | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Chair advised on document for reference. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Chair advised on the document for reference about expectations during the Board Meeting and reminded Board Directors to read this document. Chair highlighted that the document contains ASL etiquette (such as speaking one at a time), which would support interpreters. leZlie also mentioned that their device has limitations, so asked Board Directors to please put up their hands for motions, rather than putting up their hands virtually. | Discussed |
| Standing Item: ED Report | The Executive Director provided the monthly organizational update. leZlie’s questions were sent in advance via email. Nirmalan thanked the staff team for doing a thorough search for the best CRM tool for the organization and inquired about security training. ED advised that this training, along with how information can be more safely stored is being explored. A discussion on trainings was held. leZlie inquired about Indigenous competency training for the Board. Victor inquired about training on bias and microaggression. ED confirmed that this could be arranged following the Festival. Update on the Pride Run was provided. Pride Run’s main request was to no longer have the Accessibility container as they feel like it poses a safety threat to runners. Staff and the consulting company agreed to have a tent instead of the shipping container. We have reached back out to Pride Run to inform them, and are still waiting to hear back. ED advised on the distribution of VIP passes for City Councillors, and trainings for sponsors (Pride Toronto offers a list of trainings and it is up to the sponsors to request training). Dispute Resolution Committee was discussed – in total there would be two Board Directors and 3 community members in this committee. Osmel volunteered to be on the committee, and one additional Director is required. Board and ED discussed the federal budget, and in particular focused on the $3 million set for Pride security. | Action item for Dispute Resolution Committee:
|
| Standing Item: Treasurer Report | The Treasurer provided the Treasurer’s report. Osmel reviewed different account balances (bank, paypal etc), monthly admin costs. He advised that Finance is focusing on customer invoices so that we can get cashflow in June. Discussion was held on increasing our line of credit by $500,000 to a total of $1 million. The majority of sponsorships are received after the Festival, and the line of credit would be used to address any cash flow issues during the month of June. The goal would be to maintain the same interest rate on the increased amount. It was also discussed that the Finance committee would look into Sponsorship policy to see if any amendments could be made to payment schedules (even though companies/government has various fiscal years and payment schedules that they need to follow. | Motion: To approve the Finance Committee increasing Pride Toronto’s line of credit by $500K, bringing the total line of credit to $1 million. This additional funding will provide us with necessary funding to manage cash flow, and navigate unforeseen challenges that may arise (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes. Seconder: Grant Gonzales |
Policy Review
| Kojo and leZlie asked if everyone read policies with amendments or if more time is needed before voting. Board decided to move forward with the vote. Courage added to please include captions for social media in the Communications Policy. ED advised that could be added into the policy. | Motion: To approve Board and Staff Performer Policy, Communications Policy, Sponsorship Cycle Management Process and Storage & Inventory Process (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Anmol Budhiraja |
Board Committees (Officer-at-Large Appointment) | Grant advised that there would be value in adding this role to participate in Executive Committee meetings, to ensure balanced representation and succession. Viviana and Mariana were nominated for the position, and both accepted the nomination. A vote was conducted; Viviana received the most votes and was appointed Officer-at-Large. | Discussed |
| Membership Approvals | Secretary checked in with the Board Members to ensure they have reviewed the list of Membership approvals. Given the incredibly long list of Membership applications received, the Board wanted to pause and look into the applications a bit more, including looking at the data on how many applications were received last year around this time in comparison to this year, how many volunteers are volunteers etc. Motion to approve Memberships deferred. Adding more questions into the application form is being considered, however it was noted that we need to be careful of this because some applicants face language barriers. | Discussed |
| Membership Request | The Board discussed the continued request from two members to hold a Special General Meeting. The Board agreed not to proceed with a Special General Meeting. | |
Other Business/Updates
| HIV Self-Test Program Nirmalan advised that through his volunteer work with the AIDS Committee of Toronto that federal funding was being cut to a new self test kit (quick rapid test) that are typically given out at different places. There is a writing campaign on this with a letter that is being sent to the Federal Government. Osmel added that these self-test kits are beneficial for people with access barriers (such as those who live in rural areas). Anmol added that these kits are also important for community members who do not feel safe using hospitals. ED asked that whoever received this letter first, to please send so that Pride Toronto can sign on. May 1, 9:30 am: 2024 Pride Festival Reveal Grant: advised Board Members of upcoming Festival Reveal on May 1st and encouraged them to come out. It’s a good opportunity to meet our stakeholders. ED also advised that the CN Tower (where Festival Reveal will be taking place) is also a major cultural partner as of this year. Courage inquired about displaying lyrics for performances to be able to follow along. Other | Discussed |
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| Chair | Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Troy Dunn Seconder: Anmol Budhiraja Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
| Next Meeting: May 21, 2024 | Chair advised the next meeting will be held on May 21, 2024. | Discussed |
| Adjournment | All Board Members. Meeting ended. | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Troy Dunn Seconder: Anmol Budhiraja |
| Date | Tuesday, May 21, 2024 |
| Time | 6:00pm – 7:17pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance |
Board: Anmol Budhiraja, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Mariana Mota, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Osmel Maynes, Troy Dunn, Viviana Santibanez Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets |
Natasha ‘Courage’ Bacchus, Victor Perez-Amado |
| ASL Interpretation | N/A |
|
Agenda Item |
Summary/Notes |
Motions/Action Items |
|
Approval of Agenda |
Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair Grant Gonzales |
Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Mariana Mota Seconder: Troy Dunn |
|
Land Acknowledgement |
Grant delivered land acknowledgment. |
Discussed |
|
Approval of Minutes |
Approval of Minutes:
|
Motion: To approve the April 16, 2024 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Mariana Mota Seconder: Viviana Santibanez |
|
Declaration of Conflict of Interest |
Chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. |
Discussed |
|
Board Decision Tracker |
Chair advised on document for reference. |
Discussed |
|
Board Meeting Principles and Expectations |
Chair advised on the document for reference about expectations during the Board Meeting. |
Discussed |
|
Standing Item: ED Report
|
The Executive Director provided the monthly organizational update. Discussion was held on dispatch operations. Corporate fundraising deck is on pause, as a few approvals are needed. Feedback on the accessibility statement was that it would be good to be more specific on what we are doing as an organization (such as attendant care and sunflower scheme (we’re now registered with the organization)). Executive Director: more detailed statement will be on our landing page. Seeking endorsement from the Board on accessibility statement. Board came to a consensus that everyone was comfortable with the statement. The Emergency Plan was shared with the Board. It was discussed that a few pieces were still being greenlit from the City; once finalized some pieces will be shared with key stakeholders, like sponsors. ED looking for Board support to join ED and Yuri (former Board Member) in helping to manage the Drag Ball Meet and Greet (Saturday of Festival Weekend at Nathan Phillips Square, above the Hero Burger): leZlie, Nirmalan, Anmol, and Osmel all agreed to support. Mariana agreed to join the Dispute Resolution Committee. Scholarship Committee will need two Board Members to join. Discussed that this is not an academic scholarship, but instead a scholarship based on needs. Process: committee meeting will be held to discuss the process, then committee will receive all applications, then a second and final committee meeting will be held to select top candidates. Meetings will take place after the Festival to confirm that applicants are volunteers.Troy and Mariana volunteered to join the committee. An Educator will also be identified to join the committee. Discussion was held on approval of funds to provide food bags for newcomers to be distributed before Newcomers Pride in Partnership with refugee organizations (like PWA and African Centre of Refugees). Discussion was also held about including LatinX newcomers. Discussion was held on working with Caribbean Carnival on releasing a statement in early June about underfunding of our programs, in comparison to the money we bring into the city. This would include a call on all levels of government for more support. Board mentioned the need to approve with the caveat of looking at accessibility at our respective Festivals. |
Discussed Motion: To approve $1200 for food bags for Latin X and African refugees (by working with civil society organizations to identify specific groups) (Approved). Mover: leZlie lee kam Seconder: Anmol Budhiraja Abstain: Viviana Santibanez Motion: To approve a joint statement between Pride Toronto and Caribbean Carnival regarding funding from all levels of government (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconded: leZlie lee kam Abstain: Mariana Mota |
|
Standing Item: Treasurer Report
|
The Treasurer provided the Treasurer’s report. Discussion was held on the revised 2023/2024 (Festival 2024) budget (which included details on the grants (approved, received and awaiting payment). Discussion was held on the 2024/2025 (Festival 2025) budget, including moving the grants back to original goal as we now have a full Fund Development team. Treasurer reminded the Board that this is a living document and amendments can be made as needed. |
Motion: to approve the amended budget for 2023-2024 (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Motion: to approve the 2024-2025 budget (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
|
Other Business/Updates
|
Board Engagement Sign Up Reminder to the Board to check and sign up on the ‘Board Engagement Sign Up’ as it does get updated quite regularly, and there are quite a few events coming up. May 25 This event will feature eight Rainbow Seniors, funded by Pride Remembrance Fund. There is a full tech dress rehearsal tomorrow if you can’t attend on May 25. June 15 |
Discussed |
|
Standing Item: In Camera Session
|
Chair |
Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Anmol Budhiraja Seconder: leZlie lee kam Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
|
Next Meeting: June 18, 2024 |
Chair advised the next meeting will be held on June 18, 2024. |
Discussed |
|
Adjournment |
All Board Members. Meeting ended. |
Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Anmol Budhiraja Seconder: Mariana Mota |
|
Date |
Tuesday, June 18, 2024 |
|
Time |
6:00pm-7:32 pm EST |
|
Location |
In Person |
|
Attendance |
Board: Anmol Budhiraja, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Mariana Mota, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Osmel Maynes, Troy Dunn, Victor Perez-Amado, Viviana Santibanez Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
|
Regrets |
Natasha ‘Courage’ Bacchus |
|
ASL Interpretation |
N/A |
|
Agenda Item |
Summary/Notes |
Motions/Action Items |
|
Approval of Agenda |
Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair leZlie lee kam |
Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Grant Gonzales Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
|
Land Acknowledgement |
Victor Perez-Amado delivered land acknowledgment. |
Discussed |
|
Approval of Minutes |
Approval of Minutes:
|
Motion: To approve the May 21, 2024 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Troy Dunn |
|
Declaration of Conflict of Interest |
Chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. |
Discussed |
|
Board Decision Tracker |
Chair advised on document for reference. |
Discussed |
|
Board Meeting Principles and Expectations |
Chair advised on the document for reference about expectations during the Board Meeting. |
Discussed |
|
Standing Item: ED Report |
The Executive Director provided the monthly organizational update. Discussion was held on which Board Directors would support (ie. by bringing greetings or land acknowledgement) and attend different events over the Festival Weekend, such as the Opening Ceremony. Discussion was held on having a Pipe ceremony and African Ancestral blessing on the Friday of Festival Weekend, to begin the weekend with positive energy and good intentions, which would include senior leadership team, the Board, some International Honoured Guests and would be led by community Elders. |
Discussed |
|
Standing Item: Treasurer Report |
The Treasurer provided the Treasurer’s report. This time of year there is a big focus on receiving sponsorship commitments, Parade and StreetFair commitments. As well as receiving and paying customer invoices. Grant funds are being received as well. Festival specific costs were also reviewed amongst the Board, including items like permits. Reminder to Board Members to submit all expenses by the end of fiscal year for processing. |
Discussed |
|
Other Business/Updates
|
Board Engagement Sign Up – was covered during the ED report. Board Expectations: Review of expectations of Board Members during the Festival Weekend were covered. Board may be asked for ad hoc support where needed. Parameters of Board roles were covered (including levels of access); the ED is the main contact for the Board during Festival Weekend. Board Members encouraged to be helpful to staff, visit VIP areas, try to attend as many stages as possible, and stop by the volunteer area and sponsor booths. Volunteers may also approach to ask for help – important to help where possible and/or redirect them to staff. |
Discussed |
|
Standing Item: In Camera Session
|
Chair led discussion on Festival Planning. |
Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Anmol Budhiraja Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
|
Next Meeting |
Chair advised they will connect on when the next meeting would be, either in July or pushed to August. |
Discussed |
|
Adjournment |
All Board Members. Meeting ended. |
Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Troy Dunn Seconder: Viviana Santibanez |
Date | Tuesday, August 20, 2024 |
Time | 6:00pm-8:36pm EST |
Location | Online |
Attendance | Board: Anmol Budhiraja, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Mariana Mota, Natasha ‘Courage’ Bacchus, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Osmel Maynes, Troy Dunn, Victor Perez-Amado, Viviana Santibanez
Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
Regrets | N/A |
ASL Interpretation | Jo-Ann Martin, Anne Websdale |
Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair Grant Gonzales. | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Troy Dunn |
Land Acknowledgement | Nirmalan Vijeyakumar delivered land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes:
| Motion: To approve the June 18, 2024 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Anmol Budhiraja |
Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. | Discussed |
Board Decision Tracker | Chair advised on document for reference. The only addition to the tracker was to move forward with the Tourism Growth Program grant. | Discussed |
Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Chair advised on the document for reference about expectations during the Board Meeting. | Discussed |
Standing Item: ED Report
| The Executive Director provided the monthly organizational update. Discussion was held on how post Festival debriefs (with sponsors, artists, community stakeholders etc.) have been going. Overwhelmingly positive feedback; stakeholders are really happy; and also provided constructive feedback. Board Members were also reminded to provide their festival feedback, so that staff can take use their input for planning for next year. | Discussed
|
Standing Item: Treasurer Report | The Treasurer provided the Treasurer’s report. Update was provided to the Board that the majority of sponsorship funds had been received, and we are just waiting for a few more payments. All artist payments for the 2024 Festival have been completed. Grant updates regarding payments and reporting updates were provided. Currently, the priority is to prepare for the annual audit. The target date to begin the audit is the first week of September. | Discussed |
Fall Board Planning Overview (Ongoing Committee Work, ED Performance Review, Board Recruitment, AGM Planning) | Overview of priorities and what to expect this Fall provided to the Board by the Chair:
Executive Director provided an update that after the staff retreat, there would be a board retreat in the Fall, so that the Board could come together to plan and discuss important topics. | Discussed |
Membership Process
| From March to July 2024, the Board saw a drastic increase in Membership applications, and so put approvals on hold to review the process. The Secretary provided an update to the rest of the Board on the current Membership application form process. Secretary advised that he reviewed our current bylaws, legislature and what other member organizations’ practices are. Board discussed options in revising the current application process (without creating additional barriers for people) to ensure that potential Members are legitimately interested in Membership at Pride Toronto. Board agreed that a short supplementary questionnaire would be sent to the influx of applicants (over 200 potential members) to further verify their legitimacy, however agreed to approve the renewal applications that were received. Nirmalan Vijeyakumar abstained from the vote as their Membership was up for renewal. | Motion: To approve the renewal Membership Applications (Approved). Mover: Troy Dunn Seconder: Viviana Santibanez |
Other Business/Updates
| Chair led discussion to reschedule Fall Board meeting dates to take into consideration other scheduled events. September: meeting changed to Monday, September 16th. October: meeting to remain on Tuesday, October 15th. November: meeting changes to Tuesday, November 26th. December: to be determined later in the year. | Discussed |
Committee Assignments: Current Sign-Up List
| Secretary and Chair (remainder of the meeting chaired by Co-Chair leZlie lee kam). Thank you was provided to ASL interpreters and to notetaker, as well as Grant for the updates on the Terms of Reference (ToR). The Terms of Reference documents for the committees will remain in draft form, so that committee members can have a chance to review and work on them. Once committees finalize their own ToR, the full Board will review and approve them. It was decided that the Governance and Policy Committee will also be responsible for succession planning, because they also oversee Board recruitment. Priority for committees’ first meeting will be to review/update the mandate and the work they would like to prioritize over the next 6 months, and work on the terms of reference as mentioned above. Each Board Member signed up for two or more committees. Secretary to support to with setting up the first meeting. Co-Chair leZlie and Secretary to follow up with each committee to make sure they have met and looked at ToR. | Discussed |
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| Chair led discussion on Festival Planning and Community/Stakeholder Issues .
| Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Anmol Budhiraja
Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
Next Meeting | Chair advised the next meeting in September 2024 will be confirmed: Monday 16th | Discussed |
Adjournment | All Board Members. Meeting ended. | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Viviana Santibanez Seconder: Victor Perez-Amado |
Date | Monday, September 16, 2024 |
Time | 6:00pm-7:30pm EST |
Location | Online |
Attendance | Board: Anmol Budhiraja, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Mariana Mota, Natasha ‘Courage’ Bacchus, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Osmel Maynes, Troy Dunn, Victor Perez-Amado
Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
Regrets | Viviana Santibanez |
ASL Interpretation | Cynthia Carruthers and Marcia Adolphe |
Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair Grant Gonzales. A few items were added to the agenda (Honoured Positions Selection, International Impact Fund Committee and Puncture Renewal) before approval. | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Mariana Mota Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
Land Acknowledgement | Grant Gonzales delivered land acknowledgment. Nirmalan Vijeyakumar delivered African Ancestral land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes:
| Motion: To approve the August 20, 2024 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Troy Dunn |
Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. | Discussed |
Board Decision Tracker | Chair advised on document for reference.
One item to the tracker was added and approved since the last meeting. | Discussed |
Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Chair advised on the document for reference about expectations during the Board Meeting.
| Discussed |
Standing Item: ED Report
| The Executive Director provided the monthly organizational update.
Discussion was held about the year over year impact of visitors to the Pride Festival. The number of international visitors decreased in the 2024 Festival, but overall visitors increased by a little. The number of international visitors decreased because of the global economic downturn.
Truth and Reconciliation Day is on Monday, September 30th. The Community Engagement team is connecting with 2Spirited People of the First Nations on supporting any current initiatives, such as the event at Nathan Phillips Square.
Thanksgiving We are partnering with Central Neighbourhood House to provide 200 meals for newcomers. There will be two shifts for the board to join; and the focus will be to help with serving meals. There will be very few Pride Toronto staff at the event. The goal is that the Board of both organizations (and volunteers will support at this event.
Toronto Metropolitan University Victor wanted to update the board on this course. There is no financial gain with the course. The students are going to do research on Festival accessibility (with support of Dania Niles, Community Engagement Manager) and environmental sustainability (with the support of Bobby MacPerson, Senior Director of Operations). The staff team will provide information for students; who are very excited about this course.
Puncture Renewal Asking for approval for Puncture to support our Festival theme for the third year. The Request for Proposal for 2026 will go out in a month or two.
Security Grant Request for two Board Members to take a quick look at the City of Toronto Security Grant before it is submitted. Osmel and Anmol volunteered to review the grant application.
Festival Debrief Update All the feedback received was great. There were no major red flags that came out of the debriefs.
Residential Elders Recommendation Recommendation is to invite Aina-Nia Ayo’dele and Elder Blu to support throughout the year and at the Festival.
Honoured Positions Selection Committee and International Impact Fund Committee Nirmalan, Mariana and Anmol will join both committees.
October 2nd – Day of Older Persons. Senior Pride Network is planning an event at the 519. All Board Members are welcome to attend. | Motion: to accept the Executive Director (ED) recommendation to proceed with Aina-Nia Ayo’dele and Elder Blu as Elders in Residence, with $500/month honorarium, and accessible transportation as needed (Approved). Mover: leZlie lee kam Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar
Motion: to accept the ED recommendation to approve Puncture as creative agency for the 2025 festival (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: leZlie lee kam
|
Standing Item: Treasurer Report | The Treasurer provided the Treasurer’s report.
All artists, vendors and suppliers have been paid. More info to be provided at the end of this week or next week. Two outstanding grants remain.
We are moving forward with auditors for the 2024 audit; all questions should be answered by end of the month. | Discussed |
AGM Planning and Board Recruitment | Chair.
Looking to proceed with virtual meeting. The Board Executive is the committee that will lead AGM planning.
Please respond to Directors to move forward with the meeting and other committee meetings. | Discussed |
Membership Process: Update/Next Steps | Secretary – Nirmalan
Work in progress and more information to come in the next few weeks. | Discussed |
Other Business/Updates | Chair
Update from leZlie: on short leave of absence. | Discussed |
Committee Assignments: Current Sign-Up List
| Secretary and Chair
Committees need to meet first, and the priority for October will be to approve Terms of Reference. | Discussed |
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| Chair and Secretary | Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Victor Perez-Amado
Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
Next Meeting | Chair advised the next meeting will be on October 15, 2024 | Discussed |
Adjournment | All Board Members.
Meeting ended. | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Troy Dunn Seconder: Victor Perez-Amado |
| Grants Awarded | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publish Date | Funder Name | Grant Name | Amount Awarded | Project Description | Project Objectives | How We Are Using Funds | Funding Term | Final Amount Spent |
| Need to be on website when we get a marketing manager | Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport | Reconnect Ontario | $185000 | The 2022 Reconnect Ontario program supports festivals and events with a tourism economic impact to motivate visitors to rediscover Ontario, reconnect people with local experiences and generate increased tourism spending. |
| Funding provided will be used to support the costs incurred at Pride Festival. Including but not limited to:
| April 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023 | 183037.75 |
| Need to be on website when we get a marketing manager | Canadian Heritage | Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage: Festivals Component | $99800 | PROGRAM OBJECTIVE: To engage citizens in their local communities through performing and visual arts, as well as through the expression, celebration, and preservation of local historical heritage. |
| Funding provided will be used to support the costs incurred at Pride Festival. Including but not limited to:
| April 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023 | 87827.88 |
| Waiting for allowance to annouce | Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries | Tourism Economic Development and Recovery Fund (TRF) | $1,000,000 ($788,112.44 spent in 2022) | The Tourism Economic Development and Recovery Fund (TEDRF) program is an application-based, costsharing program designed to provide non-capital funding to projects that encourage the development of innovative new tourism products, support tourism investment or build the capacity of Ontario’s tourism industry. The program is also supporting innovative tourism recovery projects aimed at increasing visitation across Ontario and addressing the reduction in global travel as a result of COVID-19. TEDRF will provide support to Ontario tourism industry associations to help offset membership fees and support industry recovery through access to membership services and benefits. | The Tourism Economic Development and Recovery Fund program aims to support projects that will increase tourist visitation and visitor spending in Ontario by:
| The TRF funding would be used to support the following activities: New Event Offerings: Host signature events that will have well known artists to attract tourists to Toronto. We will hire staff to run this programming. Enhanced Event Offerings: The project will support the enhancement and modernization of events. Specifically the project will support:
Greening Activities: The project will support sustainable technology, such as biodiesel generators, including the purchase of bio-fuel that will decrease environment impacts. An environmental feasibility study, conducted during the 2022 Pride Festival, will also be supported. Proposed COVID-19 Adaptions: The project will support the implementation of health and safety measures to improve security and sanitization; and the use of a cashless donation system. Economic Development Report: The organization will work with IPSOS to complete a report demonstrating the economic impacts of the Pride Festival. Accessibility: American Sign Language Services for events, Personal Attendant Care, devices for d/Deaf hard of hearing, accessibility seating and access to events | August 1, 2021 – March 31, 2023 | 788112.44 |
| 07.25.2022 | City of Toronto | Cultueral Festival Funding Program | $260000 | The City of Toronto recognizes the importance of cultural festivals to the cultural, social, and economic life of the city. The Cultural Festivals Funding Program (CFFP) has been designed to support the development of the festival sector in a manner that is accessible, transparent and accountable. The CFFP will advance the City’s access, equity and inclusion goals. | The program provides financial support to recurring cultural festivals whose programming supports city-building, focuses on engaging with the people of Toronto, serves Toronto residents across the city, and promotes opportunities for emerging artists. A significant programming component must be free to the public. | Funding provided will be used to support the costs incurred at Pride Festival. Including but not limited to:
| April 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022 | 259600.14 |
| 06.03.22 | Canadian Heritage | Community Support, Multiculturalism, and Anti-Racism Initiatives Program – Events | $60000 | CSMARI Program supports the mandate of the Department of Canadian Heritage, by building on Canada’s strength as a diverse and inclusive society. | The Program and the Events component objectives are to: – support communities in confronting racism and discrimination, promoting intercultural and interfaith understanding and fostering equitable opportunities to participate fully in Canadian society; – promote and engage in discussions on multiculturalism, diversity, racism and religious discrimination at the domestic and international levels; – strengthen research and evidence to build understanding of the disparities and challenges faced by racialized and religious minority communities, and Indigenous Peoples. | This grant was applied in conjunction with 2Spiritn Peoples of First Nations Canada. Funding provided will be used to support the costs incurred at Pride Festival. Including but not limited too:
| June 1, 2022 – June 30, 2022 | $60000 |
| 06.03.22 | Employment and Social Development Canada | Canada Summer Jobs | $58076 | This project has been funded by the Government of Canada’s Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ). CSJ is a program under the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which aims to provide flexible and holistic services to help all young Canadians develop the skills and gain paid work experience to successfully transition into the labour market. The CSJ program objectives align with the redesigned Youth Employment and Skills Strategy and are as follows:
| Objective 1: Provide quality work experiences for youth. Objective 2: Provide youth with opportunity to develop and improve their skills. Objective 3: Respond to national and local priorities to improve access to the labour market for youth who face unique barriers. |
| May 6, 2022 – July 31, 2022 | $27145 |
| Grants Awarded | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publish Date | Funder Name | Grant Name | Amount Awarded | Project Description | Project Objectives | How We Are Using Funds | Funding Term | Final Amount Spent |
| City of Toronto | Cultural Festival Funding Program | $260000 | The Cultural Festivals Funding Program (CFFP) is designed to support the development of the festival sector in a manner that is accessible, transparent and accountable. The CFFP advances the City’s access, equity and inclusion goals, including reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. | The program provides financial support to recurring cultural festivals whose programming supports community-building, focuses on engaging with the people of Toronto, serves Toronto residents across the city and promotes opportunities for emerging artists, Indigenous artists and artists from other groups. A significant programming component must occur in the public realm and be free to the public or offered at a nominal fee. | Sustain 2023 Toronto Pride general festival operations and programming expenditures. | January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023 | $259995.58 | |
| Government of Ontario | Ontario Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant | $20000 | The Ontario Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant (2023-24) is a $12.75-million grant program that will provide funds to eligible faith-based, cultural, 2SLGBTQQIA+, First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Urban Indigenous organizations and communities to enhance or implement measures to ensure community spaces remain safe and secure from hate-motivated incidents. | The Ontario Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant aims to: -Combat hate in Ontario -Build stronger, safer and more inclusive communities | Enhance Pride Toronto’s Emergency Response Plan and Harm Reduction program in addition to standard saftey and security protocols in partnership with Toronto Police Department . | January 1, 2023 – November 7, 2023 | $20000 | |
| Fierte Canada | Community Safety | $250000 | Amidst a climate of rising anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate in Canada and around the world, Fierté Canada Pride — Canada’s network of Pride organizations — has received a $1.5 million investment that will support anti-hate measures for Pride festivals. From small festivals to the largest in the country, prides across Canada are encountering rising costs due to increased incidents of hate. | The Fierte Canada Community Saftey grant funding recieved from the federal department of Women and Gender Equality will be distributed by Fierté Canada Pride in order to offset these increased costs for Pride festivals to ensure saftey and security of peformers, staff, volunteers, toursists and other attendees | Increasing Toronto Pride Festival Police and Security protections for festival attendeess | June 1, 2023 – March 31, 2023 | $250000 | |
| Canadian Heritage | Building Local Communities Through Arts and Heritage: Indigenous | $25000 | The Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program was created to help you celebrate your community – both its past and its present. This program increases opportunities for local artists; local artisans; local heritage performers or specialists; and local First Nations, Inuit, and Métis cultural carriers to be involved in their community through festivals, events and projects. It also allows local groups to commemorate their local history and heritage. | The Local Festivals component provides funding to local groups for recurring festivals that present the work of local artists, local artisans, local heritage performers, and local cultural carriers. | Support Toronto Pride Festival Indigenous programming and community activations. | April 1-Aug 31, 2023 | $25000 | |
| Canadian Heritage | Community Support, Multiculturalism, and Anti-Racism Initiatives Program – Events | $60000 | CSMARI Program supports the mandate of the Department of Canadian Heritage, by building on Canada’s strength as a diverse and inclusive society. | The Program and the Events component objectives are to: – support communities in confronting racism and discrimination, promoting intercultural and interfaith understanding and fostering equitable opportunities to participate fully in Canadian society; – promote and engage in discussions on multiculturalism, diversity, racism and religious discrimination at the domestic and international levels; – strengthen research and evidence to build understanding of the disparities and challenges faced by racialized and religious minority communities, and Indigenous Peoples. | Funding provided will be used to support the costs incurred at Pride Festival. Including but not limited too: – Indigenous 2Spirit Pow Wow: – artist fees – production costs for artistic activations – traditional teaching – facility rentals – infrastructure requirements | April 1, 2023 – August 31, 2023 | $60000 | |
| Canadian Heritage | Building Local Communities Through Arts and Heritage | $61700 | The Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program was created to help you celebrate your community – both its past and its present. This program increases opportunities for local artists; local artisans; local heritage performers or specialists; and local First Nations, Inuit, and Métis cultural carriers to be involved in their community through festivals, events and projects. It also allows local groups to commemorate their local history and heritage. | The Local Festivals component provides funding to local groups for recurring festivals that present the work of local artists, local artisans, local heritage performers, and local cultural carriers. | Pride Festival 2023 – volunteer training/clothing, local artist expenses, non-capital expenses related to temportary venues (ex: rental stages, tents, risers, traffic barriers), promotion of local artists) | April 1-June 30, 2023 | $61700 | |
| FedGov of Canada | Canada Summer Jobs | $33488.97 | Canada Summer Jobs is a program under the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which aims to provide flexible and holistic services to help all young Canadians develop the skills and gain paid work experience to successfully transition into the labour market. | Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) provides wage subsidies to employers to create quality summer work experiences for young people aged 15 to 30 years. | Hire Summer x Student Assisstant for 2023 Toronto Pride Festival support | May 29, 2023 – September 2, 2023 | $33488.97 | |
| Government of Ontario: Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport | Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund (OCAF) | $125000 | The Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund is a program of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation. | (1) to increase cultural tourism by providing investments to assist Ontario organizations to develop, promote and present one- off or first time events, or a significant expansion of existing activity, which are designed to attract new tourists and visitors to cultural events; (2) increase the earned revenue capability of the applicant organization; and (3) support events that foster economic growth and contribute to job creation. | Pride Festival 2023 – General marketing, adversiments and other promotional campaign costs. Pride Guide printing and distribution costs. | May 1, 2023 – July 2, 2023 | $125000 | |
| Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries | Tourism Economic Development and Recovery Fund (TRF) | $1,000,000 ($210,035.56 spent in 2023) | The Tourism Economic Development and Recovery Fund (TEDRF) program is an application-based, costsharing program designed to provide non-capital funding to projects that encourage the development of innovative new tourism products, support tourism investment or build the capacity of Ontario’s tourism industry. The program is also supporting innovative tourism recovery projects aimed at increasing visitation across Ontario and addressing the reduction in global travel as a result of COVID-19. TEDRF will provide support to Ontario tourism industry associations to help offset membership fees and support industry recovery through access to membership services and benefits. | The Tourism Economic Development and Recovery Fund program aims to support projects that will increase tourist visitation and visitor spending in Ontario by: 1. Developing innovative tourism products and experiences 2. Increasing domestic and/or foreign private sector tourism investment 3. Supporting workforce development, including strengthening employment opportunities in the tourism sector and building the capacity of the tourism workforce 4. Supporting tourism sector associations’ efforts to advance the competitiveness and growth of the tourism industry. | The TRF funding would be used to support the following activities: New Event Offerings: Host signature events that will have well known artists to attract tourists to Toronto. We will hire staff to run this programming. Enhanced Event Offerings: The project will support the enhancement and modernization of events. Specifically the project will support: Greening Activities: The project will support sustainable technology, such as biodiesel generators, including the purchase of bio-fuel that will decrease environment impacts. An environmental feasibility study, conducted during the 2022 Pride Festival, will also be supported. Proposed COVID-19 Adaptions: The project will support the implementation of health and safety measures to improve security and sanitization; and the use of a cashless donation system. Economic Development Report: The organization will work with IPSOS to complete a report demonstrating the economic impacts of the Pride Festival. Accessibility: American Sign Language Services for events, Personal Attendant Care, devices for d/Deaf hard of hearing, accessibility seating and access to events | August 1, 2021 – March 31, 2023 | $210035.56 | |
Board Meeting Minutes 2023
| Date | Tuesday, January 17, 2023 |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Samantha Fraser, leZlie lee kam, Moka Dawkins, Grant Gonzales, Courage, Deidre ‘D-Lishus’ Walton, D!XON, , Maher Sinno. Staff: Sherwin Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | Yuri Hernandez, Jad Jaber |
| ASL Interpretation | Emma Dehez and Marcia Adolphe |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Land Acknowledgement | Chair delivered the land acknowledgement recognizing traditional Indigenous land. leZlie share personal reflection: important to have land acknowledgment no matter how small a meeting is and a call to action. Maher share personal reflection/learning on how concept of a ‘spirit animal’ dates back to indigenous concepts. |
Grant Gonzales |
| Approval of Agenda | Approving the Order of Business:
|
Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Deidre ‘D-lishus’ Walton Seconder: leZlie lee kam |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes
|
Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: leZlie lee kam Seconder: Maher Sinno |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | For information. Requires an update, after which the Board will be asked to ratify. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Secretary (Chair) | Discussed |
| Executive Director Report | Executive Director Update Operations – everything is on track. This is the high season for Ops as they are securing vendors. HR: Ongoing hiring. New positions related specifically for Festival. Confirmation of $150K Marketing grant received (will have to pay back $50K) – can only apply to this grant once every two years. Artist registrations – over 200 artists have already applied. Community Information session held – around 20 new potential artists have attended.
Strat Planning: underway; consultants are reviewing documents. Womens Celebration: March 8th Black History Month event: on Feb 18th Feb 7th: Community consultation for South Asian programming. Feb 8th: Community consultation for Middle Eastern programming. Maher: thank you for social media post about the Toronto City budget. Can support with getting the message out there for the community consultations. leZlie: please make sure that Indo-Caribbean folks are included in South Asian community consultations.. Sherwin: looking for support of all Board who identify as women to be a part of Women’s Day programming. ASL at the event? If there are speakers at event, and if Courage and/or community members who require ASL, we will have ASL interpretation. leZlie: check with International Women’s Day planning committee so there is no conflict in terms of date. leZlie to provide Sherwin with contacts. |
Discussed
|
| Treasurer Report | Treasurer Update Audit ongoing, so AGM will be pushed later. Expecting update from auditors soon. Finance is working on any outstanding sponsor payments. |
Treasurer Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: lezlie lee kam Seconder: Deidre ‘D-lishus’ Walton Motion:To move out of in camera (Approved). Mover: lezlie lee kam Seconder: Deidre ‘D-lishus’ Walton |
AGM
|
Co-Chair Update AGM to be changed to Thursday, Feb 16. Q&A session will be a week before AGM on Thursday, Feb 9. AGM Minutes from last year. Ask is for the Board to review AGM Minutes. Jan 31st: Board meeting to be held to meet with auditors.
|
Motion: to set the AGM date to Feb 16 (Approved). Mover: Moka Dawkins Seconder: Deidre ‘D-lishus’ Walton |
Membership Approval
|
Co-Chair Update Moka: update from Membership Application Committee. Reviewing the Member application process and how we track Members.Confusing language on whether or not people need to volunteer. D-lishus: need to update bylaws and the website; to reflect the current processes. |
Discussed Motion: To appoint Troy, Osmel, and Nirmalan as Pride Toronto members (Approved). Mover: Moka Dawkins Seconder: leZlie lee kam Motion: Motion to approve the consolidated list of Membership Applications that Grant had emailed fromOctober/November applications (Approved): Mover: Deidre ‘D-lishus’ Walton Seconder: Moka Dawkins |
| Other Business / Extra Time | Moka: Look into Pride Toronto consulting with ODLAN (Ontario Digital Literacy Access Network) and Pride at Work, as experts in cyber security. lezlie works with ODLAN (Ontario Digital Literacy and Access Network) and Pride at Work; declare conflict of interest. Need to ensure we are keeping all of us safe and protecting ourselves against online bullying or cyberbullying. Lots of companies support this work, such as Media Smarts and Hollaback. Sherwin: Public Safety measures are important across all Prides in Ontario and security both online and in-person is a priority. To instruct staff to look at best practices with cyber bullying and online attacks, and safety as a compliment to the physical Festival plan. Board would like to see and receive cyber safety plan in the near future. leZlie: to send list of organizations to Sherwin who specialize in cyber safety and to continue to work on the Membership Application Committee. |
Co-Chair |
| In Camera Session | Board Members and Executive Director | Motion: To move in camera (Approved).
Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
| Adjournment | Board Members | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved).
|
| Date | Tuesday, January 31, 2023 |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Samantha Fraser, leZlie lee kam, Moka Dawkins, Grant Gonzales, Courage, Yuri Hernandez, D!XON, Maher Sinno. Staff: Sherwin Modeste, Amit, Nipuni Dhanawardana Auditors: Chandor Gauthier, Parker Holman, Adam Scherer |
| Regrets | Jad Jaber |
| ASL Interpretation | Rogue Benjamin and Dean Wiebe |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Approving the Order of Business:
|
Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: Moka Dawkins |
| Land Acknowledgement | Executive Director delivered the land acknowledgement recognizing traditional Indigenous land; way of giving back is ongoing learning. Pride Toronto will be looking to organizing an event to give back to the Indigenous community of Truth and Reconciliation day this year. | Sherwin Modeste |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes
|
Motion: To approve the minutes (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: Moka Dawkins |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. Clarification for Courage – it is not a conflict of interest to represent d/Deaf and hard of hearing community as a whole, as a Board Member. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | For information. Requires an update, after which the Board will be asked to ratify. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Secretary (Chair) | Discussed |
| Annual Financial Audit ● Audited Financial Statements ● Appointment of the Auditor | Sherwin introduces and thanks, Auditors, Finance Manager and staff Chandor and Parker updates: Audit report content and our 2022 report Explanation of what is in the audit report. Opening balances and higher risk areas High risk areas: grant revenues and expenses (based on level of complexity, the timing, particular language in the grants), moderate risk (sponsorships – because of financial and nonfinancial sponsorships). Accounting adjustments needed by Crowe-Soberman; this is standard as accounting firms will differ in exactly what numbers they are looking into. 2022 audited financial statements Overview of 2022 report. Internal staff team is working hard to put controls in place and monitor finances. Discussion of in-kind contributions. We need a paper trail of in-kind donors confirming the value of their in-kind contributions and a confirmation they were used within the fiscal year in order to be recognized as an in-kind donor/sponsor. Pride Toronto is no longer relying on estimates. Address notes in statement that have impacted the revenue. Sponsorship – largest stream of revenue; year over year increase. Government and nongovernment funding (grants and subsidies) – second largest revenue stream. Return to in-person events have impacted both revenues and expenses. Largest areas of expenses: Advertising and promotion Wages and benefits (full time and part time staff hired for Festival) – a lot of this offset by grants like Youth Breaking Barriers. Year over year expense increase related to in-person Festival. Net assets – conversation of the purpose of those funds. When a nonprofit organization builds a have a surplus (don’t need to restrict those funds) but need to have a basis/reason for building up surplus. Statement of Financial Position > Details can be found in Statement of Cash Flows Financial instruments defined as: any of the financial assets or liabilities can include cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable etc. Audit findings and management letter Substantive approach was used. Minutia of the details of the audit findings (ie. recommendations made) are to be reviewed by the staff team members. Crowe-Soberman has conducted a regular, financial audit – not a forensic audit. Cash Flow discussed. Questions & thank you | Discussed
Motion: to approve the 2022 audited financial statements (Approved).
|
| Membership Approval ● New Applications / 2-Year Term Renewal | Membership approvals were approved via emails. | |
| In Camera Session | Board Members and Executive Director | Motion: To move in
camera (Approved).
|
| Adjournment | Board Members | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved).
|
| Date | Friday, February 3, 2023 |
| Time | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Samantha Fraser, Grant Gonzales, Yuri Hernandez, leZlie lee kam, Maher Sinno Staff: Sherwin Modeste |
| Regrets | Courage, D!XON, Moka Dawkins, Jad Jaber |
| ASL Interpretation | N/A |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
|
Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: leZlie lee kam |
| Land Acknowledgement | Chair delivered the Land Acknowledgement. | Grant Gonzales |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. No conflicts were declared. | Discussed |
| Board Update | Acknowledgement that d-lishus has resigned from the Board. | Discussed |
| In Camera Session | Board Members and Executive Director | Motion: To move in
camera (Approved).
|
| Auditor Appointment Recommendation | Board recommendation for the appointment of the auditor at the Annual General Meeting. | Motion: Motion to recommend Crowe-Soberman LLP for reappointment as Pride Toronto’s auditors for the 2022-23 fiscal year (Approved).
|
| Adjournment | Board Members | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved).
|
| Date | Tuesday, March 21, 2023 |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 9:00pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Samantha Fraser, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Troy Dunn, D!XON, Moka Dawkins, Staff: Sherwin Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana Other: Jennifer Hanna (Whiteboard Consulting) |
| Regrets | Courage, Yuri Hernandez, Maher Sinno |
| ASL Interpretation | Alex Skrzyniak, Jo-Ann Martin (at beginning of meeting) |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Grant welcomes new Board Members and everyone to the meeting. | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: leZlie lee kam |
| Land Acknowledgement | Chair delivered the Land Acknowledgement. | Grant Gonzales |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes:
| Motion: To approve the January 31, 2023 minutes (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: lezlie lee kam Motion: To approve the February 3, 2023 minutes (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: lezlie lee kam |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. No conflicts were declared. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | For information. Requires an update, after which the Board will be asked to ratify. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Secretary (Chair) Hoping to update with some shared ideas. | Discussed |
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| Chair | Motion: To move in camera (Approved).
Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
Standing Item: Executive Director Report
| Executive Director Questions or concerns about the Executive Director report. Samantha: discussion about new location for Pool Party. leZlie: discussion about staff wellbeing and retention. Samantha: creation of a safer space for staff. Sherwin: staff support includes several platforms for staff to debrief and discuss. Staff have EAP (Employee Assistance Program) and additional supports, such as half hour of individual time with external consultant. Nirmalan: do we have KPIs, tracker, what’s at risk for funding? Sherwin: most of our funds come in right before or during Pride Month. Harder to predict month by month. Nirmalan: what hiring are we doing? Sherwin: Canada Summer jobs and we will have liaison roles at the Festival. Osmel: very interested in grants, sponsorship, HR. Discussion on sponsorships; ED report is great/straight to the point. Sherwin: Artist Performance Policy In the audit from federal government they flagged that it is a conflict of interest for Board to perform and be paid. They refused to acknowledge staff who were artists. Current staff who are performers will not be performing at Pride 2023.Need to make a decision for this for Board.Intent is that this is the policy for 2023. Nirmalan: should this be extended to close family/friends. Troy: perceived conflict of interest. In policy we can have specific examples of when people should recuse themselves. Samantha: is there a difference between paid and unpaid performances? Sherwin – was communicated to Blackness! yesterday. leZlie: does this extend to advisory group?. Sherwin: different, but they cannot book themselves. These conversations will be led by the Community Engagement Manager. D!XON: are staff/board allowed to be hired through curators? Sherwin: issue is not about who is booking but who is paying, and Pride Toronto is paying the invoices. D!XON – what kind of provisions/historical accuracy can be made when board and/or staff leave? They are a part of marginalized communities. How can they be protected? Sherwin: individuals are going to have to make decisions on whether they want to perform or be a staff or Board Member. Grant: Considering cooling off period. Once a Board Member leaves. Samantha: Could be considered too corporate to have a cooling off period. Osmel: Pride Toronto needs to be transparent and duties involved as Board Member is important. | Discussed/approval Motion: To direct staff to not accept bookings from Board Directors or staff, either paid or unpaid, during the 2023 Pride Festival, and to direct staff to develop a standing policy on Board and staff participation as artists and performers during the Pride Festival and other Pride events throughout the year (Approved).
|
| Standing Item: Treasurer Report | Executive Director Waiting to hear back from Federal audit. | Discussed |
| Board Officer Elections | Chair Overview of Treasurer, Secretary, Co-Chair roles and responsibilities Yuri nominated leZlie for Co-Chair. Samantha also nominates leZlie. leZlie accepted. leZlie nominated Grant for Co-Chair, Nirmalan for Secretary and Osmel for Treasurer. Nirmalan declined due to other responsibilities. Osmel accepted. Grant recommended Osmel as Treasurer. Samantha nominated Grant for Co-Chair. Grant accepted. Grant update from Yuri: Yuri nominated themselves for Secretary. Welcome team and congratulations to the new Board Officers! | Approval Motion: To approve Grant and leZlie as Co-Chairs, Osmel as Treasurer and Yuri as Secretary (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser. Seconder: Troy Dunn. Motion to acclaim roles. Motion: to approve Grant and leZlie as Co-Chairs, Osmel as Treasurer and Yuri as Secretary (Approved). Opposed: None Abstain: None |
| Membership Approvals | Chair: New process for approvals in the works. | Motion: to approve new Membership Applications (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: Troy Dunn Motion: Approved |
Strategic Planning Session:
| Jennifer Hanna from Whiteboard Consulting joined the meeting. Sherwin intro Jennifer, then had to leave the meeting. Introductions between Jennifer and the Board. Strategic Planning presentation: – Whether the individual is experienced or new to strategic planning, it is beneficial to have a range of perspectives. – Big focus is SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. – Mission, Vision, Values. Individuals vs Team vs Organization. Think about the entirety of the organization. You are thinking of all the stakeholders. – May 31st – timeline for strategic plan to be completed. – Strategic Planning overview process. Stakeholder groups:
Overview of RASCI (Responsible, Accountable, Supportive, Consulted and Informed) framework. Nirmalan: RASCI is colonial but there isn’t an alternative to offer at the moment. Need to think about more anti colonial, anti racist frameworks. RASCI isn’t the most representative or reflective framework. Jennifer: acknowledged that there are limitations. It is primarily used to describe how decisions are made. Nirmalan: perhaps it would be good to separate Black people or Two Spirit people as stakeholders. leZlie: need Two Spirit people at the helm. Osmel: need more clarification on SWOT for the Board. Jennifer provides more instructions on SWOT analysis worksheet for the Board to do on their own. Once completed, worksheet could be shared directly with Jennifer or to Jennifer and all the other Board Members. | |
Other Business
| Grant: upcoming April 22nd meeting in person. More details are coming. Committee recruitment: if there are others who would like to join. Touch base with the Board Co-Chairs. | |
| Adjournment | Board Members | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved).
|
| Date | Saturday, April 22, 2023 |
| Time | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Moka Dawkins, Troy Dunn, Samantha Fraser, Grant Gonzales, Yuri Hernandez, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Maher Sinno Staff: Sherwin Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana Staff Presenters: Amit Kumar, Derek Kang, Bobby MacPherson, Freya Selander, Lee Hamilton, Jamie Nicholson, Shayana Gayle, Dania Niles, Hannah Glover External: Sophie MacRae (Fasken), Shelly-Ann and Lee Modupeh Anansi Freeman (Uplift Black 365), Jennifer Hanna (Whiteboard Consulting) |
| Regrets | Courage, D!XON |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Land Acknowledgement | Meeting began at 10:18am. Co-Chair, Grant Gonzales delivered land acknowledgment | Discussed |
| Opening Remarks | Co-Chair leZlie provided opening remarks, set the tone for the meeting and reminder to opening. Reminder set tone for the meeting | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Samantha Fraser |
| Fasken Board Governance Training | Sophie McRae from Fasken presented on Corporate Governance. The following topics were covered: Relevant Sources, Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA), Terminology, Members versus Directors, Election and Removal of Directors, Role of Individual Directors, Powers and Meetings, Execution of Documents, Pride Toronto Board of Director Agreement, Officers, Directors and Delegation of Powers, Standard of Care, Directors’ Duties, Directors Deemed Assent, Conflicts of Interest, Members, Pride Toronto Membership, Inspection Rights, Members Access to Corporate, Right to Requisition Meeting, Right to Make a Proposal Action item: Nipuni to forward the presentation from Sophie/Fasken to the Board once received. | Discussed |
| Anti-Black Racism Training | Shelly-Ann and Lee Modupeh Anansi Freeman from Uplift Black 365 facilitated a session on Anti-Black Racism. | Discussed |
| Strategic Planning – Working Lunch | Jennifer Hanna from Whiteboard Consulting facilitated a session for strategic planning to review SWOT analysis and Pride Toronto’s current Mission, Vision, and Values. | Discussed |
| ED/Staff Presentations | Staff Presentation: Staff team presented on following Festival topics including: General Information and Board Participation, Operations: Parade, StreetFair, Sustainability and Accessibility, COVID-19 and Security, Volunteers, Harm Reduction, Welcome Centres, Marketing, Finance, Grants & Donations, Sponsorships, Major Cultural Events and Visual Arts, Community Engagement, Programming, Lineup and Special Announcements. Parade de-staging clarification: Marchers and vehicles to be separated Accessibility at Nathan Phillips Square: We will have an accessible space that is closer to the stage. Mobility devices: Walkers and wheelchairs will be available to rent through attendants. Nirmalan: What is the Communications Strategy around Mayoral Elections happening on Monday, the day after the Pride Parade? Sherwin: City Councillors cannot piggyback off of existing platforms to promote their campaigns. Letter going out to all candidates (also communicated to parade groups). Strikes won’t affect performers. Grant: Reminder to please respect plus one rules. Volunteer – let us know your availability to support with different speaking and attendance engagements. Samantha: VIP access and General Access. Sherwin: this year there will be a path between VIP and General Access. Sam: Contact for sponsor. Do we have low sensory area? Sherwin: We are working on it. Moka: Security? What are the trainings? Sherwin: Security companies we work with go through trainings. | Discussed |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. No conflicts were declared. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Two updates made on Decision Tracker (Office and Performances). Information has been reflected on there. | Discussed |
Standing Item: Treasurer Report
| Treasurer report – short but comprehensive update from Amit. Osmel and Amit will be working together. | |
Board Orientation
| Board Orientation – will need to spend more time on this. Standing Board meetings – discussion on discussion time management. Currently board meetings are the third Tuesday of every month. We can revisit this, to ensure it reflects the current Board’s availability best. We will send a poll to figure out a better time. Meetings will remain on Tuesdays until June. Change will be from July onwards. Code of Conduct: need to take a look at this to improve communication with one another. Need to build more understanding with each other and have constructive conversations. Troy: professional tone in emails is needed. leZlie: respect is the bottom line. Kindness needed. Sam: Best to potentially have 5 min check in at the beginning to see how people are and where they are at. Osmel: Main focus of the Board needs to be Governance and not Operations. There are lots of operational items mentioned in emails, we need to stay in lane of governance. Troy: important to give sherwin space to do operations. Maher: good to look into hybrid meetings if possible. Grant: Policies. In regards to financial policies, all expenses require dual signatory. Board expenses for Pride Meetings (mileage, meals) can be sent to Sherwin, Amit, Osmel. Travel: staff makes a decision on this. Travel has to be connected to Pride business. Maher: Can we have a policy on who gets to decide on travel? Grant: Currently Co-Chairs have first right of refusal, but have always taken a balanced approach to ensure other Directors can represent Pride. Can continue this conversation. | |
Committee Refresh/Review Terms of Reference
| Committees – no decisions here. Board Committees have fallen through the wayside over the last little while. There are four committees: 1) Advocacy, Equity and Human Rights, 2) Finance, 3) Governance and Audit, 4) Grants and Sponsorship. leZlie: depending on the size of grant, it can take 3 to 6 hrs to review a grant. With new Officer role, leZlie stepping down from Grant committee Sign ups for Committees. Board Members should sign up for a minimum of one committee and a maximum of two committees. Once committee members are confirmed, then you set up meetings, terms of reference, select a Chair (should have only one Chair). New committee: Membership Policy. Can look into creating an Executive Committee: instead of Co-Chairs. Just the officers – and perhaps an additional Member at large. Osme: Exec committee can meet with Sherwin, then bring those conversations with the board. Can look into potential standing Officer Role: Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) Samantha: potential conversation on Board titles. Board Co-Chairs – leZlie and Grant will be doing one on ones with Board Members. Maher: Board Director of EDI can potentially be a Mediator. | Discussed |
By-Law Review and Policy Development/Review (FYI)
| Need to refresh all of these policies and how we manage complaints. Discussion on Artist Performance Policy.Need clear accountability and ethics Moka: importance of need to help the community. Osmel: If you are on Board, you should focus on governance. Standard policy for all organizations. Nirmalan: important to recognize we are limited by legislation. Maher: can artists do pro bono performances? Sherwin: there are non- payment benefits of performing at Pride that would need to be considered. Maher: artists should be considered same as organizations we have partnerships with, Samantha: there is clear legislation on this. Can we look into more advisory committees (like artists, performers, this is needed.) Need a policy on this. Moka: can we look into working with artists/committees into lobbying the government to make legislative changes. | |
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| Chair | Did not take place |
| Adjournment | Board Members | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved).
|
| Date | Tuesday, May 16, 2023 |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Samantha Fraser, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, D!XON, Moka Dawkins, Courage, Yuri Hernandez, Maher Sinno, Troy Dunn Staff: Sherwin Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana Other: Jennifer Hanna (Whiteboard Consulting) |
| Regrets | Maher Sinno |
| ASL Interpretation | Rich Manilla, Annette Sandy |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair Grant Gonzales | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Yuri Hernandez Seconder: Samantha Fraser |
| Land Acknowledgement | Co-Chair, leZlie lee kam delivered Land Acknowledgement. Call to action: volunteer your time and/or spend money to support Two-Spirit People of the First Nations and Indigiqueer. It’s important to put words into action. | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes:
Any substantive minutes to be captured this way over email; other decisions captured in the Board Decision Tracker. | Motion: To approve the March 21, 2023 Meeting Minutes, the April 22 2023 Meeting Minutes and April 8-11, 2023 Meeting Minutes all at same time (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: Osmel Maines |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Meeting Chair Grant Gonzales requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. No conflicts were declared. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Meeting Chair Grant Gonzales For information. Requires an update, after which the Board will be asked to ratify. Office relocation and Sponsorship Confidentiality Policy were decisions recently included in the Board Decision Tracker | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Chair Grant Gonzales spoke on document for reference | Discussed |
Standing Item: Executive Director Report
| Executive Director, Sherwin Modeste Key items: Youth Conference this week, Human Rights conference later, Community Connects May-June. Please take the time to sign up on the Board Engagement document. Team is also working on visas for International Grand Marshall and other guests. Programming – social media is buzzing with what we are doing; speaks to what the Programming team and what the Marketing team are doing. Volunteer Department- there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Across the board (at other organizations) volunteer numbers are low. Education program: this is a commitment specific to sponsors (not the general public). If there are any Festival questions; please add them to the ‘Staff Festival Presentation for Board Questions 2023’ document. leZlie: thank you Sherwin and the team for getting this done while you are away. Moka: question on security guards at the Festival and what training they are receiving from us. Sherwin: working with the team on this. We met with supervisors of each security company we are working with. It is not possible to meet with each guard at the Festival as there are over 400 of them and some are scheduled to work the Festival the night before. Blocko stage – we are splitting the security. Most of the security companies we work with – their guards have naloxone training and carry the kits with them. Nirmalan on grants: when we receive a decline on a grant we applied for, do we know why? For example if it is a case of too many applicants and not enough funds – is this a timing thing (first come, first served based on application). What is their criteria? Sherwin: when we get declined for a grant, we try to meet with the granting officer to find out why we were declined. Grant: Pride Guide looks amazing – edits sent over. Really appreciative of the effort. Board Members, please RSVP instructions to support internal processes. Please do not RSVP via email; we will not be able to accommodate. Grant: Community Connects and Conferences – how are they being marketed? Sherwin: MLSE and TDSB have been helpful in marketing Youth Conference. Human Rights Conference is sponsored by Air Canada in partnership with OFL and Dignity Initiative. Unions are supportive in spreading the word. Community Connects – a lot of community and the organizations we are working with, along with social media, are being used to spread the word. This year Pride giveaways are being put together by Amazon. | Discussed |
| Standing Item: Treasurer Report | Treasurer, Osmel Maynes Met with Amit, Sherwin, Bobby to discuss- working with the team has been great. Started approving Plooto payments (our internal software). Finance pieces seem copesthetic Waiting to receive grants (first parts have been received, waiting for rest in June). Monies also coming in from StreetFair and Parade. Most monies coming in June We have been following all Financial Policies. Cash flow documents for (May,June,July) provided in the Board report are new documents for the Board to review. | Discussed |
Board Administration
| Chair, Grant Gonzales Membership Approvals: to be approved by email. Monthly Board Meetings: no consistency for a new monthly date, it looks like the Board will continue to meet on every third Tuesday of the month. | Discussed |
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| Chair, Grant Gonzales In-camera notes taken by Secretary Yuri Hernadez | Motion: to move in camera (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: Moka Dawkins Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
| Strategic Planning Session | Facilitator Jennifer Hanna from Whiteboard Consulting. Co-Chair leZlie lee kam is Chairing the next portion of the meeting. Board SWOT analysis compilation reviewed. Working draft of the strategic plan reviewed using miro board. Focus on understanding what is in the document and what it means. Consensus/approval of the plan is the responsibility of the Board. Strategic pillar is defined as statement of directions of what Pride Toronto wants to focus on in big bucket ways. While Strategic goals are outcomes (ie. what is going to happen to make the directions happen. They are still pretty broad. 1-4 Strategic goals under each Strategic pillar. Review of Strategic pillars. Board Members given time to review each and request for clarification from the Board Steering Committee. Important to understand what each pillar is. We don’t want 6 goals under each pillars (6 in total) because we need to keep it concise so that it is manageable. Strategic plan: will be for 3 years. Second part: Board Members think about goals under the pillar and to identify new goals/broad outcomes or feedback about the goals. Need to work on the FAQ. We are fairly on track. Going to look at further times. Will go to staff to work on this more, then Board for approvals. | Discussed |
Other Business
| Co- Chair, leZlie passed the floor to Nirmalan for more information on advocacy. Nirmalan: wanting to create a tracker of all of the advocacy pieces happening: what’s going on in Canada that we have the opportunity to comment on; ie. providing letters of support. Board advocacy committee could probably meet with councillors and other elected officials. leZlie and Samantha want to join the advocacy Committee
Yuri: can we work on this asap? D!XON: City reached out to connect leZlie for the community advisory committee for the redesign of Barbara Hall Park. leZlie will do a space audit/walk through with the City Committee. leZlie has passed them on to Nicole and the Rainbow Seniors Program at The 519 because it would be helpful to have Rainbow Seniors who live in the area. D!XON is part of the committee because of how they identify and their connections with queer, Black Youth. Grant: committees; we’ll get that going after the Festival. Please look at key events and sign up. leZlie and Grant have emailed the entire Board for one-on-one meetings. Please respond whether or not you can make it. Samantha: June 9th Jays game? Sherwin: yes, we are going to be going. leZlie is going to throw the first pitch. Carry flag: Samantha (want to carry flag, but has a ticket), Yuri, D!XON, Moka. There will be a morning rehearsal with mandatory attendance, and then meet again in the afternoon for the game. | Discussed |
| Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 6, 2023 | Chair lezlie lee kam please sign up to events and please RSVP. Please read the emails carefully. Co-Chairs look forward to meeting one on one with Board Members. Thank you Minute Takers, ASL Interpreters, and Sherwin for being here. | Discussed |
| Adjournment | Board Members | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved).
|
| Date | Tuesday, June 6, 2023 |
| Time | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Samantha Fraser, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, D!XON, Moka Dawkins, Courage, Yuri Hernandez, Maher Sinno, Troy Dunn Staff: Sherwin Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | None |
| ASL Interpretation | Vanessa Bailey, Cindy Muskat |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair Grant Gonzales | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Moka Dawkins Seconder: Troy Dunn |
| Land Acknowledgement | Co-Chair, leZlie lee kam delivered Land Acknowledgement. | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes:
| Motion: To approve the May 16, 2023 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Yuri Hernandez Seconder: Moka Dawkins |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Meeting Chair Grant Gonzales requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability.
No conflicts were declared. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Meeting Chair Grant Gonzales For information. Requires an update, after which the Board will be asked to ratify.
Two decisions made by the email:
| Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Chair Grant Gonzales spoke on document for reference.
Will dive into specific expectations during Board Director Expectations during festival portion of the meeting. | Discussed |
Standing Item: Executive Director Report
| Executive Director, Sherwin Modeste Operations team: everything on par. Working on logistics with Pride Run as well.
Dyke and Trans Rally – both will be ending at Garden Stage, which is new this year.
7 Summer Student Positions have been hired. This year they will only be working up to 8 hours during Festival Weekend.
Canadian Heritage grant approved.
Community Engagement – events ongoing as outlined.
Thank you to the Board for attending our first signature event in May (Programming launch).
Community Connect at Jane and Finch super successful.
Announcement from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for funding for key issues facing 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
leZlie: Community Connect event at Jane and Finch was great. Some Board Members and Sherwin have just attended the fireside chat and welcome reception for Jessica Stern, the United States Special Envoy to advance the human rights of LGBTQI+ Persons and Frank Mugisha, Executive Director, Sexual Minorities Uganda. Event was in partnership with Dignity Network Canada. Moka provided introductory remarks on behalf of the Board..
Tomorrow Sherwin will be speaking to City Councillors of Kitchener.
Grant: attended Etobicoke Community Connect and it was great to see and support.
Nirmalan: Shoutout to team for support of the recent 2-Spirit PowWow with 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations, as well Community Connect Scarborough. | Discussed |
| Standing Item: Treasurer Report | Treasurer, Osmel Maynes
Receiving funds from StreetFair. We are moving in a great way. We are continuing to pay artists on time.
Courage: What is the plan for government grants that were recently announced? – Osmel: At this point it is just an announcement. We will probably receive it later on. It is for security for the Festival.
Courage: Are we planning on any last minute hiring of deaf artists? – Sherwin: we put out a call out for deaf/Deaf artists but we only received one response. A lot of the run of shows for Festival Weekend stages have been finalized; but we will do our best. Let us know if there are any suggestions here.
Sherwin: We are planning on a session during Festival Weekend to share best practices with other Pride organizations on safety. Toby from Capital Pride in Ottawa will be supporting. | Discussed |
Board Administration
| Chair, Grant Gonzales
Membership Approvals: Recommending moving all Membership approvals to July.
Monthly Board Meetings: we are having some trouble finding a common alternate date for the monthly Board Meetings. Please update the ‘Board of Directors Monthly Meetings – Meeting Selection_2023’ Google Sheet | Discussed |
Festival Update
| Chair, Grant Gonzales
Calendar of Events: thank you for filling out the Board Engagement Requests document. Please continue to fill out as the document gets updated.
Second document is for signature events and complimentary tickets- please also fill this out.
Review Board Expectations during the Pride Festival. If VIP spaces full, please contact Sherwin and not other staff.
Grant: Review of Board Expectations during the Festival Weekend. Please sign up for events. You are representing Pride Toronto. Interact with kindness. Opportunity to connect with all stakeholders..
leZlie: Grant and I worked on this Board Expectations document. Do you all have any feedback or anything you would like to add?
Samantha: On Parade Day Sunday, are we all walking in it together like last year? Grant: Yes, this is where we all should be in attendance. We will be meeting in the Honoured Positions lounge in advance.
Troy: for the Expectations document, if Board Members do not meet the requirements, are there any repercussions?
Grant: not at the moment, but something to look into.
Sherwin: email Nipuni if you have plus ones for the Parade. Board will have one golf cart.
D!XON: importance of heels, hair, makeup for trans women, in terms of accessibility.
Maher: Board Expectations document is very important. We should add respecting each other as Board Members in as well. In terms of violations against this document, instead of repercussions we should approach more from a harm reduction lens as a way to discipline and reprimand.
Grant: yes, that would be great way. We could look further into this.
*Board decided not to go into an in-camera session*
Courage: How many interpreters have been book for Pride events on Festival Weekend on June 23rd, 24th, and 25th? Is there a map showing where interpretation will be located? Sherwin: we are going to do a sign language blog so people are able to see what time and where ASL will be. Welcome Centres will also have this information available for people over the Festival Weekend.
Courage: For June 25, you have booked an interpreter. Please cancel; I can’t attend on Parade Day unfortunately. Sherwin: We have ASL interpretation for headliners – this is new for us. Courage: lots of feedback on ASL at the Festival; want to meet offline later.
Sherwin: in 2022, a few Board Members went to Montreal Pride to participate in the Parade. This year we are looking at having Board Members who will go to Montreal for the Parade, to make connections with their team and make observations on how we can make improvements at our own Parade. This will include via rail ticket, small per diem and accommodation. Courage, Moka, D!XON, Osmel, Maher have expressed interest in attending
Sherwin: no tabling this year. We will observe on Saturday, and join their parade as a team on Sunday.
Samantha: will go on my own and join the Board if the five spots get full. Grant and Yuri are potentially going. | Discussed |
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| In Camera session did not take place | Not applicable |
| Other Business | Co-Chair: Grant Gonzales | Discussed |
| Next Meeting: Next Meeting: July 18, 2023 | Co-Chair: Grant Gonzales mentioned | Discussed |
| Adjournment | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved).
|
| Date | Tuesday, July 18, 2023 |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Samantha Fraser, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, D!XON, Courage, Troy Dunn, Maher Sinno Staff: Kojo (formerly known as Sherwin) Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | Yuri Hernandez |
| ASL Interpretation | Jennifer Best, Christie Reaume |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair leZlie lee kam and Grant Gonzales | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Troy Dunn |
| Land Acknowledgement | Co-Chair, leZlie lee kam delivered Land Acknowledgement. | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes:
| Motion: To approve the June 6, 2023 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Grant Gonzales |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Meeting Chair leZlie lee kam requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability.
No conflicts were declared. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Meeting Chairs leZlie lee kam and Grant Gonzales advised on document for reference. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Meeting Chairs leZlie lee kam and Grant Gonzales advised on document for reference. | Discussed |
Standing Item: Treasurer Report
| Treasurer: Osmel Maynes Staff: Amit Kumar, Finance Manager
Nirmalan had asked questions that were answered prior to the meeting.
Samantha: this is my fourth budget and Festival; budget looks good to me.
Budget is a living document, can always revisit
Kojo: 6 month commitment from Kojo to ensure we are on target. Ensure that we will not be going into the red. We might adjust on insurance. Working with the team, to get a new quote. Not opposed to selling merch; there are a lot of logistics. We are looking at some options.
Maher: distribution of artist funds. Yalla Bara funds – we didn’t budget enough for their stage vs. other stages. Osmel: we can definitely have this conversation – it is more operational. Kojo: it may appear this line budget has decreased; however what has decreased is contingency (cushion funds). We currently do not have the resources for large contingencies. Year after year, stages are saying they do not have enough funds, however artists and infrastructure are 50% of budget. Meeting scheduled with 2023 Yalla Barra Curator.
Grant: some organizations do not have contingency. Kojo: artists, curators, sponsors, community groups and Board will have opportunity to debrief after the Festival.
D!XON: Where is the cost of stages? Amit: year-long infrastructure vs festival infrastructure.
Reimbursements: Osmel has sent through form for Board reimbursement
leZlie: Thanks to Osmel, Amit, Kojo and Executive team.
Amit left meeting. | Motion (Osmel): To accept the 2023/2024 budget (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: Troy Dunn Abstentions: None Opposed: None Motion: To assign Finance and Committee for Contingency Plan for Winter 2024 (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Samantha Fraser |
Board Administration
| Chair, Grant Gonzales
Grant has prepared a high level Board Calendar for what is in store for the Board throughout the year, other than events and meetings, so the Board does not miss out on key deliverables throughout the year. Something new is the specific review on the bylaws.
Board Meeting Monthly Schedule: attempted to find a different common time for Board Members to meet, but based on availability the Board will probably have to default back to Tuesdays on third week of every Month.
Kojo: looking at Board/staff retreat. This year will be a little bit longer, so we can have work plans that works with the Strategic Plan. It will likely be sometime in September.
Maher: if Board Members want to run again for another term, we cannot join the recruitment committee. However if we don’t run again then we can join the recruitment committee. Is that correct? Grant: Yes that is correct, and only applies to Board Members whose terms are ending this year.
Maher: Second question for the Board. I am starting support committees work, so I may not be able to join on Tuesdays. I want to contribute to the Board and so will need additional support to keep up to date. Grant: yes, that works. If you have questions, please ask in advance. Co-Chairs will support. Minutes and agenda will be available for everyone.
Samantha: Do we have estimated dates for September as it’s really busy that month. Location? Sherwin: not yet. Location: working on it; will be different than last year.
Courage: for the retreat – will it be a weekend or week? Kojo: yes, we’ll have the Board joining for Friday, Saturday, Sunday (and Board Meeting).
Courage: Can I also join the recruitment committee to recruit more deaf and BIPOC individuals to the Board? Grant: Not a conflict to join; that will be a September discussion. Sherwin: want to acknowledge that we have really great diversity right now on the Board, almost all of the Board is BIPOC. | Discussed |
Committee Assignments
| Chair, Grant Gonzales
Will resend email to Board Members about joining committees. Please join at least 1 or up to 2 committees. Please respond to the email by end of month. We should have no more than 5 Board Members per committee.
First item of business for each committee is to refresh scope of work and roles, and responsibilities. Anything that is decided on in the committee is subject to approval by the Board.
Policy Committee: Need to standardize Terms of Reference (right now they are all different).
As a Board, we need to assign ourselves.
Nirmalan: Can you please explain what the Executive Committee is? Grant: Need to develop Terms of Reference because it is a new committee. This committee will be made of the Board Officers. It is mostly an advisory to the Executive Director, rather than a decision making committee.
Board Committee initial sign ups: leZlie: Advocacy committee Samantha: Advocacy committee, Grants and sponsorships D!XON: Grants and sponsorship Osmel: Policy and governance committee Maher: Advocacy or governance and policy
Samantha: should we have a community committee that is more grassroots to review grievances from communities/artists. D!XON: agreed on this Grant: This would be too operational. Board Members won’t participate in advisory groups – this was determined and agreed to by the Board a few years ago. Sam: How does the Board share ideas? Grant: Strategic planning is the best way for Board Members to provide expertise/ideas on the direction of the organization
Grant: email will go out for the August Board meeting. August-September: will be to work on scope of policy.
Conflict: leZlie only Rainbow Senior so leZlie is on the seniors advisory committee.
D!XON: there is an equity piece if only some members can advocate for their communities.
Maher: there should be more intersection now. It is worth re-opening up the conversation about Board Members on advisory groups. What can be the most beneficial for the organization.
Grant: Yes, but it is good to focus on Board Committees first, then open up conversation to advisory groups, since Board committees have not been up and running for the past little while.
leZlie: do we have a Membership Committee? Would like to revisit this next.
Troy: we should have a facilitated conversation on the role of the Board at some point so that we have an aligned vision and can get out nuanced conversations.
Samantha: If Board members could be seen as overtaking advisory groups, can we implement rules to manage this. This is just a rhetorical question to think about for now. | Discussed |
| Membership Approvals | Chair, Grant Gonzales
Include Membership application (Cambell) that we were initially unsure was a legitimate application. Staff have confirmed that it is a legitimate application. | Motion: To approve Membership Applications (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: Troy Dunn |
| Strategic Planning | Kojo: the strategic plan is almost completed. Staff have recommended some minor changes/final edits for the Board to consider.
Nipuni went through the recommendations that staff had suggested.
Samantha: Accountability is there in the first pillar already. Thank you to staff for these recommendations.
leZlie: I really like realigning pillars. Thank you to the staff team, great work.
Grant: Vision should be “regardless of”. Agreed that first pillar is clunky, responsible does equal accountability. Disagree and believes it should be Human Resources instead of singular. Disagree should be removing: biphobia, transphobia, an. Should leave here. Disagree that ‘Support the development and distribution’ should be first
Kojo: We will need to revisit and discuss.
Nirmalan: For the vision, “feel” is still wishy washy. We should use “are” instead. Is it 2-Spirit – can we confirm? Perhaps Festival Programming should be first.
Staff to reach out to to 2 Spirited People of the 1st Nations to confirm correct spelling.
Troy: Agreed it should be ‘human resources’
“Take an intersectional approach” = all agreed.
Going to keep “Support the development and distribution the development” as the third point and not move it up.
Pillar: Leading and Supporting Intersectional 2SLGBTQTI+ Advocacy. And then first bullet will stay the same.
Nirmalan: What is rollout plan?
Kojo: We are planning stakeholder reception at the office. Having this with the economic impact report would speak volumes to the work we have done and are planning to do. | Motion: To approve the Strategic Plan (Approved). Mover: Samantha Fraser Seconder: leZlie lee kam |
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| Board Members and Executive Director | Motion: To move in camera (Approved).
Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
| Other Business | Co-Chair: Grant Gonzales
Festival Issues Board Directors pointed out that there have been some social media posts with complaints about Festival issues. They are encouraged to share these directly with the Executive Director for staff awareness.
129 Peter Street Working closely with BlackCAP, Pride Toronto has been supporting the refugees living outside 129 Peter Street by delivering hot meals, with more planned in the coming weeks. We have also provided them with Subway and Tim Hortons gift cards, and TTC fares.
Disability Pride Month Concerns were shared about the lack of acknowledgement. Staff confirmed that a social media post is planned to acknowledge Disability Pride Month.
If Board Directors wish to share information about programming and events, they are encouraged to do so in advance, recognizing that most staff are not working during the first two weeks of July. They are advised to also share information with the Co-Chairs, who can help prompt staff to post information.
Montreal Pride Staff will follow-up with Board Directors who are attending with travel and accommodation information. Board Directors are expected to represent Pride Toronto during the parade, and in other programming throughout the weekend. | Discussed |
| Next Meeting: Next Meeting: August 15, 2023 | Co-Chair: Grant Gonzales mentioned | Discussed |
| Adjournment | Board Members | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved).
|
| Date | Tuesday, August 15, 2023 |
| Time | 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, D!XON, Maher Sinno, Samantha Fraser Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | Yuri Hernandez, Courage, Troy Dunn |
| ASL Interpretation | N/A |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business:
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair leZlie lee kam and Grant Gonzales | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Osmel Maynes |
| Land Acknowledgement | Co-Chair, leZlie lee kam delivered Land Acknowledgement. Call to action: important that we continue to work in solidarity with Black and Indigenous folks on Human Rights | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes:
| Motion: To approve the July 18, 2023 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Grant Gonzales |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Meeting Chair leZlie lee kam requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. No conflicts were declared. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Meeting Chairs leZlie lee kam advised on document for reference. Thank you to Grant for making sure that all of our decisions are being tracked. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Meeting Chair leZlie lee kam advised on document for reference. | Discussed |
Standing Item: ED Report
| Kojo Modeste leZlie: thank you for the report, I learned a lot from it. Nirmalan: National Day of Truth and Reconciliation is September 30th. Do we have anything planned? Kojo: Yes and this is a priority. We have heard from the Indigenous community that it is important to give back to the community on this day. We will be planning a Community Feast with 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations. Nirmalan: To revisit our strategic plan: Living our Truth and Reconciliation should be first bullet point (moved). What are our plans to connect with the City? Kojo: We are currently working on our economic impact report and hoping to share with Marci Ien (Ottawa), Krystyn Wong Tam (Queens park), Chris Moise (Council). Nirmalan: This is a great opportunity to work with the City on specific pieces, such as the fines over Festival Weekend. leZlie had questions about the report and received answers in advance. Kojo: The staff/board retreat this year will be at the office, during the week after Thanksgiving, from Tuesday, Oct 10th to Friday, Oct 14th. The Board will join staff on Thursday and Friday evening. We will do a joint team building exercise on Saturday. We will send the dates and calendar tomorrow. | Discussed |
| Standing Item: Treasurer Report | Treasurer, Osmel Maynes Recap: we passed the budget for this year at our last Board Meeting. We are approving a few outstanding expenses for people. We are wrapping up remaining artist and supplier payments. We have been receiving our grants. Kojo: we are about 85% ready for our audit, which starts mid September. The goal is to wrap up the audit by the first week of November. Auditors are happy even with the preliminary changes we have made to implement their recommendations. | |
Committee Assignments / Terms of Reference Template
| Grant Gonzales Each Board committee needs to update and review their committees’ Terms of Reference (TOR) for consistency. Template has been sent to the Board so all the TORs look the same. Next steps: each committee needs to figure out a time to meet, their mandate and terms of reference. Committees will choose their own Chair, create a work plan and decide what items to focus on and address. Hopefully, each committee will have this ready to be approved at next month’s Board Meeting. Maher: Can we designate a specific person for each committee to take the lead on setting up the initial meeting. Grant: Yes Osmel can support Governance if needed. Nirmalan can move from Governance to Grants. leZlie will join Membership. D!XON will also join Grants and Sponsorship. Grant: Membership will be a subcommittee of Governance and Policy. The following reflects the changes to show which Board Member is in which committee. The individuals whose names are in bold will reach out to rest of the committee members to set up a time to meet:
| Discussed |
| Membership Approvals | Meeting Chair, leZlie lee kam Checked in with the Board Members to ensure they have reviewed the list of Membership approvals. | Motion: To approve Membership Applications (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Grant Gonzales |
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| Board Members and Executive Director | Motion: To move in camera (Approved).
Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
Other Business / Reminders
| Co-Chair: leZlie (ahead of in camera session) Kojo: please send potential sponsors our way to add to our prospect list for this year. Also, if you have any headliner suggestions/ideas, please advise. We have to take into account certain costs, but all ideas are welcome leZlie: what do we need to consider in terms of criteria? Kojo: any companies that fit into our mission, vision or values. Sponsors who are willing to donate both in-kind and monetary amounts are needed. Board Members do not need to do any preliminary screening when recommending; the staff team will oversee this process. Reminder: the Volunteer Appreciation Party is tomorrow at 6:00 pm at the Labatt offices. The theme is slumber party. It is really important if you can come down. Our volunteers work incredibly hard and we want to make them feel appreciated. | Discussed |
| Next Meeting: Next Meeting: September 19, 2023 | Co-Chair: Grant Gonzales mentioned | Discussed |
| Adjournment | Board Members | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved).
|
| Date | Tuesday, September 19, 2023 |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, D!XON, Maher Sinno, Samantha Fraser, Yuri Hernandez, Courage, Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | Troy Dunn |
| ASL Interpretation | Alex Skrzyniak , Christie Reaume |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business :
Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair lezlie lee kam. | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
| Land Acknowledgement | Board Director, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar delivered land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes :
| Motion: To approve the August 15, 2023 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Samantha Fraser |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Meeting Chair leZlie lee kam requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. No conflicts were declared. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Meeting Chair leZlie lee kam advised on document for reference. Thank you to Grant for making sure that all of | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Meeting Chair leZlie lee kam advised on document for reference. | Discussed |
Standing Item: ED Report
| Kojo Modeste Nirmalan had some questions: Status of the Nirmalan: We have previously received the Kojo: Yes, we can provide the cash flow Nirmalan: Economic impact report looks Kojo: Thinking about a press release on the | Discussed |
| Design Plan | Puncture Kojo: Puncture is the design firm that supported last year. They are supporting us again, and we are grateful to have them back. leZlie: Just a reminder ASL interpretation. Gentle reminder for folks to speak clearly, and one person at a time. Introductions: Barsin (he/him), Laura (she/her), Sabrina (she/her) and Maham (she/her) Goal about this session: gather information and feedback about this year’s theme to help Look at this past year’s theme. What did you like about last year’s theme and what did you not like? Courage: I like this theme. Yuri: very applicable to all sorts of people. Samantha: I really like this theme. Perhaps we look into adding this into our strategic plan. Nirmalan: great narrative – helped us have actionable items Maher: international aspect – great to see that reflected in the Festival. Definitely should be pushed throughout the year. We could amplify it more in our socials What are some important messages or topics to capture next year? Samantha: Global aspect. Education and unity – remind people that we are everywhere. The message from last year still needs to be a part of messaging Yuri: Things can feel like it’s going backwards, so we need to highlight we are still here. leZlie: We are human. Nirmalan: Can refer to the tricky political landscape. D!XON: Important to include queer families Courage: Need to see more LGBTQ diversity with Deaf/Disabled artists being seen onstage. I want to see that be more mainstream.. Maher: Just flagging that “We’re not going anywhere” and “We remain” are themes I’ve seen this past Prides across nonprofits, so we need to be careful not to duplicate. What does Bold, Brilliant, Beautiful mean to Samantha: Initially it doesn’t feel like it encapsulates everyone. Need to show how these words can be for everyone. D!XON: brilliant can be to showcase entrepreneurs, leaders etc in the community. Beautiful can be displayed through scars, inner beauty, trans expression and more. Last question: How would we measure a successful theme statement? This helps to create a checklist for the theme statement. Samantha: apply to multiple people in multiple scenarios Yuri: change, progression, movement Maher: measurable. Link events to that theme. So that theme doesn’t disappear; even before the Festival. Engage different communities. Barsin: We have talked to the staff team as well. We appreciate your time and this information is helpful. We will compile insights and present the themed statement to the marketing team, get feedback and present the final presentation of insights and theme statement. Questions? Kojo: The goal is that we will have the first draft on Thursday or Friday after staff retreat, so we can provide feedback to the Puncture theme. D!XON: In order to get the theme across, we need to put more care into our graphic design and social media. Kojo: Will share that with our social media team.. Barsin: Thank you all. Puncture team logs off meeting. | Discussed |
| Standing Item: Treasurer Report | Treasurer, Osmel Maynes Short and long versions of finance reports were sent to the Board. Audit has begun and auditors are happy with what they are seeing. The Finance committee is still meeting every two weeks. Maher question on Marketing on the finance reports. What does Marketing team mean? Kojo: Pride Toronto’s Marketing team is under “Salary”. Other Marketing team costs include, economic impact report and advertising. | |
| Membership Approvals | Meeting Chair, leZlie lee kam Checked in with the Board Members to ensure they have reviewed the list of Membership approvals. To be reviewed over email | Discussed |
Committee Updates
| Grant Gonzales | Discussed |
| Board Recruitment and Updates | Treasurer leZlie: I would like to add that you have contributed so much to bringing Pride Toronto to where it is today. | Discussed |
| Kojo: Response to Trans attacks: I’ve sent an email to the Board on this. Osmel will be speaking on behalf of Pride Toronto at the upcoming rally. Kojo: these anti-trans policies are impacting the Global south as well. Our social media team is reposting the rally details to get the information out there. Nirmalan, Yuri and everyone: thank you for sending things out that may be of interest to our Membership. Kojo: staff will be handing out nonbinary flags. Please buddy up for safety. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation feast. Dania has sent the calendar invite. We are working with indigenous organizations and the 519 on this. leZlie will this be a rain or shine event? Kojo: yes it is outdoors rain or shine, but we have access to the 519 ballroom if needed. leZlie: Other business – insurance. Kojo: We are considering changing our brokers. Disadvantages of our current broker: costs are very high (although they are doing a lot of work to get the price down). Advantages of our current brokers: they know our file and portfolio, so a quicker turnaround on delivery. A second broker had reached out to us, and the advantages of them are: they are very knowledgeable with the 2SLGBTQI+ communities, and they are looking at both international and domestic. Disadvantages of the newer broker: we have a heavy lift at the beginning to get them up to speed with our work. Question to the board – what should we go with? Samantha: go with a new broker, it may require more work but worth it. D!XON: what are the names of the companies? Kojo: these are brokers that will look for an insurance company. D!XON: let’s go new; for fresh insurance. Maher: whoever shares our values. Nirmalan: stick with current; underwriting can take long time and we can do a Request for Proposal (RFP) for new brokers next year. Yuri: stay with current broker for this year, and then look at other options next year. Kojo: in terms of doing an RFP, this will happen next year (there is not enough time to do one this year). leZlie: Agree, with lighting fire under current broker and go with existing for this year only. Grant: Alternative opinion is to go with the new broker. How long has the current broker been working with the community for? Kojo: Current brokers have been with Pride Toronto for 9+ years. But they have never marched in the Parade. Grant: this is an opportunity for change. I don’t feel like we were well served with the current broker. Kojo: I’m right in the middle with which broker to go with. I will think and then will reach back out. Thank you for all the feedback. leZlie: There is an exhibition at Buddies in Bad Times called Covid in the House of Old on September 28, 29, and 30. Educational piece on the impact of Covid-19 on seniors in long term care homes. A Rainbow Seniors story is included (Alf Roberts). Share with your networks please. Other thing: The international day of Older Adults does not mention Rainbow Seniors, so the Rainbow Seniors Network and the 519 does an event every year in October at the 519. October 1st, Kojo: we’re waiting to hear back on the Santa Claus Parade. We had a meeting at their warehouse and they are looking at what they can offer us. Going to look at accessibility. They have a ticket for viewing stations for seniors/accessibilities. They really want to see the reflection of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities with our contingent in their parade. Thank you all for your patience. Samantha: One other thing. The Royal Winter Grant: Agreed. This would be a rush for this year as the Royal Winter Fair is just around the corner, but let’s connect on this for next year. | |
Standing Item: In Camera
| Board Members and Executive Director | Motion: To move in camera (Approved). ● Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar ● Seconder: Maher Sinno Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
Next Meeting: Next Meeting: | Co-Chair: Grant Gonzales mentioned | Discussed |
| Adjournment | Board Members | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). ● Mover: Samantha Fraser ● Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
| Date | Tuesday, October 17, 2023 |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Maher Sinno, Yuri Hernandez, Courage, Troy Dunn Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | Courage and D!XON |
| ASL Interpretation | N/A |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business: ● Board of Directors Meeting Agenda Meeting Chaired by Co-Chairs Grant Gonzales and leZlie lee kam | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: leZlie lee kam Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
| Land Acknowledgement | Osmel Maynes delivered land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes:
|
Motion: To approve the September 19, 2023 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Troy Dunn |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Grant requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. No conflicts were declared. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | leZlie advised on document for reference. Thank you to Grant for making sure that all of our decisions are being tracked. Board will need to discuss further on creating a tracker for motions. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Grant advised on document for reference. | Discussed |
| Standing Item: ED Report | The Executive Director (Kojo Modeste) provided the monthly organizational update and highlighted the meeting with the provincial government around funding and the upcoming Interpride conference. | Motion: To amend the agenda to add the Queen’s Park Press Conference to Other Business (Approved). |
| Standing Item: Treasurer Report | The Treasurer (Osmel Maynes) provided the report and noted that Pride Toronto is in good standing with respect to revenue and expenditures. The annual audit is underway and there are no concerns with respect to cash flow. | Discussed |
| AGM and Board Recruitment Update | Annual General Meeting Co-Chair (Grant Gonzales) informed the Board that the working date for the AGM is January 25, 2024, which needs to be approved by the Board. He recommended proceeding with a virtual AGM given that January is in the middle of both flu season and anticipated rise in COVID-19 cases. The Board discussed the possibility of a hybrid AGM, however, concerns were raised with respect to costs. Board Recruitment Pride Board of Directors Selection Committee Co-Chairs (Osmel Maynes and Troy Dunn) are prepared to post the recruitment call-out with a November 13th deadline for applications. They encouraged the Board to share within their network and emphasized that the priority is to recruit women and older persons. | Motion: To approve January 25, 2024 as the date for the AGM (Approved). Mover: Maher Sinno Seconder: Troy Dunn Motion: To proceed with a virtual only AGM (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: leZlie lee kam 5 out of 7 Board Members in favour Motion: To proceed with using GetQuorum as our AGM voting platform (Approved). Mover: Yuri Hernandez Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
| Membership Approvals | Co-Chair Grant checked in with the Board Members to ensure they have reviewed the list of Membership approvals. | Motion: To approve Membership Applications (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Yuri Hernandez |
| Committee Updates | Policy Committee Grant has shared Anti-Discrimination Policy with lawyers to get feedback. More to come at the next meeting Advocacy, Equity, and Human Rights Committee Maher mentioned committee is still unsure about direction of the committee and will discuss further at the next committee meeting Finance Committee Kojo mentioned that the Finance Committee update was provided during the Treasurer’s report No other committee meetings were held. Grants and Sponsorship Review Committee Meeting note held Nirmalan, Osmel and Troy to meet for Nirmalan to organize a meeting time. | Discussed.
Action items:
|
| Other Business / Reminders | Press Conference Kojo advised that Kojo, leZlie and Grant will be presenting Pride Toronto’s Economic Impact report at Queen’s Park. Pride Toronto will be hosted by MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam. Kojo will cover the 2023 festival and Economic Impact Report. leZlie will cover fundraising, spike in costs and other finances. Grant will cover challenges and next steps. Each person will have two minutes to speak. Folks can join in the gallery to watch. MPP Wong-Tam will recognize us in the gallery and the Economic Impact Report will be presented to all MPPs. The theme of the press conference will be Protect 2SLGBTQI+ communities and Fund Pride. Recent Events in Israel/Palestine Maher requested an addition to Other Business, to discuss the current development in Palestine/Israel. Board members discussed statements made by various organizations, and recommended further exploring whether and how to participate in the dialogue while listening to marginalized communities. Specific concerns were raised about the auditor’s statement. | Action Items:
|
Standing Item: In Camera
Session
|
Board Members and Executive Director | Motion: To move in camera (Approved). ● Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar ● Seconder: Troy Dunn |
| Next Meeting: November 21, 2023 | Co-Chair: Grant Gonzales mentioned | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). ● Mover: Troy Dunn ● Seconder: Yuri Hernandez |
| Date | Tuesday, November 21, 2023 |
| Time | 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST |
| Location | Online |
| Attendance | Board: Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Maher Sinno, Courage, Troy Dunn Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
| Regrets | Yuri Hernandez and D!XON |
| ASL Interpretation | N/A |
| Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
| Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business :
| Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Osmel Maynes |
| Land Acknowledgement | Grant Gonzales delivered land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
| Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes :
| Motion: To approve the October 17, 2023 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
| Declaration of Conflict of Interest | Grant requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. No conflicts were declared. | Discussed |
| Board Decision Tracker | Grant advised on document for reference. | Discussed |
| Board Meeting Principles and Expectations | Grant advised on document for reference. | Discussed |
Standing Item: ED Report
| The Executive Director (Kojo Modeste) provided the monthly organizational update and highlighted the recently held Executive Director Town Hall. 2024 Festival Update Discussion was held on accessibility, and more deaf and disabled representation at conferences, panels and events. | Discussed |
| Standing Item: Treasurer Report | The Treasurer (Osmel Maynes) passed floor to Kojo. Finance Manager, Amit Kumar joined meeting for this agenda item. Reviewed cash flow document to show projections. Highlighted that a lot of sponsorship comes in April, May, June. Annual audit is almost complete, and should be finalized by end of the month.
Board Meals | Discussed Action item: Kojo and Amit to look at
Motion: To approve that until the |
| Board Recruitment Update | Board Recruitment Osmel provided an update to the Board on Board recruitment, highlighting that candidates are being interviewed. There are diverse identities of individuals and representation who are being interviewed. Point of clarification about the recruitment process: the Board Recruitment Committee recommends the slate of candidates, then the full Board of Directors approves the slate. Once approved, it goes to the Membership. Grant and lezlie lee kam, as Board Members who are running for re-election did not participate in this discussion Annual General Meeting Board Recruitment Pride Board of Directors Selection Committee | Discussed |
| Membership Approvals | Co-Chair Grant checked in with the Board Members to ensure they have reviewed the list of Membership approvals. Opened floor and there were no concerns or questions. | Motion: To approve Membership Applications (Approved). Mover: Troy Dunn Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
Committee Updates
| Community Committees Call-Out (Accessibility, Honoured Positions, International Impact Fund (IIF)) Kojo advised that the selection committee for IIF, Honoured Positions and International Grand Marshall will be the same committee.
Accessibility Committee There is a need to separate the Board from Community Committees. Discussion on sunflower community support; to show support to individuals who have invisible or hidden disabilities. Discussion on consent during the Festival and how this is led by harm reduction teams.
Policy Committee Grant advised that materials have been circulated and there is a need to review policies.
Advocacy, Equity, and Human Rights Committee Maher advised that there will be a new Chair of this committee as Maher Finance Committee Grant advised that this was a part of the Treasurer report
Grants and Sponsorship Review Committee Nirmalan advised that the first meeting will be held early next year, once the | Action items:
|
| Next Meeting: December (TBC) | Grant led discussion on moving the next Board Meeting to December 18, as the Board/staff Holiday Dinner is on the next scheduled date of December 19. It was agreed that Dec 18 will be a tentative date as some Board Members were unsure of availability and would need to check their schedules. | Discussed Action item: Nipuni to send tentative calendar invite to move next Board Meeting to December 18. |
| Middle East Statement | Board discussion held on whether or not to put out a statement about recent events in Israel/Palestine and any implications. Nirmalan requested a recorded vote about this decision. Board Members spent time drafting and revising the statement. Discussed the complexity of importance of alignment
| Recorded vote: Motion: to approve putting out a statement with respect to the events in Palestine and Israel (Approved) Favour: Troy, Maher, leZlie, Osmel, Action item: Statement to be
|
Other Business/Reminders
| Grant requested Kojo to please provide updates
Santa Claus Parade This will be the first time Pride and Caribbean Carnival is part of the Santa Clause Parade. Progressive flags branded with Pride Toronto brand will be printed and handed out during the Parade. Board/Staff Holiday Dinner More details coming out tomorrow – Board/staff can bring one guest. | Discussed |
Standing Item: In Camera
| Chair | Motion: To move in
|
| Adjournment | Board Members. Meeting ended. | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Maher Sinno Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar |
Date | Monday, December 18, 2023 |
Time | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST |
Location | Online |
Attendance | Board: Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar, Courage, Troy Dunn, Yuri Hernandez Staff: Kojo Modeste, Nipuni Dhanawardana |
Regrets | Courage and D!XON |
ASL Interpretation | Jo-Ann Martin and Christie Reaume |
Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
Approval of Agenda | Welcome and Approving the Order of Business: Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair leZlie lee kam. | Motion: To approve the agenda (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Grant Gonzales |
Land Acknowledgement | leZlie delivered land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
Approval of Minutes | Approval of Minutes: | Motion: To approve the November 21, 2023 Meeting Minutes (Approved). Mover: Osmel Maynes Seconder: Yuri Hernandez |
Declaration of Conflict of Interest | leZlie requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. Grant Gonzales and leZlie stated that they would not be participating in Board slate discussion as they have expressed interest in running for a second term. | Discussed |
leZlie advised on document for reference. Grant advised that there was one motion (the recent Board statement) that was approved via email after the November Board Meeting. | Discussed | |
leZlie advised on the document for reference about expectations during the Board Meeting. | Discussed | |
Standing Item: ED Report | The Executive Director (Kojo Modeste) provided the monthly organizational update. Discussion was held on Festival insurance. As requested by Nirmalan Vijeyakumar the Board discussed menstrual equity for the Pride Toronto team, Parade and other events and programming. Discussion was also held on releasing statements and potential impacts. Lastly, it was highlighted that confidentiality of Board discussions during Board Meetings were important. | Discussed Action items:
|
Insurance Update | Stephen Bortolon, Senior Vice President at Gallagher Insurance joined. Highlighted by Stephen that Gallagher Insurance is an entertainment brokerage so their daily work involves the music industry, festival, arts etc. Board Members were informed of the new policy; which is focused on pricing and making the Festival more accessible for vendors (like Parade and StreetFair participants). More accessibility would lead to long term growth and partnership, which the Gallagher team is excited about. | Discussed |
Standing Item: Treasurer Report | The Treasurer (Osmel Maynes). Board Members informed that there are still ongoing conversations with auditors on the annual financial audit. Kojo mentioned that the draft audit report is ready and the Board will receive it shortly to review before meeting with the auditors. | Discussed |
AGM and Board Recruitment Update
| Osmel mentioned the two upcoming important dates of January 12 for the Board Candidate Q&A session and January 25 for the Annual General Meeting. Grant made mention that the Co-Chairs were working on some administration pieces such as this year’s proxy form and reviewing the previous years’ AGM Minutes. Confirmed that Grant and leZlie will both chair the AGM. The Board Recruitment Committee (Osmel, Troy and Yuri) will chair the Board Recruitment agenda item. Troy, Yuri and Nirmalan also confirmed that they would be virtual panelists during the AGM. Our virtual AGM meeting provider, GetQuorum is confirming if we will be able to livestream to the public. If this function is not available, we can make the meeting recording available afterwards. Kojo advised that the annual report will be available over the holidays Osmel advised that the Board Recruitmentent Committee has selected the Board Candidate slate after application reviews and interviews. The slate is comprised of two current Board Members who are running for reelection, and four new Board Candidates. There is one two-year term open, and the remaining five openings are all three-year terms. The Board Recruitment Committee opted not to fill two one-year roles so that individuals are not just on the Board for a short period, and because longer terms are more beneficial for the Board as a whole in terms of continuity. The Board Recruitment Committee selected individuals that represent a mixture of community, such as trans and women identified candidates, and a variety of professional backgrounds in education, non-profit organizations and at the municipal level. | Discussed Motion: To approve the Board Recruitment Committee’s recommended Board of Directors Candidate slate (Approved). Mover: Yuri Hernandez Seconder: Troy Dunn |
Membership Approvals | Co-Chair leZlie checked in with the Board Members to ensure they have reviewed the list of Membership approvals. | Motion: To approve Membership Applications (Approved). Mover: leZlie lee kam Seconder: Troy Dunn |
Committee Updates
| Policy Committee Grant informed the Board that the committee is looking at the ByLaws on Board Members who miss meetings without cause. The Board discussed that Board agreement could be updated so that Board Members miss three consecutive meetings (without communications to the Co-Chairs) that they would receive penalties, such as suspension from the Board or losing VIP privileges at Pride Toronto Events. Advocacy, Equity, and Human Rights Committee leZlie mentioned that since Maher Sinno (former Chair of the Committee) has stepped down from the Board, there has not been a meeting. The plan will be to restart meetings once the new Board Members join. Finance Committee This update was provided by Osmel earlier in the meeting during the Treasurer Report. Grants and Sponsorship Review Committee No updates at this time. | Discussed Action items:
|
Other Business/Updates
| Board/Staff Holiday Party (December 19) Board reminded of the team Holiday Party to take place the next day Meeting with Crowe Soberman (December 20) Board to meet with auditors from Crowe Soberman this Wednesday to review the audited financial statements and discuss the management letter. | Discussed Action items:
|
Standing Item: In Camera Session
| Chair | Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Grant Gonzales Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
Next Meeting: January 16, 2024 | Grant advised that the next meeting would take place on January 16. The Board agreed that after the AGM, the new Board Member Orientation and February Board Meeting would take place on February 3. A shorter Board Meeting will be held during the already scheduled meeting on Feb 20. | Discussed |
Adjournment | Board Members. Meeting ended. | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Yuri Hernandez Seconder: Troy Dunn |
Date | Wednesday, December 20, 2023 |
Time | 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST |
Location | Online |
Attendance | Board: Courage, Troy Dunn, Grant Gonzales, leZlie lee kam, Osmel Maynes, Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Staff: Kojo Modeste, Amit Kumar Guests: Chandor Gauthier (Crowe Soberman LLP), Parker Holman (Crowe Soberman LLP) |
Regrets | D!XON, Yuri Hernandez |
ASL Interpretation | Alex Skrzyniak, Erin Miller |
Agenda Item | Summary/Notes | Motions/Action Items |
Call to Order | This is a Special Board Meeting called to receive and approve the draft audited financial statements. Meeting Chaired by Co-Chair Grant Gonzales. | |
Land Acknowledgement | The meeting chair delivered land acknowledgment. | Discussed |
Declaration of Conflicts of Interest | The meeting chair requested any Board Director to declare a conflict of interest. This is a standing item for accountability. | Discussed |
Audited Financial Statements (#1) | Crowe Soberman presented the contents of the audited financial statements, including:
The auditors expressed a qualified opinion that in their opinion, except for the possible effects of the matters described in the Basis for Qualified Opinion section of their report, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Pride Toronto as at July 31, 2023, and its results of operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations. The Board requested clarification about the “government remittances payable” and “current portion of government funding payable.” The auditors clarified that the vast majority of these amounts relate to grant funding for fiscal periods prior to August 1, 2021. The amount from the 2023 fiscal year is related to the refundable portion of the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund. The auditors committed to provide a detailed explanation at the Annual General Meeting. | |
In Camera Session | It is best practice to hold an in camera session without staff to provide the Board an opportunity to ask questions of the auditors. | Motion: To move in camera (Approved). Mover: Osmel Guerra Maynes Seconder: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Motion: To move out of in camera session (included in In Camera minutes). |
Audited Financial Statements (#2) | Motion to approve the draft audited financial statements. | Motion: To approve the draft audited financial statements (Approved). Mover: Osmel Guerra Maynes Seconder: leZlie lee kam |
Adjournment | Motion to adjourn the meeting. | Motion: To adjourn the meeting (Approved). Mover: Nirmalan Vijeyakumar Seconder: Courage |
Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.
Pronouns: He/ Him /His
Biography:
Victor Perez-Amado is an Assistant Professor (tenure track) at the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Urban and Regional Planning. Perez-Amado grew up in Caracas, Venezuela and lived in Miami and Boston before settling in Toronto. He is trained as an architect and urban designer, graduating from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and the University of Florida.
His academic research centres on aging-in-place studies and multigenerational housing, including in 2SLGBTQI+ communities. These projects include Aging Together and Queering Home, a partnership with Egale-Canada. Before joining TMU, he worked on various masterplans and designs for independent and assisted living, focusing on seniors with dementia and autism in Boston. On another scale of engagement with the city, Perez-Amado is interested in activating public spaces by designing and building interactive and educational installations in the public realm. His methodology is based on theories of placemaking, where he explores prototyping, visualization, activation, and community engagement. These include installations along King Street West, Ontario Place, Winter Stations in the Beaches, and Toronto Climate Action public parks. His work has been exhibited at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, the World Urban Pavilion in Regent Park, and the Harvard GSD Grounded Visionaries, among others.
Biography:
Born in Mexico and a refugee in Canada, Viviana Santibañez is a strong community leader working with marginalized communities for over 12 years,
focusing on supporting and advocating for Latinxs living with HIV and 2SLGBTQ+ Latinos refugees. She is also the first Latina woman appointed to the board of directors of the Ontario HIV Treatment Network.
Viviana Santibanez is the founder and director of Vivi’r, a non-profit organization that helps and supports 2SLGBTQ+ immigrants, newcomers, and refugee Latinxs.Viviana connects with the community and refers people to social, legal, and health, running all these services with zero budget. She provides services for non-profit organizations such as Latinos Positivos Toronto, Toronto People Living with AIDS Foundation, Hispanic Canadian Heritage Council, Canada Trans Summit, and Ontario Cohort Studies. Viviana’s work incentivizing the LGBTQ+ community in Latino/Hispanic events has led to work with different communities, institutions, and organizations the support the integration of Latinx to Canada.
Viviana has a background in community health, nursing, community capacity building, and digital communications – She graduated as an Immigration
Consultant and assisted her community at no cost.
Multifaceted, she also represented Canada internationally, bringing the first-ever International Trans pageant title to Canada, where she competed in a trans-advocacy pageant that helped to inspire and empower trans women around the world. She is the first Latina awarded the Inspire LGBTQ Person of the Year in September 2022 by Inspire Awards. She has been recognized as among the 10 most influential Hispanic Canadians since 2022.
Biography:
I am a world majority, Brown, Carib-Indigenous , trini, Indo, Chinese, callaloo, differently-abled, Jurassic and Bionic DYKE, Rainbow Senior/Elder.
Currently: a co-chair of the board of Pride Toronto, the Toronto Senior Pride Network, the board of ODLAN (Ontario Digital Literacy Access Network), trainer with The 519, the Liaison Committee of the ministry of seniors and accessibility, the VHA (Visiting Homemaker’s Association) Pride Working Group, Sinai Health System “Pride is good for your health” committee, a co-facilitator of the Youth/Elders Program of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, a volunteer at Hennick Bridgepoint rehab hospital, a member of True Davidson Acres LTC GSA (gender sexuality alliance), the city of Toronto SSLTC Working Group – developed “Leading and Learning with Pride – A Tool Kit to Support 2SLGBTQI+ SENIORS” (launched June 24/2022) and a co-author of the 2SLGBTQI Best Practice Guidelines of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. Effective November 2023, a member of the Fabulous Stories Project for The Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity – developing Queer Curriculum for high schools and a consultant for The Canada Senior Pride Network.
Humble and privileged recipient of the 2019 Inspire Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2021 Community One Foundation Steinert & Ferreiro Award and the 2023 Jill Andrew (NDP – MPP, Ontario) Community Hero Award.
Featured in the videos “Out At Home”, “The Journey of My Strong Brown Trini Carib Callaloo Dyke Body” – 2016. In 2023, feature length documentary “Supporting Our Selves” from The Community One Foundation.
Honoured DYKE Ambassador and Honoured Rainbow Senior Ambassador – PRIDE TORONTO – 2022
I am an educator, accessibility/accommodation consultant, story teller, sometime actor and a respectful troublemaker, disruptor, infiltrator and agitator 😈.
I live and work from an anti-oppression, anti-racism, Truth and Reconciliation, intergenerational and intersectional perspective. I advocate for Two Spirit, Indigenous, queer and transgender rainbow 🌈 seniors and youth of colour.
I enjoy doubles, dancing, dim sum, a cold beverage and a “trini lime “ anytime.
My EXISTENCE is my RESISTANCE!! Website – lezlieoutofthecloset.com
Biography:
Anmol Budhiraja, a 26-year-old resident of Toronto, ON, is a dynamic individual with a diverse background and a deep commitment to fostering inclusivity. Originally from Jalandhar, Punjab, India, Anmol embarked on a transformative journey to Canada in 2016, initially as a student and now as a settler on the turtle island, proudly calling Toronto home.
As a proud member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, Anmol actively contributes to community welfare as a Crisis Response Specialist at 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations. This role has provided them with a profound understanding of the challenges faced by the Two-Spirit, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+ community, driving their passion for addressing these issues.
Anmol’s professional journey includes impactful roles as an Executive Assistant, showcasing expertise in grant writing, fundraising, and policy advocacy. Having completed a Bachelor of Applied Health Sciences, Honours Health Studies at the University of Waterloo, Anmol’s dedication to community engagement is evident through their role as a Teaching Assistant.
Beyond their professional and educational pursuits, Anmol’s interests encompass cultural competency, leadership, and continuous learning. Proficient in various tools, from Microsoft Office to Google applications, they bring a tech-savvy approach to their endeavors. Anmol’s diverse background, coupled with a strong commitment to community, positions them as an advocate for positive change, actively contributing to fostering inclusive environments and advancing social causes.
