Towards the end of last week, the BC Non-Profit Network held an event in Terrace called the Northwest BC Leaders Gathering that was hosted by Volunteer Terrace at the Best Western Inn.
Zahra Esmail, the CEO of Vantage Point, a bigger non-profit that helps out other non-profits and is based in Vancouver, attended the event and explained a bit about how the BC Non-Profit Network functions;
“For the last three years, Vantage Point has been the backbone organization for the BC Non-Profit Network and this is one of the key programs that we run. The network is where a lot of the engagements, advocacy and research work lives, but it’s part of Vantage Point’s overall efforts to strengthen and support community. The non-profit sector in British Columbia is very strong and powerful, but when we keep ourselves very separate, we are not tapping into the full potential of what our collective voice can bring. We work with individual non-profit organizations and support them through their planning and practices. We’re also trying to create more visibility for non-profits so they can have a greater voice and influence the environment that impacts us. That could be funding, it could be policies or a number of different things, but we’re trying to work at the system’s macro level to strengthen all non-profits across BC.”
She then went onto explain what was going on at this gathering and what the purpose of it is;
“As part of our efforts, one of the things that we’re very deliberate about is going to two different regions each year at minimum, to engage with non-profits from those regions and share with them what we’re doing, what our policies are and tell them what we’re hearing through the research engagements that we’re doing and see how it resonates with them. To determine if we’re on the right track and learn if we’re missing anything and make it a part of our decision making process to ensure that we’re broad, engaged, connected and letting the non-profit community drive the work of the BC Non-Profit Network.”
Esmail stated that the welcome they got from the Northwest was one of the warmest they’ve had and they hope they’ll be invited to come back in the future.
She also said that Vantage Point had gotten plenty of insights from the meeting as to what had been working for the Northwest and what remained a challenge.
Another hope they have is that when a State of the Sector Survey they run comes out next year, is that they’ll get even more responses from the Northwest and use those responses to keep building relationships here.