Orchestras Canada

The Canada Revenue Agency is continuing to offer webinars on topics of interest to registered charities, including
• T3010B: Line by Line Review;
• Fundraising, Gifting and Receipting (level I);
• Gifting and Receipting (level II);
• Payroll;
• Registered Charity Information Return Summary, Disbursement Quota and Capital Gain;
• Financial Statements, Books and Records and Foreign Activities; and
• Fundraising Guidance.
Registration is free, and you can learn more and sign up on-line here.

The Toronto-based Maytree Foundation has just announced topics for its winter/spring series of Five Good Ideas free lunch and learn lectures.  Upcoming topics include Employment and Labour Law, Impacting Public Policy, Talking to the Media, and Copyright & Intellectual Property Law.  To learn more and to register, please visit the Maytree Foundation’s on-line registration portal here.

Regular visitors to OC’s website may have noted a brand new tab on our homepage this week.  It’s called “Conference”, and we have posted the first of many updates on the National Orchestras Meeting, scheduled to take place in Winnipeg MB from June 21-23, with a pre-session scheduled for June 20.  You’ll find information about the program, our host hotel, and the arrangements we’ve made for discounted air travel.  Online registration will be up and running by February 28:  check it out, and watch for regular updates, too!

www.orchestrascanada.org

Last week, Jennifer Caines (OC’s new staff member) attended the Maytree Foundation‘s Five Good Ideas lunch and learn program on Pandemic Preparedness.  She has provided Orchestra News readers with this report: 
 
As concert seasons begin, it seems like everyone is talking about the flu season that’s right around the corner.  But are organizations preparing for a particularly bad flu season and the threat of H1N1?  The more discussion that takes place now, the less frustrated and helpless organizations will feel. 
 
Here are some ideas shared by Tom Appleyard as part of the Maytree Foundation’s Five Good Ideas lunch-and-learn program.        

1. Support infection prevention and control:  The flu is different from other serious illnesses like SARS because flu is rooted in the community.  It’s impossible to isolate everyone and stop the spread of  the flu virus.  Knowing that, there are a number of ways organizations can support infection prevention.  

• Enforce proper handwashing techniques.  Provide hand sanitizer in your organization.  Also provide hand moisturizer.  Most people dislike using hand sanitizer because it leads to cracked     hands.  If moisturizer is readily available, people may be more likely to use sanitizer. 
•  84% of people feel pressure to come to work when sick.  Come up with and support a policy that permits people to work from home rather than come in and infect others.
• Support the flu shot for staff. 
• Clean workplace.  Does anyone sanitize doorknobs, phones, and keyboards (all prime areas for contamination)?  

2. Plan for a “best guess” and remember that it is a guess – we can’t predict the future:  It’s impossible to cover all scenarios, but planning is always worthwhile.  Having a plan builds confidence to improvise as reality unfolds.
 
3. Develop your own plan and partner in your response:  look within your organization to form a plan; however, consider partnering with other community organizations to find additional solutions. (This usually happens during the response to a crisis).
 
4. Clarify organizational priorities and roles during an outbreak:  what must an organization do to keep going?  What should an organization start doing?  What are some behind the scenes things that must keep going, such as payroll?  What are some other essential services?  There is often insufficient discussion between funders and non-profit organizations around suspension of programming, staff, etcetera.  The time is now to discuss these issues before it’s too late.  Assign some roles now, during this enhanced alert.  Create a Pandemic Manager and backup, an Information Coordinator, a Safety Coordinator.  Organizations rarely regret being too prepared. 
 
5. Talk with your staff and your community about their concerns: talking with staff builds trust.  Knowing what your staff’s concerns are about the flu and your organizations preparedness will put their minds at ease and involve them in the plan.    
 
Has your orchestra developed a Business Continuity Plan for dealing with a potential H1N1 outbreak?  If you have, Orchestras Canada would be interested in getting a copy – and in sharing it with your colleagues across the country.  In the meantime, we highly recommend the following resources and checklists to you:
 
1.  Getting Started on Business Continuity Planning for an Influenza Pandemic
 
2.  A compilation of materials on H1N1, assembled by the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres

3.  A set of adaptable checklists from the International Centre for Infectious Diseases