Nominations Open for the OutSport Toronto Board of Directors for Election at the 6 June 2013 AGM

18 April 2013

OUTSPORT TORONTO seeks applications from individuals interested in assisting its Board of Directors to achieve its Vision.  Positions are available as of June 6, 2013.   Please see below for a list of the various positions on the Board of Directors.

Who is Eligible?

A person is eligible to be a director of OUTSPORT TORONTO if

(i) They are a member in good standing of a member Sports Organisation and have been endorsed by the member Sports Organisation’s governing body to be a candidate for being a director of OUTSPORT TORONTO, or

(ii) They are not a member in good standing of a member Sports Organisation but they nonetheless support the objects as set out in the letters patent or supplementary letters patent of OUTSPORT TORONTO and they are actively involved in sport.

“Governing body” here means the Organisation’s board, collective, executive, steering commit, or group of members otherwise named that oversees the functioning of the Organisations.

Note that OUTSPORT TORONTO's bylaws stipulate that at least two-thirds of OUTSPORT TORONTO's directors must come from member organisations.

Term of Office

Each position on the Board of Directors is retired on a yearly basis at OUTSPORT TORONTO’s annual general meeting.  The AGM for 2013 is being held on 6 June 2013.

A director may be appointed by the existing directors at any time during the year if there is a vacancy on the board.

Directors are able to seek re-election on a yearly basis. 

How to apply

To notify OUTSPORT TORONTO of an intention to stand as a candidate for the board of directors, a person must complete the form entitled “Board of Directors Candidate Nomination and Endorsement” found below.  Note that this is a PDF form that can be completed on your computer except for the signatures.  Fill in all the required fields on your computer, then print the form for signatures.  The completed form may be submitted to any one of the current directors of OUTSPORT TORONTO in person.  Alternatively, a scanned copy of the completed form (including all signatures) may be sent to board_nominations@OutSportToronto.org or sent by mail to:

OUTSPORT TORONTO
77 Carlton Street, Suite 1707
Toronto, Canada  M5B 2J7

The Board Development Committee will contact all candidates to ensure OUTSPORT TORONTO has received accurate information, perform any screening that may be required, and answer any questions a candidate may have.  The Board Development Committee would like to have all candidate nominations by Wednesday, May 15, 2013 so that we may provide a roster of candidates to member organisations in preparation for the AGM on 6 June 2013, at which the elections will take place.

How does voting occur?

All registered nominees to OUTSPORT TORONTO who attend the AGM are entitled to vote. 

Separate elections will be held for each office to be filled.

An election may be by acclamation; otherwise it will be by show of hands.  The candidate with the greatest number of votes will be the successful candidate. 

If a successor is not elected, the person previously elected or appointed to that position continues to hold office providing he or she has not resigned.

Expectations of Board Members

OUTSPORT TORONTO has an active and dynamic board of directors.  There are board meetings once a month and sometimes more frequently when leading up to events such as Pride.  In addition, board members are expected to participate on at least two board committees. 

Ongoing board and committee work is completed between meetings and requires a varying amount of time as well as high levels of board member commitment and self-direction.

Further information

If you have any questions or need further clarification, please email board_nominations@OutSportToronto.org , and we will respond as quickly as possible.

Positions

The following are the positions on the board (note that the bylaws of OUTSPORT TORONTO allow for the combination of Secretary and Treasurer into a single position):

Officers

Chair:  The Chair presides at all meetings of OUTSPORT TORONTO and of the directors.   In addition, the Chair is the chief executive officer of OUTSPORT TORONTO and must supervise the other officers in the execution of their duties.   The Chair is part of the Executive Committee of OUTSPORT TORONTO.

Vice Chair:  The Vice Chair must carry out the duties of the Chair during the Chair's absence.   In addition, the Vice Chair acts as the head of the Partnerships and Advocacy committee, and is part of the Executive Committee.

Secretary:  The Secretary conducts the official correspondence of OUTSPORT TORONTO,  issue notices of meetings of OUTSPORT TORONTO and directors, keeps minutes of all meetings of OUTSPORT TORONTO and directors, has custody of all records and documents of OUTSPORT TORONTO except those required to be kept by the treasurer, has custody of the common seal of OUTSPORT TORONTO, and maintains the registry of members.

Treasurer:  The Treasurer keeps the financial records, including books of account, necessary to comply with the Corporations Act, acts as the chair of the Finance Committee, and renders financial statements to the directors, members and others when required.

Non-officer Directors

Chair, Games Committee:  The games committee is specifically named in the bylaws, responsible for co-ordinating participation of members in multi-sport competitions, and any other such inter-member event participation.

Fundraising and Development:  As OUTSPORT TORONTO is a not-for-profit organisation that does not charge its member organisations a fee, this function and thus director position is of critical importance to the well-being of not only OUTSPORT TORONTO, but all of LGBT sport.   This role is accountable to create and execute on a fundraising plan that will provide the necessary funds for OUTSPORT TORONTO to function. 

Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations:  The director who heads this committee is accountable for ensuring OUTSPORT TORONTO has visibility in all of the communities in which we operate.  This is done through a combination of our website and other media options.

Membership and Member Services:  This director heads a committee focused on the member organisations, maintaining open communications with those member organisations, facilitating inter-organisation communication and liaison, and providing value-added services for member organisations, such as co-ordinating our annual Scrum.

Community Outreach:  This director is accountable for executing on a specific element of our missions statement, which is the promotion of sport and healthy living in the broader LGBT community.  This includes liaison with Pride Toronto, educational institutions, and the community at large.

Director at Large / Without Portfolio:  From time to time, there may be a limited number of director positions without a particular portfolio, although there currently are no such open director positions.  OUTSPORT TORONTO is still a young organisation, however, and its board is a ‘working board’, so we do nonetheless expect that any directors without a particular portfolio will still be active with any number of the various committees of OUTSPORT TORONTO, as well as participate in the execution of the various initiatives we have throughout the year, such as our annual Scrum, Pride day involvement, advocacy, community outreach, etc.