In the May 2018 General meeting of the association, a new membership and fundraising pilot program was proposed and approved. Dave explained his proposal for changing the way memberships are handled. He said it is more important to increase involvement of residents than to sell memberships. At the moment there are many residents who don’t even know about the RHRA. Memberships currently only generate a few hundred dollars. Dave proposed that we try a pilot program that would extend membership for free to anyone in the community who wants it. Residents would have an automatic right to vote on issues at RHRA meetings.

In place of membership fees, we would conduct online fundraising once or perhaps twice a year.

In addition to our regular outreach (emails, hydro pole postering, library notice, social media, etc.) the association would also make special effort to reach residents of apartment buildings by having Canada Post deliver information flyers to all residents.

The pilot will be evaluated at the Annual General Meeting in the fall to see if revenue and community engagement have increased. The proposal was approved anonymously.

First Annual Fundraiser Launched in September 2018

The first annual fundraiser was launched through the GoFundMe site in September 2018. The duration of the fundraiser was about 1 week and some $5,000 in funds were raised for use enhancing association activities.  

The invitation to participate in the fundraiser says it all: 

We’ve just launched our fundraising campaign for 2019 and here’s what I want to ask you:
Safe and beautiful streets. Engaged and informed neighbours. What’s that worth to you? 
For me, I think it’s worth at least $2 a week. That’s why I’ve just donated $100 to the Regal Heights Residents Association. Decide what it’s worth to you, and consider making a donation today! Even $5 or $10 will help us reach our 2019 fundraising goal. The Association, run entirely by volunteers, incurs costs each year including space rentals, equipment rentals, printing and more. Most importantly, we want to boost our outreach efforts to make sure that everyone in the neighbourhood is plugged-in. That means occasional door-to-door delivery of newsletters and important announcements! We have 450 subscribers to our e-mail list, but that’s only about half the neighbourhood. Your contribution will help ensure that we can reach each and every neighbour, especially if they aren’t online!

Street parties, political meetings, clean-ups and public gardens. These are the kinds of things that bring us closer together and build community.

Thanks for your support!

Many thanks to Regal Heights membership director Dave Meslin for spearheading this important initiative!