The Army Behind the Army: New National Advisory Board offers strategic guidance and support
What do Scotiabank, Manulife Financial, Procter & Gamble, McCain Foods and Telus all have in common? In addition to being large corporations with a national and international reach, each company has a senior executive presently serving on The Salvation Army’s National Advisory Board (NAB). This board was recently established and includes 13 business and civic leaders. The NAB will support The Salvation Army with strategic guidance on the organization’s national operations and services.
“The National Advisory Board provides an opportunity for The Salvation Army to benefit from some of the brightest minds in business and community engagement,” says Commissioner William W. Francis, territorial commander. “These members demonstrate unique abilities in their fields, and they will work with us so that we can better help the millions of Canadians we serve each year.”
Members of the NAB will offer recommendations to organization leaders on a number of areas, including The Salvation Army’s national strategy and development program and its periodic review of business practices and systems. The Salvation Army has outlined three primary focus areas that the NAB will address in the coming months and years. These areas include: improvements to the organization’s operational efficiency and effectiveness; continued development of benchmarks and best-practice standards for service; and the development of supportive relationships between public and private partners.
“Every year more than 1.5 million Canadians are directly helped through the compassionate work of The Salvation Army,” said Andrew Lennox, senior vice president, Scotiabank, and National Advisory Board chair. “The members of the board are pleased to lend their expertise in supporting the wide range of social services provided by the Army.”
Salvation Army officers serving on the NAB include Commissioner William Francis; Colonel Donald Copple, chief secretary; Lt-Colonel Sandra Rice, secretary for personnel; Lt-Colonel David Hiscock, secretary for program; Lt-Colonel Neil Watt, secretary for business administration; Lt-Colonel Floyd Tidd, divisional commander for Ontario Central-East Division; and Major Jim Champ, who serves as liaison officer to the board.
An inaugural dinner was held November 12, 2009, at Toronto’s Scotia Plaza, where Commissioner William Francis publicly acknowledged the commitment of each member to serve on the board.
The following day, the NAB met again at Scotia Plaza and heard from Robert Barnard, founder of DECODE, who offered a presentation on the traits and characteristics of the different generations (i.e. Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y, with special emphasis on the Millennial Generation, ages 20-35).
Colonel Donald Copple provided an overview of The Salvation Army. Key points raised for discussion included fund-raising methods, sustainability challenges with funding and personnel, strategic positioning, delegation of authority, centralized versus regionalized governance, diversity versus specialization in programs, and strategic planning processes.
The main objective of the chief secretary’s presentation was to build board awareness of the Army, its operations and the key challenges facing senior leadership. Six “burning questions” were presented to the board:
1. Personnel: How do we maximize governance of an Army led by officers and employees?
2. Property: How do we come to terms with aging infrastructure? How do we deal with the transition from ownership to leasing?
3. Development: How do we increase our market share of government funding? How do we raise the bar with our Red Shield Appeal?
4. Rural Ministry: How can we position local ministry units—many of them rural—in a positive manner with respect to government and local funders?
5. Fiscal Responsibility: How do we address the challenge of funding direct programs and services when 40 percent of our ministry units are presently experiencing deficits?
6. Communications: How can we transition successfully to the electronic media age?
In the discussions that followed, board members demonstrated their support of all aspects of the Army’s ministries, including social services and church growth. The board then adjourned to Toronto’s Harbour Light for a tour of the new facilities.
The NAB will meet three times a year. The next meeting is scheduled for January 21-22, 2010.
Top photo: Members of the National Advisory Board (not all pictured) at Toronto’s Harbour Light