The Business & Development Conference has a new name!
NAVIGATE: The SCSBC Conference for Advancement & Finance
Mark your calendars for the conference: April 2-4, 2023
New location! Coast Tsawwassen Inn, Tsawwassen BC
For hotel bookings, call 604 943 8221 and quote “SCSBC Business & Development Conference” or Folio: GF3072
Keynote speaker: Dr Rod Wilson
Theme: Charting a Course
And we gratefully welcome back Luke Vandevert (aka The Arctic), who will again lead us in worship at this year’s conference!
Scroll down to the bottom of this page for information about installing the conference app.
PLENARY
Navigating Money’s Value, Virtue, and Vice – Dr Rod Wilson
If you work with money, you know its value, the requirement of virtue, and the danger of vice. We will explore how you can navigate these choppy waters in a way that reflects the integrity of the gospel.
Money: Biography, Theology, Philosophy, Community – Dr Rod Wilson
When you are working in a school and are dealing with money, you need to grapple with your story (biography), God’s story (theology), your framework (philosophy) and the organization (community). This interactive session will provide space to make these links and explore the implications for your day-to-day functioning.
FINANCE WORKSHOPS
Improving Your School’s Business Processes – Karen Chang, Umbrella Consulting, and Sabrina Fung, Vancouver Christian School
Many schools struggle with a patchwork of procedures, staff, and software, often resulting in lost efficiency and frustration. Karen and Sabrina will share some of the results of a business process review that Umbrella Consulting conducted at VCS in the fall of 2022 that will apply to other schools and help outline some best practices to which schools can aspire.
Social Enterprise and Business Activities – Luke Johnson and Rhys Volkenant, DeJager Volkenant
Many charities seek innovative ways to generate additional revenue to fund their operations. Others are trying to find more ways to impact their surrounding community and the world. Luke and Rhys will outline some legal aspects that schools should consider before engaging in social enterprise and business activities.
Building a Better Relationship with Your Bank – Jerry Huang and Mark Beines, TD Bank
How can your school benefit from a closer relationship with its bank? When your school needs funds for operations or capital projects, how should you approach your bank, and what will they need in return from you? How can your bank help your school manage its cash flows and investing activities? Jerry and Mark are leaders for TD Bank’s education clients in Greater Vancouver, and they will share advice from a banker’s perspective that will help your school leverage a stronger connection to its bank.
ADVANCEMENT WORKSHOPS
Making Your Case Golden – Doris Olafsen
Does your school have the vision to build a building? Are there particular projects or programs that need funding? Would you like to ramp up your communication tools? If you answered YES to one or all these questions, you might be interested in learning what it takes to write a compelling Case for Support. This workshop will walk you through the six elements of a dynamic case that could take your fundraising efforts to the next level and help your school’s visionary dreams come true.
Anchor Your Marketing in Strategy – An interview panel with the Captain and First Mate of Anchor Marketing Inc.
Effective marketing for nonprofits and educational institutions is critical, with each crew looking for the best way to manoeuvre today’s competitive waters. But marketing is hard work. It’s like managing a sailboat. One needs to be familiar with all the parts of the boat and how they operate together before one can plot your course and set sail.
It’s also important to be strategically shrewd as you steward your resources. Anchor Marketing believes that marketing without a strategy is like a boat without a rudder. You may move forward, but you will (more times than not) find yourself adrift and frustrated that you aren’t going in the direction you intended.
SCSBC is excited to welcome Danielle Gagner and Rhoda Strutt from Anchor Marketing, who will answer questions on key topics such as branding, integrated marketing, donor relations, donor cultivation, and fostering intergenerational loyalty.
The Heart of Volunteering – Michael Musgrove & Amber Neufeld
Volunteering is a pivotal way to create engagement and build relationships and commitment between your school, the volunteer, and your school community. It goes beyond the completion of basic tasks. A successful volunteer experience can be accomplished through the facilitation of the relationships between the volunteer, the administrative team, staff, and students. If relationship is the emphasis, both the volunteer and the school will equally benefit from the experience. What does this look like in our Post-Covid world? What do you do with difficult volunteers? Where is the balance between effective training and minimizing the hoops people need to jump through to be a part of your volunteer team? And how do you build strong connections and create positive change in your community through relationships within a diverse cultural landscape?
SUNDAY
Sunday evening is an optional time for socializing and networking.
7:00 – 8:00 Table Talk: • Finance • Development • Admissions
8:00 – 9:00 Reception – sponsored by Westland Insurance
MONDAY
8:30 – 9:00 Opening devotions & worship – Luke Vandevert (The Arctic)
9:00 – 10:15 Plenary Session – Navigating Money’s Value, Virtue, and Vice – Rod Wilson
10:15 – 10:45 Break
10:45 – 12:00 Workshops
Advancement – Telling your Story – Doris Olafsen
Finance – Money: Biography, Theology, Philosophy, Community – Rod Wilson
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch – sponsored by CapriCMW Insurance
1:00 – 2:15 Workshops
Advancement – Money: Biography, Theology, Philosophy, Community – Rod Wilson
Finance – Improving Your School’s Business Processes – Karen Chang and Sabrina Fung
2:15 – 2:30 Break
2:30 – 3:00 Christian School Foundation – Next Steps – Tony Kamphuis
3:00 – 4:00 Table Talk
6:30 – 7:30 Dinner
7:30 – 9:00 Hospitality (optional) – sponsored by DeJager Volkenant
TUESDAY
8:30 – 9:00 Worship – Luke Vandevert (The Arctic)
9:00 – 10:15 Workshops
Advancement – The Heart of Volunteering – Michael Musgrove & Amber Neufeld
Finance – Social Enterprise and Business Activities – DeJager Volkenant
10:15 – 10:45 Break
10:45 – 12:00 Workshops
Advancement – Panel Discussion – Danielle Gagner (Anchor Marketing)
Finance – Building a Better Relationship with Your Bank – Jerry Huang and Mark Beirnes
12:00 – 12:15 Closing
Dr Rod Wilson has worked as a psychologist, consultant, and researcher, served as a Pastor in three different churches, and been involved in multiple roles in theological education, including as President of Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, from 2000 to 2015. For the past seven years, he has served as a consultant-mentor-advisor-coach to several international leaders and organizations, including Lumara Grief and Bereavement Care, the In Trust Center for Theological Schools, A Rocha, a Christian environmental organization, and the Society of Christian Schools in British Columbia. Rod is a Senior Writer for Faith Today magazine and co-author of Exploring Your Anger, Helping Angry People, and Keeping Faith in Fundraising. He is also the author of Counseling and Community, How Do I Help a Hurting Friend? and Thank You. I’m Sorry. Tell Me More. How to Change the World with 3 Sacred Sayings. Rod holds a B.Sc. in English Literature and Psychology (University of Toronto), an M.T.S. in Theology (Conrad Grebel College), an M.A. and PhD in Clinical-Counselling Psychology (York University), and an honorary D.D. (Trinity Western University).
Doris Olafsen is the founder of DO Philanthropy Inc. Doris is a social entrepreneur, coach, and consultant. Doris has been engaged in the fundraising sector at the national and international levels for 25 years. She served as Vice President of the microfinance organization Opportunity International Canada and was Vice President for Advancement at her alma mater Trinity Western University where she earned her MA, and she led Alumni, Development and Communication teams. She has a knack for cultivating relationships, teasing out the vision, motivating high performance, and helping individuals, charities, and businesses achieve more than they imagined. Doris has had a front-row seat to the incredible change philanthropy can bring into the lives of the beneficiaries and the donors. She is currently a Director for the Canadian National Christian Foundation, the Spartan Foundation, and the Wellspring Foundation for Education.
Danielle Gagner (Captain) is an experienced marketing strategist with over 15 years of experience, specializing in serving nonprofits, charities, higher education and media markets across North America. Danielle began her career in investment marketing before moving over to the agency world. Danielle has advanced her expertise in awareness campaigns, donor development, fundraising, and niche market strategies for large and small organizations like Options Community Services, Hour of Power, Canadian Mental Health Association and Richmond Hospital Foundation. In 2018, Danielle launched Anchor Marketing, a boutique agency with a strategy-first approach where she and her crew are passionate about helping nonprofits with their strategy, brand identity and awareness, fundraising and donor communications. Anchor helps their clients chart their marketing course while providing the necessary tactical suggestions and executional support to reach their destination.
Rhoda Strutt (First Mate) has worked with Danielle since before Anchor Marketing was even a thought. Their love for strategy, good creativity, and collaboration made for a great team, and Rhoda was proud to jump on board when Anchor set sail. Rhoda has worn many hats as Anchor has grown, but now, with the development of an amazing crew, is glad to focus on her passions of strategy and compelling communications. Rhoda has a Fine Arts degree from the University of Lethbridge and was owner of a successful photography and design business for 10 years before entering the world of marketing. To top it off, she also brings a wealth of experience from working with a major Canadian nonprofit on donor cultivation, event planning, and sales. Rhoda works with our design and writing teams to make sure that what we create for our clients hits the mark!
Lisa Frers (Interviewer) has 25+ years of hands-on experience with effective lead generation and market research on high-performing sales organizations. Lisa also works as a business developer, researcher and trainer for Anchor Marketing.
Rhys Volkenant joined De Jager Volkenant in January 2021 after articling and working as an associate lawyer at a mid-sized firm in downtown Vancouver where he practised business law, intellectual property law and education law. Since joining De Jager Volkenant, Rhys has primarily practised in non-profit and charity law, including corporate and charity compliance. Rhys’ clients include a broad range of charities and non-profit organizations, and he thoroughly enjoys assisting organizations that carry out impactful work locally and internationally.
Luke A. Johnson is a partner with De Jager Volkenant in Surrey, BC. His legal practice covers a range of services, including setting up new charities, advising on charity governance, conducting legal compliance reviews, completing corporate reorganizations, estate planning, and handling business purchases. Luke was called to the British Columbia Bar in 2008 and has been with De Jager Volkenant for fifteen years. He completed his law degree at the University of British Columbia in 2007. Before turning to law, he graduated from Trinity Western University (B.A. 2001) with a communications and English literature degree, taught martial arts, and worked for several charitable organizations. He has served on the boards of several local, regional, and national charities. He has volunteered with the CRA Charities Technical Issues Working Group, the CBA Charities and Not-for-Profit Law Section, and the Surrey Young Lawyers group.
Jerry Huang is a Relationship Manager with TD Commercial Bank specializing in the education industry. He is the primary contact for his clients and works with a team of supporting staff members, such as customer service officers and credit analysts to service clients. Jerry has extensive experience in partnering with clients to provide and structure financing solutions such as working capital financing and special campaign financing. He also provides customized financing solutions for major projects such as building construction. Jerry has been with TD for 12 years and has worked in various roles within TD Commercial Bank.
Mark Beirnes is a Manager of Cash Management. He specializes in day-to-day banking solutions, including information reporting, payables & receivables services, and other treasury management solutions for TD Commercial Banking clients. As a segment specialist in the education field, he can advise on using your banking services more efficiently and answer questions regarding fraud prevention, payment services, and short- and long-term investment products. Mark has been with TD Commercial Bank since 2010 in a variety of small business and commercial banking roles.
Karen Chang has a professional career spanning over 20 years. She began with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of British Columbia, leading her to an accounting role for a small ERP consulting firm and, subsequently, her CPA designation. Her combined interest in finance and Information Technology flourished into a passion to help companies maximize the use of their ERP systems and streamline business processes. Her vision was to establish her own consulting company that would underscore trust, collaboration and professionalism, as well as delivery and customer service excellence. Early 2019 marked the onset of Karen’s entrepreneurial journey as the Founder and Managing Director of Umbrella Consulting. Her customer- and value-centric approach has been fundamental in affirming that consulting, authenticity and value CAN exist. Karen just completed several terms on the board of Vancouver Christian School.
Sabrina Fung has been the Director of Finance at Vancouver Christian School since 2016, leading the business office through a capital campaign, construction project, leadership transition, and school expansion as a single K–12 campus. After completing her degree at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, she worked in banking for several years before earning her CPA, CA designation at MNP. She also serves as the Vice Chair of her church board.
Michael Musgrove, Executive Director, has been with Surrey Urban Mission since 2015. His heart for people and those in need is evident as he runs the mission as a place shrouded in love, care, and dignity for all who enter its doors. Before SUMS, he spent 28 years as a teacher and high school vice principal. He can now be seen throughout the community, creating partnerships and bringing awareness to the mission. His passion for following God’s call led him to SUMS, and his obedience has made him an incredible leader to the staff team and community. Mike lives with his wife and two grown children in the Whalley area of Surrey. He loves mountain biking, football, and spending time outside at the lake.
Amber Neufeld, Director of Development, has been with SUMS since 2017. She helps direct the staff teams, begins and facilitates new programs, gives guidance to the Society as a whole, and is responsible for developing and overseeing new and existing special initiatives for the Society. This includes strategic implementation, internal coordination, and operational decisions. She builds relationships with our guests and staff and helps to create programs that enhance the lives of those we serve. Amber lives with her husband and four children in Langley and loves entertaining, watching sports, and spending time outdoors.
The Arctic is the creative moniker of Luke Vandevert, a Canadian/American songwriter and filmmaker residing in British Columbia. Originally from Ketchikan, Alaska, Luke has an affinity for the ocean and the cold. Having one foot in the music and one foot in the film allows for a lot to be creative. Whether writing songs for life and worship or directing a friend’s music video, The Arctic strives to bring those worlds together under the banner of faith and friendship. Luke has teamed up with many talented artists in both music and film, including Brian Doerksen, Carolyn Arends, Amy Grant, Ryan McAllister, Coalmont, Marika, Carly Reirson, Achor, Daniel Kikkert, Alex Toney, and many more.
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