Dear colleagues,
I want to use this short memo to outline the
objectives of our conversation tomorrow night.
A couple of months ago, you approved the
transition strategy I proposed for HDF, which included (a) the creation of an
advisory council, (b) the successful realization of the investment forum, and the
restructuring the HDF’s operations to support our two programs (Advocacy and
Integration of Haitians Living Abroad in Haiti’s Civic Life). For each of these areas, I need your support
and more importantly your participation and active engagement. I hope tomorrow to have a good and robust
discussion regarding our plans and timeline for the activities we will
undertake over the next few months.
The meeting will focus on three topics:
First, I want to start with the issues of
operations. Since its inception, HDF has
not been a real organization. The
problems we faced are inherent to volunteer-led organizations in that we do not
have the financial resources and therefore the staff to carry out the mandates
of the board. Our very good intentions have to be matched by our actions. In spite of these difficulties and the
limitations caused by my other obligations,
I have agreed to fill the role of interim ED because my experience and
observations over the past two years have reinforced my personal belief in the need
for the Federation. It is unnecessary to
enumerate the number of ways in which Haitians and particularly the ways in
which the Haitian community abroad has been sidelined in the reconstruction and
even the conversation about the reconstruction. Whether it is in the major power centers
(Washington DC, the UN in NYC, or the Republic of PaP), the voice of the
general public has been muted. And
that’s been the result of our lack of cohesion and inability to build strong
institutions that can defend our common interests.
In tomorrow night ‘s meeting, I want us to have a
frank conversation about your own views and commitments to HDF. This conversation is an important precursor
to what will be needed to carry out the vision of HDF that brought us together. My hope is that all of you agree that the
Federation is needed now more than ever. More importantly, you will reaffirm this
commitment in words as well as deeds to make history.
In the interim, I am focusing my limited time on
building the infrastructure necessary to support our current work. In the immediate future, this infrastructure will
be based on the commitment of volunteers and members who, like you, believe
that the sacrifices to help build HDF into a strong institution are an
imperative necessity for our community. I
will also ask each of you to think about how you can put your gifts, network to
the service of the Federation and the broader community. Additionally, once we finalize our fiscal
sponsorship, I will ask you to pay the annual dues and indeed go above and
beyond it, either on behalf of the organizations that you represent or in your
personal capacity. I have submitted a
request to Rethink Haiti to serve as our fiscal sponsor. Rethink Haiti is a registered 501c3
organization on which Major Bernadel serves as Chairman.
I have completed the operational transition with
Wiener and plan to:
- Redesign our website
- Review our finances
- Complete the 2011 tax filing
- Finalize our 501c3 filing
- Develop a communications strategy (see
attached created w. the help of Carla Murphy)
- Develop an outreach plan (see attached
created w. the help of Laurette Backer)
Second,
I’d like us to discuss the issues of governance. As of now, we have a number of ad-hoc
committees that are inactive. I want to
propose that we keep three:
1.
Advisory
Council on which I hope most if not all current board members will participate
2.
Finance
committee. This committee only had two
members (Wiener and Francois). This
committee has not been very active and I am hoping to have at least three
members – one of which should be Mjr. Bernadel if his board approves our fiscal
sponsorship request.
3.
Communications
committee. In addition to current
members, I have three potential volunteers to help in this area (Véronique
Pluviose-Fenton, Samuel Maxime and Laurette).
We also have a number of other friends and colleagues who are willing to
support our efforts
One of the responsibilities of the Council will be
to revise our bylaws to reflect our new strategy and goals.
Overview of the May-December Timeframe
The plan for the remainder of the year is to work
towards implementing a strategic planning process with the advisory council that
culminates in a set of proposals for a December Board approval. I expect the work on the two programs that
were approved to continue but will in some way link with any new programs/objectives. Our December Board presentation is planned to
provide an overview in strategy and budget for the 2013-2015 timeframe as well
as the results of discussions concerning allocations across programs and
proposed as well as potential campaigns.
With the Advisory Council having more regular
meetings, I propose that we have four Board meetings for the remainder of 2012
- May, August, October and December. Working back from the proposed December
approval of a 3-year strategy, we would use both May and September as update
sessions from the Advisory Council. The October
meeting would be an opportunity to make revision on the final draft report and
begin to plan the December meeting, which will be a formal congress when we
hold new elections, approve the new strategy, and onboard the new Executive
Director.
I define success in this role if we are able to:
- Implement a successful investment forum in
April at Sustainable Haiti
- Have at least 150 attendees and raise at
$25,000 for HDF
- Launch the Advisory Council
- Add at least 15 new members
- Approve a 3-year strategy by December
- Identify the permanent E.D. by December
- Raise the profile of HDF in local and
international media
- Participate in at least 12 interviews with
the top 5 media outlets (prints, radio and TV)
- Participate in at least 3 forum to promote HDF
I
look forward to speaking with you all and as always, feel free to email or call
me with any questions about this or any other operational issues.
Warmly,
Johnny
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