COVID did much more than simply delay our Biennial by a year……….
It caused us to think more laterally about both the new now and the longer term future.
The RCA Biennials of years past were a fundamental part of the way we did business. It was a combination of socialising, sharing and expanding our horizons. This year the emphasis changed partly because we now have been forced by necessity to meet digitally and in smaller groups.
A combination of hubs and individuals skyping facilitated not only the updates from Priyo at Raphael, Joaquin at Klibur Domin and sharing with our New Zealand colleague Carolyn, but a very special treat having Elizabeth Cheshire from the UK join us for the whole day. Well, day to us, but 1am through to nearly 8am for her. What a joy and encouragement, an inspirational link to the past and an opportunity to share the challenges facing us over the years ahead.
Equally, having Elizabeth announce Anthea Swann as the winner of the Governor General’s Medal was a very special moment for all attending and I know equally all of you now reading about this honour. Just so deserving.
More than ten years on from the forming of our peak body, Ryder Cheshire Australia, we had the opportunity to reflect on how much has changed and ask what more needs to be done?
What became immediately obvious from the discussion papers prepared for the conference and the introductory comments setting out the aspirations for the day was that we need to make significant change if we wish to maintain, let alone grow, our primary mission, ‘for the relief of suffering without discrimination.’ We have known for some time that if we fail to change we will fail in our mission of funding Raphael and Klibur Domin. Our demands for financial assistance far outweigh our present fund raising, sponsorships,
donations and earnings on our investments. We are going backwards.
Yet this year the very first ever fund raising initiative directed by RCA rather than through our Foundations and Support Groups was a huge success. A separate article on the KD Cyclone Appeal offers further insights. This is a clear demonstration that we can appeal to a wider audience, to our supporters and volunteers who do not necessarily identify with our Foundations and Support Groups.
How we do this was a key topic for the Biennial. How do we offer present and future supporters another way to feel they are part of the team. To do so will require some changes to our constitution (it is due for an update anyway). The RCA Board will now consider all the feedback from the Biennial and ongoing discussions particularly around creation of a much expanded membership base for RCA. Centralising many of our functions will then need to be considered.
This does not mean leaving any of our present supporters behind but rather grouping them together directly in sub committees rather than through the present structures. Managing our collective financial resources, better communications, avoidance of duplication and ensuring that everybody is included needs to underpin any changes.
Your Board has a lot of follow up work from the Biennial as they consider changes that will enhance our fundraising capacity along with asking the RCA members to support changes to our constitution.
There will be further opportunities for extensive consultation but the time lines need to be kept tight as future Biennials will probably be the last under the previous years’ arrangements.
As we ponder these changes we must remain focused on what brings us together, supporting our present overseas homes and possibly growing our footprint ‘for the relief of suffering without discrimination’.
