FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Which charitable organizations are eligible for consideration by the group?

In order to be considered at a meeting, a charitable organization must be focused on the Cowichan Valley within the boundaries of the CVRD. It must be a registered not-for-profit charitable organization that is eligible to provide tax receipts for donations. No provincial, national or international charities, programs or organizations can be considered unless the program requesting funding is focused on the Cowichan Valley, and all donated funds are used locally. Three year restriction is now removed for next year.

2. How can a charitable organization be considered or nominated for a contribution by our group?

A member in good standing wishing to submit a charitable organization for consideration must complete the Charity Nomination Form at least two weeks prior to the next scheduled meeting. The form can be requested through menwhocarecv@gmail.com . The completed form can be submitted to menwhocarecv@gmail.com or given to a Steering Committee member. 

A Fillable form is now available on the website and can be submitted that way.

A member can only nominate one charity at any given time. He may however change his nomination if he wishes.

More than one member can nominate the same charity.

3. How is the organization chosen that receives the group donation?

The Steering Committee reviews all nominated charities to ensure they are eligible as defined under “1 and 2” above. If approved, a chit with the name of the organization and nominating member will be put in a “draw bucket”. (Note: a charity may have more than one chit in the bucket, if more that one member nominates the same charity.)

The normal selection process is….at each general meeting 3 chits will be randomly drawn from the bucket. (Note: when a charity “chit” is drawn, all similar chits will also be drawn and held aside with the drawn chit). At the following general meeting the nominating members will be given 10 minutes to present and answer questions about their charity. Props are permitted, but any necessary set-up time should occur before the meeting starts. (Note: If a charity nominator is not present to make a presentation of his nominated charity, a new charity will be picked, unless the nominator has asked someone else to make his presentation. This person has to be a member of the 100 Men Who Care Cowichan Valley.)  After all three presentations, members will be asked to vote (by secret ballot) on their preferred charity. A simple majority will determine the chosen charity. In the event a tie occurs, the tied charities will be voted on again. In the unlikely event a tie occurs again, a coin toss will determine the winner. All members will then be asked to complete their cheques for the winning charity, regardless of how they voted. In addition to cheques, members can also e-Tranfer their money

An interim selection process has been adopted to address “unlucky” charities which were nominated more than one year ago but haven’t been selected for presentation yet. So effective after the March 1, 2021 general meeting, and to the end of 2021, only 2 chits (i.e. charities) will be randomly selected. The 3rd charity will be identified by finding the oldest nominated charity that hasn’t presented yet. Also, if a charity nominator, or his chosen alternate member, is not able to make a video presentation before the virtual meeting, a new charity will be randomly selected. If this charity is unable to prepare a video for lack of time (e.g. less than a week left), only the 2 remaining charities will be considered for our collective donation.

After the 3 charities for the next meeting are drawn, the chits for the two charities that didn’t win will be put back in the “draw bucket” to be contenders at another meeting.

4. Is my donation tax deductible?

Yes. Organizations will be asked to send tax receipts to individual donors in a timely manner.

5. What if I cannot attend a meeting?

The commitment form obligates members to contribute to each meeting. If a member cannot attend a meeting he can:

    • Give his blank cheque (dated, signed and amount shown) to a trusted friend who will be at the meeting. The friend will write in the name of the charity that is chosen, and submit it at the meeting with his own. The friend may not vote on behalf of the absent member. We only count the votes of the members who are present at the meeting,
    • The member can contact one of the Steering Committee members prior to the meeting to arrange handover of his cheque. Or the cheque could be mailed to the address on our contact page.
    • Payment by e-Transfer is also available and preferred because of its administrative ease,  to menwhocarecv@gmail.com 
    • Due to the onus of responsibility on our volunteers, cash is discouraged but acceptable in odd circumstances. Donations should be submitted at the general meeting, within a member’s own name tag, to help confirm who the donation is from. This is particularly important when the donation is in cash, or the cheque is under a company name.
    • If you are going to miss a meeting, please fill out a Regrets Form.
      Email your $100 donation to menwhocarecv@gmail.com by noon in the next couple of days, and the Steering Committee will forward your donation onto the awarded charity. You will receive a tax receipt from the awarded charity by mail or email.

6. Can I send my donation to the charity myself?

The goal of 100 Men Who Care Cowichan Valley is to make a donation on behalf of the whole group in order to make a noticeable impact in our community. Should you wish to make a separate donation to the charity please do so. You remain obligated to make your donation to the chosen charity through 100 Men Who Care.

7. How long do the meetings last?

Meetings are scheduled for 2 hours, 60 minutes for networking/socializing, followed by an hour for the meeting. The meeting agenda typically looks like:

    • Recognition of sponsors
    • “Other business”
    • Review the charity selection process
    • Draw the 3 charity “chits” from the “draw bucket” for presentation at the next meeting.
    • Nominators drawn at the previous meeting talk about their charities
    • Members vote
    • While votes are being counted, a representative from the charity chosen at the previous meeting will describe what they are doing with their donation from our group, and will be able to answer questions
    • Announcement of voting results
    • Photographs taken with the large promotional cheque,
  • Next meeting announced

8. Is there a dress code?

“Casual” is encouraged.

9. Can I bring a friend to the meeting?

Yes, non-members may attend as guests of members. The guests may observe, but are not eligible to vote, nor be part of member presentations. They may however, make a donation to the winning charity if they wish. Commitment forms will be available should the guest wish to join.

10. Does any of my donation go toward administration costs of 100 Men Who Care?

No. 100 Men Who Care Cowichan Valley is organized and operated entirely by volunteers. All donations go directly to the chosen organizations. However, where a nominated charity is not “registered” itself and uses a third party to collect donations and provide tax receipts, a small administrative fee may be applicable.

11. What do you do with my personal information? 

100 Men Who Care Cowichan Valley collects your personal information (name, address, email address, phone number) strictly for the purpose of maintaining our membership list. We will not sell, trade, give away or otherwise share your personal information without your express consent.

Chosen charities are asked to sign a form committing they will not share member information, or use it for any purpose other than to issue tax receipts.

12. Can a charity nominate itself? 

No. Eligible charities must be nominated and selected by members in accordance with the “1, 2 and 3” above.

13. How can I, or a charity, promote itself to our organization?

The simplest way is by joining 100 Men Who Care. If this isn’t possible, find a member to support you or visit our website, “Like” us on Facebook and request to be considered.

14. How will 100 Men Who Care Cowichan Valley communicate with its members?

Regular updates will be emailed to members . The Facebook and webpages pages will be updated on a regular basis.

Please let us know if you change your email address to menwhocarecv@gmail.com.

15. Discontinuing membership in 100 Men Who Care? 

Should you wish to discontinue membership, please send an email to: menwhocarecv@gmail.com

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