David Brown lives his life with two governing principles: service and empowerment. He commits to accomplish these principles through both his professional life and his community involvement. When he and his wife moved to Â鶹AV in 2013, he became involved with KCR Community Resources is currently the President of our Board.
“KCR gives a voice to many of our community’s most vulnerable people,” says David. “I joined when I was still new to Â鶹AV and looking to establish myself in the community.”
“I’m proud to be a part of this organization. I’m proud of the KCR team and the invaluable services we provide,” adds David. “I also volunteer in less formal ways, including my children’s Beaver colony, and Ascent Employment Law’s Days of Caring.”
David sees that his volunteerism allows him to stay connected to community and that it is incredibly validating to support KCR in serving the community.
“The scope of our services aligns well with my professional skills,” explains David who is a Co-Founder and Partner with Ascent Employment Law. “I’m a lawyer with experience in employment and immigration services. This background gives me an important understanding of the needs of many of our participants and the challenges they may be facing.”
As the new president, David has “big, audacious” goals that he hopes to achieve during his term.
“I want to make sure that KCR has a permanent home that can house all of our incredible staff now and into the future. I want this new building to provide custom-built, short-term and emergency housing for refugees arriving in Â鶹AV.”
“Another dream I have is to expand our Family Hub, with additional locations in neighborhoods throughout the Central Okanagan. The Hub has been a remarkable success, surpassing everyone’s expectations. It feels like we are tapping into a unique community need, and I would love to see this program expand outside of Rutland.”
“Finally, in KCR’s last strategic planning I put forward a motion that the organization should be moving towards carbon neutrality. This is a major project for a non-profit, but I love to see KCR leading the sector to a sustainable future.”
David credits his fellow directors with making these big goals possible. “We are fortunate that we have a very collaborative board. Typically, when discussion items come up we engage in healthy conversation and make decisions by consensus,” says David. “This isn’t always the case, but overwhelmingly we engage in professional conversation, and allow ourselves to disagree without being disagreeable.”
“Honestly, I am inspired by the humility and charity of our team and our community. In law and business, conflicts are often viewed as zero sum, where in order for me to win, you must lose. That’s not KCR’s approach,” explains David. “We value and support our community partners and funders. We value and support our clients and colleagues. We value and support other charities and non-profits in our community. At every level, the relationship is collaborative, not competitive, and we are ultimately pursuing the needs and best interests of our community.”
“I think KCR has left it’s print on me,” adds David. “I’m less driven by ego than I used to be. I’m more likely to view conflict resolution as having mutually beneficial outcomes. I’m more likely to act with empathy.”
David encourages others to join the critical role of director on non-profit boards. “It is worthwhile and incredibly important. Boards of all types are hungry for talent and a diversity of world views. Our boards should reflect the community we serve.”
“Be ready to do the work,” cautions David. “Being on a board does not need to be a lot of work, but you have to show up. Read your board package. Review the financial statements. Prepare questions in advance. And most importantly, show up to every meeting that you can. To me, this is a question of integrity.”
David sees service as the whole purpose to life and appreciates that volunteering gives him this opportunity. His favourite volunteering moment is when the KCR board was doing its strategic planning. “I brought forward carbon neutrality as a long-term strategic priority. I didn’t know what to expect. After all, carbon neutrality is challenging, expensive, and might be viewed as a long way from our stated mandate,” explains David. “Every one of my fellow board members backed my motion. I was so proud of that vote I had tears in my eyes. To me, it showed that KCR is a leader, but not just in the non-profit sector. We act in service to our community, and the health of the natural environment is an integral part of that community.”
Our thanks go to David and all of the directors that share their vision, skills and time (and more!) to allow KCR and the community to thrive. To learn more about our whole board, go to www.kcr.ca.
If you are interested in joining a board but aren’t sure what would be involved, join our Board Boot Camp workshops in May – they are a great way to learn about a director’s role and responsibilities.
Dorothee Birker is the communications and development coordinator for KCR Community Resources. If you are interested in sharing your volunteer or organizational news, please contact Dorothee at dorothee@kcr.ca.
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