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Risk Management
2024-2025 Shawn Holroyd
If Kin Shawn thinks it’s a great idea and gets an evil grin, it’s definitely a bad idea. I also have ZERO issues with nagging the crap out of people to submit required things like insurance reporting, declarations, criminal record checks, you know ... the boring stuff that keeps the cogs of this awesome machine from seizing.
The quickest way to talk to me is to give me call, the second quickest ... wait until a week before something is due before submitting it.
2023-2024
- Risk Managers Lori Schnarr & Paul Schnarr
Welcome to the 2023/2024 Kin year. Paul and myself are happy to be your Risk management directors this year. Keep coming back to the page to see the information we will be posting and if you have questions, concerns or need help just give us a shout by email, facebook or messenger.
Canadian Cannabis Regulations by Province
Not sure what the rules are in your province for growing, buying, and consuming cannabis in your province? Use our quick guide that is based on information from provincial government sites across Canada (as of Jan 14, 2019).
Make sure you are versed in the rules set by your local municipality too! This is especially important if you have club space that you offer for rent or if you want to include rules about cannabis use in your club by-laws.
2022-2023
This is a weird position for us because as any past Risk Manager can attest, we suspect they have all at some point spent time face palming and shaking their heads or drinking because of Vice Governor Shawn's antics or ideas (google Barbie downhill jeep).
This is exactly why we will rock this position.
If Kin Shawn thinks it’s a great idea and gets an evil grin, it’s definitely a bad idea. We also have ZERO issues with nagging the crap out of people to submit required things like insurance reporting, declarations, criminal record checks, you know ... the boring stuff that keeps the cogs of this awesome machine from seizing.
The quickest way to talk to us is to give us call, the second quickest ... wait until a week before something is due before submitting it.
Vice Governors Shawn and Carol
District 1 Risk Managers
2021-2022
(No reports filed)
2020-2021
(No reports filed)
2019-2020
NATIONAL DUES AND INSURANCE INVOICING
Dues and insurance invoices are now (October 11th) in the hands of the clubs. Below is a sample of what you should be looking for. These are DUE to HQ for November 15th to make you compliant. If your club treasurer or president has not received (or shared) please contact Carmen Preston at HQ for another copy.
SAMPLE National Dues and Insurance Billing
INSURANCE REPORTING
Club insurance reporting due by November 15th, is now live on iKIN
Please ensure this is completed by a member of your club asap.
https://www.ikin.ca/imis20/iKin/Risk_Management/Insurance_Reporting/iKin/Risk_Management/Insurance_Reporting.aspx?hkey=f8f9337f-f8bd-4e88-a1b0-8ed194d3db09
Using BackCheck to Obtain a Criminal Record Check
BackCheck is our authorized third-party record check company that allows you to obtain your Criminal Record Check fully online! You will have your results within one business day and BackCheck will even send your results directly to Kin Canada HQ for you!
To start your check, visit http://bit.ly/KinBackCheck
The cost is $17 + tax.
Note that you still need to do the Consent Form and send it to HQ either through the appropriate Sync folder or via email to Jenn Haug, jhaug@kincanada.ca
BackCheck is not authorized to provide Vulnerable Sector Checks through their service; if you require a VSC, please contact the RCMP or your local Police Services.
2019-2020
Welcome back to another Kin Year and another year of making sure that your 'i's are dotted and 't's are crossed.
I'd first like to draw your attention to resources.
Please check out iKin for all things Risk Management
https://www.ikin.ca/imis20/iKin/Risk_Management/iKin/Risk_Management/Risk_Management_Home.aspx?hkey=a4f39249-bdee-47a1-9be8-fbbbc46f8904
I would also like to highly recommend that you check out Kin-U for the Risk Management segment and that AT MINIMUM one person in your club (of course your club Risk Manager would be ideal) take this course and be the go to / resource for your club.
http://www.kin-u.ca/user_portal.php
More information on all things you need to know is forthcoming but for now I leave you with these two important resources and again, encourage you to self educate.
2018-2019
RISK MANAGEMENT TRAINING
I have just completed the Risk Management module on Kin U and I would highly recommend all members take the time to participate in this learning experience. Information learned will assist you in the healthy and safe operation of your club.
Please follow this link and get yourself educated:
OUTSTANDING NATIONAL REQUIREMENTS UPDATE DEC 6-17
Today National Headquarters mailed out friendly reminders to all clubs that have National Dues, National Insurance Reporting or Proof of Incorporation 2016, outstanding.
Clubs are being given until January 2, 2018 to provide the missing information and or dues. After January 2, 2018 clubs will be placed “Not in Good Standing”. The Not in Good Standing policy states that a club could not host Zone, District or National Conferences, would be unable to participate in District and National awards programs, could not grant any Life Memberships and club members would not be able to run or hold office on any zone, district or national councils or executives.
Please know that Melanie and Carmen want to work with you to resolve any outstanding issues. You just need to contact them to work out a plan on getting dues paid and incorporation filings done. Payment plans for dues can be arranged if needed. Instructions on how to complete the insurance reporting form are online at
www.kincanada.ca/insurance-reporting
For dues related matters please contact Carmen Preston at 1-800-742-5546 ext 205 or by email at emailto:cpreston@kincanada.ca.
For insurance forms and incorporation matters contact Melanie Nieson at 1-800-742-5546 ext 208 or by email at emailto:mnieson@kincanada.ca
NOVEMBER 15TH
Is a very important date in Kin ..
Please check out the article below for information that you and your club need to adhere to all of the deadlines that will keep your club in good standing
November 15th - The Importance of Meeting Deadlines
Welcome back to the new Kin year!! I hope that the summer treated you all well. Many of our clubs have zero downtime in the summer so hopefully, those of you that had busy schedules, also had lucrative projects!!
As we begin our year, don't forget to ensure that all of your club projects and events are covered and you are doing your due diligence in their planning and execution. It only takes a little bit of time to make sure the "i"s are dotted and the "t"s are crossed. Far less time than having to clean up issues after the fact.
I'm here to assist you in any way possible. What I don't know off hand, I will find out for you so please feel free to make contact ..
Below is the link to the National Website with all of the information you will need to ensure your club is following procedure to reduce / eliminate risk.
http://www.kincanada.ca/risk-management
2016-17
Outstanding Dues, Insurance Reporting and Proof of Incorporation
December 1, 2016
As national dues, proof of incorporation and the insurance reporting form are now two weeks past due, letters have been mailed to the clubs on the list indicating that they have until December 15, 2016 to send in or complete the missing information and/or dues in order to remain “in good standing”.
If your club is having issues completing the paperwork or paying dues, the most important thing to do right now is communicate, either through your Deputy Governor, myself, or directly with Melanie at HQ, to let us know that you are actively working to become compliant and what assistance or resources you may need.
Yours in Kin,
Russ Jackman
District 1 Risk Manager
riskmanagement [snail] district1kin [period] ca
519-782-7877
Headquarters Contacts:
Carmen Preston – Dues
(800) 742-5546 x.205
cpreston [snail] kincanada [period] ca
Melanie Nieson - Insurance & Incorporation
(800) 742-5546 x.208
mnieson [snail] kincanada [period] ca
2015-16
Volunteers and risk management
Volunteers are one of the most important assets of non-profit and charitable organizations in Canada. They bring time, enthusiasm, and skills to the organization. They can also make the delivery of programs far more cost-effective. Many programs would fold if they did not have the support of volunteers.
You can't escape risk
Running a service project will inherently result in risk. Many clubs are dealing with some of the most difficult issues facing our country and our world. If you want zero risk, you might as well dissolve the organization today. However, ignoring risk or throwing up one's hands and claiming that reducing risk is futile is also not helpful. Trying to manage and reduce risk is a very important and worthwhile activity for any club that is striving to run an effective operation and is working to preserve its reputation and assets.
Good volunteers are hard to recruit and often organizations accept anyone who offers to help. Having no standards, procedures, and policies can diminish the organizations programs and create unintended liabilities.
Risk management is an important part of proper stewardship of the assets of a club. Failure to manage risks can result in damage to the club including injuries to people or assets, financial costs to the club, and perhaps most importantly, loss of reputation and goodwill. Goodwill for most clubs is their most important asset. Without goodwill, it would be very hard to raise funds, attract volunteers, and implement your program.
Insurance vs. risk management
For some, the words "risk management" and "insurance" are synonymous. Actually, insurance is only a very small part of risk management. Insurance is ostensibly "risk transfer". You are paying an insurance company, often an exaggerated amount, to transfer some of the economic consequences of certain very narrowly defined risks to the insurance company. Insurance is a business. There is nothing wrong with business. However, many insurance policies have huge exclusions, and some only cover liabilities that are very unlikely to happen or where the cost of them happening is nominal. They exclude the common problems and often cap the serious liabilities. In addition, insurance only covers some of the financial costs of a liability or lawsuit. It does not cover the damage to one's reputation and goodwill or the stress on volunteers or members. Therefore, while insurance can provide certain advantages, it is only a very small piece of the puzzle of avoiding risk.
What is appropriate risk management for one large club with lots of resources may not be the same for a smaller club that lacks those resources. The best part of risk management is that many risks can be easily reduced without costing lots of money or impairing the ability of the organization to conduct its programs.
Twenty-Nine ideas for reducing risk when using volunteers
1. Have a club risk management policy in place, which sets out some procedures and policies to reduce risk.
2. Create a volunteer handbook with all policies that members need to be aware of and comply with.
3. Assign someone or a committee to review risk management procedures in your club, including policies and procedures for non-member volunteers.
4. Have a volunteer coordinator.
5. Think about all the activities of the club and the risks that your club can face and make a list of them.
6. Prioritize the risks in term of likelihood and effect.
7. Think of ways to deal with risk and decide on timelines for dealing with different types of risk.
8. Different member opportunities may have vastly different levels and types of risks associated with them.
9. Consider eliminating an excessively risky program or temporarily stopping that program until some of the risk can be dealt with or minimized. Sometimes the executive must draw lines about what activities are too risky to involve the club or to involve volunteers.
10. Have members complete a written application form with all necessary information about themselves including contact information, background, skills, references, consent to check references, etc.
11. Interview volunteers, preferably face-to-face, to ensure they understand their responsibilities and that they would be a good fit for your club or event.
12. Have volunteers and members sign a written volunteer agreement, which states they are not an employee, and include a code of conduct, risks associated with activity and waivers, and expectations you have of the volunteer, etc.
13. It is acceptable to reimburse volunteers for reasonable out of pocket expenses, but if you go beyond that you may have a risk that the "member" or “volunteer” could make a claim that they are an "employee" with all the associated rights.
14. Conduct reference checks.
15. If the volunteer or member will be working with youth or vulnerable persons, then consider doing criminal background checks and far more vigorous background checks.
16. Have an orientation program for new volunteers and members.
17. Train volunteers in their specific duties with an emphasis on risk management.
18. Create a job description for each volunteer position that identifies the title, purpose of the position, scope of position, expectation, reporting relationships, time commitment, length of appointment, if there are any required qualifications, etc.
19. Insurance - check what insurance you have and what insurance you should have. Discuss with Melanie Nieson at Kin HQ your requirements and whether or not you will be covered or will need additional coverage. Insurance may be helpful in covering harm to volunteers and harm caused by volunteers and members.
20. Respond appropriately to inappropriate or illegal behaviour by members and volunteers. Fire members or volunteers who seriously misbehave or abuse others. For those who do not do what is reasonably expected from them and outlined in their volunteer contract or the code of conduct of the club, consider discussing their shortcomings with them or reassignment. But if neither is feasible, consider terminating. It is best to have a policy that deals with how problems will be handled and to uniformly apply such policy.
21. Have plans in place to deal with different contingencies or disasters. Although plans rarely work perfectly, having a plan, training on it, and practicing it will make people more likely to understand some of the variables even if they need to adopt the plan on the spur of the moment.
22. Is the physical space in which your members are working safe?
23. Is adequate security in place?
24. Are dangerous items appropriately stored?
25. Do volunteers have access to appropriate safety equipment?
26. Be prepared to turn away volunteers if you do not require their services or if they do not have the right skills or "fit" with the organization.
27. Provide guidance and supervision to volunteers and members.
28. Have policies that clarify the appropriate use of the organization's equipment, including vehicles and computers.
29. Risks change and evolve - review your organization and risks every year or two.
55~ 2015-16 District Risk Manager Katie McKean''
Thank you to our sponsors!
Shawn Holroyd
Past Governor (Ex-Officio) / Club Support / Risk Manager
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