Welcome to the Leadership Waterloo Region Community Project Application Form

Please ensure you read through the guidelines and complete the form in full before submitting. Thanks!
PROJECTS IN OUR COMMUNITY
Leadership Waterloo Region begins a new Community Leadership Development Program every September.  Around 20 of our community’s emerging leaders will be working in teams of four to complete projects in our community for local organizations with a concentration on community issues that are in need of focused attention and leadership.  The goal of the teams working on these Community Projects is to build awareness about the steps that need to be taken to solve civic problems, and to better understand the challenges faced by local Social Profit organizations.  This process will inevitably expose the participants to issues of consensus building, public/private partnerships, diversity, board development, fundraising, and volunteerism—an understanding of which is integral to good civic leadership. 

The Community Projects provide a learning opportunity for Leadership Waterloo Region participants but also aim to benefit the broader community.  The initiatives should be important to the community and may involve bringing together various organizational sectors (public, private, government) to collaborate and problem solve.  Following their Opening Workshop in September, Leadership Waterloo Region participants will work on their Community Projects over the course of the nine month program – until June. The Community Projects will receive approximately 40-50 hours of each participant’s attention, culminating with a presentation of results from each Community Project Team to all class members at the Closing Workshop in June.

Community Projects may be entrepreneurial in nature.  Such projects could involve creative problem solving of a difficult issue or the launch of a civic initiative, using the Leadership Waterloo Region team to develop a strategy for instigating a new community or civic project.

In summary, a Community Project is a community-based initiative of importance that needs focused attention by a cross-sectoral team of leaders.  The project should be well defined, with a specific request for engagement from a Leadership Waterloo Region team along with a targeted outcome for that engagement.
ELIGIBILITY
Organizations wishing to submit a Community Project for Leadership Waterloo Region must:
  • Outline a project or initiative that serves the community;
  • Be realistic about expectations for Leadership Waterloo Region involvement (i.e., the hours that participants will focus on the project and the timing of the program).  Please keep in mind that these individuals are usually employed on a full-time basis; and that they are not all marketers or finance specialists.  They come from various sectors, and have chosen to be participants in our program because they want to assume leadership roles in our community.  The participants are, at the very least, potential future Board Members for your organization;
  • Be willing to engage with a Leadership Waterloo Region Community Project Team, if needed, for the duration of the program (September through June).  In order to ensure a successful experience for both your organization and the project team, we encourage you to provide clear guidelines around goals and expected outcomes, and strongly recommend that the contact person in your organization be able to set aside the time to meet with the team as needed.  In addition, in the case of a Social Profit organization, you should know that we encourage our project teams to meet with the Boards of Directors at some point during their assignment;
  • Have a clear understanding that this engagement does not involve receiving monetary donations or grant monies.  Please note that the only type of project we will not consider is one requiring our participants to fundraise on behalf of your agency.  If you have a concept for a new fundraising event, a team could help design or implement this for you, but we will not ask them to secure funds on behalf of your organization.  This could put them in a conflict of interest situation with other work they are engaged in.
  • Be willing to have a representative from your organization join the class for a couple of hours the afternoon of Saturday, September 15th at the class opening workshop being held at Elm Hurst Inn in Ingersoll.
APPLICATION/SELECTION PROCESS

A summary of projects completed by Leadership Waterloo Region participants in previous program years is available on request.  Please complete the attached form, return it to us by email to (info@leadershipwaterlooregion.org) on or before August 27th and we will be in touch with you no later than the end of August to let you know if your agency's project has been selected for presentation to the class.  If your project is selected, you may also be asked to assist us by completing a brief survey that will take into account the work of the team and the value of the finished product to your organization. 

We very much look forward to receiving your project submission!

Question Title

* Please click below to confirm that you have read the above guidelines and eligibility criteria.

T