A capacity crowd of CHF BC members took part in the Co-op Housing Education Conference on Saturday, April 9 with 150 people in 12 workshops. All the workshops were built around creating a strong foundation in the co-op essentials as a platform for innovative solutions to meet the challenges of the future.

Workshops offered included a diverse range from Interviewing and member selection and Chairing: the gateway to good governance to End of operating agreements: the essential checklist and From outsider to insider: getting new members off to a great start. Members gave the conference high ratings and shared thumbs-up feedback including, “Great workshop! Possibly the best I’ve attended;” and “A wonderful opportunity to get out and meet fellow co-opers and share ideas with each other.”

While participants enjoyed a buffet-style lunch they heard exciting news from the You Hold the Key Campaign about the promise in the federal budget to provide short-term funding of $30 million nationally over the next two years to maintain rent-geared-to-income subsidies for low-income co-op members, while we can work out a longer-term solution with the province. The details are not yet nailed down and CHF BC will share more news when they are confirmed.”

They also learned about CHF BC’s new Co-op Telecom Program giving members deep discounts on telecom through TELUS; and the exciting news that all co-ops are now eligible for the Energy Conservation Assistance Program (ECAP) through FortisBC and BC Hydro. Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

Many of the conference workshops are also available as portable workshops we can bring to your co-op. And for co-ops in the Lower Mainland looking for more education opportunities this spring, check our list of scheduled workshops coming through the remainder of 2016. All conference participants can now access workshop materials online. If you attended the conference you will have received a password to the page. If you have a problem accessing the materials, please contact us at education@chf.bc.ca.

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