2025 AMM Changes to Membership Classes

To: TRC Membership Date: April 22, 2025 Re: Changes to Membership Classes _____________________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATIONS: a.

THAT TRC Family Membership be modified to include up to two adults and three children up to age eighteen, regardless of family relationship; b.

THAT a new Charitable (Donor/Member Hybrid) Member Class be approved, to be enacted no later than December 31, 2025;

c.

THAT the Life Membership Class be expanded to include donors reaching a cumulative giving threshold, to be enacted no later than December 31, 2025;

d.

AND THAT at the point when the new Charitable Class is enacted, the Senior and Youth Classes of membership be eliminated.

REPORT: In addition to being an essential part of TRC’s governance structure, membership is vital to creating community at Riverwood.

Currently there are four voting Membership Classes for which individuals pay a Membership fee: Adult ($50), Youth ($35), Senior ($40) and Family ($100). Additionally, Life Memberships, for which there is no fee, may be conferred on past Board Chairs and their spouses. Members receive a range of benefits, including free or discounted Discovery programs, discounts at partner organizations and the right to vote at the Annual Members’ Meeting.

Going forward, TRC will be less reliant on grant funding. This new financial reality has led to a review of other revenue sources and how they align. At its February 25, 2025 meeting, the Board of Directors recommended several changes to TRC’s current Membership Classes, informed by feedback from a workgroup comprised of TRC Directors, Volunteer Committee members and staff. a> Modification of Family Membership Class At present TRC defines Family Membership as “two adults plus children”. The current By-law refers to specific family relationships. It is recommended: 

That the parameters of Family Membership be amended to “Up to two adults plus three children under 18”, to accommodate larger families, and

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

That specific relationships (eg. father, grandparent) within Family Membership no longer be defined, in acknowledgement of the changing nature of families.

These changes will also relieve the administrative burden of tracking relationships that are not necessary to know from a program delivery perspective. b> New Charitable (Donor/Member Hybrid) Member Class At present, if an individual donor wishes to receive Member benefits, they must pay a further Membership fee. This has the effect of requiring TRC to request an additional amount from a donor that may have already given substantially more. This lack of alignment between donations and membership can create confusion and may potentially be a disincentive to further giving.

It is therefore proposed that a Charitable (Donor/Member Hybrid) Member Class be created. This Class is intended to reflect annual contributions significantly larger than TRC’s Adult Membership ($50); recognition will include Member benefits plus additional opportunities at defined giving levels, increasing with size of contribution.

Other organizations, including the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Toronto Botanical Gardens, have introduced a Charitable Member Class, in order to harmonize their giving programs.

It is anticipated that it will require some time to develop alignment between existing Member benefits and donor recognition opportunities. It is therefore proposed that the Charitable Member Class be enacted at a later date in 2025 (no later than December 31). Once developed, giving levels within the new Class will be subject to approval by the TRC Board of Directors. c> Expansion of Life Membership Class In order to encourage ongoing giving, it is proposed that the parameters of TRC Life Membership be expanded to recognize donors who have achieved a defined cumulative level of giving.

The threshold level of giving for Life Membership will be approved by the Board at the same time as the Charitable Member Class. d> Elimination of Youth and Senior Member Classes It is recommended that, for simplicity, once the new Charitable Member Class is enacted, the Senior and Youth Member Classes be eliminated in favour of a single Adult Class. This change is proposed due to the relatively small ($10-$15) difference in fee between the Adult, Senior and Youth classes, and the fact that there are presently very few Youth Members. e> Summary Under TRC’s By-Law, any changes to Membership Classes must be approved by the Membership. Upon enactment, TRC will have four voting Membership Classes: Adult, Life, Family and Charitable. Until that

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time, TRC’s current Membership Classes will remain the same. Notice of the enactment will be communicated to all Members in advance. f> Corresponding By-Law Updates TRC’s Corporate By-Law is its main governing document, setting out operating rules that guide the duties, rights and responsibilities of the Board of Directors and the Membership. Approval of revised Membership Classes will therefore necessitate an update to the By-Law. In addition, three “housekeeping” updates are recommended:   

A change of reference from “Annual General Meeting/AGM” to “Annual Member’s Meeting/AMM” in keeping with the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) Provision for non-simultaneous approval of Board meeting minutes (e.g. by email) Updates to a small number of pronouns from s/he to they, which were missed in previous By-Law updates.

The below amendments related to the By-Law are therefore proposed: Proposed Change

Article/Section

Change to Family Membership to include up to two adults and three children/youth up to age 18

8/Membership (2. Membership Classes)

Creation of a Charitable (Donor/Member Hybrid) Member Class

8/Membership (2. Membership Classes)

Definition of Life Membership expanded to include cumulative donors reaching an identified giving threshold

8/Membership (2. Membership Classes)

Elimination of the Senior and Youth Membership Class

8/Membership (2. Membership Classes)

Updated reference to Annual Members’ Meeting/AMM from Annual General Meeting /AGM

throughout

Provision for non-simultaneous approval of meeting minutes

5/Board Meetings (2. Place, Frequency and Means of Meeting)

Updates to pronouns

3/Officers and Directors (5. Treasurer) 5/Board Meetings (3. Voting)

Submitted by: Heather Shaw Chair

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