BUSINESS PLAN January 2015 Richard Wooles Executive Director #201-210 West Broadway Vancouver, BC V5Y 3W2 Tel: 604 737 3164 richard@cyclingbc.net
Table of Contents Vision... 2 Mission... 2 Values... 2 Overview... 2 Governance changes... 3 Membership... 4 Clubs... 5 Events... 5 Coach and Event Official Development Programs... 7 Value add program iride... 7 Value add program High Performance... 8 Financial... 8 Organization Funding... 9 Policy development... 11 Cycling BC Business Plan 2015 1
Vision For Cycling BC to be recognized in Canada as a leader in implementing innovative programs and seeking unique opportunities to build and promote the sport of cycling at all levels Mission The mission of Cycling BC is to grow the sport of cycling in BC and support our members Values Fairness, Safety, Inclusiveness, and Growth Through Opportunities Overview Cycling BC s is the primary cycling sanctioning organization in the province of British Columbia for all age groups across the following disciplines: BMX Cyclo-Cross Mountain Biking Para-Cycling Track Road Cycling BC provides the following core services and programs: Membership Member insurance Cycling events Policies, guidelines and rules for cycling in British Columbia based on the guidelines set out by Union Cycliste Internationale Advocacy for cycling in British Columbia Training coaches and event officials Getting youth started in Cycling HP Coaching Cycling BC Business Plan 2015 2
Cycling BC provides the following value add programs funded by special grants, private and corporate donations, and participants: Community programs in schools such as iride Coaching programs Path for motivated top cycling performers to become elite cyclists High Performance programs for elite cyclists These programs expenses commensurate with the revenue brought in for the programs, as donors mandate where funds can or must be used. Governance changes Cycling BC has undergone a significant number of changes in recent years in both policy and organizational structure. The board in recent years has changed from a working board to a policy board. The intent is to have the board focus on the principles that the organization operates under, especially in the area of financial control. The benefits of this model are starting to show as Cycling BC is now financially viable, which is clearly reflected in the 2014 financials, and it is now backed strongly by the community through healthy corporate donations and sponsorship. Cycling BC is in the process of revising the bylaws and is engaging with members to make ensure that they are in alignment with members values. These new bylaws will help with governance of the organization and further help Cycling BC. The new bylaws will be voted on at the 2015 annual general meeting To further elevate Cycling BC to new levels, Cycling BC needs to attract high caliber Board members to help develop ideas, plans and execution models, to support the Executive Director and team, and to provide an environment for continuity for A level Board members and the Executive Director. 2015 Governance Initiatives Define roles and responsibilities for Board members Define an overall organizational chart with clearly defined reporting structures Create a Board level role to manage the continuity and recruitment of A level Board members and Executive Director positions. Create a long-term succession plan for Board members and the Executive Director Complete the bylaws and have them approved by the membership Complete and implement the Terms of Reference for standing committees Cycling BC Business Plan 3
Create a project-based data management solution to track organizational progress, create transparency in organizational execution, and build a resource for new Board members to learn from past projects Membership Cycling BC s membership has been stable over the past 3 years, averaging around 5000 members with well over 75% of riders being adults. To build a successful program and make cycling relevant, cycling needs to be inclusive and beneficial to all age groups. As a long term strategy Cycling BC sees the future membership growth coming from youth, and has plans to expand the school and youth programs, and to create a path for passionate riders to reach the high performance programs. In 2014 4000 youth participated in the iride program, with 10% of the participants becoming Cycling BC members. See Value add program iride for specific 2015 initiatives. Licensing services for the fiscal year 2015 have been brought back in-house. This means Cycling BC is now in control of their data as well as the service quality of the membership process. Communications with members will be enhanced by allowing members to choose what information they would like to receive. The intent is to make the communication with members relevant. It is expected that this will increase readership and by extension relevancy with the hopes of having a more engaged membership. In a similar manner, the website will be enhanced based on this model. Cycling BC wants to further enhance the value provided to members. In 2015 we will survey our members to learn about initiatives that are of value to them, and will then create a plan based on the survey results. 2015 Membership Initiatives Enhance the website to make it easy for online readers to view information relevant to the discipline they are interested in. Enhance the subscription management to allow subscribers to choose the disciplines of interest, and as a result email outs will discipline specific. Create member survey and plan for new initiatives Cycling BC Business Plan 4
Clubs Cycling BC plans to streamline and simplify organizational aspects for clubs. As volunteers run clubs, making it easier for clubs to operate will allow them to focus on developing their club instead of club operations. For many, the process of setting up new cycling club can be a daunting task. Cycling BC wants to make it easy for new clubs to be established. To make it easy for new clubs to be formed Cycling BC will provide to prospective organizers everything that is needed to start a club (i.e. club in a box ) by providing: A Cycling BC staff member to guide the process Society Act incorporation documents and process Club bylaws Standard operating procedures for the discipline Online resources to help create a club website 2015 Club Initiatives Club in a box Hire sub-contracted support for club and team development Events Feedback received from members consistently mention that more events are needed for all disciplines. Cycling BC needs to create a unified calendar for all disciplines, to limit event overlap on weekends, especially events that are of the same discipline. We also need to create an opportunity for riders who race in multiple disciplines to participate in more events. Cycling BC has invested in chip timing system that allows event organizers to track participant results accurately. Cycling BC wants to make running Cycling BC events easier than ever by: Providing a Cycling BC staff member to guide the process Event registration support through the Cycling BC website Promotion of the event through email out service and a page on the website Cycling BC trained volunteer(s) to support the club with the event Cycling BC Business Plan 5
Reduction of Commissaries to a minimum of one per event Provision of chip timing system and/or results management system run by Cycling BC staff Cycling BC has a rider points management system to track rider performance in a specific discipline. The current system is cumbersome from both from a club perspective as well as for Cycling BC staff; and by extension to riders. As part of bringing the membership process inhouse, the new software includes a points management system. Switching points systems is not a straightforward process as it involves migrating information, training club operators and educating members of the new tools. We expect the new points system to be implemented in 2016, where 2015 will be focused around: Defining and creating the data collection points Updating operating procedures for club operators Updating systems for members to view their points Data migration from the old system to the new system In 2014, Cycling BC initiated an enhanced insurance program that will insure riders any time they ride, irrespective if they are riding in a practice, a race or just for pleasure. The insurance program is being expanded to make it easier for non-cycling BC members to participate in Cycling BC sanctioned events, and thus create greater awareness about Cycling BC with the hopes that they will either participate more in Cycling BC sanctioned events or buy a membership. It is expected to see at least 100 riders use this new insurance program in 2015. The pricing for this program is: $5 for children, $10 for BC residents and $12 for everybody else. By growing the youth base there are further opportunities to make cycling programs a family sport. Cycling is one of the few sports where an entire family can participate in the same event. The best examples is in the BMX discipline where riders as young as 2 years through to 60 years of age participate in the same event. As children get older the other disciplines also become available to the entire family. By creating new family events, data can be collected Number of families that participate (qualifier: 1 parent and 1 child at least) Age range of participants at the event New membership bought by a family member based on the qualifier above 2015 Events Initiatives Create tool for providing Event in a box Grow the number of provincial races by 10 Roll out the new insurance program to Cycling BC Clubs and Cycling BC sanctioned events. Prepare for the points system switchover, aiming for a January 2016 go-live date Cycling BC Business Plan 6
Create or convert at least 2 new events, which previously were not family oriented, into family events that the whole family can participate in Hire a full time events coordinator Coach and Event Official Development Programs Coaching is a key component to developing riders, and ultimately creating a path for the high achievers to the high performance program offered by Cycling BC. In 2014, Cycling BC trained 173 coaches, resulting in 30 active coaches. Clubs are in constant need of coaches to improve both membership retention and to attract new members to the club. Officials and commissaries play an important role in the running of Cycling BC sanctioned events. Up until now there have been no training programs offered by Cycling BC to train officials and commissaries. In 2015 Cycling BC will offer this as a training program. 2015 Coaches and Event official development Train 200 coaches Create and implement event officials and commissaries training program Train a person in every club to be a Youth Coach Value add program iride The school and youth program, iride, gives school aged children to experience the joys of riding a bike and being coached to increase the enjoyment of cycling as a whole. The benefits as a whole are massive and are beyond the scope of this document. As discussed earlier in this business plan, around 10% of participants become Cycling BC members. The majority of the $250,000 required to run this program annually comes primarily from private donations and government grants. In 2014, 4000 youth participated in the program. 2015 iride Initiative Increase the iride program from 4000 youth to 7000 youth participants Hire sub-contracted youth and schools coordination Cycling BC Business Plan 7
Value add program High Performance The High Performance program is designed for those who want to reach peak levels in cycling, by charting a course and supporting the riders to reach their peak. The program offers: Specialized coaching Invitation and support to elite events Opportunity to join the National team for the discipline The program costs $350,000 annually to run, and funding comes primarily from private donations and government grants. Cycling BC wants to enhance and standardize the program offerings. It also wants to make it easier and fairer for riders to follow the High Performance path. 2015 High Performance Initiatives Create Performance Athlete Development Plan, to chart a course for high performance athletes Create a Provincial Team Selection Policy document Create an Athlete Assistance Program Selection policy, to leverage the BC Athlete Assistance Program funds Financial For the last 2 years Cycling BC has made significant progress towards achieving financial sustainability through the support of: Funding partners, donors and sponsors, Volunteers And organizationally through: Streamlining of processes Re-negotiating contracts with vendors Cost cutting of non-essential services Applying effective fiscal processes and management Operationally Cycling BC will trim its overhead costs further so that it will not require the use of short term-debt to fund cash flow shortfalls. Cycling BC Business Plan 8
2015 Operating overhead reduction initiatives Mountain Equipment Cooperative has offered 2 years of free office space to Cycling BC with an annual savings of $47,000 per year, however due to the move taking place in April 2015, the savings in 2015 will $30,000 Moving the licensing services in-house, as discussed in the plan, will provide annual savings of $40,000 Cycling BC plans on further tightening its financial management controls by creating and implementing financial controls and policies. The intent is to build greater trust and transparency with partners, donors, sponsors and members. 2015 Financial initiatives Board monthly financial reporting Board level financial metrics Governing financial policies and metrics Tracked Board level capital expenditures approvals for any expense over $5,000 Timely quarterly financial reporting made available to Cycling BC members Hire additional financial and administration resources Organization Funding Below is the breakdown of funding for both operational and value-add programs revenue. Cycling BC Business Plan 9
Although the financials are the strongest that they have been in recent years, Cycling BC still needs to create further financial stability by enhancing existing relationships and building new relationships with funding partners to ensure that funding is diverse and viable, which will allow Cycling BC to continue its work in the cycling community. Currently Cycling BC is raising over $300,000 from private donors for its Value-Add programs: High Performance program School and youth iride community program The donor and sponsorship market has tightened significantly since 2008, however Cycling BC is well positioned to continue be a preferred recipient of funds through: High value community and membership programs Cost-effective operational execution Financial stewardship in recent years Continuous enhancement of community and membership programs through the implementation of the strategic plan 2015 Funding initiatives Prepare appropriate marketing and value proposition documents for each funding type source Meet with funding partners to continue and enhance relationship Increase private donations by 10% to $330,000 Create a plan to diversify revenue Cycling BC Business Plan 10
Policy development Cycling BC intends to further enhance the policy component of the organization by further enhancing the principles and rules that cycling operates under to further the organization s values of fairness, safety and inclusiveness. 2015 New and updated Policy documents initiatives: Anti-Doping policies Cycling rules for events by discipline Cycling guidelines Cycling BC Business Plan 11