StopGap Foundation is recruiting a Board Chair to lead its Board of Directors. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and interested candidates can apply here.
About StopGap
At StopGap Foundation, we bring people together to take practical steps to make spaces more accessible.
Our mission is to help communities discover the benefit of barrier-free spaces and provide support to create them with a vision to create a world where every person can access every space.
We are all about building community through advocacy, awareness raising, education, volunteerism, and actually removing physical barriers through providing locations with custom temporary access ramps. We curate engaging programs for corporate groups and schools, and offer volunteer opportunities for Canadians in communities all over the country.
Our main office is at the Centre for Social Innovation, which is based in T’karonto, the Ancestral Wendat territory and the shared territory of the Anishinaabeg and the Haudenosaunee, covered by The Dish With One Spoon treaty, and later, Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands.
StopGap’s Core Values
- Fun: Bringing a lighter tone to our work in helping address a serious issue.
- Community: Creating harmony in communities by engaging groups of people who would not typically work together.
- Inclusion: Having reverence for everyone’s abilities.
- Empowerment: Enabling independence and spontaneity through sharing knowledge and resources.
- Inspire: Celebrating successes and inviting other communities to participate.
About the Board
The Board is the governing body of StopGap that provides strategic foresight and accountability structures to ensure the organization’s success, stability, and viability. The Board is responsible for overseeing the organization’s deeply passionate, highly energetic, and hard-working staff and involving them in strategic planning. We employ a hybrid model through which the Board provides both strategic advice, but also serves as a limited working Board, where Directors have specialized expertise that can be leveraged by the organization’s executive.
We are seeking a Chair who is able to commit to at least a two-year term. The Chair will be expected to lead monthly hour-long Board meetings and the Annual General Meeting which usually takes place in the spring. The monthly time commitment for attending meetings, reviewing meeting documentation, and conducting committee work is typically 4 to 6 hours.
The Chair will also be expected to provide occasional advice and assistance to management between meetings as related to their unique skill set and expertise, as well as participate in the organization’s fundraising efforts.
Befitting Assets
We are looking for candidates with the following qualifications:
- Lived or professional experience with a disability
- Prior Board experience in the non-profit/charitable sector
- A commitment to the mission of StopGap Foundation
- Comfort contributing to group meetings, including those facilitated virtually and by phone
- Availability to meet monthly, with some committee work between meetings
- Enthusiasm to champion the organization within your networks and communities
- Expertise in one or more of the following areas:
- Communications, marketing or media relations
- Employment, charitable or related law
- Charitable or foundation fundraising
- Business development
- Finance or accounting
The role of Board Chair comes with additional responsibilities:
- Motivating other members to actively participate in and attend meetings
- Ensuring the actions taken are in line with the organization’s bylaws, goals, and mission
- Providing insight as needed and ensuring other members are on the appropriate committees and projects
- Leading fundraising efforts by example with active participation
- Representing the organization when speaking to the press, media, or other groups
- Mediating personality conflicts and disputes between board members
Application Process
Those interested are encouraged to apply here.
The selection process will make use of video conferencing as well as telephone and may include a multi-stage interview process. While we appreciate the interest of all applicants, we can only communicate with those shortlisted for an interview.
StopGap encourages applications from all qualified candidates that represent the full diversity of communities in Canada, including complexities of intersecting identities such as disability, class, gender, race, and sexual orientation. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from equity-deserving communities, including those who identify as: Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), Black, a person of colour, newcomer, Disabled, Deaf and LGBTQQIP2SAA+.
If you require accommodations to apply for this opportunity, please send an email with “StopGap Board App Accommodations” in the subject line to info@stopgap.ca.