Report submitted at the 2016 AGM (October 2016)
This is the final report I’ll be doing during my tenure as President of CNMN. I’ve been honoured and humbled to take the helm of the organization. I really hope that the work I’ve put in will have a lasting effect on the future of the network.
This years activities were centred mainly on our FORUM in Ottawa this past January. I was incredibly pleased with the activities that happened during the FORUM and was impressed by the scope of members that attended. I hope that conversations were started there and have continued, that friendships and professional relationships were established or strengthened, and that we all felt a little closer to one another even though we’re spread across this massive country. Please read a more substantial run down report in the FORUM report.
By the end of last season, our total membership was up by 44, which is more than double the rate of growth from the previous season (at the end of 2014–15, it was up by 19), which tells us membership engagement and CNMN as a collective force continues to grow.
Another initiative, the enormous and long-term Digital Content Initiative continued its efforts, and this will be covered in more depth in the DCI report.
2016 was an election year. We say good-bye to long-time board members Stacey Brown, Louise Campbell, Jim Montgomery, Heidi Ouellette and myself. It was also the first opportunity to implement By-Laws revised in September 2014, allowing board expansion from 12 to 15 members. This meant a second seat for the B.C. region and two new seats specifically for non-regional representation, allowing for more flexibility. A record number of eight new members will join seven returning members. We did not actually hold a ballot vote – all 15 self-nominees were received by acclamation. The new board will mark the first time in CNMN’s history that women outweigh men 8 to 7.
Some of you may know we were recently successful in obtaining core funding from the Canada Council, after having project funding for some time. This milestone will hopefully provide some financial security for all of the future activities we take on. It’s a solid base and a good sign of support from one of the country’s largest funders. I’m incredibly please that I can leave CNMN knowing that this support is in place. Always remember if you need information about funders that you can reach out to the board. CNMN is an arts service organization and one of our services is to advocate for funding and support for our members.
There were also day-to-day matters such as memberships, Bulletins, applying for grants, budget management and bookkeeping, other ongoing administration as well as future planning.
Thank you to the members of the board and staff, members of the network, and to all our collaborators and funders for what you do to ensure that CNMN continues to work for new music in Canada.
During my time as president I’ve tried to understand the full scope of our organization. The inclusive nature of CNMN is something we should be proud of. We must remember to continue to be inclusive and equitable to all members. It’s a challenge to make sure we keep our conversations relevant and open to everyone. We should reach out to each other and try to support one another’s work. Go see a show, buy a recording, anything that we can do to support each other across the country can go a long way to feeling more connected as members of the network.
Thank You
Kyle Brenders
Direct link: Outgoing President’s Report / Season 2015–16, Kyle Brenders
Return to full Bulletin – October 2016