Treasurer’s Report

SKILLS SOCIETY CORE VALUE

Seeking Creative Collaborations

Tariq and Aqnaf love to explore new places. One of the places on their travel bucket list has been the Philippines. As it happens, two of their supports, Marilou and Cora, are from the Philippines and have family that live there. Tariq, Aqnaf, and their parents became excited by the possibility of travelling to the Philippines with Marilou and Cora to get an insider look at the beautiful country. This possibility became a reality, when this year, they travelled to the Philippines and were generously hosted by Marilou and Cora’s families for part of their trip. Tariq and Aqnaf enjoyed being toured around by locals and having the opportunity to learn more about the culture and customs there.

In this creative collaboration, Tariq and Aqnaf’s relationship with their supports opened up new possibilities for them and their family - creating the opportunity for a once in a lifetime trip to the Philippines!

Treasurer Report

The 2018/2019 fiscal year for Skills Society has ended on a positive note. We have ended the year with a much smaller deficit than originally budgeted. This is due to the combined results of the Ministry of Community and Social Services, Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) funding the legislated change in Employment Standards to General Holiday pay and the October 2018 legislated increase to minimum wage as well as the continued efforts made by staff to find additional sources of revenue such as grants and donations.

Skills Society recorded just over $21.36 million revenue in the current year which was $181,000 higher than the original budget. Total expenses for the year were $21.38 million, or $9,000 higher than budget.

Skills Society has a deficit prior to amortization and casino of $21,000 in the current year, compared to a surplus of $42,000 reported in 2018. After amortization and casino, Skills recorded a deficit of $141,000 in the current year compared to a deficit of $60,000 in the prior year.

Looking ahead to the 2019/2020 year, Skills Society is anticipating a balanced budget. Revenue deferred to the current year should help Skills manage any changes to funding which may occur in the second year of our two year contract with PDD.

Rochelle Mitchell, CPA, CA Treasurer

Tariq, Aqnaf, their parents, and their supports in front of the Mount Mayon Volcano - a highlight of their once in a lifetime trip together!

Cheryl visiting with a cat at the Edmonton Humane Society where she is a valued volunteer.

SKILLS SOCIETY CORE VALUE

Supporting Engaged Citizenship

Jason is an engaged citizen, generously offering up his time, energy, and enthusiasm as a volunteer with Meals on Wheels, a local non-profit that provides nutritious meals to people in their homes. Having been a volunteer for 8 months now, Jason has developed a strong sense of pride in his work and notes the important contribution he makes in the lives of his fellow community members:

“I take food to people that can’t leave the house. They need me to deliver food so they will be okay... they like me there, they want me to keep working there”

Board director Julie Kucher receiving a cheque from the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation in support of our social innovation initiatives Jason, a committed Meals on Wheels volunteer, ready to deliver a nutritious meal to a fellow community member.