Education is an essential tool for
the cooperatives to succeed and it is at the front of the
line in the list of services offered by FECHIMM. To fulfil
your needs, the Federation offers around 20 workshops regarding
7 inescapable themes of life in a housing cooperative.
Please note that all the workshops on the calendar are in
French. For more information about our services in English,
please contact Natalie
Joseph, Education assistant, at 514.843.6929, ext. 246.
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the formulas
To better answer your needs for education,
the Federation has developped a few methods allowing us to
adapt our workshops to the availability of your members. Choose
among the following three formulas, the one that suits you
the best.
- The education workshops on
the calendar
These workshops are offered by FECHIMM, at set dates, and
they regroup members of many cooperatives. To find out the
schedule for these workshops, consult our education
calendar.
- Workshops delivered at home
Choose among the list of our available workshops and we
will go to your coop to offer the chosen workshop to your
members. All you have to do is decide when, where and what
time suits you the best.
- The home workshops make to measure
We can prepare a made-to-measure workshop, adapted to the
specific needs of your cooperative. Once again, all you
have to do is decide when, where and what time suits you
best.
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New assistance service
You want to revive the cooperative flame
inside your collective enterprise? You want to know everything
and understand how it works? You want your Board and committee
members to manage the cooperative with the highest level of
efficiency? A training workshop planned according to the specific
needs of your coop can be worked out. These plans include
the training sessions, meetings with the board of directors
and meetings with the committees which should help you improve
your knowledge and start again on the right foot.
DO
NOT FORGET YOUR EDUCATION CREDITS WORTH $40 EACH. YOU CAN
USE THEM FOR ANY TYPE OF WORKSHOPS!
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My co-op at
a glance !
A portrait of the cooperatives’ health
At the 2010 AGA, nearly 80 cooperatives
participated in this activity, to establish, through an interactive
electronic voting, a portrait of the health of their cooperative.
The assembly was able to ascertain that the majority of participants
have a very positive perception of the management of their
cooperative.
The average score for participating
co-ops
81 % general management
79 % management of the associative life
90 % financial management
90 % building management
On-line questionnaire
The questionnaire used for the activity
will be available on our website as of June 22, 2010 for boards
of directors interested in drawing a portrait of their cooperative.
The animation for the activity
FECHIMM also offers this service at home
for your boards of directors who want a more comprehensive
view of the health of their cooperative. A report establishing
a diagnosis with recommendations that fit into a practical
and realistic action plan will be handed over to cooperatives.
Cooperatives interested in this service
are invited to contact Nathalie
Joseph at 514 843-6929 ext 246.
Click
here to download the Excel file allowing you to perform the
health check of your cooperative (FRENCH).
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calendar of workshops
The fall-winter 2010 calendar will be
available in August.
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Available workshops
Democratic
process & participation
- my coop, my choice
Problems with the participation in your
coop? Here is a workshop intended for all the members and
which asks the real questions ! Which conditions favour the
full participation of your members? A collective consideration
which speaks of responsibility, commitment and organization.
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- Board
of directors : role and responsibilities A
classic and inescapable workshop. On the menu: powers, duties
and responsibilities of the board of directors.
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- Efficient general assembly
Your assemblies are chaotic and endless?
It lacks decorum? Give yourselves the tools to make your assemblies
more efficient and more pleasant. On the menu: the different
types of assemblies, the role and mandate of the assembly,
preparing the assembly and professional tricks to chair a
good meeting and defuse any problem
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- Integrating new members
You are getting new members in your
coop? Get ready to welcome them and really integrate them
in the associative life of the coop!
FECHIMM has a workshop on how to integrate
new members. It will also give you a whole bunch of tools to
set up an efficient welcoming procedure. .................................................................
- Organizing
the committees
This workshop will help you rekindle
the solidarity feeling and promote teamwork within the cooperative.
Make your members understand the importance
of sharing the work and the responsibilities. FECHIMM proposes
a model of collective management which will answer everyone's
needs, interests and motivations. This workshop will help
you organize the main committees of the coop.
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legal
aspects 
- Suspension and exclusion
The Cooperatives Act gives the
Board of directors a « quasi judicial »
power, that of suspending or excluding a member of the cooperative.
This measure, when it must be put in practice, requires commonsense,
precision and know-how.
This workshop addresses philosophical
and practical matters, related to the suspension and exclusion
of members : the policy, the motives, writing the letter,
the legal obligations, the possible repercussions, etc. Because
the members, as well as the cooperative, don't only have rights,
they also have responsibilities. .................................................................
- The
Cooperatives Act and the by-laws The
Cooperatives Act was modified on November 17, 2005. Are your
internal by-laws up to date ? If you have not yet done this
mandatory procedure, spoil yourself and pay a professional
who will help you with the revision of this essential document.
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- The lease: recto-verso
You are a housing cooperative, you are
a leaser of a housing units. As a member, you are also a tenant.
The contract that binds you is called a lease. Are you aware
of this document ? Have you read it ? Do you understand all
its subtleties? An essential workshop on an essential document.
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good
neighbourhoood 
Communication
This workshop helps develop communication
skills. It allows you to understand the interpersonal communication
process and its components, to identify conditions that lead
to quality communications and also situations that could lead
you to misunderstandings and conflicts.
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- Cooperative
life and good neighbourhood
This workshop addresses the mandate and
responsibilities of the good neighbourhood committee, the
good neighbourhood regulations and how to treat and process
complaints.
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- Introduction
to peaceful conflict resolution
A non-solved conflict can sometimes turn
into a major crisis, dangerously affecting the quality of
life of your members. This workshop will allow you to better
understand the nature, the dynamics, the evolution and mostly
the conflict resolution.
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- Introduction
to mediation adapted to cooperatives
This workshop is specifically intended
for the good neighbourhood committee or for any of your members
who will directly intervene in conflict resolution and mediation.
You will learn to master the basic concepts along with the
tools and intervention techniques.
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Finances
- Financial management
In this workshop, you will learn the
basis of good financial management. It will interest mainly
the Board of directors and the finance committee. We will deal
with the organization of the financial management including
elements of the bookkeeping system, the role of the board of
directors, the treasurer and of the finance committee. We will
also show you a model of a management policy. .................................................................
- Preparing
the budget
Preparing the budget is an activity which
demands rigour, planning and a good dose of long-term vision.
This workshop will allow you to master all the aspects of
this annual exercise which is very necessary to the health
of your cooperative organization.
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- Income
tested assistance (ITA)
It is not always easy to administer the
income tested assistance. It is maybe time to remove the dust
from your attribution policy. We will answer your questions
on the eligibility, the deductions, the eligible income, your
options in case of shortage of funds. On-hand exercises will
also let you test what you learned.
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- Rent supplement
A workshop in two stages, essential to
cooperatives who administer units receiving rent supplement
(SAL) :
- The attribution regulation for
low income housing units : dealing with the applications,
attributing the points, the optional and mandatory regulations,
the certificate of conformity.
- The regulation on the rental conditions
of low income housing units : proofs of income, composition
of the household and calculation of the subsidy.
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- Acomba,
the accounting program Professionalize
your bookkeeping and your accounting with Acomba, the accounting
program, available at FECHIMM. From configuring the system
to creating the charter of accounts, from writing the data
to producing reports, this program will make the life of your
financial committee so much easier.
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Maintenance
- Electricity
for dummies
You will not become an electrician at
the end of this workshop, but you will be a little more connected!
A diversified menu: basic notions in electricity, small jobs
that you can do yourself, identifying the most frequent problems,
the security, the heating, etc.
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- Plumbing
for dummies Discover the plumber
that sleeps in you ! To understand the logics behind the pipes,
but also to learn how to unblock them. Find out the secrets
of changing washers, the mysteries of the toilet bowl and
of the water heater. An interesting workshop for the maintenance
committee or for all the members.
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- Maintenance
1 - Organizing the maintenance committee
To organize the maintenance committee
and determine the maintenance policy and the mandate of the
committee. Also on the program, the organization of tasks
relating to the cleaning of common spaces and the tools needed
to well orchestrate these tasks.
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- Maintenance 2 - The
inspection of the housing units and planning the maintenance
In this workshop, we will deal with
the inspection of the housing units, the regular and preventative
maintenance, identifying faults and seeking solutions.
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- Maintenance 3 - Maintenance
and follow-up of the budget
A workshop intended as much for the
members of the maintenance committee as for the members of the
finance committee and for all the administrators and which deals
with one theme only: maintenance and money. We will deal with
the annual maintenance budget, the administration of the reserves,
controling the expenses, the financing, the long term planning
and setting up an archive system for maintenance expenses.
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Selection
- Member
selection This is where the future
of the cooperative is played out. Nothing less. On the menu:
the selection committee, its mandate and responsibilities.
The selection policy and its criteria, in short, the complete
selection cycle, from receiving the applications right to
the final choice.
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Secretariat
- Secretarial
1 - Secretarial committee:
role and responsibilities
Role and responsibilities of the secretary
and of this committee. The basic tools and the organization
of the committee. .................................................................
- Secretarial 2 -
Taking the notes and the minutes
Master the basic techniques which will
allow you to write clear, brief and complete minutes.
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- Secretarial 3 -
Filing and archiving
Your filing leaves much to be desired
? You don't know what documents to keep and what to put in the
recycling bin? This workshop is for you.
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- Secretarial
4 - Organizing the secretariat and preparing
the meetings
This workshop will help you identify
the material and equipment needed. You will work out a budget
and you will learn how to prepare for your general assemblies
and other meetings. In short, a lot of practical tricks !
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