The SMCYVR Charter

Social Media Club Vancouver

Organization Charter, v1.0, presented to the Board on March 11, 2010

Mission

The mission of the larger, worldwide Social Media Club organization is to:

Expand media literacy
Share lessons learned among practitioners
Encourage adoption of industry standards
Promote ethical practices through discussion and actions

The extended mission of the Vancouver Chapter is to build a business-focused social media organization that generates learning, friendships and opportunities for all of its members.

Vision

Social Media Club Vancouver’s vision is to be a different kind of Vancouver social media group — one that brings valuable presenters, great learnings, fresh participants, and a business focus. SMCYVR will:

Operate as an organized association, rather than a loosely-run club
Balance sharing with learning
Be known for being upbeat, positive, inclusive, and FUN
Strive to be drama- and ego-free

Focuses

Social Media Club Vancouver’s main focus is to provide both community thought leadership and beneficial events that offer usable, actionable approaches for business.

Our secondary goal will be to support socially-powered social good efforts in the Lower Mainland.

Rather than create one more undifferentiated social media “meeting,” the SMCYVR Board wants to differentiate ourselves with this business focus and open-to-all approach.

What Social Media Club Vancouver is not:

A social or drinking club
A exclusive clique
A platform for self-promotion
Focused purely on technology or tools
A blogger or social media meetup or tweetup

A Spirit of Inclusiveness

All people interested in social media are welcome to join SMCYVR. The SMCYVR Board and our volunteers will endeavour to make every attendee feel welcome and included at our events. We ask that attendees come with an open mind, friendly attitude, an interest in connecting with others, and a desire to learn and give back in some way.

Leadership

SMCYVR will be led by a board of non-paid volunteers who work together to make for a successful organization. The board is comprised of the following:

Officers

President, responsible for overall direction, tone and leadership
Secretary, responsible for minutes and organizing board meetings
VP of Programming, responsible for event determination and speaker selection and procurement
VP of Events, responsible for event execution and venue planning
VP of Partnerships, responsible for sponsorships and interaction with other organizations
VP of Promotions, responsible for promoting the Club and its events
VP of Membership, responsible for growing our membership base
VP at Large, responsible for assisting SMCYVR across all areas as needed

Beginning in January 2012, officers will be nominated and elected by majority vote of all board volunteers present at the first board meeting in the calendar year.

Board Volunteers

Board Volunteers include any members who would like to assist with the operation of the Social Media Club and are willing to join us at both board meetings and club events.
Volunteers are encouraged to assist on one particular committee.

One-Year Minimum Commitment

In exchange for membership on our Board, all officers and board volunteers are asked to make a one-year minimum involvement commitment, in which they attend a minimum of nine board meetings per year. Should board members find themselves unable to continue their commitment, they agree to find a replacement to take over their responsibilities for the remainder of their term.

In our January 2010 meeting, the Officers agreed to launch SMC Vancouver with a two-year commitment, in order to maintain enough leadership consistency to provide continuous inertia to the club’s momentum.

Events

SMCYVR will hold two standard meetings every month: Board Meetings and Club Events.

Board Meetings

Board Meetings will generally be held the second Thursday of every month. Officers and volunteer board members are expected to attend at least nine of these meetings. Board meetings will cover off on organization business and discuss upcoming events. SMCYVR’s officers will endeavour to limit every board meeting to two hours maximum.

Club Events

Club Events will generally be held on the first Thursday of every month. These events will focus on the business aspects of social media, as opposed to cultural trends or socializing. These events will be focused as follows:

They will meet a high level of professional rigour. Events will be highly organized, professional and prompt.
While any and all people are invited to join SMCYVR’s club events, they will be targeted toward attract business leaders, civic leaders and communications professionals.
Club events will typically consist of a social hour of 60 minutes, followed by a presentation utilizing topically-focused speakers or panels.
Every SMCYVR event will be captured, blogged, and offered online in some kind of recorded form.

Additional board meetings and club events may take place on an ad-hoc basis.

Fees

There will be no fee requirement to join Social Media Club’s Vancouver chapter. However, members will be encouraged to join the larger SMC organization as a professional member.

SMCYVR’s board will strive to keep all club events free, through seeking sponsors for venues, food/drink, sound systems, any additional required labor, etc. However, our Event Team may need to charge a fee occasionally if sponsors cannot be procured or costs are higher than expected. The Event Team will communicate these prices at the outset of the event’s promotion.