Mandate & Structure

The Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society’s purposes as defined in its constitution are

(a) to support artistic and cultural organizations and events in the Central Cariboo (the Central Cariboo is defined as the City of Williams Lake and areas D, E and F of the Cariboo Regional District),
(b) to facilitate, coordinate and assist in the development of arts and culture in the Central Cariboo,
(c) to provide strategic advice on arts and culture to local governments and other organizations and
(d) to educate the public with respect to arts and culture matters. The Society also manages the Central Cariboo Arts Centre.

The Society is not a “producing” organization. It is better described as a service organization, providing assistance to all arts and culture groups and organizations in the region. The Society takes seriously the notion of assisting the development of the arts—not simply supporting the status quo.

Sources of Funding

The Society’s basic operational funding comes from the Cariboo Regional District’s Central Cariboo arts and culture function. The function was established by CRD bylaw #4420 (2009) and provides for tax revenue dedicated to arts and culture in the Regional District’s Areas “D”, “E” and “F” and the City of Williams Lake. All allocations from this function to the Society must be approved by the Regional District Board on the recommendation of the Central Cariboo Joint Committee. This Committee is made up of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Williams Lake and the elected Directors of the Central Cariboo areas of CRD.

Two service agreements are in place. One requires the Society to manage the Central Cariboo Arts Centre. The second and more comprehensive one requires us to administer the arts and culture function. One clause sets out the expectation that the Society will be active in leveraging funds for arts and culture from other sources. This is not to say, however, that the Society is to engage in fund raising on its own behalf—indeed for it to do so would be contrary to the spirit of the mandate because it would essentially be fund raising at the expense of the region’s other arts and culture groups.

The Society’s Governance Staffing and Programs

The Society is a BC registered non-profit society. It is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors and its sole employee is the Coordinator.

Renovations to the general areas of the Arts Centre were largely completed in 2011 and two additional small meeting rooms have been refurnished more recently. The Centre is now being regularly used for meetings, rehearsals, workshops and performances. We continue to administer a grants program offering project grants to groups and societies in the region. The 2012 business plan includes a continuation of the program of workshops in the Fall and the development of an inventory of facilities and activities in the region as well as the development of mutually beneficial partnerships.