Letter from the QYS Board of Directors - Volunteers Needed

Dear Members of the Queer Yukon Society,

The sustainability of our organization depends on active and committed governance. As a volunteer-led board, we rely on members of the community to step forward and contribute their time, skills, and leadership.

We want to be clear that the organization is currently financially and operationally stable. This stability has been achieved through significant effort and remains a priority of the Board. However, maintaining that stability requires sufficient governance capacity.

At this time, we are facing a critical gap at the board level. To continue operating responsibly and meeting our obligations, we need additional members willing to serve on the Board of Directors.

Thus far nobody has come forward to join the board of directors. We know we have many community members with strong opinions about how we do, and do not operate. So this is your opportunity to step forward and volunteer some time to participate in QYS governance processes. As a board member you will contribute to influencing and guiding the direction of the organization and its priorities. 

As I discussed at the AGM, without additional community members willing to volunteer for the board, I would not be able to continue as president. As the workload distribution is unreasonable without more helping hands. As such I have informed the board that I will be stepping down from the role as president effective August.19 2026. I will remain on the board in the capacity of labour relations director which will absorb all of my volunteer time as QYS approaches bargaining dates. 

If QYS is unable to fill some additional board positions then the Board will need to call a special general meeting and propose to the membership that we dissolve the society and close our doors. The sad reality is that if we do not have community members willing to serve on the board, then the gender and sexual diverse community will not have any funding, services or programs. 

There is no reason financially, or operationally why we need to close. As we have core funding for another 2.5 years. However Yukon Societies are run by volunteer board members, and volunteer time is also a resource that QYS must account for. Even if we hired some support for the board with our limited resources, the current board does not have the capacity to distribute all the tasks required of us by the Societies Act in a manageable way. Simply put, we need more folks willing to put a couple of hours a month in.

If you are new to volunteer boards or Yukon, this is a very good time to consider joining. As QYS is stable, the current board is willing to remain on the board, including in leadership positions with a sufficient number of board members to distribute the workload. Which would ensure continuity and will support capacity development. So there has never been a better time to join the QYS board than now. 

It would be an absolute shame to dissolve after all the effort that went into stabilizing the organization. We strongly encourage those who are able to contribute to consider stepping forward. Your involvement is essential to maintaining a community-led organization and ensuring its long-term viability.

If you are interested in serving, please contact us at your earliest convenience board@queeryukon.com or come talk to us at the Pride parade August 15th as we will have a table at the park.

Chase Blodgett 

President
QYS Board of Directors