Welcome!
CFUW Brantford is a group of about 80 women, who support the work of CFUW National and Ontario Council, focusing on the rights, freedoms and education of women locally, nationally and internationally. In Brantford, our members say that Interest Groups are a wonderful way of developing friendships and engaging in conversation about specific topics from world awareness to books and food!
We are delighted to have new members join our club and hope that you will find us welcoming and inclusive.
General Meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of the Month at 7 pm at Thorpe’s Carriage House,
96 West Street, Brantford or by Zoom for the months of September, October, November, March and April. The January and February General Meetings are held by Zoom only.
Interest Groups are managed by the Interest Group Chair, and the respective Chair of each Interest Group. Each interest group has a focus, such as books, bridge, walking or world awareness. The list of Interest Groups is provided in the DETAILS section below.
To contact CFUW Brantford, please use this form:
Dates to remember:
* December: second Wednesday of December is usually our Holiday Potluck
* February: second Wednesday of February typically Trivia Night – a fundraiser for our Scholarship Fund
* March: usually an activity close to Mar 8th related to International Women’s Day
* May: the fourth Wednesday of May is traditionally our AGM and Banquet
* June: the fourth Wednesday of June is usually our Blue Lake Picnic Potluck
DETAILS:
2.1 MONTHLY MEETINGS:
Our monthly General Meetings start at 7 pm on the fourth Wednesday of the month in September, October, November, January, February, March, and April. We offer hybrid meetings which means that you are welcome to attend in person at Thorpe’s Carriage House, 96 West Street, Brantford OR from the comfort of your home via Zoom. Please note that we have decided to run our January and February 2024 meetings by Zoom only (not at Thorpe’s) because of the uncertainty of winter weather. This decision is based on our members’ requests and allows our Program Committee to engage speakers from farther afield.
Our monthly meetings are about 2 hours long, and feature a guest speaker, a short business meeting, and a time for socializing afterwards. Our members have asked the Social Committee to reduce the amount of sweets and fruit that a group of volunteers provide each month, in case you are wondering about how big a dinner to have before the meeting 🙂
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) is usually paired with our annual Banquet, which is a celebratory event. Historically, the AGM is held on the fourth Wednesday in May. The meeting format is similar to our General Meetings but adds social time at the beginning followed by a meal, the business meeting, then a guest speaker/entertainment and more socializing. The key objectives of the AGM are to vote on the incoming executive and approve the previous year’s financial report as well as the budget for the coming year.
Our fiscal year goes from May 1st to April 30th, so memberships are renewed in the March-May timeframe, and must be ‘in good standing’ (dues paid) by the AGM in order for a member to vote. Please see page 5-6 for information about Annual Dues.
We follow Robert’s Rules at our general meetings and AGM. Robert’s Rules are used by CFUW National, Regional Councils, clubs like ours across Canada, and most organizations in North America. Robert’s Rules are a parliamentary process that provides a democratic way to agree on what we want to accomplish and how we want to go about it. Our President-of-the-month chairs the meeting, keeps the Agenda moving along, and calls on the members responsible for the Agenda item. When there is a desired action or decision, that member makes a Motion. If seconded, the Chair facilitates the discussion, and ultimately calls for a vote on the Motion. Our Secretary takes Minutes of Executive, General, and Scholarship meetings, so we have a record of what decisions/actions are approved, and are able to track progress accordingly. We like our meetings to be simple, effective, and congenial. Please contact the Past President if you would like to borrow our club’s copy of Robert’s Rules of Order, (we have both the Modern Edition and the Newly Revised in Brief) or go to https://robertsrules.com for more information.
INTEREST GROUPS: Interest Groups are our Club’s most popular feature because they are a wonderful way to socialize, connect with other members of the club, learn, and discuss topics of interest. You are welcome to join as many groups as you like. We meet both in person and by Zoom depending on the nature of the group and the weather. Our groups currently include Biking, Walking, Golf, Books (3 options), Bridge (at least 2), Creative Cooking, Food with Thought, Dining Out, Day Trippers (usually to plays and art exhibits), Games, and World Awareness. If you would like to set up a new Interest Group, or for more information, please contact the Interest Group Chair (found on page 11, section 6. CONTACTS).
We encourage our members to take photos of CFUW events, and send the photos along with a brief story about the event to our Chair of Communications so that she can include them in our monthly newsletter. Photos can also be shared on this website and Facebook group.
DATES TO REMEMBER: In addition to the activities listed on page 2, our newsletter is sent out electronically as an email attachment before our General Meeting each month and will contain details regarding any key activities or meetings. The newsletters are also accessible here.
