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COMMUNICATIONS & ADVERTISING POLICY & PROCEDURES #1

Policy Statement. Branch 295 volunteers endeavour to inform our members and the public about our events, activities, and developments. This page provides information on general communications and advertising, Social Media guidance, and Soliciting funds and prizes from business.

General

1. A small number of volunteers work to support several information and advertising initiatives that inform our members and the public of branch events and happenings. These include a printed newsletter & calendar, Facebook page, Foyer calendar, stand-mounted notice boards, and printed posters within the branch.

2. There are numerous volunteer opportunities to assist with member communications.

3. The guidance provided below details our communications and advertising standards. Event sponsors, organizers, and coordinators are responsible for submitting spelling and grammar-checked advertising materials on time in electronic format.

Advertising Requests

Advertising request procedures forming part of this policy are published separately and shall be followed by all stakeholders.

Fundraising and prize Solicitation from Outside Businesses

Policy is detailed further down this page.

Deadlines

Printed Newsletter & Calendar

Printed newsletter and calendar submissions are due by the 10th day of the month preceding publication. (e.g. due date 10 Oct for Nov/Dec edition). All material is published on a space-available basis and is subject to abridgment by the editor.

The Branch and Member News email editor will advise selected addressees of submission dates.

Newsletter articles and photos are to be sent electronically to rclbr295newsletter@shaw.ca.

Image & Text Formats

Images in a standard image format such as .jpg, .jpeg, or .bmp are acceptable.

All submissions containing images shall be accompanied by plain text spell and grammar-checked material.

Social Media

Branch 295 maintains one authorized Facebook page (www.facebook.com/rcl295). The page is managed by authorized Administrators, Editors, and Moderators. Its purpose is to convey event information, and important branch information, and to encourage remembrance. It is not a forum to publicly voice complaints and we reserve the right to remove negative posts or comments and to block the originators of such posts or comments. We do not have dedicated volunteers to moderate the page and have no tolerance for negativity.

We appreciate the efforts of others who wish to support the branch through other means such as Facebook pages or Facebook Groups. We do, however, require that such public pages or groups comply with the following standards:

Page or Group names must not appear to be an official page or group of the Royal Canadian Legion. For example, names must clearly indicate that the page or group is for "Supporters", "Friends" or another suitable descriptive word.

The "About" section must include the following statement:

"Friends of (or Supporters of, etc) Chilliwack-Vedder 295" is an unofficial site for friends and supporters of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 295 Chilliwack-Vedder to communicate with each other and is not sponsored by the legion.

Branch & Member News Emails

Information Management currently manages these emails which are sent out only by direction of the president to all members with valid email addresses on file.

RCL BR 295 COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC RELATIONS

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY & GUIDANCE #1

INTRODUCTION

The Branch Facebook page is supported by a small group of volunteers exclusively to inform members of the public of legion activities and events and other important information that can be shared with the public.

Information intended solely for branch members shall not be posted or otherwise published on any public forum.

LIMITED RESOURCES

There are insufficient volunteers to routinely monitor the page, and we are unlikely to respond to inquiries in a timely manner. Our "About" section on Facebook clearly states that all inquiries are to be directed to the office. Additionally, "Messaging" is turned off due the lack of dedicated monitors to respond.

POSTS AND COMMENTS

Respectful comments are welcome, but visitors cannot expect a reply if questions are asked.

No organization tolerates the expression of complaints in a public forum, so please use appropriate communications. You may telephone the branch office at 604-858-3600, email the branch at rclbr295@shaw.ca, or speak directly with the office administrator or a member of the executive.

POLICY GUIDELINES

This policy is based in part on guidelines drawn from Dominion Command's Social Media Guidelines for Branch Operations. Branch 295 does not have the volunteer resources to commit to such provisions as "Don’t use social media as a one-way broadcast platform. Use it to engage and converse with your audience." We regret we have no choice but to use our Facebook page as an "information push" and cannot respond to comments and messages in a timely manner. (See following page)

FACEBOOK PAGE DETAILS (accurate as of 03 August 2025)

Facebook (Meta) requires Facebook pages to be "owned" by a "person". Therefore, the branch does not directly own the page. It was created in 2015 by Krista Smith, who remains the owner and Administrator. Krista has appointed Jock McLaren and William Higdon to be Administrators as well. Sabana Jaffer and Donna McLaren have been given Moderator roles. One of the other Administrators can take "ownership" of the page if Krista can no longer act in the role.

The Facebook ID is: 165203123811762

The URL is Facebook.com/rcl295 and can be seen by anyone with or without a Facebook account.

A QR Code linking to the Facebook page has been printed for display beneath the Foyer Calendar in the branch, in the outside display case, and on the printed newsletter.

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 295 Chilliwack-Vedder

Community Relations Policy: Fundraising and Prize Solicitation

D-R-A-F-T Policy #01 Dated 30 July 2025 for Executive Approval

Preamble

Our branch prioritizes transparency and professionalism in all our fundraising endeavors. To ensure consistency and integrity in soliciting funds and prize donations from businesses and other organizations, we have established clear protocols, including the requirement for written requests on branch letterhead paper signed by the president or someone delegated by the president.

Fundraising activities aimed at soliciting funds, prizes, or other favours from local businesses and other organizations shall be guided by this policy.

Purpose

This policy aims to guide the solicitation of donations from local businesses by Branch 295, ensuring positive representation and preventing overlap within the organization.

Applicability

This policy applies to anyone involved in soliciting donations from local businesses on behalf of Branch 295.

Guidelines

1. This should be adhered to as we cannot make repeated requests for free items, and “wear out our welcome” with businesses.

2. Generally, the Branch President approaches the community only once each calendar year (at most), with donation requests from Royal Canadian Legion Br. 295. Donations and prizes that are received from the annual Branch request, are kept secured and used for a variety of fundraising events within the branch. These can be shared with various Branch Event coordinators /event committees, or the L.A. Event coordinator for their fundraising events.

3. Each Committee must submit a list of planned fundraising events for the upcoming year every January to be included in the annual Donation request.

4. Before any requests for donations/prizes or any request letters go out, the committee organizing the event(s) will submit to the President their event plan, all details about the event and fundraising initiative, any request letters, and a list of the businesses they would like to send requests to.

Representation

1. All representatives of Branch 295 soliciting donations from local businesses must maintain a professional and positive image, reflecting the values and mission of the organization.

2. Solicitations should clearly outline the purpose of the donation and how it will benefit the community or support the organization's initiatives.

Avoiding Duplication

Branch 295 Ways & Means will maintain a list of businesses and organizations that we commonly approach for donations. Before soliciting donations, representatives must check with Ways & Means to ensure that the business has not already been approached by another entity within the organization, OR, that the business(es) aren’t going to be asked by the Branch/President for another special event.

Solicitation Methods

1. All solicitations must be made in writing and submitted to the President for approval before being sent out. A standard letter is kept on file and is used to maintain a professional and consistent image and external branch messaging.

2. Form letters are not authorized. Each letter must be dated, addressed to the business address of each recipient, and signed by the event coordinator and President of Branch 295.

3. Request letters sent by electronic mail must originate from an official branch email address to ensure credibility and authenticity (and must be pre-approved prior to sending).

Submission

All fundraising coordinators shall submit an electronic copy of the text of the solicitation letter and a list of recipients to the office.

Adoption and Communication

Once adopted by the branch executive this policy should be given wide distribution to everyone involved in fundraising outside of the branch.

August 2025

BRANCH & MEMBER NEWS EMAILS

Introduction

1. Branch and Member News emails are sent out only by the direction of the president who will determine the content.

2. Significant effort is required in compiling and finalizing content and each email must be sent approximately 5 times due to Shaw's limit of 128 recipients on each email. The branch may opt to subscribe to a mass mailing service at a cost.

3. Recipient email addresses are taken exclusively from the Dominion Port by downloading the full list in Excel CSV format. A volunteer with advanced Microsoft or other spreadsheet software must know how to format required information and import it into the email client contact list.

DRAFTING EMAIL

1. Use "Edit as New" to open a previously sent email and update the Subject line which is usually RCL BRANCH 295 MEMBER NEWS EMAIL followed by the day, month, and year.

2. Address the email TO: rclbr295news@shaw.ca (or other address if used). Recipient member email address MUST be Bcc (Blind carbon copy) for privacy purposes.

EDITING EMAIL

1. Formatting is at the discretion of the editor and the president.

SENDING EMAIL

1. Shaw limits each send to 128 recipients (includes To:, cc:, and Bcc). IT Services manages the contact list and sets up "Groups". Group naming convention is "0_A-C", 0_D-I", etc. The purpose of the "0" is to sort the groups to the top of the contact list. Alphabetical groupings will change depending on the number of recipients. The contact list is sourced exclusively from the Dominion Portal. Dominion Portal access is controlled by the Membership Officer.

2. Enter rclbr295news@shaw.ca in the To: field. C.C. the branch rclbr295@shaw.ca on the first email only.

3. Click on Bcc: and select the first group.

4. Send the email. See below for dealing with bad email addresses that prevent sending the email to anyone.

5. Go the the Sent box, right click on the message, and Edit as New.

6. Remove the recipients as described above in DRAFTING EMAIL.

7. Select the next group and send the email.

8. Repeat until done.

Note: The only To: recipient is rclbr295@shaw.ca. Everyone else is BCC. We do not want to be responsible for disclosing recipients email addresses to others.

DEALING WITH BAD EMAIL ADDRESSES AND UNDELIVERABLE MESSAGES (BOUNCE REPLIES)

BAD EMAIL ADDRESSES

1. Bad email addresses normally result from members changing their address without information the Membership Officer or IT Services. Data entry errors account for others.

2. Bad email addresses are identified in a pop up message after hitting "Send". The message will not go out until the bad address has been removed.

Make note of all bad email addresses and remove them from the contact list after all emails have been sent.

Report bad email addresses to the Membership Officer who will remove them from the Dominion Portal.

We do not chase after anyone for email address changes.

BOUNCES (Undeliverable)

3. Sometimes an email address is good but for some reason the message is undeliverable. That can result from, but not limited to, full inboxes or recipient server problems.

4. "Bounce" replies may or may not indicate a good reason for the bounce. We generally do not worry about them. Bounces can be referred to IT Services who might be able to determine if we want to follow up.

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"Canned" content included at the bottom of all branch & members news emails

Check our website calendar and news at https://sites.google.com/view/rcl295/home.

From our website you can add a shortcut to the branch website Newsletter & Calendar page on the home screen of your smartphone by opening the calendar and saving it to your home screen.

Check our Facebook page for special events, opening times, and kitchen menus. https://www.facebook.com/rcl295

The Dispatch is Dominion's all-branch newsletter, delivering you the latest news, announcements and branch management tips. You can view them online at https://portal.legion.ca/branch-and-command-resources/all-branch-emails. You may also subscribe on the site to receive them by email.

SICK & VISITING. If you know of members in the hospital who would like a visit you may leave a message at the branch for Sharon Churchill. We may also be able to refer members in need of handicap aids such as canes, crutches, and walkers to a supplier.

"Branch News" emails are distributed to members in good standing and subscribers under the authority of the Chilliwack-Vedder Branch 295 president. Non-member subscribers will not normally receive "Member News" emails intended only for members.

All members having an email address on record with the Royal Canadian Legion on the Membership portal will receive these emails.

If you are changing your email address please let us know by replying to this email and provide your full name, legion membership number (if applicable), and new email address. If you are a legion member you may also update your email address by logging onto your account on the Dominion Portal at https://portal.legion.ca/login or by contacting the branch membership officer. Please note that changes can take up to three months to take effect.

Please direct all other inquiries to the branch office at rclbr295@shaw.ca

Royal Canadian Legion Chilliwack-Vedder

5661 Vedder Rd,

Chilliwack, British Columbia, V2R 3N1

Phone: (604) 858-3600

email: rclbr295@shaw.ca

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