Understanding Roles and Responsibilities

Board of Directors and Senior Management Team

MakeWay's Board of Directors has full governing authority, and full legal and fiduciary responsibility, for the activities of each Project. This means that MakeWay's Board of Directors is the legal Board of Directors for all Projects. 

The Board of Directors and Senior Management Team are responsible for establishing and maintaining operational systems to ensure:

  • Project activities are conducted in compliance with a wide set of employment, corporate, fundraising, and tax regulations.
  • Project finances are managed effectively.

The Board of Directors and Senior Management Team sets, and may amend, policies and procedures that govern all Projects, e.g. administration of grants, financial management, risk management, legal and regulatory compliance, fundraising, and administration of personnel. 

Project Steering Committee

All Projects have a volunteer Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is an advisory group to both the Project and MakeWay Senior Management Team.

Although the Steering Committee has no legal or governing authority, it plays an important role in ensuring Project accountability. It also contributes to the Project's health and success by sharing its experience, leadership, and technical expertise.

The Steering Committee's responsibilities include:

  • Defining Project purposes, goals, and objectives.
  • Strategic planning, including developing budgets and work plans.
  • Developing resources to ensure that expenditures are met.
  • Evaluating success in achieving deliverable on all contracts.
  • Recruiting, selecting, and supervising the Project Director, including  conducting performance evaluations of the Project Director in accordance with MakeWay’s human resources policies.
  • Advising the Project Specialist of any concerns, irregularities, etc. in the Project's activities.

The Steering Committee may:

  • Appoint one member as its chair.
  • Delegate portions of the first four responsibilities listed above to the Project Director.

Members of the Steering Committee should be familiar with MakeWay’s mission, as well as MakeWay's policies and procedures.


Project Director

Each Project has its own Project Director. They act as the main point of contact between the Project,  the Support Team, and the MakeWay senior management team. They are also responsible for the Project's strategies, staffing, basic administration, financial planning, and fundraising.

The Support Team is responsible for the more complex administration of payroll, accounting, financial reports, insurance, benefits, human resource management, and governance support.

The Project Director is delegated the authority and responsibility to oversee all aspects of the Project’s work including, but not limited to, the following:

General Management and Administration
  • Defining and evaluating long-term mission and short-term goals.
  • Planning for successful achievement of Project goals and implementing work plans.
  • Delivering day-to-day operations and programs.
  • Supervising employees and contractors.
  • Fundraising to meet expenses.
  • Ensuring compliance with all grant agreements.
  • Ensuring that Project activities comply with the Project’s description in its Terms of Reference.
  • Ensuring that Project activities comply with all MakeWay policies and procedures.
  • Providing regular activity reports to the Steering Committee and to the Support Team.
  • Ensuring regular communication with the Project Specialist to ensure activities align with CRA guidance on charitable activities.
  • Responding to Support Team requests for materials and reporting within established time frames.
Financial Administration
  • Ensuring financial health of the Project.
  • Preparing an annual budget to review with the Steering Committee and the Support Team.
  • Monitoring expenditures in relation to budget limits.
  • Reviewing all invoices and expense reports and ensuring all necessary supporting documents and approvals accompany submission of invoices and expense claims.
  • Ensuring invoices and expense claims are submitted on time, and per the schedule in contracts where applicable.
  • Reviewing monthly financial statements with the Steering Committee.
Human Resources
  • Communicating to Project employees the goals, policies, and principles of the Project.
  • Maintaining familiarity with human resources guidelines, policies, and practices.
  • Supervising all Project employees (unless an alternative supervisor has been formally designated).
  • Ensuring that paperwork for new employees is completed and submitted to Human Resources.
  • Reporting vacation and sick time to Human Resources.
  • Ensuring that performance evaluations are carried out on a regular basis.
  • Advising Human Resources of any personnel issues as soon as they arise.
Support Team

Members of the Support Team, who operate from the Vancouver, Yellowknife and Toronto offices, handle the bulk of the Project's administrative tasks. They also provide guidance on more complex aspects of Project administration such as strategic planning, human resources, accounting, budgeting, and so on.

Each Project is assigned a Project Specialist. The Project Specialist is a Project's primary contact. If the Project Specialist cannot provide the necessary assistance, they will connect the Project with another specialist on the Support Team.

The Support Team’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • IT support: Managing online tools and resources for use by Project personnel for day-to-day administration of work.
  • Intake orientation: Introducing Project employees to MakeWay and explaining communications practices, internal systems, policies, and procedures.
  • Financial management: Reporting bank transactions and bank reconciliations, preparing monthly financial and cash reports, processing payables and receivables, preparing and filing annual tax returns, ensuring compliance with CRA regulations, and preparing and issuing donation receipts.
  • Human resources: Administering employee records, administering payroll and benefits, preparing employment contracts, processing employee departures, ensuring compliance with HR policies and procedures.
  • Risk management: Ensuring appropriate insurance coverage for Project activities, reviewing and administering leases, developing and reviewing contracts for goods and services, providing legal counsel, preparing annual T3010 Information Returns, monitoring comprehensive compliance and filings with government regulatory agencies, maintaining legal records.
  • Grant management: Reviewing grant proposals, preparing financial and supporting documentation for grant proposals, submitting grant proposals, maintaining correspondence with funders, ensuring compliance with grant agreements (e.g. diarizing grant reporting deadlines, preparing financial reports for general support, and monitoring restricted funding).