Board Member- Volunteer
3/25/2026
Board Members serve at a governance level, helping to set strategic direction, provide thoughtful oversight, and support the organization in delivering meaningful impact for the community. They champion the YMCA’s mission, uphold JAIDE commitments, and partner with the CEO on strategic direction while ensuring responsible operations.
Working Hours
40 hours/week
Company Size
1,001-5,000 employees
Language
English
Visa Sponsorship
No
We’re Looking for Board and Committee Members
YMCA of Three Rivers: Call for Nominations & Expressions of Interest
The YMCA of Three Rivers is looking for Board Members and Committee Members to join our volunteer leadership team on or around September 1st, 2026. The following opportunities are available:
- Up to Six Board Member Seats – September 2026-August 2029, once renewable
There are currently four individuals in these seats who are considering renewing their term with the Board.
- Up to Two Committee Member Seats, September 2025-August 2026
These are non-board roles and committee members do not participate in board meetings. The individuals currently in these seats are considering renewing their term.
The Role of the Board
The Board of Directors plays a meaningful role in shaping the future of the YMCA of Three Rivers. Board Members help ensure the organization lives its mission in a way that is ethical, accountable, transparent, and responsive to community needs. To carry out this role, the Board:
- Champions the YMCA’s mission, vision, and values, helping guide the organization toward long‑term impact and sustainability.
- Upholds and advances the YMCA’s JAIDE (Justice, Access, Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity) commitments across the organization by providing oversight of the YMCA’s strategic priorities – places, partnerships, pathways, and people.
- Partners with the CEO by setting strategic direction while entrusting management with day-to-day operations, ensuring the YMCA operates responsibly, efficiently, legally, and in alignment with industry and YMCA Canada standards and wise practices.
The Responsibilities of Board Members
Board Members serve at a governance level. They help set strategic direction, provide thoughtful oversight, and support the organization in delivering meaningful impact for our community. As a Board Member, you will:
- Engage with purpose by contributing thoughtfully at meetings, volunteering with intention, acting as an ambassador for the YMCA, and participating in ongoing learning and development opportunities.
- Bring your skills, lived experience, and perspective to help:
- Uphold strong legal, ethical, and fiduciary responsibility.
- Set and monitor the YMCA’s strategic direction and priorities.
- Provide financial and enterprise risk oversight.
- Support and evaluate the CEO, recruiting for this role as needed.
- Uphold strong organizational governance practices
- Recruit and retain skilled, diverse, and mission aligned Board Members
Time Commitment
Board Members are expected to:
- Actively participate in Board Meetings, held every other month.
Approx. two hours, typically in person at a YMCA of Three Rivers location, with occasional virtual meetings - Actively participate on at least one Board Committee, meeting monthly
Approx. one to two hours, held virtually. - Review materials ahead of each meeting
Approximately 30-60 minutes.
- Take part in additional meetings, events, or project work as required.
Composition of the Board
- Comprised of 14 Board Members diversely representing our communities, with one Chair and one Vice-Chair. In addition, there is a Past-Chair serving in an ex-officio capacity.
- Each Board Committee has 2-3 additional members, who are non-board representing members.
Making the Most of Your Board Experience
All volunteer roles should create mutual benefit, both for the volunteer and the organization. As a Board Member, you should expect a healthy and welcoming environment that values your perspective, and to be offered opportunities that help you achieve your goals, whether that is developing new skills, gaining experiences that can help you in your career, broadening your professional and personal networks, creating tangible community impact, and more.
We need your help to do this important work.
Desired Lived Experiences and Skills
To strengthen our Y’s ability to contribute to our vision and serve our communities, we invite volunteer Board Members and Non-Board Committee volunteers who bring diverse experiences, perspectives, passions, skills, and expertise.
You might be a great fit if you:
- Are a broad thinker with a passion for the YMCA’s mission and a desire to make a positive impact.
- See yourself as a connector in our communities, strengthening community through collaboration.
We are particularly interested in strengthening Board skills and experience in areas such as:
- Legal Expertise
- Enterprise Risk Management Expertise, Organizational Strategy and Financial or Investment Expertise
- Public Policy Advocacy or Government Relations
- Fundraising and Philanthropy
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Anti-Oppression Expertise
We’re excited if you have lived experiences and/or intersectionality from the following diverse communities:
- Youth & Young Adults (18-29 years)
- Non-Binary Individuals and Men
- Members of Black, Indigenous, and Racially Diverse Communities
- Members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community
- Individuals with Diverse Abilities
Previous Board experience is helpful not required. What matters most is your willingness to fully engage, learn, and contribute. We will provide orientation and onboarding to support your growth and help you learn and grow.
We embrace diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive YMCA. We welcome applications for these positions from all interested individuals, regardless of skills, experience, or qualifications. Our goal is to attract, develop, and retain committed and talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, allowing us to mutually benefit from a wide variety of experiences and perspectives.
About the YMCA of Three Rivers
For more than 150 years, the YMCAs of Cambridge and Kitchener-Waterloo, the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph, and the YMCA of Stratford-Perth have served our communities. In 2020, we officially unified and became the YMCA of Three Rivers, allowing us to continue showing up for our communities where and how they’ve needed us most.
The Three Rivers name was inspired by the history and legacy that rivers played in each of our communities, including the Avon, Grand, and Speed Rivers. Our name is a reflection of these rivers that have given and sustained life on these lands for centuries; lands that are the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral Peoples. Much like the Y, rivers are places of connection. They bring people together. They unite. They foster growth and well-being. Across our communities, this is what the Y has worked to do. And, in unifying, it is our goal to continue doing this — to show up where and how our communities need us most, and work to meet current and emerging needs — well into the future.
As one of the largest charities in our community, our goal is to ensure our Board of Directors and Committee Members represent a diversity of ideas, experiences, and perspectives. We are on a journey to ensure our Y is anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and continues to evolve through the lens of Justice, Access, Inclusion, Diversity & Equity (JAIDE).
Our Justice, Access, Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity (JAIDE) Commitment
Our JAIDE Journey is about how we take action to make our diverse communities healthier and more vibrant. With dignity and respect, our programs and services inspire individuals to reach their full potential.
In 2020, we began the intentional work of dismantling systemic barriers to help deliver on this commitment. To that end, we are currently invested in intentional JAIDE work. An acronym adopted from our consultative work with AgentsC, JAIDE stands for Justice, Access, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity. Through the lens of this work, we will be reviewing our policies, procedures, programs, and services in order to ensure we are fostering safe, welcoming, inclusive, and supportive spaces for all. Learn more about our JAIDE Action Plan by visiting the JAIDE page on our website.
Application Process
This posting will remain open until the end of the day on April 22,2026. We will review applications as they arrive and keep our application process open until we find the right candidates for these extraordinary opportunities, though you may not hear from us about next steps until mid- to late-April. To help us reach our diverse communities, we would appreciate your support in amplifying this posting across your network.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit a letter expressing your interest and a current resume, along with a note about which position you are interested in, through our Career Centre. As part of our application process, we will be asking candidates to complete a voluntary self-identification survey. Self-identification questions will include gender, community and ethnic representation, and regional connections, with the option to select out of answering any question.
In our JAIDE commitment, anti-racism, and truth and reconciliation processes, we recognize that it’s vitally important for our Board Members to represent the communities we aim to serve. As such, we are intentionally seeking to recruit nominees who are members of communities that are currently under-represented on YMCA Boards across the Federation: Youth and Young Adults; Indigenous, Black and other Racially Diverse People; 2SLGBTQIA+ People; and People with Diverse Abilities (disabled persons/persons with disabilities). We will also be considering diverse representation across the regional and geographical areas that the YMCA of Three Rivers serves our communities.
Please note: Our application system includes a default field requesting salary expectations; as this is a volunteer role, you may simply enter '0' or 'N/A' in that section.
YMCAs are committed to creating environments that are barrier-free. For any accessibility-related accommodation requests regarding any stage of the process, please inform us in advance so we can arrange reasonable and appropriate accommodations by contacting Michelle Goodman at michelle.goodman@ytr.ymca.ca or 226-898-1672.
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