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Fundamental responsibilities

• Duty of Care: Board Members must act in good faith, exercising sound judgment, diligence, and due care in decision-making to advance SOS’s mission.

• Duty of Commitment: Board Members must prioritize the best interests of SOS, placing the organization's needs above personal or professional gain.

• Duty of Adherence: Board Members are responsible for ensuring SOS remains aligned with its purpose and fully compliant with its bylaws, as well as all applicable legal and ethical standards.

Individual responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, provincial, and local regulations governing registered charities.
• Adhere to SOS’s bylaws, policies, and board resolutions.
• Maintain confidentiality regarding all internal SOS matters.
• Leverage professional expertise, skills, and interests to support SOS’s purpose.
• Prepare for, attend, and actively participate in board meetings and strategic planning sessions.
• Advocate for SOS by leveraging personal and professional networks to recruit volunteers, establish partnerships, and secure resources.
• Serve on SOS committees and/or participate in SOS events.
• Collaborate with fellow board members, staff, volunteers, and external stakeholders.
• Represent SOS in the community as a passionate advocate, seeking strategic partnerships and funding opportunities.
• Contribute to SOS’s long-term sustainability and impact through strategic input and governance.
• Support fundraising efforts through personal giving, sponsorship recruitment, or leading fundraising initiatives.
• Fulfill other responsibilities as assigned by the Board Chair.

Desirable Capabilities

• Expertise in nonprofit governance, legal compliance, marketing, fundraising, finance, human resources, or animal welfare.
• Ability to contribute to strategic discussions and decision-making.
• Commitment to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within SOS and the broader community.
• Minimum board member commitment of two years.

General Skills for Success

• Dedication to SOS’s purpose, values, and the welfare of animals.
• Strong project management and deadline management skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities.
• Emotional intelligence, resilience, and adaptability in dynamic environments.
• A proactive, solutions-oriented approach with the ability to collaborate effectively.

Time Commitment

Board members are expected to dedicate approximately 5–10 hours per month, including:

• Attending quarterly board meetings
• Participating in committee work
• Attending major SOS events
• Yearly Board Retreat (May 31, 2025)

Financial Commitment

To support SOS’s financial sustainability, Board Members are expected to contribute both personally and through fundraising efforts:

• Event Participation: Attend at least two signature SOS events (e.g., Gala, Holiday Party).

• Fundraising Engagement: Actively support fundraising initiatives, such as securing sponsorships, leveraging personal networks, and promoting SOS’s campaigns. While there is no fixed fundraising target, Board Members are expected to make meaningful efforts toward SOS’s financial goals.

Save Our Scruff is currently interested in hearing directly from individuals with some of the following skills and qualifications:

• Government and corporate relations
• Philanthropy and fundraising
• Marketing and communication
• Governance experience in a not-for-profit and OR Legal background (LLB, JD)
• Veterinary Medicine
• Human Resources and Development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Commitment

Save Our Scruff is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse Board of Directors that reflects the community we serve. We value diverse perspectives, experiences, and voices in advancing our purpose.

Application Process

We’re excited you’re interested in joining our team! If you’d like to apply for a Board Director position, we’d love to hear from you.

Please email cynthia@saveourscruff.org and amanda@saveourscruff.org with the following materials by May 13th, 2025:

Email Subject: Board Director Application

Include:

• A cover letter sharing why you're passionate about dogs and what draws you to Save Our Scruff
• Your resume

Interview Process:

Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis as applications are received and will be completed by May 23rd, 2025.

Start Date:

Successful candidates will begin their term on May 31st, 2025, kicking off with our Board Retreat.

We appreciate your interest in Save Our Scruff. While we wish we could connect with everyone, only those selected for further consideration will be contacted. Thank you for your understanding!

INTAKE TEAM LEAD

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Time Commitment: 4-6 hours/week, with the potential for more during busy periods, with a 1 year commitment

Role Overview: Your responsibilities will be focused on leading the on-site intake team, which includes on-site coordinators and customs assistants. This team of volunteers supports the on-site intake of dogs at Pearson airport, which includes clearing dogs through customs, and getting them safely from the airport to their foster or adoptive homes. You will be leading a group of folks with different experience levels through a super exciting part of the dog’s journey! You may also be processing customs paperwork, transporting a dog to their foster or adoptive home, collecting vetting information and/or problem solving in unique situations.

Other responsibilities may include:

• Processing expenses (airport customs fees, parking, supplies)
• Coordinating with transport and supply teams when required
• Booking dogs on flights
• Acting as backup and support for the Intake Manager

Requirements:

• Vehicle & valid driver’s license mandatory
• Highly organized, with great communication skills
• Self motivated
• Confidence with coordinating a group of individuals (fosters, transporters, adopters, SOS volunteers) at intakes. This may be in-person or virtually over a WhatsApp/Facebook messenger chat
• Ability to be on-site for intakes when needed (note, most intakes happen at Pearson airport)
• Flexible schedule - okay with early mornings and the odd late night
• Experience and confidence with handling dogs
• Comfortable using WhatsApp and Facebook messenger on your own personal cell phone

Action Required: If interested, please fill in our application form to move forward with next steps and tell us why you think you’d make a great fit! We also recommend attaching a resume, because, why not?!

TORONTO MERCHANDISE PICK-UP HUB

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We're looking for someone to help us host a Toronto pick up spot without the red box on this map, ideally In the centre of it.

Reponsibilities include:

• Picking up orders from Lakeview Animal Hospital or Clarkson area 2-4 times a month. Weekly is ideal especially around holidays, bi-weekly in some cases work, especially for slower months. Usually 1-5 orders a week, more in Nov-Dec.
• Replying to an email connecting you with the customer to arrange their PU time. Depending on your situation, that could be a porch pick up or hand off.
• Having a car and porch are ideal for the tasks mentioned above.

Action Required: If interested, please fill in our application form to move forward with next steps and tell us why you think you’d make a great fit! We also recommend attaching a resume, because, why not?!

SUPPLY ASSISTANT (NORTH YORK)

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Time Commitment: 1-2 days per week for a few hours, with a 1 year commitment

Role Overview: Perform supply and inventory tasks directly supporting the Supply Lead

Do you live in or nearby North York? Do you have a flexible day schedule between 9AM-4PM? Are you totally into supporting SOS’s mission? The role of the volunteer Supply Assistant supports all three!

SOS is looking for a certain someone with a flexible enough schedule that would allow for them to respond promptly in the North York area. In this role, you will be directly supporting the Supply Team when supplies are needed at the container for pickup and or organization. Typically duties are identified with notice, so you can fit them into your weekly schedule. Some ad-hoc requests may come through as well. This role can include heavy lifting and unfortunately working with items that need cleaning or tossing (although we ask all donations to be cleaned ahead of time).

General Skills:

• Strong organizational & communication skills
• Task oriented
• Independent as well as team oriented
• General Labour (sorting, organizing, lifting, moving)

In order to apply for this position, you will need access to drive to our supply warehouse in North York and have a flexible day schedule.

Bonus points if you:

• Are Marie Kondo
• Have a friend or family member that may be interested in helping you at times

Action Required: If interested, please fill in our application form to move forward with next steps and tell us why you think you’d make a great fit! We also recommend attaching a resume, because, why not?!

TRANSPORT VOLUNTEER

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Time Commitment: Completely up to you! The awesome part of being a Transport Volunteer is you will receive requests for transport needs via email – if it works for you sign on up! If not, all good, maybe the next one will.

Role Overview: Work with the SOS team to safely transport rescue dogs from Pearson Airport, vetting appointments in Mississauga or foster home transfers throughout Toronto, Burlington, Hamilton, Guelph, Mississauga and many other Southern ON locations like King City, Kitchener/Waterloo, Owen Sound, Kawarthas… we're all over.

In this role you’ll be required to use your car/truck/van to transport dogs and/or supplies such as crates, to where they need to go! We want to make sure transporting goes as smoothly as possible (for the dogs AND you) so we’re definitely looking for someone that knows a thing or two about responsibility and clear communication. Our top priority is safety, so you’ll need to be able to secure dogs in your vehicle as you transport them (we will show you how!) This role can require contact (your choice dependent on comfort/task sign ups) with our sweet (and some times nervous) scruffs so you’ll need to be comfortable handing dogs. No surprise there! If you’ve got some extra time and energy and think this role is right for you, please sign up! Oh and you get to join a community of SOS Transport Volunteers! All new transporters will go through a 30 minute online training session where you can also ask any questions you have.

General Skills:

• Communication, responsible and reliable
• Car with climate control and a valid driver’s license
• Bonus points if you have previous experience calmly meeting and support dogs

Bonus points if you have:

• If you have a large vehicle! You're a rare commodity
• Like late night or early morning transports... our airport visits are usually for night owls or early birds
• Travel through Mississauga often (Cawthra exit). That is one of our main hubs for supplies as well as our vet office for all the scruffs
• Are in North York often – supply pick up/drop offs are often at our North York storage containers