Benefits

Why We Established The Circle For Aboriginal Relations Society

Current and future members of CFAR are, and will be, the front-line people who are ‘Making it Happen’. They help to establish relationships that build the foundation for generating community capacity, create economic ventures and manage environmental impacts. They will learn to do their jobs more effectively, increase the area of influence of their profession, and help mentor the next generation, through the networking and accreditation opportunities organized by CFAR.

Most liaison people in Aboriginal relations today, whether they represent a community, government or industry, did not plan to enter this area as a career. They bumped into it by being in the right place at the right time. CFAR will increase the profile, and improve the credibility, of this very challenging and rewarding profession.

Because there is no organization like CFAR today, new members are enthusiastically joining and saying it’s about time we had an organization like this!’ We are a low-cost, front-line-focused group, working to help each other in a non-political environment, while also encouraging new professionals to join us. We are grateful for an organizational grant from Alberta Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, however we have raised the majority of our development and operating funds through our membership fees, planned events, corporate sponsorships, and in-kind contributions.

In addition to future accreditation efforts, we currently attract new people to our association through our corporate membership sponsor program. This provides corporate members with the ability to ‘donate’ student or community memberships to those without the funds to join CFAR. The Board typically allots these memberships to individuals who we believe will further the objectives of the Society and be of value to its membership and Alberta.

Some of the benefits you can enjoy include:

• An annual conference with keynote speakers on current issues
• Electronic Member Newsletter keeping you in-the-circle
• Periodic workshops focused on member-driven topics
• Networking with liaison professionals in a non-partisan environment
• Sharing experiences and best practices among respected professionals
• Enhancing your personal development and on-the-job effectiveness
• Discounts to all of our events
• Receiving (and making submissions to) our e-newsletter
• Corporate members are also recognized on our website and at our yearly conference