Board Members and Staff

Lifewater Canada board members

Lifewater Canada has an independent governing body of people from diverse backgrounds to pursue thorough deliberation and sound decision-making.

	Chair: Cheryl Ann Hertan (Certified Tumor Registrar, John Muir Medical Health, Atascadero, CA)
	Vice-Chair: Herman (Harry) Cornelis Oussoren, P.Eng. (Insitu Contractors Inc. (owner), Guelph ON)
	President: Lynda Mary Gehrels, Registered Nurse (retired) Thunder Bay ON. Her annual compensation is $0 because she lives as her husband Jim did, believing that every dollar possible should be directed to helping children and families get the safe water they need to stay healthy.
	Financial Controller: Donald Heerema, CPA, CA (Chartered Accountant, Thunder Bay, ON)
	Treasurer: Jason Gehrels, P.Eng. (Financial Advisor, Ottawa, ON)
	Secretary: Jennifer Drost (Christian School Teacher, Thunder Bay, ON)
	Haiti Coordinator: Les Babcock (Water Well Driller, Bow Island, AB)
	Senior Trainer: Les Wing, (Owner of Amythest Well Drilling, Murillo ON)
	Board member at Large: Peter John Brown (Owner of Humanwave Radio, Winnipeg MB)

Lifewater Canada staff

President (full-time volunteer): Lynda Gehrels, Thunder Bay, ON

Vice-President (full-time employee): Daniel Nickol, Swift Current, SK

Donor Relations Manager (part-time employee): Jeff Adams, Calgary, AB

Office Assistant/Administrator (part-time contractor): Shirley van Dyken, Thunder Bay, ON

Office Assistant (part-time contractor): Frances Bennett-Sutton, Thunder Bay, ON

Haiti Assistant Coordinator (volunteer): Ruth Babcock, RN retired, Bow Island, AB

Haiti Technical Advisor (volunteer): Gilbert Dumont, Petroleum Eng. Retired, Calgary, AB

Liberia Country Coordinator (volunteer): Paul Harvey, Örebro, Narke, Sweden

Governance, Fiscal Responsibility, and Accountability

The Board of Directors has ensured there is a framework of financial and operational policies and procedures. A detailed copy of this framework is available if required for grant consideration. Highlights include:

There are a series of internal process controls governing the issuance of charitable donation receipts, petty cash limits, approvals for capital purchases over a specified amount, two signatures for cheques over a specified amount, etc.
Receipting duties are separated from authority to spend money
Monthly financial transactions are reviewed and booked by a Financial Controller who does not receive donations or disperse funds
The Board conducts a mid-year review of balance sheets and adjusts budgets as required
Audited Financial Statements are prepared annually by BDO Canada LLP accounting firm in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and presented to the membership at the Annual General Meeting
The financial statements are reviewed by the Board in advance of regulatory filings
The Board is working towards achieving an operation reserve equal to one year of program expenses to enable Lifewater to make firm project funding agreements with overseas partners in advance of funds being raised
Donated securities are sold upon receipt to ensure assets are not speculative
Lifewater donates assets (drill rigs, trucks, etc.) to its overseas agents and does not retain significant capital assets on its books
Memorandums of Understanding must be in place with overseas partners for them to act as our agents before project work can begin
Equipment is provided on a matched-funding basis to ensure local ownership and responsibility that would not occur in the same way if the assets were provided for "free"
Project sponsorship funds are released to our overseas partners only after prescribed documentation has been obtained from overseas teams to confirm projects are properly completed
The work of overseas teams is audited by experienced volunteers who travel overseas and visit projects
Minutes are kept of all Board Meetings to ensure decisions are documented and actions taken (to request a copy of the minutes, please email info@lifewater.ca)
According to the fiscal 2020 audit by the BDO Canada LLP accounting firm:

None of the Lifewater board members is compensated for his or her service
There has been no unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets
There are no loans to related parties such as key officers, staff, or Board members
In the 12 months ended June 30, 2020, donations to Lifewater by its board members totaled $44,995 after $72,262 during the previous fiscal year

Some other key policies

The Donor Privacy Policy says Lifewater will not share or sell a donor's information, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations; donors can ask to be listed as anonymous on sponsorship listings
The Conflict of interest Policy guides deliberations when making decisions that might benefit the private interest of an officer, director, or employee of the organization
The Whistleblower Policy addresses employee complaints and/or concerns from overseas partners regarding financial mismanagement
The Records Retention and Destruction Policy fosters good record-keeping procedures by guiding the storage and destruction of documents to promote data integrity and security
While the President (CEO) receives no salary, Lifewater Canada does have a CEO Compensation Policy, outlining the procedure to be used to determine future CEO compensation