CAN Program Services

The Compassionate Action Network (CAN) Program Services
The following discussion is about the program services CAN offers its members and non-members in persuit of the purpose of CAN individually and collectively. We use the term program services to include all activities, events and resources that CAN may promise and deliver. We propose four categories:

1. CAN as a Whole Creates
CAN offers all its members and prospective members two seasonal events a year (April and October), a social network with community organizing functions and up to date content, a community directory for description and discovery purposes, an events calendar, and a compassionate action newsfeed.

The CAN Board of Directors is responsible for what CAN as a whole creates.

2. CAN Co-Sponsors Events and Activities Produced by CAN Sector Groups
CAN offers all sector group leaders’ resources, depending upon their availability, to produce and promote events and activities. These creations are independently produced by one or more sector groups.

Potential resources include human resources (volunteers, member list), interactive resources (software), event services (calendar, RSVP), economic resources, statistical data, contact information, etc.

The CAN Sector Group leader is responsible for what their sector group creates.

3. CAN Supports Events and Activities Produced by Members and External Parties
CAN offers members and aligned external groups, organizations, and networks resources to support and promote their events and activities. These creations are independently produced by individual members or external entities.

Potential resources include the social network, event calendar, community directory, newsfeed, endorsements and referrals.

The CAN Executive Director is responsible for sharing these resources.

4. CAN Declines to Participate
CAN will decline to participate if the group or organization is not aligned with the mission and principles of CAN. The CAN Board of Directors is responsible for setting the missions and principles that guide what CAN will say no to.

The mission of CAN is to “awaken compassion in ourselves, our children, and the world.” The guiding principles of CAN are “starting from within, working in a circle, in a sacred manner; we develop and heal ourselves, our relationships, and the world.”

As an Opportunity Matrix
The following matrix shows the four possible domains for opportunities produced, co-sponsored, supported, or declined by CAN:

As a Planning Framework
As we envision the Compassionate Action Network over the next five years we can focus on each row and its programs and services in this overall framework:

Tell Us What You Think
Our goal is to be able to effectively communicate the program services we provide and for each of us to be informed and clear about what CAN does and doesn’t. Please look this over and let us know whether each of these distinctions is necessary and sufficient for you to understand what are program services are. Is there something missing? Is there something that's redundant? We will spell out in more detail each of the event types, special activities, and resources. This is intended to provide a framework for thinking this through.

We want this definition to reflect our shared understanding so your input is essential. Even if you reply to say: “I read it. I understand it and I have no suggested changes or comments at this time.” that will be appreciated!