Our Purpose
DAISSI is a community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, two-spirit, and questioning people, along with allies, who are nurturing the vibrant 2SLGBTQIA+ community on Salt Spring Island. Together, we are committed to building community through offering creative connective events, be a resource, and cultivating a culture of mutual support within our local queer community. We also advocate for intersectional diversity and inclusion both within queer spaces and in the broader society.
DAISSI Update - Nov 21, 2025 - AGM
The Annual General Meeting doesn’t have the appeal of Pride, or a great drag show, but our AGM last month was really great! Twenty-four people showed up on a rainy Sunday afternoon to review the year, ask questions, make suggestions, and welcome new and returning board members.
On Sunday, October 19 from 1-3pm we gathered at the Salt Spring Senior’s Centre. We wanted to share a little bit of a summary of what we discussed, and introduce you to our new DAISSI Board!
Here are some key topics we discussed at the meeting:
Pride is an important annual event, and people really appreciate smaller community events as well, would like to see more “low production” social events on offer.
Anyone who has ideas and wants to get involved can contact the board anytime at board@daissi.ca
Committee work is going to take off in the year to come! Our committees all have folks signed up, and we are excited to get those committees going ASAP. New people are welcome to join anytime.
The importance of Board and Committee communication: make sure we are aligned with the organization’s goals and values, and stay relevant to community needs.
Changing the way we perceive DAISSI board members and volunteers: appreciation and care for those who volunteer their time to contribute to our community. Ending the legacy of burnout and fatigue.
Engage older and experienced community members to form an advisory committee, and offer mentorship roles on Committees.
Rename the “Community Care and Political Action Committee” to “Community Care and Mutual Aid”
Engage political action/advocacy work (ex. community education, school system) in a separate committee.
Explore how DAISSI can learn from and implement Truth & Reconciliation Commission recommendations in the work we do, our committees, and board.
Welcome New Board Members!
Four new people have stepped up to serve on the DAISSI Board! We are so grateful to these new board members who are offering their time and energy to support our 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Please Welcome:
Celeste
Everett
Natu
Wayne
We also want to thank Theresa for continuing to serve on the board.
And a BIG HUGE Thank you to our previous board members who have stepped down but held this organization together for the past year!
Moss
JZ
AND another extra special thank you to our contractor Angelica who has been an essential part of helping with restructuring how the organizations functions so its runs more smoothly, and facilitating one of the best board hand offs yet.
Our first meeting with board members will include sorting out board roles, and committee liaisons. We will send out a note when those have been decided.
In the meantime, we look forward to getting our new board oriented and settled before the new year.
With gratitude for you,
The DAISSI Board
Committees - Launching Soon!
DAISSI has recently switched from having a Working Board to a Governance Board. That means that all of the planning for events and community care initiatives will come from the community members who join committees! This way the board can focus on more admin work such as getting charitable status, following through on the WAGE Grant requirements, and being liaisons for the various committees.*
*The board is currently working on re-organizing the organization’s governance structure in order to help DAISSI run smoother in the future so that every new year when there is a new board we don’t have to recreate the wheel! We are creating systems of communication, decision making and approval, documentation review, etc.
The presentation from the Community Hall where this new structure was presented to the community in June 2025 can be viewed HERE