Regular Meeting -- August 21, 2005
The Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting at 2007 Bert Avenue, Austin, TX 78704, starting at 1:10 pm. The following directors (constituting a quorum of the full board) were present at the meeting: President Pam Latham (Oceanna), Vice President Pam Chambers and Treasurer Kathy Lee. The following directors were absent: Secretary Owen McAleer. Robert McGarey (Executive Director) was also present at the meeting.
The Mission Statement was read aloud at the beginning of the meeting. Minutes from the previous meeting (July 17th) were read aloud and approved.
Bumper Stickers. Oceanna suggested that we print up stickers for car windows that say something like "I joyfully support The Human Potential Center with my Creativity, Love and Playfulness." The board expressed interest, and Bob suggested that we table any motion on this until he discusses a related item during his report.
Car. Bob said that the new car we bought from Kim Iberg has been extremely helpful in getting things done around the Center, and that it is all set with proper insurance. However, we probably will not be able to obtain the title from Kim for perhaps another couple of years.
Anomaly Archives. Their 2 years of free rent were up in May, and they still have not completed their application for nonprofit recognition. In spite of Bob's excellent experience with the Nonprofit Center, they will not be asking them for help with their application. However, they must apply within the next 2 months because their 27-month window for their application will expire then. It is, however, just fine for us to continue to rent space to a nonprofit that is in the process of applying for their exemption. It was unanimously
RESOLVED, that we decline the offer from the Anomaly Archives to manage our library until they demonstrate sufficient ability to manage it.
Resignation. Lia resigned as Executive Secretary.
Discovery Room. Kim Iberg has opted out of continuing to rent the Discovery Room, so it is now being rented by just Oceanna. Also, we have changed its name to the Imaginary Room.
990's. Bob reported that he completed the 990's several days before they were due. This is a huge improvement from last year when several people drove them to the post office at a minute or two before midnight. Yay!
Visioning. Bob asked the board to continue with the visioning process we started last meeting. He presented the following additional questions about where we want to see the Center go, and the high/low extremes associated with them.
7. How woo-woo do we want to be?
Low extreme = Dell (mind-numbing maainstream) , High Extreme = "Angels" Conference or Voodoo
Our preference: slightly right of the middle.
8. Number of active members?
Low extreme = 0 , High Extreme = 10,000
Our preference: 50 to 100
9. How much to charge for services?
Low extreme = 0 , High Extreme = The Crossings
Our preference: around the going rate in Austin, with the ability for clients to negotiate on the price if they can't afford it.
Tiller. There are over 100 people signed up. There are some issues with the catering situation, and Oceanna and Pam are working on it. The extra income from Tiller has helped offset our current reduced income from Bingo (even though our Bingo income in July was better than we had expected). There will be a full-page ad for Tiller in the September 1st issue of Natural Awakenings.
Global Relationships Seminars. Bob reported that Global has been offering some really neat programs on peace building recently, and that logic dictated that we keep them in mind as a possible group that we could coordinate our efforts with. Some concerns were expressed about how compatible our corporate goals are. It was decided that we will keep an eye on their progress and corporate goals, but not become involved with them at the present time.
Rent for the Anomaly Archives. Bob has assured Miles that the Center will be responsible for fixing up any basic structural problems with the Garage, such as making sure that no water flows into it. Other improvements can be made by the Archives as part of a trade of renovations for rent. Miles requested that we provide him with specific dollar figures for how much the rent will be. It was unanimously
RESOLVED, that Bob and Owen are authorized to establish a rental agreement with the Archives when Owen returns to Austin. In the meantime, though, it is clear that we want to offer the Archives a win-win situation that would include a time of free rent in exchange for their renovations of the Garage, and that rent after that would not be out of proportion with the going rates in Austin.
Strategic Planning. Bob said that the next step after creating a vision, as we have in the last two meetings, is to create a plan whereby we can get there. In order to accomplish several features of the vision we have created, we need to have substantially more income. How do we do that and still keep in line with our values? We're not willing to charge significantly more than we currently charge (see Vision Statement #9 above), nor are we willing to impose a belief onto current members that they need to recruit others to the Center as part of their own personal growth (as some other organizations do). We are all vehemently opposed to that latter approach. So what can we do?
Bob suggested that we explore this in more detail in future meetings. However, two approaches come to mind that are in line with our values:
1) Grants. There's a possible grant from St. David's that has an October 15th deadline. Oceanna and Bob will look into this.
2) More clientele. The signs that are being worked on are likely to increase our clientele. That not only doesn't conflict with our values, it actually promotes them because we will be able to help more people. Bob presented a spreadsheet detailing how an increase of even two people per workshop could increase the Center's annual income by about $15K.
Bob suggested that the board think about these ideas and other possible ways to increase our income, and said we can discuss this more at the next meeting.
Since there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:35 pm.