July 16 Board Meeting Agenda

Date: July 16, 2020, 7pm-8:30pm

Location: [virtual]

Attendees

  • Rachel
  • Cela
  • Steven
  • Sabrina
  • Matt
  • Chris (joined later)

Agenda

  • Determine Note Taker (preferably somebody who hasn’t done it before) [Morgan Volunteered]
  • Call to Order (going at 7:10 sans quorum)
  • Attendance
  • Approval of the Agenda (1 min)
  • Approval of the Minutes (1min) [sans quorum approved 7:12, ]

New Business

  1. Secretary role is now open DISCUSSION
    * previous individual stepped down from ambiguity of role, lack of touchpoints and structure. TLDR: too disorganized and covid. Staying on for PPE program, still AMT good feels.
    ** Crafty note for next time – need self starters who can operate in ambiguous situations.

** irony – need moar organization but can’t hold onto a secretary to help organize.

** There is too much on Crafty’s plate, needs someone else to take the primary responsibilities on (recruiting note takers etc).

    1. Interim plan

What is the critical path forward?

    CA Secretary of State needs CEO/CFO/Secretary for org.

    Concerns of onboarding concerns for the glut that shall come after covid

    Checking email/SLO Reporting/onboarding/docusign due diligence stuff/

    Shorten “Fail” window for the position to start recruiting earlier if need be

    Better to get temp/nerfed secretary than leave the line blank for corporation forms (permanent person > nerfed temp > nobody)

Can board members be secretary? Yes, ish, can be tricky.

Opportunity to bring diversity to board. How do we get PoC for position? Prolly not general advertising. So…. how? Recruit from personal network? Kinda just moved on.

Secretary responsibilities being divvied up: Steven takes writing next agenda… who is checking email? Should be someone with authority to actually act on emails. Suggested – streamlined decision tree for responding to secretary emails. Documented streamlined decision tree.

    1. Recruiting plan

Change the pitch to focus on self-starter-ness

                   Post on social media

                   Email member list

                   Who will take point on recruiting? Crafty cannot be point for recruiting. Sabrina volunteers, Chris ? Sabrina asking for job description to be updated for trimmed down covid role. Full description should be on the wiki – moar member record keeping. Very front-loaded.

    1. Onboarding

Crafty wants tabled till next meeting. Acquiesced.

  1. Board Engagement / Attendance – Director Check-in’s and process updates – REPORT & DISCUSSION

Sabrina: board engagement. Has regular working meeting. 3 so far? Take away focus – combo: thinking about director search, marketing search around ACE Brand and community position. To have a more diverse board, look at relationships with other orgs. Made a spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VFA9H8o9R80n2oT2nJbwOG7njawuA8BRns1qAfxhRL8/edit#gid=0) as pseudo CRM starting point – relationship mapping.

         Crafty adds – what relationships do we have, what relationships do we want?

         Look at relationships we want but do not have as aspirational for role we want to have in community.

Cela:

  • News left her job(!). Looking for large non-profit opportunities.
  • Research on grants, starting a list of possible grants. Google Spreadsheet – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18f8BOEEwWsJ7FLgSi15JuhJneDV5GbRjdLj8j_8_84k/edit#gid=743010516
  • What is officer commitment for applying for grants? What is the grant process? (identifying, reviewing, deciding if we are going to apply) SABRINA NOTE – value of voice conversations directly with grant officers. CRAFTY – Grants always want something more for their money. Issue of aligning grant obligations with organization mission, possibility of discontinuing some actions to start action on a grant that is more in line.
  • Discussion of East Bay Community Foundation, AWESOME Foundation
  • Passed the COVID certification test.
  • She and Steven interviewed potential board member through volunteer match, passed on to crafty for another round
  • Well intentioned but unsuccessful logo contest. Did not quite take off. What are we going to do for a Logo? Pay someone.

Chris

  • Chris can only chat.
  • He didn’t board much last month.
  • Crafty opens discussion to thoughts on board engagement and board discussion.
  • Open Question to the board from crafty: “What does accountability for board members look like?”
    • Steven thoughts – averse to systems of peer pressuring people into line. Ineffective and unfun to leverage personal relationships.
    • Chris: “I think that inaction is an action. While a penalty is not motivating peer support or teaming up for things works well for me personally
You can call that calling to account but support
is more
What I’m looking for and what I’m good at offering”
    • Crafty: Accountability as systems of support. Lonesome responsibilities and associated lonesome punishments are non-ideal.
    • Crafty calls for further conversation in smaller working meetings (8:07), revisit idea later.

 

    1. Last Board sub-group meeting notes
    2. (OLD NOTES for board engagement) Pending Board Projects
      1. Updating HR documentation
      2. Collecting demographic information
      3. Running a board election
      4. Fundraising
      5. Director Search (follow up with Board Match)
    3. See Admin Work Party-list from Asana
  1. Racial equality/justice REPORT & TAKE ON
    1. To remind: we have committed to:
      1. We support calls for the demilitarization of police and a racially-equitable justice system.
  • Crafty offers to connect peeps to social justice orgs
      1. We will donate sani-stations to businesses in Oakland that are rebuilding

*450 masks, 50 shields | 40 masks 30 shields going out for

      1. We will continue to provide PPE to marginalized communities
        1. See PPE program update below
      2. We will add anti-racist courses to our education programs
  • Do more work as we reopen.
  • Lindsey put work into reading list
  • Reading group channel, advertise to members.
    1. DISCUSSION Need leadership on how these ideas take form.
      1. Reading group / racial equity resources channel > place to gather resources, organize some meetings around readings/discussion – Update? New Lead Needed
  1. Program Updates
    1. Stewardship Program Updates
  • Covid presents different workload than what stewards signed up for. Steve Beryl stepped down.
    * New emphasis on organizing a physical space safely.
  • Crafty setting up 1 n 1s with other stewards to see who is in and who is out.
    1. Laser education/certification Updates
  • Need updates to keep certification viable
    1. All programs/cert efforts require update. No activity to report at this time. DISCUSSION This is concerning.
    2. PPE program has a new name “Oakland Community PPE” – development underway
      1. Subsidized labor in the work facilitated by Idea Builder Labs (Danny B.) starting approximately the week of 7/28. There will be 1-4 folks, 18+ for approx 20 hours per week for about 5 weeks.
      2. Developing metrics capture process for public shout out’s and analysis
      3. The current blockers are sewing machine acquisition and 206 room set up.
      4. Accenture partnership update
  1. Rebranding updates
    1. Logo contest results

Did not go well. Putting out bids for a logo.

    1. DISCUSSION Next steps
  1. Reopening Planning and actions updates
  • Thoughts on movers: over-priced. Spent much time looking for hardware to re-assemble things they were told not to disassemble. Yet no one got hurt, no one had to move heavy machinery, and was done by 1.
    1. Basics and Construction
      1. Electrical work 7-16/17
    2. Occupancy Tracking and Scheduling
      1. Additional funding needed, 3k
    3. Pre-Opening Inspections
      1. Inspectors need
    4. IT and Remote Staffing (network and cameras)
      1. Help needed Saturday 7-18
    5. C19 Safety Program
    6. Room Layouts and Set-up
      1. Stewards taking over at this point for areas of responsibility
      2. Colm most of the way there for workshops including new ventilation
      3. Help needed in 206 7-15 – 7-16
  • * Software going really well. OpenSource project that could help more makerspaces.
  • * Tech migrations wait for new branding identity. Much work is involved, no point in doing it until new identity is ready. Redirects from the old domain. Splashy announcement needed.

Reports

  • Executive Director
  • Treasurer
  • Vice President
    • Q&A from latest SOO
    • Membership revenue decline details – why are people leaving? We don’t know, would have to poll. Peeps only suspend or keep subscription. About 49% since march have suspended or deleted sub. Expecting much influx. Maintained separate list of peeps who have left.
  • No further questions, but Crafty is very insistent on getting a gold star.
  • Matt done amazing job in driving Occupancy tracking software development.

Old Business

Comments and Announcements

  • DECIDE Next Board Meeting date and contact person (responsible for calendar, agenda) >> ASSIGN to temporary volunteer.
  • Next meeting: 8/13? Sabrina’s birthday. 8/11. 7PM.
  • Cela creating next agenda.

Adjournment 8:33

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *