Core Team Meeting, Thursday, Apr 27, 2006

Agenda

 * 2:30 - Informal Gathering
 * 3:00 - Meeting starts
 * 1) Opening: Craig
 * 2) East: Syd
 * 3) Event Promotion
 * 4) Sponsorship
 * 5) South: Parke
 * 6) Parke & Core Team
 * 7) Accounting
 * 8) FIC Account - status?
 * 9) Paying Syd?
 * 10) Taxes
 * 11) Registration
 * 12) Budget, Draft 3
 * 13) Worst Case Scenarios
 * 14) Southwest: Fred
 * 15) Event Venue
 * 16) West: Craig on behalf of Ma'ikwe
 * 17) Gretchen joining Ma'ikwe's Western Team
 * 18) Core Team distribution of "Call for Contributions"
 * 19) Headliners (see Mai'kwe mail)
 * 20) Content-rich NW IC Brainstorm
 * 21) Lost Valley
 * 22) Brietenbush
 * 23) Community Pantry
 * 24) North: Craig
 * 25) FIC Org Meeting Madison Debrief
 * 26) Building the Event team
 * 27) Extended Team Candidate List
 * 28) Upcoming meetings - including Ma'ikwe, Gretchen, etc.
 * 29) North East: Brad
 * 30) Closing

Minutes
Northeast-Opening/check in.

Reviewed last minutes. Reviewed agenda. Discussed priorities.

East- note-Taking meeting minutes and posting/distributing is a "southy" task, which we talked about at the beginning of this meeting. Syd will take minutes again this time, but Parke has agreed to take responsibility for doing this or delegating the task in the future, since he is "north of south" on this team. a. Marketing: Syd talked about a promotions charette idea, and forming a committee on outreach & marketing. There are public speaking opportunities, flyers and brochures to make and distribute, email lists to send announcements to, particularly want to reach our sponsors' organizational members, and networking lists (including sites like tribe.net and oraclegatherings); getting regional contacts to help with all of the above--outside of the Seattle area, plus website marketing and swapped weblinks with other organizations. Syd is working on organizing lists of media, ICs, and cmty nonprofit and friendly businesses.

b. Sponsorship: The sponsorship letter is in editing phase, with deadline of people to get back to Syd by 4-14. Syd has contact with sponsors of other similar events (current/upcoming in the area) and has the contact lists from Coop-NW 2001, NWSF also. Needs to follow up with friendly, likely sponsors but hasn't made time to call and do the asking yet. Wants the letter done so that it can be sent first with a follow up call to ask if they have received the letter and become acquainted with the goals for our event. Parke comments that it will be easier to get sponsors once we have more program in place, and we agree that's true, but we don't want to wait for more program to be decided before going after sponsors.

Priority item: Madison debrief (time check at beginning of this item: 8:22) Fred reported that contract with Bastyr is signed. FIC bd thought risk seemed reasonable. Applied for Sunrise checking account.

We go back to concerns about publicity. Email lists we have now. NICA list @ 170; 120 or so on the NWCommunities riseup list. CR thinks we should send out a "Save the Date" to these within the next week, and soon after get word out to BCICA and Eugene networks. NICA planning to have a gathering in Eugene in May or June which will help build excitement for the AOC. Not clear if/when we are getting labels from FIC for all NW communities they have to do paper mailing. CR thinks it's ideal to have 2 postcard mailings go out; PB and SF spoke to having one go out 5-6 weeks in advance. Tasks: Syd will send edited Call for Contrib letter to Maikwe, get her approval before we distribute it. Syd will make a publicity plan and post to wiki next week, along with progress on forming a publicity committee. Syd will include sponsor goals in these minutes. (see below)

--- SPONSORSHIP GOALS --- ~2 sustaining @ $750 =  $1500 ~6 supporting @ $500 =  $3000 ~10 cooperating @ $250 = 2500 + tables, 1 sales @ 100 = $100 + 3 NGOs not vending   =  120 + possible program ads =  200 potential income by June $7420

South: Parke has received FEC approval to work on the AOC Core Team using labor credits, and his labor will earn FEC sponsorship recognition. We decide (?) that they can be considered a major sponsor. RE: Registration, task for Syd and Parke is to check with BPT about getting money in increments, instead of waiting for one check to be sent after the event. We can make some of our own tickets or have BPT print tickets (so they all look the same) to sell in advance, and that way have money that can be deposited to the event account. Task: ask BPT if they can code or # the tickets. Craig thinks it's o.k. to pay them $.10 per ticket printing fee. BUDGET - A recap on budget: we shouldn't incur more advance expenses than $5000. Craig encourages us to think about metrics of success. Right now we estimate $11,000 in total expenses. Breakdown: $2100 venue, $1800 syd labor, $2700 food service, $600 snacks (not provided by BU), $1000 insurance, $400 staff travel... Task: Fred to find out if liability insurance is required or recommended by BU and at what amount. There's a sense that we plan to do at least one USPS mailing. Parke would oversee these. Task: Parke to look into rules about bulk mailings, specifically, can we mail from Seattle using the FIC bulk permit. Parke and Syd said an ideal time for a postcard reminder is 5-6 weeks in advance. Craig voiced that he would like to do 2 mailings. We should talk more about cost, mail lists we have and see if there's agreement about when, whether, & how many to do, estimating printing and design costs, and whose labor is involved, depending on from where mailings would go out.

Some talk here about Marcia King, Seattle Times writer and the priming that Craig did to get her interested in writing a story about AOC.

Southwest - Fred repeats that contract is ready to be turned in and he will check on insurance issues. He's initiated process for Sunrise CU account to be opened, and will mail them a check (from NICA) soon. Checks should arrive from Sunrise in the next week or two. Parke will be the prime account controller, so people should send invoices to him, or get expenditure reimbursements which have been approved by core team from him. re: SITE--meals cost and what we're asking. COST-lunch @ #8.43; we ask $9.25. Cost of dinner- $10.06, we ask $12.50. Seems justified due to mix-ups in meal ticket system that inevitably occur. We're reminded that AOC is not offering to pay for staff or presenters' meals. Task for Fred: find out if we can have catering at BU (could be a banquet table by donation), and what's our final deadline for giving them our meal count. Also ask if BU has meal tickets to distribute or do we make them ourselves?

West we review what Ma'ikwe asked via email about input on plenary speakers. Here is our feedback-- to consider these women: Tree Bressen, Diana Christian, Cecile Andrews, Lisa Fitzhugh (Parke will write Ma'ikwe with more info about Lisa) and consider these men: Duane Elgin, Gifford Pinchot, Nick Licata, Richard Conlin, and Alan Seid.

RE: the AOC call for contributions, we should start a wiki brainstorm for other people to target in asking them to consider presenting some kind of program element. Ideas we start with: Community Pantry (Seattle), Lost Valley, Britenbush, Tryon Farm (Portland), Apex (Seattle). We should email the call to nw communities/NICA list. (Who should do?) Decision: for all to do, email each other as we add to wiki brainstorm list. Craig will start it.

North Craig advocates skipping/tabling the issue of 'building the team' here in favor of discussing online, on wiki. Syd is to ask Gretchen to work on publicity, sponsorship and auction.

Next meeting: our first choice is Thurs eve. 4/27. Syd will ask Gretchen if we can meet at her house. If that evening isn't good for her, next choices are that Thurs. afternoon or Wed. eve, 4/26.

check-outs