January 2014 Board Notes

Date:

01/13/2014

Attendance:

Board Attended: Lauren, Kim, Damarra, John, Mike, Brian, Rin, Andy
Board Absent:
Observers: Gifford, Jayson, Heather, JayColette, Kale, Viola, Kevin Ehrler, Nathan Hoemke, Dave Vetrovec

Notes:

Detour [Gifford]

orphaned phone number for ATC merchant account has been replaced by Google Voice number that leads to a pre-recorded message
staff list is the only info remaining that has yet to be ported over to Detour's server

SOS [Heather]

impromptu room change for NYE party worked out pretty well (entire end of top floor in short tower); Josh will explore reserving that same space for next NYE party
cold snap last week canceled last meeting, Second Harvest
Kotatsu is tomorrow

Clubs [JayColette]

accessed Detour's group registration list to compose directory

question: is focus for inclusion on contact list on anime/manga, or Japanese culture?
tie into mission statement [Lauren]

Hennepin County Libraries interested in having more activities, but don't have enough people to run them; directory may be helpful in this instance
Anoka Libraries gave a more generic answer
will try to add a Clubs panel to Detour

finances [Kim]

remove Kale as a signer on the ATC bank account
tax forms are done
most of the income for Detour has been received
bank account at >$354.5K
LEG fund at >$11.8K

would like check for Meetup.com in advance [Heather]
can switch from Heather's card to ATC card instead [Lauren]

Charities [Kale]

had first meeting
working on onesheet available for distribution at other cons
would like to amend bylaws to allow for loans beyond two years if there's a legitimate need

Samurai Dan and Jillian were recently scammed by a fake publisher

  • would like a grant of $4,000 to get them through the next three months while they pursue ways to get their money back
  • this would be a good opportunity to show that ATC's generosity isn't restricted to the Detour community
  • bylaws do not require financial inquiry for grants to individuals
  • grants are considered gifts, with no pressure/expectation to repay, and should not be used towards their IndieGogo setup
  • question: establish community drive to recoup grant? promote their IndieGogo? [John]
  • question: how should oversight of Charities Coordinator be defined? [Lauren]
  • monetary threshold, below which Coordinator has free reign [Andy, John]
  • Coordinator is responsible for choosing opportunities to pursue, approval for which is voted by board [Mike, Heather, Kale]
  • would like an itemized list of what grant is going to be used for [Lauren]
  • apprehensive about the details of how much money was involved
  • question: are we in the business of deciding who deserves money, or in the business of giving help? [Heather]
  • stipulate that grant is to be used for living costs (instead of toward interest payments, for example), using provision that ATC pay for expenses directly to vendor [Lauren]
  • question: what has been the extent of Anton's communication with them, regarding expectations of LEG fund help? [Kim]

looking at ways to help out local charities
looking at who would and wouldn't be desirable as LEG fund partners
question: is SOS or Charities responsible for room parties? [Heather]

Amazon Smile proceeds earmarked for LEG fund [John]
question: how to promote it? (Detour front page, ATC front page)

newsletter [Lauren]

Dave will try to get Registration to respond to requests to provide database

two candidates for newsletter coordinator (Shannon Hayes, Jenna MacKrell)
appoint Jenna, as her request seems more impressive
three month probationary period for Jenna

question: how to send out newsletter?

Brian needs to locate his laptop

community outreach program [Damarra]

still working on tri-fold pamphlet

anti-harassment policy [Rin]

not logistically feasible to train in person, because not everyone attends a given meeting
PDF with test online?
will come up with questions
announce impending policy at staff meeting

gaming event [John]

have not made progress; may defer for a year
Lauren: solicit potential help via sign-in clipboards/binders at ATC room party [Lauren]

IP policy [John]

no progress

ATC podcast [John]

first one will be live at Detour
quarterly may be more realistic than monthly

Evangelion 3.33 is not coming to movie theaters; can get for Anime Movies on the Big Screen? [Gifford]

Lantern Lighting Festival, Pride [JayColette]

no progress

Rin will be making announcements at next Detour staff meeting

anti-harassment policy
appointed Jenna as newsletter coordinator