November 8, 2014 ZA Board Meeting Minutes

November 8, 2014 Zimfest Association Board Meeting Synopsis

Members present: Jacqueline Fallon, Tsitsi Hantuba, Amy Robinson, David Simon, Alex Weeks, Dana Moffett
Members absent: Paul Mataruse, Jennifer Kyker
Non-voting member present: Claire Jones

October 12 Board Meeting Minutes and Synopsis

Approved after minor revisions.

Zimfest 2015 Site and Date

Whidbey Fairgrounds—Claire prepared a detailed proposal and is awaiting further discussion. Dana has also been involved in the conversation with the fairgrounds contact person. They were trying to get an answer by tonight’s meeting, but it seems more complex now. Our current proposed date is the last weekend of July, however, a few buildings won’t be available that weekend due to preparations for the fair. Dana will try to contact her tomorrow for further discussion.

U of O—Janis Weeks has offered to serve as a faculty co-sponsor Zimfest. Bud Cohen did a site visit. We can get the faculty rate through her co-sponsorship, so Claire is awaiting a package proposal from conference services. The dates of August 13-16, 2015 give us the option of using the Ballroom. The student union will be under renovation in 2015, so it might be better to plan for 2016.

Other options—Willamette—conference site would be a gym. Research into facilities fee was notable for the fact that if 90% of the attendees (not clear what that means) stay in the dorm, there is no facilities fee. Otherwise, the rental fees are quite high. Not sure whether a date was reserved. Linfield College—unable to reach. Pacific University—facility fees are high. Western Oregon University—Monmouth, Oregon (outside Salem)—Claire spoke with a few people at the conference services. Positives include low facility fees, large stage and lovely campus. Fort Warden—2016 might be a possibility.

Action item: We will have a short board meeting Nov. 22 from 6-7 pm PST to discuss Zimfest 2015 site/date. If we don’t have a decision by the December meeting, we will not have adequate time to prepare for Zimfest in 2015.

Fundraising

Claire notes we had an end of year campaign last November and December. We raised less than a thousand dollars but plan to try again. We were more successful just prior to the festival when we voiced a specific need. Facility fees seem to be increasing every year, so fundraising remains critical. Matching donations helped in our efforts to help bring Zimbabweans to Zimfest this year. Claire suggests we talk to each other and ask for donations from people we know.

David and Tsitsi will work on a letter to the membership.

Jennifer had agreed to write a letter regarding donations. David will follow up with her.

Claire is writing a grant to the Tulalip Tribes Charity.

Seattle University Intern—She would start in January and produce a report in May. Claire will follow up on this.

Converting Coordinator Position to Contractor

To be discussed next meeting.

Treasurers’ Report

Tsitsi—no new information.

Survey Summary

No further revisions needed. Amy will ask Larry to post the October board meeting minutes synopsis and Festival Survey Summary.

Action item—Board members should review the survey and see whether the survey should be simplified. We will discuss this at the December meeting.

Board Membership

Current board members will approach certain individuals who we think might be recruited to apply to join the board. Ability to maintain confidentiality is prerequisite. We anticipate the resignation of two or more board members in the next year. Specifically, we will need a new treasurer and secretary next year. We might want to put out a general call and mention that we also are looking for someone with expertise in fundraising.

Meeting adjourned 7:38 pm, PST

Upcoming Meetings

November 22, brief meeting, 6-7 pm PST, to discuss ZF 2015

Regular meeting December 14, 6-8 pm, PST