July 23, 2017 Zimfest Association Board Meeting Synopsis
Members in Attendance: Rujeko Dumbutshena, Jacqueline Fallon, Claire Jones, Evelyn Mukwedeya, David Simon, Alex Weeks, Janis Weeks
Members Absent: Chris Halaska, Daniel Lockley, Dana Moffett
Review/Modify Agenda
Done by email
Tech — Update on Vendor Selection for Registration Software (Alex/Janis)
3 options, have mocked up festivals for each one. The workshops by donation is the greatest source of difficulty at the moment. Have explored the user end as well as the back end. People will not be able to select their individual room. There will be different options of rooms with the number of nights for people to choose from. Then the actual rooms assignments may have to be done on site or another way. There will be a certain amount of extra work getting people used to the new system. Is volunteer signup being considered as part of the registration software? No, the software doesn’t offer that type of signup. We need to have the option of donation workshops in order to pay an honorarium for B1 visa teachers, regarding Zimfest as a conference hosted by an educational institution.
Finance — Review and Discuss Zimfest Fundraising Campaign Content (David)
Review and respond by email. Donations on GoFundMe or the regular way? Easier for other people to see the donations on GoFundMe. The cost that they keep is pretty high. Decided against GoFundMe. Just use the existing donation method on the ZF page.
Festival Structure — Discuss pros and cons of holding a yearly festival vs. every other year and gain alignment from the Board on the next steps
Board members haven’t heard any negatives about skipping this year. Putting out a brief survey may help us get some answers. Ask just a few questions to the community. We don’t have to make decisions just yet.
Response to Inquiry Regarding Hosting Zimfest on the East Coast (All)
The inquirer wondered if Zimfest had ever considered a festival on the East Coast. There are some groups on the East Coast and a few teaching events have been organized the past few years. Claire will respond to her.
Festival Structure — Festival Coordinator Position
Starting from the beginning as to why we started this position – the primary motivation was continuity and consistency between festivals by having a single person leading the festival from year to year. The other benefit of having a paid coordinator is the seamless communication with the board, attending the board meetings but not being a voting board member. Any difficulties? – There were some questioning of why the festival would pay someone now for a role which was previously unpaid, a few tax logistics at the beginning. If we pay a coordinator then we don’t have money to make contributions to other organizations. We think people have come around to understanding the position. How can we transfer some of Claire’s knowledge and train someone else at some point? Maybe create procedures, processes, and guidelines for if and when someone else steps in. All in favor for keeping the Festival coordinator position with Claire in place. Approve a 5% increase from $8000. Starting date – November 2017.
Discussion on Cultural Appropriation in Relation to Zimfest and the Zimfest Community (All)
Zimfest could play a role in educating the community about cultural appropriation and the diversity of opinions around the subject. The board strongly recommends that there is a session at Zimfest to facilitate that.
Marketing — Update on Save the Date Campaign (Evelyn)
Fundraising message first then Save the Date.
Discuss Timing of August meeting (All)
Back to regular 2nd Sunday, August 13th
