Members in Attendance: Mandy Walker-LaFollette, Maria Minnaar Bailey, Charlie Keziah, Parker Ediger, Claire Jones, Angela Marie, Tendai Muparutsa
Members Absent: Caden Davis, Jesse Larson, Heather Steele, Michael Sibanda
Non-voting members in attendance:
Meeting lead: Maria
Notes taker: Mandy
Was a quorum of Board members present?: Yes
May Notes/Minutes
Approved via email.
Regfox Recommendations
Regfox’s subscription tiers are changing, and we need to know if membership is an option on the current tier. Mandy will check with Heather and possibly send Jake’s suggested email.
Zimfest 2029
The Board continues communication with an interested host for Zimfest 2029.
Finances
Brokerage Account – Unfortunately, Maria’s financial advisor has not been able to find any way for us to accept stock. We therefore need to tell our potential donor that we cannot accept donations in the form of stocks.
In order to accept stock we would need an account for it to land in, and there aren’t any suitable options for us. If anyone wants to include Zimfest Association in their will they are welcome to (their estate can liquidate before the giving). Parker will write up a blog post and send to Claire.
Zeffy sent an email to Maria about replacing PayPal accounts. The treasurer group (Parker, Heather, Claire) looked into this and we are not interested.
Claire and Audrey are in touch about grant-writing possibilities.
- Note that current off-year ZA expenses are ~$4000.
- Parker has prepared a projected budget for 2026 (thank you!)
- The budget is incomplete; Heather and Parker plan to present at the July board meeting.
Zimfest Recordings Done and Available on Bandcamp!
See blog post. Liner notes are here on the web, downloadable. Big big thanks to Steve Spitalny for mixes as well as the squad who did all the prep work!
Quick financial report: Total sales 20 copies, net revenue $308 after rev share and fees. Most sales on the date of announcement 6/3. Many people are paying more than required!
Media Curation Matters (Claire)
We need a volunteer(s) who can deal with the media we have and curation. A few notes and questions on what we have:
- Do we want the videos Alex took of the evening concerts on the Board drive (they are currently on his own drive)? No, they are too big for our current storage space.
- Note we have videos (done by Blessing) from 2023 on the Board drive that could be edited and used for Zimfest YouTube channel and website
- 2025 Photos taken by Rob Saecker are now available on Board Drive as well
Any interest from tech committee folks?
Festival Coordinator Job Description
The Board reviewed a draft job description. Next meeting we will finish and be ready to send it out. In the meantime, Board members will review and suggest edits.
Quickbooks Payroll (Parker, Gary)
Gary is being offered a special on payroll services as he converts several of his clients to QB Online. He can get us a significant discount, but there may be a deadline that requires us to set up payroll before we hire a coordinator.
The cost would be ~$20/month instead of ~$40. Gary is confirming with his intuit contact if the discount is permanent or for a limited period.
The Board agrees that Parker will work with Gary to move forward with this process.
Hi! Just wondering why Zeffy was rejected as a QR code to bank no-fee funds capture? Much cheaper than PayPal or Stripe and a clean simple platform. Is the donor wanting to give stocks willing to liquidate then donate? Is there anything volunteers can do now to help smooth visas for Zimbabweans in 2027?
Hi Emily, Your interest and questions make you a good candidate for Joining the ZA Board – check it out here: https://zimfest.org/about/board-members/zimfest-association-board-recruitment/
1) Zeffy has certainly been very aggressive with its marketing campaign. We have a long history with PayPal and we qualify for lower non-profit fees as a 501(c)(3), making it more than competitive with Zeffy and others.
2)We are searching for ways that anyone can bequeath money to ZA and will address the matter in a future blog post
3)The only way I know of to smooth visas for Zimbabweans in 2027 is to reverse the current regime’s Dec 2026 order suspending the entry of Zimbabweans as immigrants and nonimmigrants under the B1/B2 visas that many apply for to come to Zimfest.
Hi, I’m in Zimbabwe through July 30. Anything I could do/anyone I could meet with before I leave that might help reverse the order? Pay a visit to the US Embassy, etc?
The order came from the White House, a directive to the local consuls dated Dec 26. Before that I recall there was directive that Zimbabwean nationals must travel to the embassy in South Africa rather than Harare for visa application interviews. If you are in Zimbabwe, it might be helpful to speak with a embassy official, and it is certainly worthwhile registering an official complaint!
I just researched stock donation options for another small nonprofit. Best method is for the donor to set up their own DAF (donor-advised fund), have the DAF sell the stocks, and then award the proceeds to (in this case) Zimfest. I’m happy to share the info with the ZF Treasurer and/or the potential donor.
Thank you, Janis. That would be welcome information!