September 14, 2014 Zimfest Association Board Meeting Synopsis
Members in attendance: Jacqueline Fallon, Paul Mataruse, Jennifer Kyker, Amy Robinson, David Simon, Alex Weeks, Tsitsi Hantuba
Members absent: Dana Moffett
Non-voting member in attendance: Claire Jones
Approval of August 8th Minutes and Synopses
The Board reviewed the minutes and synopses from the August 8th Board meeting, and approved them as written.
Zimfest Survey Discussion
Amy Robinson created a 4-page summary of Zimfest survey responses based on a larger 27-page comprehensive document prepared by Claire Jones. The board reviewed and discussed the survey responses for some time. Amy Robinson will prepare a short summary of the Zimfest 2014 survey results to post on the Zimfest Blog, and send it to the Board for review before publishing it.
Treasurer’s Report
Tsitsi Hantuba summarized the treasurer’s reports, which had previously been distributed by email. She has been using MoneyMinder for record-keeping and has reviewed bank statements monthly. She also reported that she, Claire Jones and Alex Weeks had reviewed the final University of Puget Sound Invoice to ensure its accuracy. At present the report indicates that there was a $5,300 loss for the 2014 festival, with only a small amount of unreconciled income and expenses remaining. Based on this preliminary figure, Zimfest Association is left with approximately $10,000 in cash.
The board discussed strategies for maintaining the financial viability of the festival. Alex Weeks suggested that we need to more effectively use the prices charged to Zimfest by its venue to create our pricing model, and be sure to charge enough to cover our expenses. David Simon suggested that we be extremely attentive to the financial and contractual details for future Zimfest venues.
The board also discussed sources of funding for the paid festival coordinator and next year’s festival. Tsitsi Hantuba and David Simon will discuss details in the coming weeks.
Charitable Contributions
Contingent upon the accuracy of the financial data from Zimfest 2014, the board decided that it will not contribute charitably this year.
Progress on Future Zimfest Sites
The board discussed the possibility of switching to a bi-annual schedule, and skipping next year. Paul Mataruse expressed concern that this might cause the festival to lose momentum, or be concerning to Zimfest attendees, with so little notice.
The board discussed a number of possible venues, including Whidbey Island, the University of Oregon, the Oregon Country Fair Site, Fort Worden, WA, and Reed College. Alex Weeks suggested Zimfest consider a smaller, simpler festival next year, and David Simon suggested that we might use the financial losses as impetus to reconsider and review our policies.
The board will continue reviewing venues, and make a final decision as soon as possible.
Request to Use Zimfest Insurance
Amy Robinson requested that her band, Kubatana Marimba Southwest, be allowed to use the Zimfest Association insurance for a November 1st fundraising concert. Amy Robinson recused herself, and The Board voted to authorize Kubatana Marimba to use Zimfest Association insurance at a performance for Global Health Partners on November 1st, 2014.
Next meeting: October 12th, 6-8pm Pacific time.
