WRFI Board Meeting Minutes — June 2021

WRFI Board Meeting Minutes — June 8, 2021, 6-8pm

 

Present:

Carlos Gutierrez

Joseph Haefeli

AGM: Gary Reinbolt

Godfrey Simmons

Chantal Thomas

Pamela Tan

GM: Felix Teitelbaum

John Young

 

Not Present:

Stephen Cope

Joe Romano

 

• Minutes: Approve minutes from May
• A new bookkeeping and internal controls strategy which our accountant has approved:
  • Staff will make direct entry into Quickbooks;
  • Expenses will be entered by Felix, income entered by Gary;
  • The Treasurer will review entries monthly (or perhaps quarterly);
  • Regular reports will be provided to board monthly (or perhaps quarterly);
  • Jennifer Edmondson will periodically review books, help clean things up, answer questions etc.
  • Grants Gateway will need to approve internal controls strategy, then will be put to a vote for the Board.
• Continued work on governance issues (for future grants/donors) including:
  • The need for a board president;
    • NYS corporation/Grants Gateway need officers in place.
    • Currently: Acting President, Treasurer, Secretary.
  • Publicly posting approved minutes;
  • Opening regular board meetings to the public;
  • Board meetings could be quarterly with committee work on off months
• Gary: AGM
  • Proposal for a strategic planning retreat for the board, staff and other stakeholders;
    • Planning for the year.
    • Budget: including for work that is currently being done as a volunteer.
    • Chantal: Board has had these in the past. Execution is as important as the plan.
    • More Board members (12-15)
  • Gary: Currently WRFI very dependent on Park Foundation grant. A stepped-up fundraising regime would include:
    • The introduction of a membership program;
    • An on-air drive in September;
    • A mailing to "lapsed" donors in October;
    • A second, shorter drive in December;
    • An additional/year-end gift campaign in December
  • Any follow ups for outreach to local community groups.
  • Follow-up questions posed by Jun Warritay after our anti-racism workshops:
    • Personally – what self-awareness, self-education, and healing work do you want to take on? What else do you need to know about yourself, racism, and antiracism?
    • Interpersonally – what communication skills and tools do you want to develop to interrupt racist moments? How can people of color and white people at WRFI support each other, across and within your respective groups? How can you create a culture of respect, inclusion, and equity?
    • As an organization – what projects do you want to prioritize? What policies, processes, and practices do you want to change? How will you hold yourselves accountable? How can you sustain the work of addressing racism at WRFI

Next Meeting

• Next Jum follow-up
• Tues, July 13 @ 6 pm