| Sunday, February 27, 2000 |
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| Written by Administrator | |
| Sunday, 27 February 2000 | |
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In Attendance: Bob Bruhin, Maria Sawczuk, Raffaella, Nancy Lebovitz, Paula, and Fedor
ITEMS UP FOR DISCUSSION Board Recap of the Ball How do we think we did? The group consensus was that we had a nice turn out but it was not what we had hoped or expected. The concern was that after six (6) months we had done no better than we had at the Summer Social. Possible factors contributing to low attendance: Full Moon Circles SCA changed date of event from December to February Was the cost an issue? Was the lack of parking an issue? No Coven Support- Church of the Three Witches attended Brian and Damiara’s coven attended Only Helena and Ellen from Oak and Willow WC solitaries attended, but not en masse Should we hold our next event in the suburbs? Possibly Ridley Creek? The Board agreed to send out surveys to the discussion list and to the vendors asking for feedback. Feedback we did receive: Merchants- Overall the merchants were pleased. Positive feedback was given from Ellen, Kirsten, and Damiara. Helena had a mixed reaction and did state that she made back the money she paid for the cost of the table. Fran was unhappy, but we believe the location of her table was the main factor as it was in a corner where no one could really see the display. Bob stated that everyone he has spoken to says we are doing better. As a group we discussed our financial situation. We all agreed that we need to remember that 1/5 of those people who say they will be attending an event actually attend and realize that it takes any business 2 years to make a profit. On paper we seem to be making a profit after our first year. However, our personal out of pocket expenses are high. The question the group raised was "Why didn’t we meet our goal?" What can we do better? Possible solutions: - Restrict who helps the merchants and who gets in free. We would do this by allowing 2 free admissions per vendor table (this includes the merchant).
Delegating A number of concerns regarding this issue were raised during the discussion. The group agreed we have to start stepping back and learn to delegate. There were a number of discussions going on during the planning of the Ball that could have been handled if one person had been put in charge. The group consensus was that in the future we will have one person running the event, they will have their own e-mail list, and come to the board with major concerns and updates on progress. It was also agreed that once the Charter is completed we would come up with guidelines and address the following questions: How often will the committee report to the board? How will we assign the committee chairs? How does the Board want the committee to run? How do we get the community to participate? The general consensus is that the board should be involved with the business of running DVPN as a whole and not be concerned with the day to day running of various projects. Quote to remember: We are creating our own history. Committee Organization According to Maria this does not need to be in the Charter but should appear in the bylaws and Organization Policy. We will need to set up rules governing the committees and establish guidelines. Items needing to be addressed: what will the time lines be for organizing an event, locating volunteers, locating resources. The possibility of sponsoring events with various organizations was also discussed. Inviting various covens to be involved with the planning of events. The group consensus was that Raffaella would head the Committee on Committees.
Membership. How do we determine DVPN membership? What are the requirements? Will there be a membership fee? Will members be required to participate on committees and volunteer their time? How many times per year? This is going to be an ongoing discussion once the Charter has been completed.
Fund Raising What can we do to generate income? The group discussed possible answers to this question. We tossed around investigating how to obtain grant money, various fund raising efforts, seminars we can hold, etc. The Cherry Hill Unitarians have contacted DVPN about the possibility of co-sponsoring a drumming seminar. The group agreed to sponsor the following events:
Community Center We agreed to start investigating possible locations for our future community center. This would give us an idea of what’s out there, what we can afford, what we need, zoning and taxes, what neighborhoods would be Pagan friendly. Germantown and Mt Airy were discussed due to their proximity to public transportation and the prevalence of artisans. During this discussion the group tossed around a lot of ideas about how we could run the community center. Future topics of discussion will be: whom do we open the community center to? If we have extra space and are able, like William Way, would we rent our rooms? Raffaella especially wants a reading room/library, which has snacks. How would we determine who is able to rent our space? How do we determine if a group is questionable? And we must have the ability to deny access to those groups who are questionable. It was agreed that we would participate in and establish a "Good Neighbor" policy. If any organization has a disaster, we would allow them to use our space until they are able to get back into their own. Paula will talk to Bill Woolworth, a friend of hers who is knowledgeable in the purchase and upkeep of historic and older buildings, and see if he would be able to start looking at possible locations.
Open discussion Items to be discussed at future meetings. Online Calendar. choosing an advisory board (high profile community members who do not have time for full board duties, status of Penn Pagans.             |
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