[Community] Re: keeping things clear

Fri Jul 17 14:20:57 CDT 2009

Hi Nicole, Beth, and Everyone,
I can meet on Tuesday, with a focus on membership and fundraising. I would
like to be available to help supervise the Consortium "girls" from 2 to 6 in
the afternoon, so something around that time slot would work well for me if
it is also convenient for others. Nicole, if no one else is available
Tuesday, you and I can meet anyway. I can share with you the reports I have
already compiled and the report Kathy worked on. At the minimum we can
determine additional information we still need to derive from Quickbooks.
Kathy is not going to be available until after next Thursday, but we can get
her up to speed, and on a project, separate from our meeting.

Thanks,
Joy

On Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 1:34 PM, Nicole Pion <nicole.pion at gmail.com> wrote:

> FYI, I am moving this conversation to the Bookkeeper list, not Finance,
> which includes all fiscal sponsees of the IMC.
>
> Beth, I understand and appreciate your concern.  Please excuse me if I am
> not  thinking as logically as I could, but I am overwhelmed right now.  I'm
> trying to manage membership, summer employees, the AmeriCorps grant and a
> new fundraising effort.  Of the four groups you mention, my work is tied to
> each.
>
> 1& 2.)  Community connections/outreach don't need to be fundraising groups,
> but we had begun the membership conversation there, which I see as tied to
> fundraising, since membership is supposed to constitute a significant
> portion of IMC income.   I recognize and appreciate that there are other
> purposes to each.
>
> 3.) Finance is overburdened, but I agree should be fundraising. However, it
> hasn't work that way with the building responsibilities, which must be
> attended to immediately.   This makes sense because our main source of
> income is now rent.  We are trying to move away from this structure, but
> this will take some substantial effort, time, and new income streams.
>
> 4.) Membership: I have been the primary person doing membership management
> right now and it is difficult.  Between a new membership database that isn't
> fully operational and my workload, it's been difficult to say the least.
>
> I'm fine with fundraising/membership being a separate group (I don't think
> we can divide those two)-  that is the ideal.  However, I want to ensure
> that we do not spread core volunteers too thin.  Certainly there will be
> other people from other working groups, but those of you who have been
> committed to this effort thus far are on this list.  I'm anxious to get this
> initiative in motion soon.  Would Tuesday (anytime between 9am and 9pm) work
> for folks?
>
> Thank you for your input.
>
> Nicole
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 12:10 PM, Elizabeth Simpson <elizacorps at yahoo.com>wrote:
>
>> Hi Joy and Nicole (and all),
>>
>> It's REALLY important that fundraising NOT be conflated with community
>> connections.
>>
>> Ideally there should be four groups, membership, outreach, fundraising,
>> and CC. Most orgs have the first three. Because we are such a wonky
>> structure, we need the fourth.
>>
>> We don't officially have those four groups. It's chicken and egg over
>> whether we don't have them because we don't have people, or we don't have
>> people because we don't have them.
>>
>> OUTREACH
>> Nicole and I have been acting under 'outreach' to some degree, on
>> alternate wednesdays (less during the summer).
>>
>> MEMBERSHIP
>> Someone (Nicole? Michelle?) is doing work on membership. If may make sense
>> to have this work happen at a regular time, as a seed for a membership
>> group, so that the organization supports it, and has a means for continuity
>> if that/those people should want to cease doing that work.
>>
>> FUNDRAISING
>> According to the online description, finance IS the fundraising group.
>> Structurally it preferrable to include all working groups, with finance as a
>> hub. Actually it has involved key individuals, mostly fmor finance, busting
>> their butts for the greater whole (thank you!).
>>
>> In developing a fundraising plan, because we don't have ANY of those
>> groups clearly, it will necessarily incorporate membership, outreach and
>> fundraising. Because of this, it may be that, for now, there is a
>> workgroup/taskforce that builds all of this in light of the big fundraising,
>> and then the groups split off into their respective parts afterward. This
>> group will have to do more work than meet bi-weekly, if we actually want to
>> raise $25,000. We should structure the meeting schedule so it isn't up to
>> Nicole or a small few to run around like crazy in between. I suggest having
>> a big meeting (like 3-4 hours) to go over the overall set of work and make a
>> fundraising plan proposal, which would include getting more volunteers,
>> setting up a meeting structure, and drafting the relation of finance to
>> other fundraising activities.
>>
>> Though CC is related to these, it is NOT these, and should not be confused
>> with them. It's imperative that this space stay open for its purpose- not
>> least because it needs to support the upcoming open house and skillshare.
>>
>> Community Connections
>> *Description:* Community Connections is a workgroup that addresses the
>> health of the internal IMC community and its infrastructure, as well as the
>> IMC's cultural relevance and accessibility in Champaign County.
>>
>> Best to you and the IMC,
>> elizaBeth
>>
>> A strong people need no leader
>> - Zapata
>>
>>
>>
>> --- On *Fri, 7/17/09, Nicole Pion <nicole.pion at gmail.com>* wrote:
>>
>>
>> From: Nicole Pion <nicole.pion at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Imc] Finance Updates for July 2009 Steering
>> To: "Elizabeth Simpson" <elizacorps at yahoo.com>
>> Cc: "JOY" <imcbooks at gmail.com>
>> Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 11:29 AM
>>
>> Thank you, Beth and Joy.
>> I agree that we need an overall fundraising plan.  I'd like to see this as
>> part of the community connections bi-weekly focus on fundraising and
>> membership.  I see these items as central to helping the IMC craft a
>> collective vision (which must realistically be financed).   If you all
>> agree, I am going to write to the IMC as a whole and to the individual
>> groups who have received AmeriCorps and ask for volunteers to fundraise.
>>
>> I'd like to start as soon as possible.  Does next Wednesday's' meeting
>> time of 6pm work?
>>
>> Beth, I understand the distinction between your work and the Do Good
>> name.  While we have certain items in the grant application, that was
>> written a year before the project will begin and changes are certain.  I
>> will write the reports to reflect that you are an independent consultant or
>> however you'd like to state it.  No matter how we call it, your work will be
>> valuable to the new AmeriCorps :)
>>
>> Nicole
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 9:23 PM, Elizabeth Simpson <elizacorps at yahoo.com<http://mc/compose?to=elizacorps@yahoo.com>
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>  Hi Nicole and Joy,
>>> My thought is that we need an overall fundraising plan, with different
>>> subsets to address the different sections. Ideally this would link up with
>>> the vision/mission stuff, so that would be in place first to bolster it. I
>>> know that 'fall' had been tossed around for that. What is the timeline on
>>> raising the $$ to match americorps?
>>>
>>> This kind of undertaking really needs a committed core group that meets
>>> specifically about it. Danielle mentioned that it's key to have all groups
>>> doing fundraising, and coordinating with finance as a hub. My thought is
>>> that there would be a weekly meeting time dedicated to fundraising/outreach,
>>> which would report to finance, and would be the coordination point for other
>>> groups. First step might be to I.D. a core group, with representatives from
>>> each working group. Which would mean the first first step is developing the
>>> approach to working groups so that they're willing to engage.. ah the cycle
>>> continues! But the point about getting help from working groups getting a
>>> americorps person is right on.
>>>
>>> Kick-starting the outreach listserv again might help with this, so that
>>> everyone involved can be in the loop?
>>>
>>> Nicole, two small points: I'm not sure if it helps your budget in terms
>>> of the in-kind numbers, but FYI my non-profit rate is $80 an hour, so it's
>>> more like $640/day. Also, it's me as a consultant, not Do Good, who is
>>> donating the time. That's important because I haven't talked with Laura
>>> about do good's name being associated with the IMC. To that point- we should
>>> talk about to what extent my involvement/commitment is, so we're on the same
>>> page about expectations.
>>> Go team!
>>> elizaBeth
>>>
>>> A strong people need no leader
>>> - Zapata
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --- On *Thu, 7/2/09, Nicole Pion <nicole.pion at gmail.com<http://mc/compose?to=nicole.pion@gmail.com>
>>> >* wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> From: Nicole Pion <nicole.pion at gmail.com<http://mc/compose?to=nicole.pion@gmail.com>
>>> >
>>> Subject: Re: [Imc] Finance Updates for July 2009 Steering
>>> To: "JOY" <imcbooks at gmail.com <http://mc/compose?to=imcbooks@gmail.com>>
>>> Cc: "Elizabeth Simpson" <elizacorps at yahoo.com<http://mc/compose?to=elizacorps@yahoo.com>
>>> >
>>> Date: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 11:20 AM
>>>
>>>
>>> Hey Beth and Joy,
>>> Beth - I definitely want to coordinate and we have a TON of work to do!
>>> So, I'm not trying to divide between groups, but to get togeher as much help
>>> as I can.  Basically, I was going to have Kathy do some information finding
>>> with our finances to see who our life time members are, who has donated over
>>> $1,000, compile a list of founding members, etc.  We need to get all this
>>> straight.  So, if Kathy can attend the bb meetings, great, if not I have
>>> some specific projects that she can do that will benefit BB as a whole.
>>>
>>> I also want to focus on fundraising for the AmeriCorps positions -we have
>>> to match their funds with $35,000 for AmeriCorps benefits, some of which is
>>> in-kind.  For the membership drive, I think it would be great to get at
>>> least one contact from each working group - perhaps this is something that
>>> Beth, Chris R and I can mention when we go to working group meetings.
>>>
>>> For the AmeriCorps positions, I think that each group that gets an
>>> AmeriCorps will also need to help with these efforts.
>>> It would be ideal if we could raise between $20-50,000 to help the IMC
>>> cover these costs as well as the cost of paying a program director).  I've
>>> attached the budget. Beth, this is just the kind of thing you said we could
>>> fundraise for, right?  We've got a golden opportunity in so many ways and I
>>> hope this is the kind of thing that we can do with corporate sponsors and
>>> individual donations as well.  If you have time, I'd love to have a phone
>>> conversation with you about what you think is the best way to move ahead. I
>>> won't be back till the 15th, but I'm working from home to some extent
>>> because this is a big project!
>>>
>>> Nicole
>>>
>>> PS Beth, the Do GOod trainings were an estimate of the value of your time
>>> at Community Connections meetings - don't worry - I haven't signed you up
>>> for anything you didn't agree to!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 6:57 PM, JOY <imcbooks at gmail.com<http://mc/compose?to=imcbooks@gmail.com>
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Thanks Elizabeth,
>>>> Nicole is out of town until the 15th. We have a new accounting volunteer
>>>> that will help. Her name is Kathy Celis. I will check with her and see if
>>>> she is available on Wednesday at 6. We can keep Nicole up to speed via email
>>>> until she returns.
>>>>
>>>> Yes, we have had some discussions in Finance as well, and Nicole
>>>> mentioned the other initiatives, and like you said, we should probably
>>>> combine our efforts.
>>>>
>>>> Joy
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 1:57 PM, Elizabeth Simpson <elizacorps at yahoo.com<http://mc/compose?to=elizacorps@yahoo.com>
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>  Joy,
>>>>> This seems like an overlap with discussions we've have in Beyond
>>>>> Business (we talked about it at one of our last meetings before I left)...
>>>>> but maybe finance is also discussing it?
>>>>>
>>>>> It makes sense to me that the membership drive, general fundraising,
>>>>> and this specific initiative should all coordinate with each other.
>>>>>
>>>>> What do you think of finding a specific time devoted to these issues,
>>>>> getting together the key players (me, you, Nicole, anyone else from finance
>>>>> who's down with it, anyone else who wants to commit to
>>>>> fundraising/membership drive)
>>>>>
>>>>> My thought is to do it next wednesday at 6pm?
>>>>>
>>>>> -Elizabeth
>>>>>
>>>>> A strong people need no leader
>>>>> - Zapata
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --- On *Wed, 7/1/09, JOY <imcbooks at gmail.com<http://mc/compose?to=imcbooks@gmail.com>
>>>>> >* wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On another note, I would like to get together with you in the near
>>>>> future on a fundraising campaign for our new Vista positions. You had some
>>>>> great ideas at Steering. Would you be available to share your ideas?
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Joy Davis
>>>> UCIMC Office Manager
>>>> 202 S. Broadway Ave., Suite 100
>>>> Urbana, IL 61801
>>>> imcbooks at gmail.com <http://mc/compose?to=imcbooks@gmail.com>
>>>> 217.344.8820
>>>> www.ucimc.org
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Nicole Pion
>>> Outreach and Development Adviser
>>> AmeriCorps CTC VISTA
>>> Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Nicole Pion
>> Outreach and Development Adviser
>> AmeriCorps CTC VISTA
>> Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Nicole Pion
> Outreach and Development Adviser
> AmeriCorps CTC VISTA
> Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
>

-- 
Joy Davis
UCIMC Office Manager
202 S. Broadway Ave., Suite 100
Urbana, IL 61801
imcbooks at gmail.com
217.344.8820
www.ucimc.org
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