November 2017 Board Notes

Date:

11/14/2017

Attendance:

Board Attended: Andy Tso, Kim Hofer, Troy MacDonald, Kevin Ehrler, Stephen Gifford, Joe Opsahl, Renee Vandervelde, Megan Stob
Board Absent:
Observers: Flip Nelson, Diana Sneve, Tristan Anderson, John Hermanstorfer, Dawn Ahrens, Anton Petersen, Dave Vetrovec, Patrick Cameron, Rachel Tippett, Jessica Aronson, Kat Pepmiller, Jay Bottem, Patrick Cain, Michelle Clark, Anita Phoenix, Chris Picotte, Matt Sexton, Allie Cassel, John Koniges, Lauren Ganann, Andy Murphy, Damarra Atkins, Daniel Greene, Jayson Stob, Kale Ganann, Heather Bufkin

Notes:

Anime Twin Cities, Inc Board Meeting November 14, 2017 6:30pm

 

Open session

  • Kale made a statement regarding the lack of community support shown in recent board discussions.
  • Room parties have shifted focus from supporting local conventions to advertising. Local Room parties are one of the two main ways we advertise ATC events. They also provide opportunities for networking with other local convention runners.
  • The board has been removing and restricting the access that other conventions have to our equipment and our help, even though we once relied on that help.
  • It was also noted that the community does not know the connection between AD and ATC, and this disconnect extends to the guests and staff as well.
  • Lauren proposed a new coordinator position – a proposal will be sent via email. This role will support the other coordinators and the board.  

 

Coordinator updates

 

AD

  • No updates other than budget – see agenda item

 

 

Charities

  • Running into possible issues with holiday event for Santa availability
  • Chris Ayres update – he goes into surgery on Thursday. YouCaring site had been set up for him. After a few final edits, the site should go out tonight.

 

Clubs

  • New projector came in for Go Club

 

Media Relations

  • Via email; not present, will give full update next boarding meeting following convention trip to DaishoCon.

 

SOS

  • Akihabara went very well – about 50 people came, all the tables were filled. $120 of revenue from sale of ATC merchandise.
  • Update on off-site locations for expanded Akihabara – looked through community centers however no places were willing to take us that would have a cost saving to previous findings. Hotels are a lot more practical. More research is still pending.

 

Finance

  • We received a letter with a $50 donation from Jeans for Charity.

 

Agenda – AD Budget discussion

  • Proposed budget of $300, 000
  • According to Kim's estimations, if we have 6,000 attendees, we will have enough income to cover this budget amount.

 

Joe Opsahl motioned to approve the Anime Detour budget of $300,000. Renee Seconded. Four in favor, Three abstentions (Andy, Troy, and Kim)

 

Agenda – Ratify text of anti-harassment policy

 

Gifford motioned to approve policy, Troy seconded, unanimous ratification

 

Agenda – Ratify revised AF equipment request

 

Troy motions, Kim seconded, unanimous approval with Kevin abstaining

 

Agenda – Equipment rental discussion

  • Old form is no longer accessible. John Koniges will be building new form
  • Diana, Troy, and Joe will work on a proposal for next month.

 

Agenda – Coordinator goals

  • SOS - received goals via email
  • Charities - mostly the same, continue to work with partners at AUSM and deepen relationship and work on deepening relationships with other charities and increase events. Email will be sent soon.
  • Clubs - received goals via email
  • Media relations - no goals received

 

Agenda – National Fantasy Fan Federation

  • See email from Megan
  • Gifford looked into this group and found that it is more sci-fi focused and is West-coast based. Membership with them would give us networking opportunities, however they may not be the best fit for our goals and needs at this time. Gifford will continue to look into group, including contacting Tadao for his input.

 

Agenda – Give MN/Give to the max day discussion

  • Andy proposed using Give MN as a fundraising tool. Many non-profits have successfully used them and they have a Give to the Max Day where they encourage people to give. This could help us with brand recognition.
  • Concerns include the 6.9% processing fee and the requirement that the money go to an entity in Minnesota, so funds raised from this could go into our general budget with no issues but if goes into a specific fund then we need to make sure that the recipient is from Minnesota.
  • Due to the increased budget for Anime Detour this year, this could be a good way for us to raise more funds for charitable giving if we find ourselves with fewer funds than normal this year.
  • Discussion will be postponed until after the convention, when we know how much excess funds we have.

 

Agenda - GPS space discussion

  • See email from Jody Wurl
  • GPS is currently in lease negotiations. They could be moving into different space in the Waterbury building.
  • John proposed combining looking for new storage space that includes with office space with GPS's space needs. Anime Twin Cities would partner with GPS by allowing them use of the space we have from the storage locker rental. Both the board and Jody were interested in idea, so the facilities committee will look into this as an option.

 

Agenda – Future coordinator budget discussion

  • See email from Heather
  • It was felt that the discussions about the coordinator budgets held at last month’s meeting were not handled well. Coordinators felt that the board was too involved in how the money in their budgets was allocated and that the board did not trust them to do their jobs.
  • Concerns raised of the no-questions asked attitude shown by the board when approving the Detour budget, as a contrast to the scrutiny shown to other coordinator budgets.
  • Proposal to have all other coordinator budgets handled in the same manner as Detour budget – no line item, just a final number to be approved. In all other ways, Heather would like all coordinator budgets handled in the same way, however that works out.
  • Several ideas were discussed, including how much of the budget should be seen by the board, whether or not the Anime Detour budget should be approved in the same manner as the other budgets, and if budgets should be submitted before the board meeting instead of at the meeting. Lauren Ganann will form several possible plans for the budget review process that incorporate the ideas discussed and will submit them 2 weeks before next board meeting, to be reviewed and discussed at that meeting.

 

Agenda – Proposed new ATC website

  • John Koniges has made a new website. It is coded in an easy to learn language and would have lower maintenance.
  • John needs content from coordinators for their pages in the new website.

 

Gifford motioned to have John continue to work on the website and update it when it is ready. Kim seconded. Motion was approved unanimously.

 

 

Troy motioned to adjourn the meeting, Joe seconded. All in Favor. Meeting End.