ZRS Board Minutes – July 1, 2017

20170701 ZR Board Minutes

Attendees: Kai Hui, Liaoran, Taiso, Jian Zhi

 

Topics:

  1. Financials
  2. Subcommittee Reports/Updates
    1. PLACEHOLDER for future agendas, discussion during “Old Business” portion of meeting
  3. Review of comment cards & requests for board agenda topics
  4. Old Business
    1. Library setup
    2. Subcommittees
      1. Formalization of subcommittee structure proposal
        1. Building & Grounds
        2. Cleaning
        3. Opening
        4. Newsletter
        5. Fundraising & Community Outreach
        6. Library?
      2. Who/how to ask to lead subcommittees
        1. Formal samu approach
        2. Scheduling events/calls for volunteers
      3. Budgetary process
      4. Reports/updates process
        1. Format and frequency expectations
    3. Fundraising
      1. Response to sangha communication
      2. Next steps
  5. New Business
    1. Website Updates
      1. New site navigation
      2. News/Blog discussion/policy
      3. Financials posting format/schedule
      4. Inclusion language
      5. Pamphlet approval/placement/ordering
    2. Zendo communication board/documents
      1. vision/useage
      2. Communication cards/inclusion of phone #’s
      3. Pamphlet availability/policy
    3. Board meetings policy
      1. Frequency going forward
      2. Open/closed
      3. Public minutes
      4. Agenda topic requests
    4. Newsletter
      1. Frequency
      2. content/layout
      3. Mailing list
    5. Sangha programming
      1. Use of space/equitable distribution of time
      2. Program approval process
      3. Program withdrawal process
      4. Scheduling process
      5. limitations/restricted content
        1. Movie licensure
        2. liability

 

Notes:

  • Convened at 9:46 a.m.
  • Financials
    • No report from Kai Hui–been swamped
    • In general, bleak, but a burst of donations just came in
    • Request from sangha for transparency of financials
      • Taiso: Doesn’t make sense to do a balance sheet more than once a year
      • Kai Hui will need half a day to clean up reporting in PayPal and prepare a visually appealing layout
      • Decision: Will post last annual financial and leave it up all year, as well as quarterly YTD statements of income and expenses
  • Subcommittee Reports/Updates
    • PLACEHOLDER for future agendas, discussion during “Old Business” portion of meeting
      • Manju has been doing baseboarding and yard work
      • Manju and Myoshin spearheading garden project
  • Review of comment cards & requests for board agenda topics
    • Topic request form from Joel to formalize organizational structure of board and committees
      • Taiso: have to be very careful of how much political activity we try to sustain
      • Liaoran: goal should be one-time setup that runs itself
  • Old Business
    • Library setup
      • Community anxious to get library setup
      • Two major roadblocks: computer and setup time
      • Taiso: not looking for too much help; would like to stick to software currently in use
      • $70 donation toward computer
        • Liaoran will assemble a computer–happy to donate minor expenditures but will ask sangha to purchase copy of Windows
        • BookCollector software may require some ongoing expense for updates
    • Subcommittees
      • Formalization of subcommittee structure proposal
        • Would require clear division of labor and expectation of reporting (not physical attendance but request for a report two weeks out)
        • One-year appointments
        • Building & Grounds – Manju wants to head
        • Cleaning – Reishin wants to head
        • Opening – Will ask Myoshin if she would continue serving as she has been
          • Decision: remove opening time from Google calendar and just note who is opening (can be confusing for outsiders looking in
        • Newsletter – Myoshin interested in spearheading
          • Decision: eNewsletter limited to to four times per year
          • Liaroan and Jian Zhi: of the opinion that eNewsletter falls under the purview of the secretary
            • Decision: in terms of structure, secretary should head the subcommittee and have editorial oversight; up the secretary to delegate work
            • Jian Zhi to work with Myoshin to coordinate first eNewsletter; objective of publishing one before September
        • Fundraising & Community Outreach – At this point will keep it on the board
          • Need to sort out posting financials, communication with the sangha and best approach to social engagement
            • Want to take a unitarian approach to social engagement: sangha comes here for support and then goes into to community to do the work they’re passionate about
            • Organization is also not large enough to manage political discourse
        • Library? Deferred until we actually have a library (Taiso will head)
      • Who/how to ask to lead subcommittees
        • Formal samu approach
          • Decision: all work volunteered for the organization is to be treated as samue
        • Scheduling events/calls for volunteers
          • Decision: committee-heads should not have capability of sending global communications to the sangha; these should go out through secretary
          • Policy: All sangha-wide communications go out through the secretary, treasurer, president or high priest
      • Budgetary process
        • If committee-heads have budgetary request, they should submit it to the board for approval
          • $10 per month is reasonable for reimbursement; anything larger should be requested
        • Taiso: request to Kai Hui to develop a budget to post alongside financials
      • Reports/updates process
        • Format and frequency expectations
          • Board wants reports for every board meeting
    • Fundraising
      • Response to sangha communication
        • More money coming in, but still needs to be focus of board (i.e new capital campaign)
      • Next steps
        • Will be on the agenda at next board meeting
  • New Business
    • Website Updates
      • New site navigation
      • News/Blog discussion/policy
        • Jian Zhi and Liaoran have editorial permissions
      • Financials posting format/schedule
      • Inclusion language
        • Liaoran’s statement–great
        • Taiso would like to add a note about basic expectation that people come to meditate
      • Pamphlet approval/placement/ordering
    • Zendo communication board/documents
      • vision/useage
      • Communication cards/inclusion of phone #’s
      • Pamphlet availability/policy
        • Decision: no phone numbers on pamphlet–will address zendo phone down the road
    • Board meetings policy
      • Frequency going forward
        • Right now, might benefit with having monthly
        • Ad hoc moving forward
      • Open/closed
        • How about a sangha meeting once per year?
        • Process has been set up for sangha member to ask to attend a board meeting
          • Taiso: wants to continually communicate to people that we’re here to practice, not engage in politics
      • Public minutes
        • Decision: minutes will be posted on website
      • Agenda topic requests
    • Newsletter
      • Frequency
      • content/layout
      • Mailing list
        • Decision: will use one sangha mailing list for now
    • Jian Zhi’s leaving in September
      • Will address at next board meeting
    • Sangha programming
      • Use of space/equitable distribution of time
      • Program approval process
        • Decisions: requests must come through board
        • Needs to be policy that approved programs need to be sustained or cancelled
      • Program withdrawal process
      • Scheduling process
      • limitations/restricted content
        • Movie licensure
          • Decision: will take a very careful approach; licensure must be obtained for events hosted here must
        • Liability
          • Use of sangha mailing lists constitutes legal association with this organization
      • Communication with Reishin: would like to have better sense of her priority; inclined to approve 1 or 2; every Saturday is not likely to be feasible; need to discuss at priest meeting

Adjourned at 11:30