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