Board meeting Minutes/26 February 2007

Prior: 19 February 2007

Board meeting Minutes

Next: 12 March 2007

Present

Matthew Barr, Trey Harris, Chris Palmer, David Parter, Stephen Potter, Pat Wilson (chair, note taker), Sam Albrecht

Apologies

Tom Perrine

Opened

20:08 Eastern Time

Closed

20:43 Eastern Time

Consent Agenda

• Approve minutes of 19 February 2007

Passes

Action Items

Board Committees

• Development Committee (Wilson/Potter)

• Partnership and Liason Committee (Perrine)
  • Palmer - Contact local office of possible partner - no progress still no response to email; Palmer will try to call
  • Barr, Albrecht - Contact SCALE regarding future cooperation [due 2/26] - in progress

• Leadership Committee (Esther Filderman)

• Policy Committee (Harris)

• Communications Committee
  • Perrine - Follow up with SysAdmin Magazine regarding volunteers for online answer folks - no report

• Membership Committee
  • Albrecht - Work on different instances of member renewal letters DONE now Hughes action item
  • Parter - Send a note to the prospects gathered at LISA - not done did Hughes pick this up? yes, done
  • Hughes, Parter - Implement member opt-out of non-LOPSA mailings - no report may be in progress

Program Committees

• Conference Planning Committee (Wilson/Perrine)

• Technical (Online) Services (Hughes/Parter)

• Content Services Committee (Palmer/Potter)
  • Palmer, Potter - Draft a plan regarding how a paid/compensated content director might help the website, and what sort of requirements we might make for that position - not done

• Locals Committee (Perrine)

Non-Committee

• Financial
  • Hume - Provide at Dec 2006 Treasurer's report writeup for the Board and for the web site - no report

• Albrecht:
  • Provide status on IRS 501.c.3 status [due 3/12]
  • Query insurance company regarding possible member insurance options [due 2/12] - in progress

• Barr:
  • talk to MIT spam people - in progress not really clear what the need/fit is, here - Barr and Albrecht will pursue
  • php-list(?) mailer integration into Drupal - no action

• Harris:
  • Present draft financial policies for Board approval (low priority) - no action
  • Gather material for Halprin request [2/26] - no action

• Hughes:
  • Work with Frisch, Chalup, Halprin, Barr on resume resources skeleton/framework (should have status by mid February) [due 2/19] - no report

• Hume:
  • Chat with SNIA regarding possible partnering - no report
  • Reconvene Code of Ethics review committee - no report

• Palmer:

• Parter:

• Perrine:
  • Perrine will work with Sam and Michele on "CONVERSION" of visitors to members - no report

• Potter:
  • Draft a new charter for the combined Development/Partnership committee - DONE see below

• Wilson:
  • Determine whether there's enough interest to staff a booth at Linuxfest Northwest - not done

• All:

Standing Reports

• Treasurer's report (first meeting of the month only)

• Membership report
  • See the online report for this week's status

The trend is slowly but steadily upwards. Might have expected a little more bump from the Sysadmin Magazine ad, though it's possible that will only happer after a few more have gone out.

• Online report

• Sysadmin Days report

Still no word from the other event organizers; Albrecht and Parter will develop an alternate scenario plan.

• Development report

Corporate sponsors are beginning to renew (Silicon Mechanics has renewed at the Silver level!). Individual renewals are also occurring. Potential sponsor contacts should be sent to Biordi for development.

• Upcoming MtM (last meeting of the month only)

Target 3/1 for mailng, though will hold until opt-out news is publishable.

Sponsorship policy (spp)

MOTION: Potter moves that the Board accept the Sponsorship policy as written. Palmer seconds Passes.

Sponsorship Policy purpose Sponsorships provide LOPSA with a means to generate positive cash flow and help to defray costs that would otherwise need to be borne by the organization's members. The purpose of this policy is to define sponsorship types and sources, establish acceptance criteria for sponsorships, ensure the ethical evaluation and acceptance of sponsorships consistent with LOPSA mission, values, and goals. The LOPSA board may solicit and accept sponsorships as a means to finance organization efforts. Sponsorships may come from three possible sources and may be of several types. Sources Individual - An individual sponsorship may be provided by a single person or family and is attributed to that person, family, or another person or family as designated by the provider. Consultant - A consultant sponsorship is designed for an independent consultant who wants a sponsorship attributed to their business. It may also be used for small partnerships or LLCs (generally around 10 members or less). Corporate - A corporate sponsorship may be provided by any legally existing business venture; sole proprietory, partnership, LLC, private or publicly traded corporation. Types The board may accept any of the following types of sponsorships, although primary preference should always be given to undesignated sponsorships. Undesignated - An undesignated sponsorship is a sponsorship provided with no restrictions on use; the organization is free to use the funds for any legitimate program. Designated - A designated sponsorship is a sponsorship of a particular program, function, or activity. Funds from these sponsorships must be used in support of the designated program. Excess funds will default to being returned to the sponsor, unless the sponsor explicitly consents to those funds being converted to undesignated. Event - An event sponsorship is a sponsorship offered at a specific dollar amount in order to have the sponsor's name associated with a specific event or part of an event. These funds are otherwise treated as undesignated and must be returned to the sponsor only in the case that the event does not take place. In-Kind - In kind sponsorships or donations are donations of goods or services that the organization finds as or more useful than accepting unrestricted sponsorships. Sponsorship acceptance LOPSA must always, first and foremost, protect its reputation, credibility, and future viability over short term financial needs. In this regard, LOPSA may decline to accept sponsorships from individuals or organizations deemed to have incompatible values or goals. Confidentiality To protect the reputations of both LOPSA and potential or rejected sponsors, LOPSA shall make no public statement regarding any sponsorships not formally accepted by Board or approved designate action. Benefits of sponsorship LOPSA recognizes that most individuals and organizations use sponsorships as a means to achieve some benefit. The LOPSA Development Committee shall determine a standard list of benefits and recognition that will be followed for all sponsorships. The Development Committee may, at its discretion create differing levels of recognition based on sponsorship source, type, or amount allow named sponsorship of a program, function, or activity provided a considerable portion of its financial cost is borne by the sponsor. Benefits and recognition for sponsorships shall be limited to that list only. Any additional benefit or recognition will be considered a sale of LOPSA service, not a sponsorship. The appropriate committee shall determine a schedule of fees for all such activities. At no time shall LOPSA enter into any sponsorship agreement that requires it to specifically endorse a sponsor's product or service. Sponsors wishing to promote LOPSA and their sponsorship of LOPSA may use LOPSA's name, logo and online contact information in accordance with the provisions at LOPSA Sponsor Logos and Web Buttons. Any use not covered by these provisions, or any printed use, requires prior written approval from LOPSA. Any unauthorized use of LOPSA's name or logo will void the offending party's sponsorship benefits and may be considered grounds for legal action. Terms of sponsorship The effective date of a sponsorship shall be the date payment is received and processed by the LOPSA office unless otherwise specifically agreed upon by LOPSA and the sponsor. All sponsorships and benefits will run for one year from the effective date of sponsorship. Renewal of sponsorship At its discretion, LOPSA may contact each sponsor every 30 days commencing 60 days prior to the expiration of the sponsorship period to solicit renewal. The effective date of a renewal will be the expiration date of the prior sponsorship period. Grace period At the recommendation of the Development Committee, a sponsorship may be granted a 30 day grace period before the sponsorship benefits and recognition are terminated.

Partnership Policies (spp)

This has been deferred to the March 5th meeting

The following items from the current Partnership Committee]] charge should be codified as policies.

1. Partnerships must be approved by the Board
2. All parties should sign a document that covers all expectations and/or deliverables
3. Partnerships should be renewed annually

Partnership and Partnership Committee

MOTION: by Potter, seconded by Parter, to accept the Partnership and Development Committee charter as written. Passes

Purpose The Partnership and Development Committee is responsible for activities that will result in some form of continuing relationship with an external organization or person. These relationships may include sponsors, partners, or affiliates. A sponsor relationship exists when an external entity provides financial benefit to LOPSA either for general purposes or for a specific event. A partner relationship exists when LOPSA and external entity are specifically pursuing the same goal or activity. An affiliate relationship exists when an external entity provides some form of benefit to LOPSA members, such as discounts. Membership The Partnership and Development Committee chair will be chosen from the Board and may include any number of Board or general members as may be interested and appropriate. Members with prior fund-raising experience and/or good high-level relationships with appropriate sponsors should consider being involved. Guidelines To fulfill its purpose, the Committee shall: Develop an appropriate partnership and fund-raising strategy for the organization. The Committee, in conjunction with the Finance Committee and the Development Director, will evaluate various partnership and fund-raising options and select appropriate options. Fund-raising should include general sponsorships, event-specific sponsorships, and others. Prepare and oversee annual fund-raising goals. The Committee, working with the Development Director and the Events Committee chair, shall set specific fund-raising goals in accordance with the fund-raising options detailed in the strategy. Regularly review fund-raising activity. On a regular basis, the Committee will review on-going fund-raising activities, assess their effectiveness against targets, and make adjustments as necessary. The Committee will provide material updates to the Finance Committee and the Board as appropriate. Develop mutually beneficial partnerships. The Committee will evaluate potential partnerships and work to develop appropriate partnerships to the mutual benefit of LOPSA and the partnering organization. Maintain periodic contact with sponsors, partners, and (affiliates). The Committee, working with the Development Director, will ensure that all sponsors, partners, and (affiliates) are contacted on a regular basis to ensure continued relations. Other duties as assigned by the Board.

Adjournment

MOTION to adjourn by Potter, seconded by Harris Passes. Adjourned at 20:43 ET