Minutes of the November 9, 2009 Staying Put Board Meeting
Tom Ferguson called the meeting to order at 4:30.
Operations: Jane Nyce distributed her report. There have been 818
requests so far this year. Over the past month we had calls from 45 different households.
Development: Pat Stoddard reported we have received almost $58,000 so far in our Fundraising campaign from 185 contributors. 87 are new donors. Tax receipt/thank you letters are being done regularly. Kit Devereaux is doing eTap results and it is a learning process. It was emphasized that we cannot overdo the thank you notes. Tom Ferguson noted that some donors wait until the end of the calendar year to send contributions. The goal is $250,000. All donors will be invited to our birthday celebration on January 10, 2010.
Membership: Ellie O'Neill reported that she had a SP table at the Farmer's Market in town and some people were signed up to be on our mailing list. Senior Men's Club will be inviting Jane to speak again and other service organizations in town can also be sought out so we can update them on the success of Staying Put. The Historical Society is co-sponsoring the first of their speaker series with Staying Put on March 11. Condo meetings will also be continued. Any contact name is appreciated. When talking about our Birthday Party, please ask everyone to bring a friend as that is a high profile/fun event. Letters to the Editor about Staying Put, particularly about gifting a membership to parents was discussed and perhaps John Engel could follow up as he has done it in the past.
Events: Judy Bentley reported she is planning for January and February. Music events continue to be successful as evidenced from the recent event with Bill Campbell at St. Mark's and Lew Green at Westport Library. Could one of these be a fundraiser?
Interest in lunch/brunch may increase over the winter; less $, no driving in the dark.
Judy is exploring options for the off-site development day on January 30, 9-4, such as Dolce in Norwalk, St. Mark's and Presbyterian Church (Jeanie Hart to check).
Volunteers: Jim Hollyday reported in Lyn Chivvis' absence. He has 25 eager drivers. Discussion about scheduling volunteers for the office ensued and the volunteer committee is to "review this and move the ball forward" per Tom Ferguson.
Publicity: Tanis Erdmann reported that New Canaan Darien Magazine will have an article by Nancy Helle on Staying Put in January. The 1000th request article by Pat Brooks will be submitted this week. It will focus on, "We are just a phone call away." Hits to the web site are up 7%. Arthur Congdon will explore tracking details of hits thru a Google process. The Staying in Touch newsletter will be out mid-December. In kind donors will be included in this issue. Please continue to send photos and testimonials to Tanis. Patch.com, an online site listing local events, will be explored by Tanis and Lois Sandberg.
Tom Ferguson reported that committees for next year are in the planning stage. Some board members are switching committees. Please let Tom know if you prefer a different committee. The January 30th off site development for the board/staff will be facilitated by the Harvard Business School Community Partners through a connection with Rogers Harper. They are familiar with non-profits, they have a business background and they will address Staying Put "business."
Jane distributed a summary of the Village to Village conference she and Donna had attended on October 26. Some highlights included: most "Villages" have higher dues and volunteers are very involved in all aspects of the organizations especially in Washington DC. Membership drives are most productive using 1:1 conversation, small group and in home presentations along with ambassadors of the program. Some villages offer long term memberships, and there was discussion that villages are rethinking single vs. household membership fees as single members are using services more than some households, thus a flat fee was being considered by several villages. There is a copy of a Qualitative Study of Villages Operating in the DC area in the office.
Tom Ferguson reported we anticipate having to raise dues in 2011. We will be sending out 2010 renewal letters around December 1. A Thoughts/Feedback survey will be sent out with the December event letter, not with a dues notice.
The last executive meeting discussed hiring an administrative assistant to help out 5 hours a week on a 3 month trial basis. Discussion followed about training of volunteers for the office to make it more productive. It was agreed the volunteer organization and utilization could be an important issue for strategic planning at the off site development day.
Bob Witt requested we become more aware and participate in community organizations which support Staying Put in New Canaan. The Sewing Group has their sale next Friday, November 20 and Gloria Major Brown distributed an invitation to all.
Meeting adjourned 6PM.
Donna Simone
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