Minutes:12 JUL 2023 Members Meeting Agenda

Meeting begins:19:10

Meeting ends:21:55

Participants:Joe D, Nate Y, James K, Andrew, David G., Brian J, Alex

Agenda

• Announcements/new business - 10m
• Operations
  • Anti-Harassment Policy Updates/Execution
    • current policy https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L3BwemHPoAWLI4lRusZPFCAKkRjKgCu_/view
    • Should the policy be reframed as a CoC?
    • Does the policy need revision?
      • add language regarding time frame when policy is violated
    • Do we need to clarify any vague or undefined bits of process (timelines, etc...). If so, what?
    • Discussion about general attitude of specificity vs flexibility in the content of the document - no conclusion
  • Discussion of recent specific incident and how it was dealt with
    • James admits to sending email before consensus was reached
    • Discussion regarding the harms of contacting someone too quickly vs not contacting someone when we should
    • David suggests a process that involves a quick response and a form letter that invites further communication
    • Joe suggests an option that does not conclude guilt or innocence, but makes non-judgmental contact as soon as possible
      • suggested language from andrew: "Hey, we got some feedback that you did some action that made someone uncomfortable, and may have been a violation of our harassment policy"
      • model language should be included in the policy
      • Discussion of "Guidelines for taking a report" section of harassment policy
    • Make the extent of "the space" clear to include digital communication, and that the policy covers communication between members when not at the space
    • ACTION ITEMS
      • Add specific timeline for initial contact
      • Add boilerplate language for contact to the policy
      • Add definition of when and where the policy applies (matrix, email, etc)
      • possible action item from joe: Create a step by step procedure that is easy to follow for board members when upset.
      • possible change to code of conduct instead of anti-harassment policy
      • integrate old proposed changes from a long past meeting, especially hate symbols
  • ACTION ITEM Create tracking system for disciplinary proceedings -- Joe DONE
  • LaunchX exit survey
    • what do we want to ask them?
      • what needs more documentation?
      • ACTION ITEM: come up with questions for Robson and ask him in person. -- Joe
    • also ask if they have any feedback
    • notes from joe / lessons learned - Create document action item for August meeting:
      • faster communication would be good
      • AHA person on site
  • i3 Donation - James and Andrew are taking non-urgent action
• Financial
  • SPARK's payment failed - James will try to get spark to switch to PayPal (1% better fee structure)
  • Update from finance committee
    • cancel freshbooks: go with quickbooks
    • meeting august 2 @ 7PM to determine what vital information is needed for the board to run every week
    • Minutes:05 JUL 2023 Financial Planning
• Membership
  • Election Update from James
    • election will not happen before art fair
    • discussion: will this board have a shortened term, or will election date be permanently altered?
    • ACTION ITEM: James will update entire membership about status in the near future
  • Member tracking
    • What needs to be included in software/spreadsheet?
      • everything on new member app
      • preferred contact method
      • membership type
      • up to date on volunteer hours
    • ACTION ITEM: create spreadsheet using minimum possible effort to track members in interim before eventual switch to database
    • Andrew: can get matching donations from work for volunteer hours if they are tracked
  • Adding pronouns to the new member application - ACTION ITEM - Nate (also add, "and will follow" or "and understand" to new member form about harassment policy)
• Outreach
  • Grant writing contractor discussion
  • Alex Honkala is attending the meeting to provide grant assistance.
    • Communicated info to Alex regarding grants: current classes, data, skills that people learned, etc.
  • ACTION ITEM: Create spreadsheet to track grant opportunities
  • ACTION ITEM: Meet with Alex to further clarify grant goals/info
• Education
  • Possible mesh networking class to be developed by Nate
    • David will leverage connections
    • Joe is interested in spinning this to be attractive for MEDC grant.
  • September is Disaster Preparedness month which is a possible tie-in

Prior meetings minutes

• Announcements/new business:

• Operations:
  • Updates/plans for planer and sewing machine - Sarah B.?/Joe D.
    • Getting the materials for the sewing machines this week, will take to the repair shop next week
    • Planer has had offers made, but ultimately nobody has taken it. We're doing stuff to get it out of there, though.
  • Signage/SEO updates - Jeremy H.
    • Jeremy is aiming toward a June 21st deadline to get the column.
  • Future tool plans/SOPs for Roland CNC, resin 3d printer, other unused machines/tools? - Nate Y.
    • James said he will investigate getting the Roland CNC running
  • Division of labor - Nate Y.
    • Ideas to make division of ongoing Director tasks happen more smoothly/equitably.
    • Joe will work on an "on-call" calendar for answer
  • LaunchX group/plans - Nate Y./James K. (please fill in any details)
    • Student entrepreneur group, has purchased memberships to use our space during the day for their projects
    • 80 total students in groups of up to 20 (but probably fewer), supervised by adults/mentors.
    • Starting sometime in the next couple weeks
    • This will last about four weeks.
    • Machine training: the idea right now is to train the adults/mentors, and they will train the students.
    • Will mostly be using the shop during the day
    • Final details are in the works. James will let everyone know the details ASAP!
  • New tool donation: Shapeoko 3XL - Nate Y.
    • Thanks to Andrew C. for coordinating it on short notice!
  • Wood shop ventilation/filtration - Nate Y.
    • Part of the Shapeoko donation was a dust filtration unit. We should do a thorough dusting of the wood shop and mount this up to keep it manageable. Tentative plan is to do this during the next Space Improvement Day (Sunday 6/25 @ 2-6pm).

• Financial:
  • Financial health outlook/Current Profit and Loss updates, Quickbooks migration progress - Joe D., James K.
    • Joe will have these done by the end of the week, and post them here:
    • -- FINANCIAL POSITION --
    • -- FINANCIAL ACTIVITY --
    • James was able to get the the April financials done by himself, so will be able to pass on this knowledge.
    • Documenting/passing knowledge onto others (e.g. Nate).
      • Joe (and James?) will set up something with interested parties in the next month.
  • Grants - Xander Honkala is here to help
    • Ann Arbor’s Arts + Creative Industries Economic Recovery/American Rescue Plan Act Allocation - Nate Y.
      • COVID-19 recovery grant for artists, creative workers, organizations and businesses.
      • $500,000 total grant money
      • Grants range from $5,000-$10,000
      • Application portal open now -- closes on August 31st @ 5pm, but money may run out sooner!
      • More info: https://creativewashtenaw.org/ann-arbor-american-rescue-plan-grant-program/
    • Sustaining Ann Arbor Together (SA2T) Neighborhood Grant Program - Nate Y.
      • Grants for activities supporting the City of Ann Arbor's sustainability and climate action goals.
      • $100,000 total grant money
      • Grants are under $10,000, more for exceptional applications
      • Reviewed on a rolling basis; next round of funding starts July 1st.
      • More info: https://www.a2gov.org/departments/sustainability/Sustainability-Me/Families-Individuals/Pages/Community-Grants.aspx
    • County/MEDC grants updates - James K., Nate Y., others?
      • Still interest in moving forward with this, but no bandwidth this month. Will keep this on the minutes so we don't forget to do it!
    • Help with grants - Nate Y.
      • Nate cannot do all this stuff by himself. Please help! The payoff is worth it!
  • Fundraising ideas - further discussion on any of the below items? - James
    • Add AHA "Alumni" section to newsletters. Highlight some of their accomplishments, projects, etc.. Would help us get more exposure to more social networks.
      • James: this is a very actionable thing to do to flesh out our monthly newsletter. Can we schedule a time to get on a Zoom call and get some questions.
      • David has offered to reach out, just needs some questions to ask!
      • James and David will coordinate on this.
      • Also James and Sarah will coordinate to get something in June
    • Renting our space to hold private workshops
    • Use AHA for exhibitions: showcase art that is made with tools in the space, or partner with artists/musicians/etc. to showcase their work.
    • Run events that encourage people to return at a later date, e.g. longer-term projects, a need to wait for things to cure, etc.. Encourages repeat visits and boosts foot traffic.
      • James: this is also pretty actionable. For example a resin molding class that gets people back in to pick up the results.

• Membership:
  • 2023 AHA Elections update - James K.
    • James had prior commitments to the meeting and is not present; but hopefully he can fill us in on when this might happen.
  • Refreshing our Member tracking spreadsheet in lieu of available fancier options - Nate Y.
    • This spreadsheet can supplement the financial data (Quickbooks) to cover other small details such as have they been oriented, signed waiver; or if they are a volunteer, etc..
    • Nate will spearhead the spreadsheets with the help of James.
    • Come up with a wish list of features for this system

• Outreach:
  • Upcoming outreach opportunities:
    • Art Fair - July 20th-22nd
      • Need to start a volunteer signup sheet this month. Nate Y. will get it done.
    • Artisan Market - Any Saturday 11am-4pm -> Punting to July to plan for a Fall-time booth
    • Cahoots happy hour - We think these are basically second Thursdays @ 4-6pm.

• Education: