November Business meeting

Notes from Sharon W.

MEETING NOTES

 

1:00 pm - Austin opened this meeting which included members from the AA noon-time group

-          $10,000 grant award has been received by the Swartz Foundation

o   This is expected to cover at least approx. 40 months of CAIC rent

o   Will be deposited into the business checking account/Clinton

-          Total rent amount was reviewed:  $650/ mos (400 paid by town & 200 paid by CAIC)

-          Topic of whether to install new carpet or not was discussed at length.  Arguments for included: discussion on health history of old carpet, possible mold/odor underneath, etc.  Arguments against included: discussion on how such a high traffic area may produce much wear and tear in a short amount of time and may not be worth it as it may need replacement.  Subject of cleaning the carpet and installing tile also came up.  Argument against tile was that floor is on slope & possible installation costs, where a member of the group offered to install new carpet at no cost.

-          A sample of new carpet was on display, member quoted estimated cost at Home Depot ($1,117).  Letterhead from non-profit may allow for a discount. 

-          Austin explained that any recommendations from this meeting need to be discussed and voted on by the CAIC Board of Directors and all voting members were not present, quorum not met.

Clinton AIC Board business meeting 29-Sep-2015

• Austin reported that the current bills such as rent and utilities are paid and about $1300 remains in the checkbook

• Austin submitted the 501(3C) application and fronted the $400 application fee and awaits the number

• After obtaining the number the corporate entity will be able to accept donations and because of its tax exempt status donors can expect the tax benefit which is due for charitable donations

• The number will also clear the way for grant applications.

• Big Al reported that the furnace issue was resolved by the landlord and that he spent $80 on supplies at BJ's.

• The corporation still needs to develop a standard way of handling petty cash exchanges with participating groups that make use of the center. At the moment, transparency provided by regular business meetings is probably sufficient but as center services expand, perhaps a more formal arrangement can be developed.

• NA buys its own coffee supplies and is currently charged $35 per month rent. They meet 2 times per week. Each meeting currently has its own locker for books, supplies, etc.

• AA recommends that each group should be self-sufficient, declining outside donations and we seem to be very close to the spirit of this tradition. A small amount of sharing such as coffee cups and appliances, takes advantage of limited space for bulk items and is not a problem for the currently small amount of potential center utilization that is actually used. This might change with expanded services, but at the moment the simplicity seems appropriate.

• The rent charged groups is also somewhat arbitrary but could be revisited if needed by the board.

• Austin has a first pass of by-laws that he will share with the board for review.

Clinton AIC Board business meeting 29-Sep-2015

• Austin reported a balance of $1320 and change, not counting what Big Al has been holding during Austin's trip to the land of Octoberfest.

• Austin has ordered 3 grapevine subscriptions, a discussion ensued about whether to use them as fund raisers or give out as prizes or just make available in the center for sharing, and the later was agreed uopn.

• There was some discussion as to futures for literature, should we make books available, start a library etc. There was general agreement that a newcomer packet of some kind should be available and what ought to be included. Discussion brought out concerns of affordability in the short term, but that low cost or free important resources like meeting lists, perhaps pamphlets, perhaps living sober book. Rocky volunteered to produce a meeting list sheet of Clinton meetings including CAIC space meetings that could be a page on the web site and handed out. Rocky volunteered to check out living sober price. (update: $5 from Central Service for qty1-19)

• Austin is still pursuing the article of incorporation as 501(C3) non-profit, which is the first step towards a stable financial footing in the vision to provide a stable platform for recovery program expansion in town. His vision includes many things for problems that are often related to substance abuse, such as battered women, day care, telephone resources, coordination with other groups and the like. He has a start on a vision statement and will be sharing the charter statement (from 501(C3) application) with the board via email.

• There was some discussion about the separation of corporate entity from recovery groups particularly as it relates to the tradition of group autonomy. While there was some concerns raised about how formal or complicated this might become, there was general agreement in moving towards some model that conforms to the spirit of that tradition. I threw out this verbage: “Traditions suggest that we move towards a more formal separation between the corporate entity and the self-sustaining recovery groups which use its resources”. This will not happen overnight because the business model is not yet fully understood, but as we develop it, something to keep in mind.

Sept meeting date has changed

Due to Personal board vacations the date of the next business meeting has shifted to Sept 29 1p.m.

Clinton AIC Board business meeting 24-Aug-2015

• Austin passed out copies of bank statements for the current period, there was about $1240 prior to the transition to formal CAIC tax ID account and after aug/sep rent and utilities about $860 remains

• Past practice has been to try to maintain a 2 month reserve as buffer or approximately $700

• Austins practice is to make a deposit when about $100 in petty cash accumulates

• Austin has been exploring 501(C3) status. The forms and process seems daunting. In addition he is exploring incorporating CAIC as a charitable organization. The purpose is to get CAIC on a stable financial footing with growth potential and with a good $$ buffer for winters and dry income periods ( a self-sustaining vehicle for recovery efforts , in Austin's words)

  • (aside) The most common type of tax-exempt nonprofit organization falls under category 501(c)(3), whereby a nonprofit organization is exempt from federal income tax if its activities have the following purposes: charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, public safety etc.

  • For these purposes the AA traditions such as anonymity do not apply since CAIC is not AA but a separate supporting entity. Therefore Austin is requesting board members supply full names and contact info (Board currently 5 Austin, Scott, Rocky, Tom H. , Big Al)

  • Austin mentioned that there is a lot of grant money available but the processes are tedious and complex. Perhaps the first grant obtained could be used to hire a professional grant writer to pursue subsequent grants. Perhaps there is one in local AA?

• In the short term, there is general agreement on board and attendees that more information about how other similar centers operate , would be helpful. Austin and Shawn are going to question Marlboro ARC leaders. Ausin is going to investigate affiliation with other local charitable organizations such as WHEAT. It was brought up that CAIC formerly had a United Way affiliation as did Leominster MAC center. United used to pay Smokey to run the center. (also Rocky mentioned last meeting that Greenfield Grapevine employ 2 part time center managers)

• Alternate siting for CAIC: There was some discussion about alternate sites, perhaps real estate owned by town that they might donate or share use. Shawn made a good point that maintaining independence (with a commercial rather than town site, as is the current situation) gives total freedom on meeting scheduling, such as for new meetings whereas a shared town site (particular a shared use, the new senior center was mentioned) might present limitations. Austin favors keeping town dependency minimal, they already help significantly with finances (~450/month this budget period).

• In the meantime, what can be done to move operations closer to a break-even status?

  • Teague mentioned improvements that could be made to reduce costs in particular replacing the six lighting fixtures with LED equivalents which is something he would volunteer to do.

  • Rocky volunteered to tweek meeting opening script to perhaps correct the impression held by some that donations were gravy and that the town was fully supporting the center. This revision can be reviewed or word-smithed at next meeting Sep 21.

  • Rocky suggested that each meeting which uses CAIC ought to be self-supporting and that a consistent method of rent allocation be devised (some algorithm based on hours of use for example). Austin commented that there is only 2 meetings and that the nooner is the primary income.

Next Meeting Aug 24

Aug 17th meeting postponed to Aug 24 1p.m. at the center.

Kickoff Meeting Notes July 20 2015

Notes from kickoff meeting:

• Austin read some guidelines from AA literature
• The impetus for establishing a Board of Directors came from winter bills bringing finances below a prudent reserve and some question whether operations could continue on that basis
• Sue had been acting as treasurer and had been told by previous treasurer that a 3 month reserve what in the past typical. Rent is $650, town subsidizes $400 and income from the various groups that meet at CAIC varies widely, and the various groups have varying standards about who buys what. Prime income staple is the nooner where Al has been acting as sole proprieter, passing along income after expenses, though some of these expenses also support other groups that meet. Not clear whether there is a standard way of calculating what each groups contribution ought to be. Utilities are hard to budget due to heat in winter months. Utility for gas and electric is National Grid. (perhaps the utility could provide a calculated fixed payment plan that could be budgeted like some oil companies do?)
• Landlord has said we should pay for a new boiler (people thought this ludicrous as it is part of the physical plant we are renting)
• Sue estimates that average monthly expenses beyond town subsidy are about $300, but perhaps this would change if a different operational model were adopted that had the treasurer paying all expenses, and group reps presenting bills. Al is obtaining most food stuffs for free from WHEAT and some paper goods, coins and food are donated so there are really not a lot of expenses.
• Some feeling that servants should not be paid, however many “clubhouse” models across the country do employ 1 or 2 individuals to be the daily operational watchdogs of the premises (example Grapevine club in Greenfield, also partially subsidized by town, who are in fact providing the space for recovery activities).
• A bank account needs to be established for use by treasurer with tax id number that is independent of any particular individual.
• Board size initially set at 5. Volunteers for initial board include
• Austin P. - Treasurer
• Nancy R. Secretary (subsequent to the meeting, this was handed off to Rocky due to outside time and personal reasons)
• Tom H.
• Scott
• Big Al
• Rocky will establish website for presiding CAIC board secretary to post meeting minutes, agendas, notifications and other materials for all the various groups that share the CAIC center for recovery activities. (aside: this has been done, you are there now 8^) http://clintonaic.blogspot.com/ )
• Board Meetings will occur the third Monday to allow time for billing due dates on the 1^st. Rocky will establish a meeting calendar on the website that can be subscribed to
  
  
  

One Day

This site has been established for the presiding CAIC board secretary to post meeting minutes, agendas, notifications and other materials for all the various groups that share the CAIC center for recovery activities.