May 2016

The May 3, 2016 meeting of the Board of Directors was called to order at 8 pm at the New Providence home of Pam Robinson and Bob Safranek. The minutes are written in agenda order rather than actual order.

ROLL CALL

Present were Kathleen Caccavale, Joanne Cronin, Lois DeRitter, Grover Kemble, Allan Kugel, Bob McNally, Lindsey Meyer, Mitch Radler, Jay Wilensky, and Barrett Wilson (officers and trustees); Mike Agranoff, Pat Brangs, Ken Brody, Christine DeLeon, Mike Del Vecchio, Lori Falco, Paul Fisher, Deborah Graham, Pam Robinson, Ed Roffman, Mark Schaffer, and Leigh Walker (committee chairs).

Guests: Nancy Kelner, Barbara Moo, and Diane Perry.

Absent: Elizabeth Lachowicz, George Otto, Sandie Reilly, and Chris Riemer.

MOTIONS THIS MONTH

1. The Board voted to form an ad hoc committee, chaired by Lindsey, to look into applying for a CAPES grant and to report back within two months.

2. The Board voted to form an ad hoc committee, chaired by Bob M., to generate a draft statement of intentions and resources and report back within three months with a statement and recommendations.

ADMINISTRATION REPORTS

Secretary

The April minutes were approved as written.

Treasurer Written Report

Chris was absent.

President Written Report

Barrett recognized Mike D. with an “Honorable Mention” for his excellent work on the new MUUF sound system, the grant, for liaising with MUUF, and for training the volunteers. A rousing applause resounded. Hooray to Mike for his dedication, technical expertise, and good will.

AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT

Workers Compensation Commission ad hoc committee

Barrett said they’d had their second meeting and expect to report to the Board in June or July.

OLD BUSINESS

Withdrawal of Resignation

Mitch withdrew his resignation motion and will continue to serve as Trustee. We’re glad to have him back.

Statement of Intentions and Resources (formerly: “Folk Project Mission Statement”)

Bob recapped his statements from the April meeting.

He said we’re a creative, volunteer-sourced organization with standing in the community, with resources that include volunteers, knowledge, and finances. The more we grow and become more complex, the more likely we are to drift away from agreement about our goals. There are many reasons why people volunteer and we should think about the effect that our decisions have on volunteers.

He envisions writing a non-restrictive statement of intentions and an inventory of resources and said it would facilitate understanding the good job that others are doing, even when on different paths within the FP. He said the statement would not be a mission statement but rather a clarification of a mission statement. The length would be a “couple of paragraphs."

Barb commented that it sounds like a corporate strategic plan that would direct the next ten years and fulfill the company’s mission.

Several people praised the initiative and said it would be beneficial to the FP and for our volunteers. Several people voiced concerns that this kind of statement might be unnecessary in such a fluid organization; would take a lot of time; and that our short, broad Statement of Purpose is sufficient. This statement, from our Constitution, reads: “The purpose of this organization is to provide nonprofit, cultural activities in the fields of music and the folk arts to the general public and to the members of the organization.”

Nancy said there’s an existing mission-type statement that’s included in all PR:

“The Folk Project is a non-profit 501(c)(3) Corporation whose mission is to present high caliber folk music performances and instructional workshops for the public and members; to encourage development of musicianship and performance skills in the northern New Jersey area; and to provide interesting social and learning activities relating to traditional and participatory folk music and dance.”

Bob moved to “volunteer to chair an ad hoc committee to generate a draft statement of intentions and resources and report back within three months with a statement and recommendations.” It was seconded and passed.

NEW BUSINESS

The Folk Project Archives – CAPES Grant Proposal

Lindsey presented a proposal to explore ways to collect and preserve our organization’s archival materials. These include photos, newsletters, public relations material, recordings in all formats, financial papers, meeting minutes and the like. They’re currently stored in members’ homes and many unique items are inaccessible to most members. As we grow older, downsize, and eventually die, some of these materials could end up in the garbage unless we devise a plan to collect, describe, and store them.

Since the FP doesn’t own real estate, the most likely repository would be an existing archives such as the Morristown and Morris Township Public Library, Rutgers University (which already has several donated boxes of FP financial and other papers), or the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The material would then be accessible to the public, including FP members, our families, researchers, and historians. Materials would not be available online: researchers would go to the repository and request to see the archives.

Part of Lindsey’s proposal is to apply for a free CAPES grant, if we qualify. The Caucus Archival Projects Evaluation Service (CAPES) is jointly offered by the NJ Historical Commission (NJHC) and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC). The grant enables a professional archivist to assess our collection and to make preservation and housing recommendations. One requirement for the grant is that the collection is publicly available but Lindsey hopes we can get guidance in this area from the NJHC and MARAC. We would be under no obligation to carry out the archivist’s recommendations.

Pam moved “to form an ad hoc committee, chaired by Lindsey, to look into applying for a CAPES grant and to report back within two months.” Following discussion, the motion passed.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Special Concerts Written Report

Pam reported that 27 tickets have been sold for Irish Mythen so far. The next event is in the planning stage and our exposure will be $1,600.

UkeFest update: It’s definitely being held at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center in Whippany. She has a signed contract with Victor and Penny and is negotiating with three other acts. She’s also negotiating with another performer who would cost an extra $1,000. This would be outside her budget but would attract a larger audience and she asked for input from the Board. A 15% higher audience (from last year) would cover it. Our current exposure is $10,000 and with this other performer, the exposure would be $11,000. In answer to questions about ticket prices and projected income, she reviewed the many different types of tickets for all or parts of the weekend and said that for this reason, it would be hard to determine capacity, income and sellout figures. She currently has four acts, three of which are new to the FP, and wants one more act. There was strong support from the Board for Pam to follow her gut feelings and go for it.

Horses Sing None of It Written Report

Ken invited us all to come be part of the studio audience.

Swingin’ Tern Written Report

Leigh reported a “decent month." Income to date is $3,500, not including General & Administrative (G&A) or insurance expenses. This figure includes a $2,000+ donation in memory of Joel Remde and a sponsored dance that netted over $1,000.

On a political note, Leigh stated that he hoped our next president “would not be afraid to speak his mind, even if it’s not politically correct," and to elect “someone who has lots and lots of money. So I hope you’ll join me in supporting Thurston Howell III” which elicited gales of laughter and jokes about 3 hour Board meetings and a certain pre-existing theme song.

Publicity Written Report

Paul had nothing to add to the written report. Allan mentioned some problems with the online web forms substituting characters. If this happens, let the web team know.

Minstrel Staffing Written Report

Deborah wants a new tab added to the website for volunteer information. The tab would lead to job descriptions, not sign-ups, and could be used by any venue or event that needs volunteers. It would include arrival times and suggested jobs for newbies. That way, it would be easy to refer people to one location for all volunteer information.

Electronic Communications Written Report

Lori reported that the MinstrelGram has been combined into one weekly mailing, so no more bulletins. This will cut down on recipients’ email volume. She also worked with Mitch to send emails advertising Summer Songs performer slots, got an amazing 40% “open” rate, and by the next day, all the slots were filled. Pam thanked Lori for resolving issues and making the Irish Mythen tickets available on our website.

Membership Written Report

Eddie said that memberships are creeping up. He attributes this to: 1) sending out renewal notices and 2) no longer sending newsletters to former members, so they have to renew if they want the newsletter. Barrett said that G&A was eliminated this year in good part because we saved printing costs by printing fewer newsletters and reducing the number of freebies. Pat said that by using Staples coupons, our newsletter printing this month cost $100 instead of the usual $300.

Newsletter Written Report

George was absent.

Community Services Written Report

Pat said that FP performers are scheduled to play for Hanover Arts residents and she has an inquiry from a Bergen County organization.

Minstrel Booking Written Report

Mike A. reported that due to an error in our favor, the Minstrel “just about broke even” in April. He stated that due to the performer pay structure, losses on low-attendance nights are not offset by high-attendance nights. In addition, the high insurance allocation eats into his performer budget. For these reasons, he’s considering raising the door to $10 in 2017. The last increase, to $9, was in July 2014. The new MUUF sound system is a lot less work and may require only one sound person for single or duo acts. “Badabadabadabada” said Mike, prompting a spelling request by the secretary. He recently performed at Caffe Lena, which streamed the concert live on Concert Window. With MUUF’s new video equipment, we might be able to do the same thing and it would generate a new source of income for the Minstrel as well as the performers. ASCAP & BMI royalty is easily taken care of because the concerts are streaming, not live.

New bookings: Occidental Gypsy for Feb. 2017 and “Fendrick and Peck” as openers in November and as a featured act in June 2017.

Allan suggested that Mike change the payment formula for performers with big draws because the insurance costs are higher when the attendance figures are higher. Changing the formula could help the Minstrel retain more income. Mike said that raising the door price would help and he may decide to stop counting ticks as part of the head count.

Event Hosting Written Report

Christine said that Jean Scully saved the April Evening of Music: due to a last minute change, the Humphreyses couldn’t host -- so Jean hosted instead, in the Humphreyses' home.

Summer Songs:

Mitch reported that everything’s going well, there’s a great back-up band and soloists, and they’ll be using the new MUUF projector to project song lyrics on the new movie screen.

Sound Reinforcement Written Report

Mike D. had nothing to add his report.

Getaway Written Report

Mark said that Carol Titus is “retiring” from many years of excellent merch sales and that he’s found a good replacement.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 10:01 pm. The next meeting is at 8 pm on June 7 at Mario’s Famous Pizza in Randolph, hosted by Christine DeLeon and Mike Del Vecchio.

Respectfully submitted,

Lindsey Meyer, Secretary