The meeting was called to order at 8:22 PM on November 12 by President Elizabeth Lachowicz. This meeting was held via Zoom.

ROLL CALL

Present: Mike Agranoff, Loretta Brooks, Jeff Canter, Sam Edelston, Paul Fisher, Doug Heacock, Peggy Karr, Allan Kugel, Elizabeth Lachowicz, George Otto, Gary Pratt, Chris Riemer, Tina Ross, Mark Schaffer, Robin Schaffer, Jean Scully and Pamela Zave. With a special guest appearance from Jeffrey Jonas.

Absent: Todd Dennison, John Mahon, Bob McNally and Sandie Reilly.

MOTIONS MADE

• The minutes of the October meeting were approved as amended. Sam corrected the misspelled name of a new volunteer on the Publicity team.

• The board also approved the slate of directors for 2025, as developed by the Nominations Committee  and refined via discussions this evening.

ADMINISTRATIVE OVERVIEW 

President

Elizabeth kicked things off by welcoming Jeffrey Jonas. Tonight, he is a guest, but he has agreed to take on the job of Treasurer in 2025, following the retirement of Peggy Karr. 

Secretary

Chris reports that everything is under control. 

Treasurer

Peggy stands on her report. She thinks some things have been posted to the wrong place, but she will have bookkeeper Karen track them down. The Guitar Summit numbers have not yet been reported, but Mark said they came very close to breaking even. 

Chris noted that in the last few months, Peggy has proposed a number of fairly dramatic changes, like switching to a new bank and issuing credit cards. He wondered if those things were being put on hold until the new Treasurer gets up to speed. The answer was yes, so the near-term fiscal outlook should be pretty stable. Peggy also assured the group that she will hang in and support Jeffrey as long as necessary. 

BUSINESS ITEMS

Membership and Donations Program

Robin filled the group in on a new Membership and Donations program, supported by a PowerPoint presentation. She had a lot of things to cover and a limited window of time, so she asked people to send her any comments afterwards and she’ll address them via email.

The gist is that The Folk Project is not really sustainable without some new source of funding. Attendance is down nationwide, and with low attendance we can’t provide fair pay for quality artists. Mike’s personal contributions to underwrite the Troubadour (a COVID-era program) have ended. And while most of Robin’s presentation is focused on the Troubadour, she knows that Swingin’ Tern is facing similar challenges. A lot of our long-term success is riding on Publicity, but she feels there’s also more that could be done in the area of Memberships and Donations.

The idea is to boost the Dues revenue stream by increasing the benefits of membership and establishing different tiers of support. For example, some people might like the idea of sponsoring a show to celebrate an anniversary or other life event, especially if we made it easy for them. That’s happened now and then in the past, but Robin would like to formalize it. A key constituency might be the Swingin’ Tern dancers, who so far have not been strongly motivated to become Folk Project members. She thinks there’s a lot of untapped potential here.

The plan is to establish “patron” memberships above the levels that exist now, as high as $1,000 per year. We’re also going to look into corporate sponsorships and matching gifts. The key is to make it as easy as possible for people to sign on to the idea of a special membership, and also provide the necessary information for those who might consider a bequest.

There was a great deal of discussion on the details. We talked about patron membership tiers, thank you gifts (which may or may not include tote bags), discount admissions, the creation of new web pages to support the program, new forms to encourage more member engagement, the tax implications of membership under such an expanded program, impact on first-timer passes at the Troubadour, membership collateral pieces for the Troubadour audience, a kiosk to support on-site membership registration at MUUF, the possibility of lifetime memberships, and a physical membership package to help clinch the deal. Robin wants to fast-track this in order to take advantage of the holiday season. 

Robin thanked Mark, Eitan Grunwald, Yolanda Fundora and John Lamb, who have helped with the strategy and execution so far. Pamela thought Robin did a great job on the presentation, and said it made her feel that The Folk Project was growing up. Gary also thought the program was well-conceived. He even thought it would be helpful in applying for grants,  because it’s the kind of thing that grant-giving organizations like to see. It adds credibility to the whole organization. Mike wrapped up the discussion on a cautionary note, expressing some concern on its administration. It could get complicated quickly and calls for some serious thought.

Nominations Committee Update

Jean has sent out the proposed 2025 slate of directors via email. She summarized the changes, which involve one new face, the return of a former director, and some general shuffling of responsibilities. See the details as part of her email report. She also thanked Chris for his consolidated spreadsheet model of voting positions, committee chairs and administrative support positions. 

Chris wanted to go through that exercise because we have a number of roles listed on the Administration page that may no longer need to be part of the story. Understanding that’s for a future discussion, and the focus now is on what we need to document to support the elections next month. One possible change that was not included in Jean’s report was Gary’s request to continue as Streaming Chair, but to have that role converted to a non-voting director, so his attendance at the monthly meeting would not be required. We felt sure his request could be accommodated, following the model of John Lamb (webmaster) or Jay Wilenski (event hosting).

There was some brief discussion, but the board was generally happy with the changes as proposed by Jean, and with a few adjustments, it will be presented to the general membership in December.

COMMITTEE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

Future Planning

Robin stands on her written report.

Open Stage / Membership

No direct report from the absent Todd Dennison, but he did send a report via email.

Newsletter

George stands on his written report.

Publicity

Sam has been running wondered about the future of the Click Clique program under the impression that which Thomas Lachowicz was sending emails to help promote near-term concerts. He wondered if Thomas was only temporarily unavailable,  and asked whether he is expected to return to it. would be picking that up again, or if it should formally be subsumed under Publicity. Elizabeth doesn’t think  so, and Sam will act accordingly. Thomas would be back

Sound Reinforcement

No report from the absent John Mahon, although he did submit an email.

Swingin’ Tern

Doug stands on his written report.

Streaming

No report (yet) from the present Gary Pratt. He has been “binge booking” for the last few weeks, following up on recommendations from performers he’s booked in the past. The best recommendations he’s gotten for great performers come from other great performers. As of this afternoon, he’s booked through to the middle of February.

Special Events / Troubadour

Mark asks everyone to go read his report, because that’s where the details are. There’s a lot of churn as we adopt new policies and new procedures, but the report will give you the big picture. We owe a lot to all the people who are pitching in for Publicity.

Troubadour Staffing

Jean has nothing special to report this month. Things are just “kind of puttering along.”

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting  proper was adjourned at 9:49 PM. Next month’s meeting is December 3, at 8:15 PM, via the usual Zoom link. 

Submitted by Chris Riemer

WRITTEN COMMITTEE REPORTS

OPEN STAGE / MEMBERSHIP / HALLOWEEN SHOW

From: Todd Dennison <todd.dennison@folkproject.org>
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2024 9:46 AM
To: BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Subject: Halloween show/ Open Stage report

The Halloween show was a great success once again! Bob McNally and I started decorating at 3 p.m., adding even more Halloween props and decorations than last year. Bob Cole and Jean Scully did an amazing job with the food, as always.

The performances and costumes were outstanding, and it wasn’t easy this year to choose the best costume—there were so many fantastic ones. Mark Schaffer created a video for the Music Alert that captured some of the fun from the show. A huge thank you to everyone who helped break down the setup at the end of the night! See attached pictures.

The November Open Stage was also a great success, with several new talented performers—some of whom were immediately identified as potential opening acts for the Troubadour. I've definitely noticed an increase in newcomers, and I expect even more now that the Montclair open mic has closed down.

Dutifully submitted,

Todd Dennison

FUTURE PLANNING

From: boardplus@folkproject.org <boardplus@folkproject.org> on behalf of Robin Schaffer <robinjs19@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2024 10:59 AM
To: BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Subject: Future Planning Committee report

Hi All,

See attached report

TREASURER

From: secretary@folkproject.org <secretary@folkproject.org> on behalf of timpeg@optonline.net <timpeg@optonline.net>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 11:28 AM
To: board@folkproject.org <board@folkproject.org>
Subject: November 2024 Treasurer Report

Hello Everyone,

Attached:

• Profit & Loss by class

• Balance Sheet Comparison

• Profit & Loss by class Comparison

• Possible Reimbursement Form

Things to note:

We are on track to loose 15-16K this year. Numbers missing for Guitar Summit Event.  Rent & Performer fee's.  We are on track to spend 10-11K on the Bookkeeper due to communication confusion and multiple new income stream data that need to be entered and new procedures for paying performers. This number should go down next year.

I have a possible solution for a more streamlined system for Reimbursements. John Lamb created something that can be filled out on line.

I have created a form that can be printed, filled out, photographed and sent to bookkeeper.

Both will work and make reimbursements happen more quickly through the bookkeeper. I have been working an getting all the date into a simple form that can be kept on line and have limited access of all our accounts and passwords.

I have started to get Jeff Jonas familiar with everything. I will stay on for as long as necessary for a smooth transition.

Respectfully Submitted

Peggy Karr / Treasurer

NOMINATIONS

From: 'Jean Scully' via BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 6:53 PM
To: BoardPlus - Current Board Select Alumni Key Volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Subject: Nominations Committee Report & Proposed slate for 2025

Friends,

Many thanks to the folks who helped out in this effort.  Note that Peggy has agreed to mentor and train Jeff as Treasurer to make the transition as seamless as possible.  She will also maintain control of the reimbursement function for the first few months.

PROPOSED SLATE FOR 2025:

Directors (Voting)

 Officers

President Elizabeth Lachowicz
Vice President Mark Shaffer
Secretary Paul Fisher
Treasurer Jeff Jonas*

 Trustees

  Through 2025 Jeff Cantor, Paul Fisher, Allan Kugel
Through 2026 Loretta Brooks, Tina Ross, Pamela Zave
Through 2027 Mike Agranoff, Todd Dennison, Christine DeLeon

Committee Chairs

  Future Planning Robin Schaffer
Horses Sing None of It Sandie Reilly
Newsletter George Otto
Open Stage Todd Dennison
Publicity Sam Edelston
Sound Reinforcement John Mahon
Special Events Mark Schaffer
Streaming Concerts Gary Pratt
Swingin' Tern Doug Heacock
Trouabdour Mark Schaffer
Troubadour Staffing Jean Scully

Chris Riemer very helpfully created a spreadsheet with all the board positions that was a great help to me in this effort.  That spreadsheet also included all the current administrator (non-voting) board positions as well, with some notations regarding some functions that may be redundant/obsolete.  I'd propose that we can take a look at that spreadsheet before the January meeting (since December will be taken up with annual reports) and discuss acting on some of Chris's observations.

Jean Scully

PUBLICITY

From: sam.edelston@folkproject.org <sam.edelston@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 12:56 PM
To: boardplus@folkproject.org <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Cc: publicitycomm@folkproject.org <publicitycomm@folkproject.org>
Subject: Publicity Report for 2024-11-12 Board meeting

Hi, all –

Here’s the November Publicity Report. Sorry to be so close to meeting time. I’m still catching up from running the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival this past weekend.

In addition to my written report, there are two attachments: Kathi’s Facebook charts, and John’s Web stats.

Let me know if there are any questions.

See you this evening.

Sam

SWINGIN' TERN

From: 'Doug Heacock' via BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2024 6:51 PM
To: BoardPlus - Current Board Select Alumni Key Volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Subject: Swingin' Tern Dances October 2024 Report for the Folk Project Board Meeting on 11/12/24

Swingin' Tern Dances October 2024 Report for the Folk Project Board Meeting on 11/12/24

In October Swingin’ Tern held one double and one evening dance:

10/5aft   Angela DeAngelis & Sycamore  37 attendees [30 paid/7 staff/0 free]        Loss    -$135
10/5eve Angela DeAngelis & Sycamore  40 attendees [30 paid/7 staff/3 free]        Loss    -$175
10/19    Greg Frock & Good Company    41 attendees [31 paid/9 staff/1 free]        Loss    -$34

October loss  $344

2024 cumulative total -$650 loss [not including the Swingin’ Tern Fund]

Although excellent talent was presented, October was a disappointing month for attendance.  This was despite a significant publicity push for the first dance with a sponsored video on Facebook.  We may have been hurt by being the last of a four-night tour for the band and caller.  They played at Philly and Princeton on prior nights.  The second dance was in competition with major dances in NYC and Philly.

Our new industrial pedestal fan made its debut this month.  This will aid in circulation when the air conditioning and box fans are not sufficient or when the windows are closed in the winter.

Our next Swingin’ Tern committee meeting will be held just prior to our December 7th dance.

Yours in dance,

Doug Heacock
chair@swingintern.org

NEWSLETTER

From: 'George Otto' via BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 3:43 AM
To: boardplus@folkproject.org <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Cc: George Otto <GeorgeOtto@mac.com>
Subject: Newsletter Committee Report 2024-11

Newsletter Committee Report 2024-11

Things are proceeding as usual with the invaluable help of Kathi Caccavale, Pat Brangs, Bill Henderson, Gary Pratt, Paul Fisher, and Todd Dennison.

George Otto
Folk Project Newsletter Editor
newsletter@folkproject.org

SOUND REINFORCEMENT

From: 'John Mahon' via Board - Current voting directors (officers, trustees, chairs) <board@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 3:23 PM
To: Board <board@folkproject.org>; Mark Schaffer <mark.schaffer@folkproject.org>
Subject: Sound Reinforcement Committee Report November 2024

Sound Reinforcement Committee Report November 2024

In October we provided live and broadcast sound for 4 Friday night shows and one special Concert. This included regular Troubadour Shows on Oct. 4 for Haylen Reardon with Ken Galipeau, Oct. 18 for Muriel Anderson with Alex Prezzano, and on Oct. 11 the Open stage. There were two special shows, on Oct. 19, we provided sound for the NJ Guitar Summit evening concert, and on Oct 25 we supported the Folk Project Members Halloween Show.

All the shows proceeded with no technical issues for sound in the House or the mix for the broadcast.

John Mahon
Committee Chairman

SPEPCIAL EVENTS / TROUBADOUR

From: Mark Schaffer <mark.schaffer@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 5:02 PM
To: Board <Board@folkproject.org>
Subject: NOVEMBER SPECIAL EVENTS AND TROUBADOUR REPORT TO BOARD

SPECIAL EVENTS:

The first NJ Guitar Summit broke about even from a financial standpoint. From a mission standpoint it was a big success. Feedback from the workshops was overwhelmingly positive.  The concert was astounding, with - great and contrasting talents putting on a fabulous and well-received show. The staff worked wonders and deserve a lot of credit for the operation.

We expect to do this again next year. We expect to do better financially the second year, like we did with Songwriters Day. Coproducing the event with Beppe Gambetta leverages his connections with our experience and structure. The relationship produces a better program.

TROUBADOUR & SPECIAL CONCERTS AT THE TROUBADOUR:

Year-to-date, Troubadour attendance mirrors national trends for all entertainment. It’s low -- close to our unacceptable lows of 2017-2018. Recent Special Concerts at a higher ticket price, i.e. John Gorka and Peter Yarrow, had full houses and produced profits.

In response to this reality, expect more Special Concerts at the Troubadour with the expectation that: A) Profits from Special Concerts will offset losses at Troubadour; and B) Larger audiences for Special Concerts will generate more attendance for our regularly priced shows. This is a means to an end: Building back attendance for our community-priced regular shows. The number of Special Concerts will depend on public and member turnout, attendance growth at regular shows, and opportunities when artists present themselves.

It is common for me to discuss Troubadour issues and strategies with experienced people from around the country. Robin and I have had extensive and productive discussions with one such person, actually from Morris Plains - Project member Marshal Chaifetz. 

TROUBADOUR:

Two regular shows this month: Hayley Reardon with Ken Galipeau and Muriel Anderson with Alex Prezzano. Both shows met post-COVD expectations: Wonderful talent playing to low attendance. Alex Prezzano was of particular interest: A Broadway pit musician who plays thousand seat theaters for lots of money was thrilled to present his personal music to our small audience. He wants to come back.

The new cloud-based management system is starting to bring dividends. Tremendous thanks to Todd Dennison for for dedicating endless hours to make this system work. Alicia Weimer began administering the system. Loretta Brooks is using the new system to help post events on the web. Because it’s new, we are figuring out best practices, early glitches and system limitations. Booking January was a streamlined pleasure compared to my first five unpleasant months in this role.

January marks the first month where all hires are under my new chairmanship: Joe Cirotti Trio with Western Skies, Cheryl Wheeler with Kenny White, Toby Walker with Robin’s Imposter Roster, and a Special Concert with Ellis Paul with Burrie Jenkins. Cirotti is a great local band with a well-deserved following. Wheeler, Walker and Paul are high-end acts that should attract a following.

The Troubadour turnaround strategy relies on two principles: 1) investing in publicity to bring in first-timers, and 2)presenting high-quality acts to bring them back. Our booking strategy relies on music and artists that meet longstanding Folk Project cultural norms, but with a new eye towards attracting members of the general public. January and this summer’s Campfire Night are booking examples of that.

The Project has been saving for a rainy day and it has arrived. You will notice investments in higher performer guarantees and more publicity.   These will affect Troubadour’s bottom line until attendance returns to 2019 levels. Fortunately, there is a growing team of new and long-time volunteers investing a huge amount of time, effort, creativity, patience, experimentation, and love into the turnaround. We are early in this uphill journey, but it would be a shame if we wind up in five years with all our money in the bank and nobody at our concerts.

TROUBADOUR (METRICS)

From: The Troubadour <mike.agranoff@folkproject.org>
Sent: Monday, October 28, 2024 5:08 PM
To: board@folkproject.org <board@folkproject.org>
Subject: Troubadour attendance and financial report to the Board.

There were two Troubadour shows in October.  The average paid in-person attendance was 35.0, and with staff, redeemed ticks, redeemed 2nd-timer cards, and guests, the average total in-person attendance was 45.5.  Average streaming attendance was 17.0

Year-to-date, we ran 24 shows.  Average paid attendance was 68.9, and average total attendance was 83.1.  Average streaming attendance was 19.0.  See attached graphs for details.

Mike Agranoff
Troubadour Committee
Morristown, NJ. USA
www.Troubadour.FolkProject.org