The meeting was called to order at 8:15 PM on September 3 by President Elizabeth Lachowicz. This meeting was held via Zoom.

ROLL CALL

Present: Mike Agranoff, Loretta Brooks, Jeff Canter, Todd Dennison, Sam Edelston, Paul Fisher, Doug Heacock, Peggy Karr, Allan Kugel, Elizabeth Lachowicz, John Mahon, Bob McNally, George Otto, Gary Pratt, Sandie Reilly, Chris Riemer, Mark Schaffer, Robin Schaffer, Jean Scully and Pamela Zave

Absent: Tina Ross 

MOTIONS MADE

• The minutes of the August meeting were approved as amended.

• The board voted to allocate $3,000 to Swingin’ Tern between now and December 2025, to facilitate the booking of higher-level performers and enhance the quality of the dance.

ADMINISTRATIVE OVERVIEW 

Secretary

Chris reports that everything is under control. 

Treasurer

Peggy warned that scammers are getting more clever. Both she and Paul have been targeted by Folk Project related scam calls in recent weeks. She believes we reveal too much information on our website, since these recent calls cross-referenced herself and other board members by name. 

Chris agreed that everyone should always be wary about engaging with strangers via email or telephone. But he believes there are no live links from folkproject.org to the wiki. The wiki itself is not protected, but it is screened from search engines and is only accessible to people who have the URL. So, a Google search on “Folk Project Minutes” may pull in a secondary hit from a PDF newsletter, but it won’t find the actual minutes. Allan thinks it’s worth some discussion, but probably not at the meeting tonight.

However, Gary pointed out that there is, in fact, a link from the public website to the wiki. The Administration page at folkproject.org has a link to our Governing Documents, which are stored in the Back Office. That link gives full access to everything once you cross the boundary. It’s probably low risk, but it is certainly an open back door. Allan notes that we’ve never thought about security at this level, but maybe that’s old-fashioned thinking. George agrees, and offers some tips about how to spot a scammer. However, Chris thinks there’s no reason why we need that link on the Admin page at all. The safest thing would be just to delete it, and thereby box off the wiki a little more robustly.

There was some additional discussion about the disclosure requirements for non-profits. Gary explained that we don’t need to make these operational details public, but we do need to make them available on request. 

Since Allan is part of the web team, he’ll talk to John Lamb about security. Bob wonders if our minutes should also perhaps be less definitive. Instead of Wells Fargo, for example, just say “the bank.”

BUSINESS ITEMS

A Nominations Committee

Jean hasn’t done any ground work on this, believing that she would start after Labor Day. She also reports that no one has contacted her to offer their help, with the exception of Gary and Jeff, who made that offer at the last meeting. Elizabeth will also be happy to participate.

Chris mentioned that we had left it as an open question as to whether we were or were not going to establish an ongoing Nominations Committee instead of the ad hoc nominations process we’ve used in the past. He’d like to see a kind of declaration of the mission for this committee, before he can decide if he has a role to play on it. Elizabeth asks that anyone with an interest contact Jean, and that Jean have a proposal to make at the next meeting regarding the best organizational structure and the pros and cons of a standing Nominations Committee.

Funding Swingin' Tern

Kicking off the new business discussion, Elizabeth took a moment to consider how far we’ve come since Covid. She knows that everyone has been working very hard in many different ways, trying to claw our way back to the way things were before. A lot of what’s being done under the Future Planning Committee umbrella is aimed at two outcomes: getting butts in seats and looking for additional funding opportunities -- grants, tiered membership options and so forth. We need to generate enough revenue to keep the doors open and produce the kind of shows and events that will carry us into the future.

Doug reviewed the current state of things from Swingin’ Tern’s perspective. Their numbers are down, as they are in the other venues. But he thinks there are some larger trends within the contra dance community that are also playing a role, over and above the impact of Covid. In the dance’s first two decades, contra dancing was supported mostly by smaller, local venues. There were huge events at NEFFA in Boston and Flurry in NERFA, Boston and Saratoga Springs, which drew the top talent. But there was still a lot of room at the lower, local levels.

The best bands and callers supported themselves with these national events, but were still willing to play for smaller evening dances. In the last 10 years, though, interest has grown and there are now dozens of dance weekends and even a dance weeks. These new dances can afford to pay the performers more, so attracting a big name band to a local dance is harder. The same thing affects the dancers: experienced dancers want to follow the best bands and callers. Dancers who used to come to Swingin’ Tern are now getting the experience they want by going to one of  the various weekends.

Basically, Doug wants the Folk Project’s support for offering larger guarantees to book nationally-known acts. He also wants to raise the base rate that we’ve used for the caller minimum. The band member guarantees have been “kind of erratic,” and the dance would like to make them more attractive as well. The Folk Project funding would serve as a cushion in the event a given dance ran at a loss. Doug’s motion is that the Folk Project allocate $3,000 to establish a fund dedicated to supporting Swingin’ Tern dances through December 2025. He believes this will let us hire higher-level bands and callers, enhancing the quality and appeal of our dances.

There was a fair amount of discussion on this motion, all of it favorable. Bob described it as a good and timely investment that will help ensure our future. Robin added that it’s totally in line with the Future Planning Committee’s recommendations and its emphasis on doing more to bring in the dollars. 

Allan felt we should think of this as a kind of “information gathering. effort. He also thinks this seems to be part of a general shift in Folk Project booking aimed at getting bigger talent. That could be a good thing. But we may find that even if people are willing to spend more money on a given event, they may not be willing to come as often. Doug assured Alan that the dance committee intends to continue its current booking calendar, with two dances a month and three double-dances a year. We’ve been relying on larger local bands for those special events and don’t want to drop them. 

Doug thinks a nationally-known band could draw people from as far away as Albany. Plus our local advanced dancers from Princeton. The hope is that these more experienced dancers will see the hall, the crowd, and the Swingin’ Tern spirit and keep coming back. 

The discussion ran on into many other ideas, such as special admissions prices, mid-week dances, advertising tie-ins with local restaurants, pick-up bands and the changing demographics of the dance audience. Ultimately, Pamela called the question. The motion was approved, with all in favor and one abstention.

COMMITTEE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

Sound Reinforcement

John stands on his written report.

Newsletter

George stands on his written report. Personal matters are likely to interfere with his schedule over the next few weeks, so he’d like people to get him their submissions as soon as possible.

Swingin’ Tern

Doug stands on his written report.

Streaming

Gary stands on his written report. Allan asked why streaming events are only up for a limited time after the show. Gary confirmed it has to do with the terms of the contract, but there are good reasons for the 24-hour window. We want to close the shows out and send any tips to the performers, and we don’t want to overlap with another event. He’s been thinking about developing a "Guide for the Streaming Audience" and promoting it through the website.

Bob wondered if there were contractual things that would preclude us from recording a show with our equipment and making it available for purchase later. Gary answered that the rates are different (streaming recorded video is more expensive than live video), but he can look into it. There should be no technical difficulties. We currently give all Streaming Tuesday performers a copy of their video and they’re free to promote it with social media or upload it to YouTube. The performers also get a copy of any show recorded at MUF. The logistics in both cases are managed with a download link.

Future Planning

Robin and Bob stand on their report. All of their short-, medium- and long-term plans are described therein. 

Bob added, in a surprise announcement, that he’s going to take over the long dormant merchandising committee. His initial goal will be to break even on costs, with the possibility of turning it into a small profit center. He’d also like the board to give him an initial budget, rather than leaving it open ended. 

Since Merchandising currently falls under Publicity, Bob will consult with Sam to get a rough idea of the costs. As an FYI, Gary mentioned that we do have the ability to sell merchandise through Afton (our streaming service provider) during a show. And Mark tagged Robin as perhaps the last active Merchandising chair, suggesting she might have insights to share.

There was some discussion of how sales taxes would be managed in an expanded Merchandising program, but that was left for the discretion of the new management. Chris is sure we can make it work if we want to, but agrees that it needs to be taken seriously.

Open Stage / Membership

Todd stands on his report.

Horses Sing None of It

Sandie was planning a meeting with our new mystery studio organization, but the scheduling didn’t work out. Nothing new on this front. She’s not sure of the current status on HSNOI’s search for a new contact in one of its cable broadcast partners.

Publicity

Sam (largely) stands on his written report, adding that it’s time to ramp up the collection of Folk Project stories in support of Lori Reilly’s Laurie Riley'soffer to write a history of the organization. Sam will be the collection point. He’s also going to bring back Eleanor Kleiner to further refine our social media strategy. He’s allocating up to $400 for that.

Troubadour / Special Events

Mark stands by his written report, and feels it’s raised some interesting questions. He hopes everyone will read it. 

He also outlined some of the plans for future shows. There are exciting developments afoot for a new “Closeup Concerts” series, which we’re planning to produce a few times a year in MUF’s soon-to-be-open auditorium. The ticket prices will be higher, but any profits generated will be used to underwrite the “community pricing" model of the regular Troubadour shows.

Troubadour Staffing

Jean is working on the staffing for the upcoming MUF benefit show. The idea of a Christmas-themed show has been put on hold until next year, for scheduling reasons.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting  proper was adjourned at  10:04 PM. Next month’s meeting is October 1 at 8:15 PM, via the usual Zoom link. 

Submitted by Chris Riemer

WRITTEN COMMITTEE REPORTS

FUTURE PLANNING

From: boardplus@folkproject.org <boardplus@folkproject.org> On Behalf Of Robin Schaffer
Sent: Sunday, September 1, 2024 7:16 AM
To: BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Subject: Future Planning Committee Report

Hi All. Report is attached.

As always, the Future Planning Committee is open to all suggestions and feedback. If you want to learn more about longer term ideas, please reach out to Robin.Schaffer@folkproject.org.

Thanks!

Robin Schaffer
Bob McNally

NEWSLETTER

From: 'George Otto' via BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2024 7:25 PM
To: boardplus@folkproject.org
Cc: George Otto <GeorgeOtto@mac.com>
Subject: Newsletter Committee Report 2024-09

Things are proceeding as usual with the invaluable help of Kathi Caccavale, Pat Brangs, Bill Henderson, Gary Pratt, Paul Fisher,  and Todd Dennison.  (Please note that last month's newsletter report was mistakenly dated 2024-09 when it should have been dated 2024-08.) 

 George Otto
Folk Project Newsletter Editor
newsletter@folkproject.org

OPEN STAGE/ MEMBERSHIP

From: Todd Dennison <todd.dennison@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2024 4:53 PM
To: Board - Current voting directors (officers, trustees, chairs) <board@folkproject.org>|
Subject: Open Stage/Membership Report

OPEN STAGE REPORT

The Open Stage is is popular and always booked way in advance.  It is already almost completely booked up for next week. Last month I was forced to cancel the Open Stage because heavy rain was predicted and we had numerous tornado watches in the area.

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

Nothing consequential to report.  

Dutifully submitted by,

Todd Dennison

SWINGIN' TERN

From: 'Doug Heacock' via BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Sent: Monday, September 2, 2024 7:27 PM
To: BoardPlus - Current Board, Select Alumni, Key Volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Subject: Swingin' Tern August 2024 Report for FP Board Meeting on 9/39/24

In August Swingin’ Tern held two regular evening dances:

8/3      Jan Jasenski & Unbowed   38 attendees [28 paid/7 staff/3 free]         Loss    -$ 77

8/17    Peter Styx & Wry Bred        35 attendees [28 paid/7 staff/0 free]         Loss    -$270      

August loss -$340

2024 cumulative total -$374 loss

August was a down month for us.  It is unclear if we were impacted by summer vacations and hot weather. We currently have a sponsored ad campaign for our double dance on September 7th. 

Yours in dance,

Doug Heacock 

**********

From: 'Doug Heacock' via BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Sent: Monday, September 2, 2024 7:30 PM
To: BoardPlus - Current Board Select Alumni Key Volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Subject: Proposed Motion to establish a fund to support Swingin' Tern at 9/3/24 meeting

I request a motion that the Folk Project board of directors allocate $3000 to establish a fund dedicated to supporting Swingin' Tern Dances through December 2025. We will use this fund to:

1. Hire more well-known/popular bands and callers to enhance the quality and appeal of our dance events.

2. Attract the followers/dancers of these bands and callers, thereby increasing attendance, community engagement, and the dancing level of our participants.

Long gone are the days of attendance of 120-150 during our first couple decades of dancing.  During our 23-year stay at Ogden Church in Chatham, we had a large number of dancers attending from the NYC, Princeton, Philly, and Bethlehem dance communities.  We lost most of the NYC crowd when we moved to East Hanover since we were not on a train line.  During our 12 years in East Hanover, we maintained an average of 60-80 dancers.  Since returning to Chatham at St. Paul’s church for 2.5 years we have averaged 40-50 dancers.  We currently only get dancers from the other dance series if we have a higher-level band.  Some of the decrease in attendance is surely the post-Covid depression that has been experienced across most performance venues.  Other factors are likely involved.  There are far more contradance weekends and weeks that attract higher-level talent and dancers.  We used to regularly have that higher-level talent at our regular dances.  Since that talent now has the option of being booked at many multi-day events, they demand a higher fee to go to a one-off evening dance.  

The proposed fund would be an investment to gain back our attendance numbers by attracting dancers with our higher-level talent.  The fund would be utilized to offer higher guarantees to top-notch bands and callers along with providing a travel allowance when needed.  We would also increase the base-level guarantee for our local musicians.

Respectfully submitted,

Doug Heacock
chair@swingintern.org

PUBLICITY

From: sam.edelston@folkproject.org <sam.edelston@folkproject.org>
Sent: Monday, September 2, 2024 5:11 PM
To: boardplus@folkproject.org
Cc: publicitycomm@folkproject.org
Subject: Publicity Report for 2024-09-03 Board meeting

Hi, all –

Here’s the September Publicity Report. John Lamb is currently traveling, so next month he’ll provide a two-month Web spreadsheet. Let me know if there are any questions.

See you tomorrow evening.

Sam

TREASURER

From: secretary@folkproject.org <secretary@folkproject.org> On Behalf Of timpeg@optonline.net
Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2024 9:54 AM
To: board@folkproject.org
Subject: Treasures Report September 2024

Hello Board,

Attached is our Profit & Loss statement and Balance Sheet to date. Not much to comment on. 

 RETIREMENT:

I sadly regret to officially inform you, 2024 will be my last year as treasurer. It will be 5 years in January. Between Chronic-Lyme and Old-Age, I’m feeling Burnt-Out. I have been struggling with this for a while. I would suggest a meeting as soon as possible, with a few key people to go over ways to make the transition as smooth as possible.

BANKING:

As I looked carefully at changing the bank I realized I would barely finish the transition before I would have to redo all the paperwork to install the new treasurer. Better to do all the paperwork together once.

CREDIT CARDS:

I had two reasons for wanting Credit Cards. One, to streamline reimbursements. Too much bookkeeper time & money. Second, so people don’t have to use their own money and then have to wait to be reimbursed.

When I look at Credit Cards separately, and not connecting them to Wells Fargo or TD Bank I found better options. I talked with Eitan and he helped me find the options listed below.

PEX       www.pexcard.com
Ramp    www.ramp.com
BILL      www.bill.com

They all offer plans to suit Non Profit 501c3’s, unlimited Visa Cards and a huge array of options beyond what the banks offer.

You can choose one of the options above or leave things as they are. Someone else may have better luck with Wells Fargo than I did. Or move forward with a new bank. They may have a better plan for how to manage reimbursements and the bookkeepers time. 

TRANSITION:

Of course I will be there to train the new Treasurer and be available to support them in whatever they need. Our Bookkeeper, Karen Buchanan, does most of the heavy lifting. A key component of the treasurer’s job is to support Karen and help sort out the confusion our organization’s different activities & revenue streams often have.

SECURITY:

We may want to remove links on our website to our internal information both Financial Reports and Board Minutes. A treasure trove for scammers to pick through. Paul and I both got scam calls the other day. They had too much information which is readily available on our website. I don’t think the public needs that information, if they do, they can ask. 

Sent from my iPhone

Respectfully Submitted
Peggy Karr / Treasurer

SOUND REINFORCEMENT

From: 'John Mahon' via BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2024 7:55 PM
To: BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers <boardplus@folkproject.org>; Elizabeth Lachowicz <elizabeth.lachowicz@gmail.com>
Subject: Sound Reinforcement Committee Report September 2024

In August we provided live and broadcast sound for 3 Friday night shows due to canceling the Open Stage August 9 due to bad weather. This included the 49th Troubadour Birthday Show on August 2, and 2 regular shows for Dead to the Core on August 16 and NJ Uke Night on August23 with Au Fromage and The Flukes.

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

John Mahon
Committee Chairman

STREAMING

From: 'Gary Pratt' via Board - Current voting directors (officers, trustees, chairs) <board@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2024 5:31 PM
To: board@folkproject.org
Subject: Streaming Committee September Report

Folk Project Board Members,

We continue to successfully provide hosted livestreams for Streaming Tuesdays, Troubadour, Open Stage, Member Shows, and Special Concerts. Our events continue to attract performers and audience members from all over the world, highlighting the global reach and appeal of our programming. For tickets and information on upcoming shows, please visit http://www.aftontickets.com/thefolkproject.

A special thank you to Kathi Caccavale for her invaluable support, which remains instrumental in our success.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary 

SPECIAL EVENTS / TROUBADOUR

From: Mark Schaffer <mark.schaffer@folkproject.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2024 5:30 PM
To: Board <Board@folkproject.org>
Subject: Troubadour & Special Events Reports to Board - September 2024

Troubadour:

Summer attendance was down as expected.  September is has some great shows coming up: Jack Williams, Hubby Jenkins and Zoë Lewis not to mention Open Stage’s Free Banana Night. Troubadour is booked through the remainder of the year, with the exception of an opener I’m waiting to hear back from.

Low attendance is the biggest challenge. It affects finances. Our guarantees are low, but artists expect to earn more from their percentage of the gate. They don’t when attendance is low. I’ve been told in no uncertain terms — and I believe it — that artists earn the same at a Sunday or Thursday house concert as they do at the Troubadour paying the guarantee. Artists traditionally earn most of their money on Friday and Saturday.

This is not how we want to be known. We want a respectable payday for the level of artists we aspire to present. I’ve raised guarantees reasonably for these reasons.  We’re taking steps to increase attendance which hopefully supports reasonable paydays. Smarter publicity and more publicity is the key way to attract new guests. Great concerts does also and it’s key way to get first-timers back a second time.

The Publicity and Future Planning Committees are working on more and better publicity. Thanks to Sam, Robin and Bob and their respective teams. It takes time, but we are already seeing the results of increased and improved publicity. New regulars are popping up in small, but noticeable numbers.

Thank you Future Planning for working on Grants, donations and sponsorships. They are foundational funding sources for most nonprofits, but, with a short list of notable exceptions, the Project never made organized outside funding efforts. 

Troubadour data flow is time-consuming. Thank you to Mike, who continues to manage Troubadour data through his FileMaker Pro system. Todd proposed an alternative system based on my wishlist and his technical and business experience. Thank you to Todd. We’re testing his system this week. It appears to collect and distribute data in a very streamlined and efficient manner. The next step is to run Todd’s system past the volunteer teams that use the data and get their input: Booking, Publicity, Sound, Volunteers, Head Staff, Front Desk, etc.

Special Concerts:

Planning for the Sunday series in the 300-seat hall continues. Three offers have been sent. Two shows are expected to sign. Everybody, please cross your fingers on the third. The operating theory, again, is that our all-volunteer margins allow us to compete with the large theaters that have rebounded post-COVID; and that bigger-name acts will increase public awareness and Troubadour attendance. The modest positive cashflow expected from these “bigger” concerts will fund better shows at Troubadour.

The Sunday special concert series’ current name is Closeup Concerts until someone suggests a better name to: concerts@folkproject.org.

Event Hosting:

A fabulous Afternoon of Music will be held at Lewis Morris Park September 14, 1pm to 5-ish pm. If the weather is as good as today’s, it will be a heavenly. Last month’s Evening of Music was merely wonderful. A great time was had by all.

Mark Schaffer, Troubadour and Special Events Chair, along with his trusty sidekick Wifeywoman, faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than her husband

TROUBADOUR (Financial Postscript)

From: The Troubadour <mike.agranoff@folkproject.org>
Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2024 1:45 PM
To: 'BoardPlus - Current board, select alumni, key volunteers' <boardplus@folkproject.org>
Subject: August Troubadour Report, - Attendance & financial

Mark,

Here’s the attendance and financial report for August.  Please append it to your report.

One thing I might bring to your attention.  If you look at the Chart.pdf and Show P&L graphs, you will see that the acts that did not draw well (and perhaps predictably so) were still rather highly paid as a result of relatively large guarantees.  Consequently, these shows incur fairly heavy losses.  I know you are trying to bring in higher-level artists to draw new crowds, but thus far they are not really doing so if they don’t have the name recognition amongst our regulars.  I would recommend at least starting with lower offers to these performers to see if we can mitigate those losses.

OK.  On to my report:
_______________________________________

I am trying something different this month with regards to reporting the attendance and financial statistics for the Troubadour.  I am providing the table below.  You will need to format your email to HTML to read it, but I think it presents a clearer picture than reporting it as text.  If you can’t read it in the body of the email, it is duplicated at the bottom of the attached chart.pdf.

Avg. Paid  Live Attendance Avg. Total Live Attendance Avg. Streaming Attendance Avg. Feature Act's Fee

(including streaming tips) Profit / Loss*

Past 12 months 69.1 (29 shows) 83.4 19.9 $733 $1,372 

Aug. 2024 55.3 (3 shows) 73.0 19.3 $822 ($421)

Y.T.D. 2024 70.5 (20  shows) 82.1 24 $791 $903 

An interesting fact not shown in the above chart is that the “Past 12 Months” figures have been almost identical since we changed over to the new admission and performer pay system at the end of May..

The Birthday Show went reasonably well, but the number of performers was quite low at 24.  (There were 20 last year.)  The previous Birthday show in 2019 had 49 participants.  It’s true that COVID has a lot to do with that, but I think there is another major factor:  Many FP members, particularly recent ones, were not aware of the event.  Despite announcements in the Music Alert and the Newsletter, a number of people I queried were ignorant of the show and their opportunity to be part of it.  I think there needs to be better communication to the membership about the show.  This year, we had moved the show from the last Friday in July (the one closest to the actual birthday) to the first Friday in August in order not to conflict with the Falcon Ridge Festival.  It seemed like we lost as many potential participants to that change as we gained.  We may move it back in 2025 for the 50th.  

New bookings since last month:

• Aug. 23:  Liz Chidester:  Uke wizard, replacing Au Fromage, who had canceled with only one week advanced notice.

• Sept 27:  Zoe Lewis:  “A band in a body”, with FP Members Jenny Glenn & Joel Glassman opening

• Oct. 4:  Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Hayley Reardon, with FP Member songwriter and storyteller Ken Galipeau opening

• Nov. 29:  World famous blues artist Guy Davis with harmony-duet Marry the Sea opening.

Respectfully submitted,

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