Meeting Minutes

March 10, 2003 Alumni Council Meeting Minutes

Recorded by Lewis Frisch

Attending: Bob Solomon, Marc Ritcher, Jeffrey Paul Bobrick, Lew Frisch, Stephanie Segal Hartman, Eric Weiss and Charlie Ledley(via phone).

1. Jeffrey reviewed how much had been accomplished since last summer.

2. Eric noted receipt of six more donations from fundraiser. Also that he and
Bob were working on the application for the Alumni Finder service that
Juliet will be using. Eric discussed need for us to develop disclaimers to
post on our website as to minimize our liabilities. The disclaimers should
post on our Calendar page and the Links sections where people are directed
to sites or activities over which we have no control.

3. Lew reviewed poor response to Outreach postings and the continuing
and pressing need for a contact directory/database if we hope to
see any improvement in response.

4/5. Fundraising discussions centered around the forthcoming April concert.
The first e-mail has gone out. A second with actual detailed information
is about ready to go... two more performers have been added.

We should look into providing scholarship recipients with spending
money for their canteen and camper accounts. Perhaps $150 needed.
Should we do a PBS moment at the concert and call for donations ?
Should we call a list of "heavy hitters" after the concert and appeal
for an extra donation?? Jeffrey suggests a need for continued
brainstorming about this and requests for a fundraising tactic dialog
to be started n Blogger space.

6. Bob reported that donations from the fundraising mailing are
gradually coming in. At least the cost of the mailing ($605) has
been covered.

7/8. Jackie and Noah are not available to report for this meeting

9. Juliet checked in by Blogger. She has sent out a new e-mail request for
concert volunteers and is ready to start working the Alumni finder.

10/11. Charlie, Stephanie and Jeffrey moderated an extensive discussion
about donations. Need to recognize the Neretin family donation. Should
we publicize a list of major contributors or establish levels of
membership that recognize varying contributions?

Can we raise money at the concert by doing things other than selling
tickets ? Can membership become a fundraising tool? Can we package promotional
items for sale at the concert? Should we package tickets and
merchandise in advance and sell the package over the web ?
Do we want to sell stuff on our final concert e-mail? Do we
want comedians at the concert to do a skit soliciting donations ?

The question of varying levels of membership is tabled until after
the concert. We should not rush into this.

Other Minor Points : Concerts will feature younger performers
How can we build on Jeffrey's and Juliet's
efforts to promote interest in Friends of Buck’s Rock among
campers and notably CIT's ?. Can we get
more in camp newsletter and try to get a
better turnout of younger people at
concert?

Anytime we post a members links on
our website we need to require they
do the same. This should be mandatory.

Jeffrey will look into the idea of a merchandise
shop on the website. There are
companies that provide all sorts of
merchandise for this type of thing,
that could be customized for our
group to resell.

SCHOLARSHIP : All the paperwork is in order. We will be
meeting the candidate this weekend and
sending all the info to the camp very soon.
This will be a done deal by the concert.

12. Alex reported that media kits are ready to go as far as needed
information and he is preparing to send them to Jackie for
layout. He will contact media outlets to see if they can
publicize concert. Table further discussion of media kits
and their use until after concert.

Marc Richter Reported on the Buck's Rock Adult Camp. We will contact
James and Anita and Arrange for Links. The adult camp could handle up
to 60 adults and would operate on a 24/7 basis over 10 days.

We'll get in one more meeting before the concert..........

Next Alumni Council Meeting Scheduled for April 15th.