Minnesota Fathers & Families Network

Board of Directors Quarterly Meeting

Date: Monday, March 10, 2014

Location:Crowne Plaza Hotel—Bloomington, MN

Attendees: Lowell Johnson, Rebecca Ahlstrand, Joe Johnson, David Lipps,RaeAnn Mayer, Guy Sederski, AJ Dombeck, Suzie Kleindl, Anne Toohey,Glen Palm, Larry Oberg, Sam Simmons, Willie Dominguez

Contractors: Molly Crawford, Jennifer Barshack

Absent:Clarence Jones, John Dobbs, Laura Miles, Tierre Webster

Guests: Joanne Mooney @ 1:00 PM

Welcome/Call to Order/Introductions:

Meeting called to order 9:17 AM by Raeann Mayer.

Raeann thanked Molly and Jennifer for a successful Summit and she welcomed all the new board members. The Board packet of information was distributed and reviewed.

Approval of Agenda and December Board Meeting Minutes:

Glen moved to approve the Decemberminutes. David seconded. Lowell noted one correction, as the workplan was referenced at the December, not January Board meeting. Motion passed and agenda approved with the noted correction.

Willie moved, and Joe seconded the approval of the Agenda with the addition of the MN Partnership for Adolescent Health. Motion passed with agenda approved.

Unfinished Business:

Contractor Report:

Molly and Jennifer providedthe contractor report. The current mail delivery process was discussed. Options include changing the post office box to a closer location, forwarding mail, having a volunteer assist with pick-up, picking up bi-monthly, or leaving as the current system until July when the box rental ends. Board requested that Jennifer arrange for MFFN mail to be forwarded to her home for the short-term. A more permanent decision will be made by the board prior to the end of the UPS contract (July, 2014).

Molly and Jennifer reported on the current banking process; Molly and David are the only authorized users listed on the account. Guy moved that MFFN have four Board members, including the Board Treasurer, as signers on the account. Willie seconded the motion. Discussion followed and the motion passed. Anne, Guy, and Willie volunteered to be signers, and Guy noted that board minutes should be sufficient to go into a branch and become signers. Anne desired information about reconciliation, and she volunteered to reconcile bank accounts.

Credit card/debit card: Glen moved to have a credit card in the name of MFFN for use by contractors and the Board Treasurer. Willie suggested that we wait to vote until budget is reviewed.Glen motioned, Lowell seconded and motion was amended. After review of the budget, Willie moved to approve a credit card forMFFN with David Lipps as signer. The card shall have monthly policy limit of $1500 with expenditures above that to be pre-approved by Executive Committee. Guy seconded the motion. Motion passed and approved. It was agreed that the credit card monthly statement would be sent to David Lipps for review and approval for payment and forwarded to Anne for bookkeeping.

Annual report: It was noted that the annual report is typically due in the spring. Raeann and AJ volunteered to work on the annual report.

Contractor’s contract: Molly’s contract is in place through end of June. Jennifer is looking to have a contract longer through the next Summit. Lowell suggested review by the Executive Committee. Jennifer distributed the current contractor duties. Jennifer referenced the MFFN work plan and updated the progress. Board members are transitioning to performing more duties. Glen directed the Executive Committee to review contracts and bring recommendations. Guy suggested that the Executive Committee bring a recommendation to June board meeting.

Report on the Summit:

Jennifer reported on the Summit, and she will send out summary of the evaluation report. Overall the conference was well-received; however we received several suggestions to move the conference to a different month. With 32 workshops being rated, most received 4 and 5’s. We did well financially, with not considering contractor time. There were six cancellations (possibly due to weather), and the executive committee recommended offering a discount to the next conference to those. DHS has been invoiced for the $5000 support for the Summit.

Lowell made a motion to move to a spring seminar series and fall Summit scheduling rotation. Anne seconded. Discussion included why the Summit was set in January, the possibility of partnering with another group, and that the spring seriescan be a good way to promote the fall Summit. Motion passed. It was recommended that the Education Committee work to offer a 2015 spring Seminar between March-May and the fall Summit in either September or October, 2015. It was recommended to partner with the spring Series, but not the fall Summit. Discussion was also held regarding the necessity of seeking sponsorships for events. The Board agreed they would like to hold the 2015 Summit at the Kelly Inn and requested Jennifer to inquire about available dates.

Willie inquired whether new Federal funding from the Obama Administration might be available to MFFN. Sam noted he would send the information to the Board members, but noted that most of the money is foundational money and limited partnership.

Lowell noted he has spoken to Ellie McCann (UMN-Extension) and Rebecca Schlafer (UMN-Pediatrics) regarding possible themes of our educational offerings. The Board brainstormed possible topics and themes for future Summits and seminar series.

Guy volunteered to contact MFSRC (Minnesota Family Support and Recovery Council) to inquire about their interest in partnering on a future Summit.

Policy and Advocacy Report:

Lowell updated the Board on work to date, including the Fatherhood Symposium and the noon meeting at the Summit. He noted that the group continues to look to the development of a state office/commission on/for fatherhood, and he feels this is a logical place for MFFN to be a leader and/or have a leadership role.The Board received copies of the comments from the Summit on “The Future of Fatherhood in Minnesota: What do we want it to be?”Nancy Andrade is preparing two briefs: one on moving fatherhood through the legislative process andone on how to use TANF money to fund it. She will be forwarding this to the group by the end of March. We will continue to explore these efforts. There was a discussion on legislative (lobbying) restrictions for MFFN, as designated 501 (c)(3) organization. Raeann agreed to look into possible legal issues.

2014 Committees:

Raeann distributed a committee sign up list with committee information sheets.

MN Partnership for Adolescent Health.

RaeAnn shared information about MDH meetings for adolescent health. Lowell offered to attend in Waite Park, A.J. in Bemidji, and we will ask Tierre to attend in Rochester.

Spring Seminar Series:

Molly, Sam, and Joanne Mooney (guest) discussed the spring series titled “The Father Factor: Moving Forward.” Discussion was held on the content of the day. The workshop will inform staff on how to get in touch with their strengths, healing, and moving on. Board members are asked to help identify panelists, get the word out, help formulate questions for the panel, and provide onsite hosting. Board Representation at the events include: Glen in St. Cloud on May 29th, Tierre in Rochester on May 22nd, David in Marshall on May 8th, Suzie and Joe in Fergus Falls on May 15thand, Guy and Willie in St. Pau on April 7th.

Informational Sheets:

Glen reported on the development of two new MFFN info sheets. John Dobbs has a draft on spirituality and fathers and is working on the topic of military fathers. His plan is to develop an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) info sheet in time for the MFFN spring series. Glen encouraged board members to read info sheets and Raeann will forward them to the Communication/Education committee to review.

Website update:

Jennifer discussed the website. It was noted the resource list needed updating and was referred to the Communication/Education committee. We were reminded to log onto the website and access the board portal.

Jennifer has received some of the requested Board members bios, and the photos from Molly. She will be posting them on the MFFN web site. Jennifer encouraged any standouts to get their info in ASAP.

Treasurer’s Report:

David offered the financial report. Discussion was held on the current funds and on fund raising opportunities.Rebecca moved to accept the treasurer’s report, Lowell seconded. Motion passed and treasurer’s report was approved.

Discussion was held on the accounting and book work processes of MFFN. Anne noted that contractors can continue to pay bills, and Annewill track in Quick Books. Anne will assist David to reconcile the accounts, and Anne will assist with taxes.

New Business:

Membership Dues:

Rebecca discussed the current statement on annual Board dues, which requests an annual donation of $20. Discussion was held around the financial donation, possibly with the option to keep the donation to the discretion of the Board member. Additional discussion followed on the use of in-kind donation of time. Lowell moved to have the donation amount discussed in the Executive Committee, and to begin a quarterly tracking of in-kind hours to MFFN in the form of a sign in sheet at Board meetings. In-kind hours need to be tracked on an annual basis. Willie seconded and motion carried.

Travel Costs:

Raeann distributed the new volunteer Reimbursement/Check Request form and noted the new IRS mileage reimbursement is $0.56.

Conflict of Interest Statement:

Raeann distributed the annual Conflict of Interest Statement. Board members to review, sign, and return to Jennifer or Molly.

Bylaws:

Raeann distributed the current bylaws. All board members are requested to review the Bylaws and pass on any recommendations to Raeann. RaeAnn and Willie will review and bring back to next Board meeting. Anne mentioned IRS requirements for audits and Raeann will forward the information to Willie.

Fund Development:

Jennifer distributed and reviewed the draft 2014-2015 Fund Development Plan. Discussion was held on work described in the plan and opportunities for fund-raising, with a minimum goal of raising $63,000 by December 31. Willie offered to explore further the possibility of using independent grant writers. Lowell volunteered to take a lead role in grant writing, with assistance from Molly, Jennifer, and other board members as needed.

Next meeting:

The next quarterly meeting will be on Monday, June 9th in St. Cloud, as previously decided. Discussion was held on the possibility of meeting via conference calls or having a web meeting.

Glen moved and Joe seconded the meeting be adjourned. Motion passed.

Meeting Adjourned at 3:05 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Rebecca Ahlstrand, Secretary