July 21, 2009 Minutes

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE DAVIS
Board of Directors’ Regular Monthly Meeting

July 21, 2009

Attendees: Duggan (chair), Avalos, Cavins, Chang, German, Handy, Leung, Schiffman, Sherwin & Weaver. Absent: Becker, El-Nakhal, Guinard,Scott,Schutz, Sieber, Van Rompay & Yates.

The President called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM.

Consent Calendar (distributed in advance to Board):

Minutes of Regular Board meeting, 6/16/2009. German requested that the minutes indicate that 6/3/2009 was the date for the Volunteer Committee meeting and that Elisabeth Sherwin was also a committee member. Chang moved that the minutes be approved as amended. The motion passed unanimously.
Information Reports (noted by Board):
- Program committee report of 7/2/2009, submitted by Weaver.
- ED’s monthly report for June-July 2009, submitted by Sherwin. The ED added orally to her report that, on recommendation of the Development committee, she recently sent a copy of a brochure promoting the rental of the IHD Community Room to UCD campus MSOs.

Election of Board Officers:
The President turned the chair over to German, who presided over the nomination and election of Board officers for 2009-2010. Duggan (Pres.), Handy (Vice Pres.), Becker (Sec.) & Schiffman (Treas.) were nominated; no additional nominations were received. Cavins’ motion to approve this slate passed unanimously.
Community Connections/World Learning: Moldovan Program:
Sherwin reported that the program was a significant organizational, cultural and financial success. IHD’s net income from the program was still pending final accounting. The one reported problem was greater than anticipated staff time needed to “jam” program details into our present QuickBooks; some bookkeeping challenges remained. The Board expressed its collective appreciation to Sherwin and Schiffman for their outstanding contributions to the program’s successful outcome. Schiffman moved that, in principle, IHD should go forward with an application for a second program. The motion carried without objection.
Finances:

FY-2009 Finances: The Treasurer presented a tentative summary, showing an annual loss of $21,631 that includes the reduced Fair Market Value (FMV) of investments. If FMV were excluded and Community Connections (which extended into the new FY) were included, IHD would close FY-2009 in the black by an estimated $30,000 surplus. Pam Mainini is still calculating final figures.
Approval of Expenditures for July–Sept 2009: Pending presentation to the Board of a FY-2010 budget, the President moved that the Board adopt, temporarily, the FY-2009 expenditure levels for the 1^st quarter. IHD staff will need to seek Board authorization if any expenditure goes significantly beyond the proposed levels. The motion carried unanimously.

Fundraising: The President presented an informal overview of current and anticipated income sources for IHD. He indicated that we were still unable to predict how much our City of Davis and UCD contracts would be cut back, and that income from investments (including endowment) would be lower due to market weakness. IHD was also suffering a slow, steady decline in membership. The President suggested that IHD plan for $20,000-50,000 less income this fiscal year, and recommended that fundraising targets and projects be a priority, ongoing topic for discussion by the Board and standing committees.
Volunteer Coordination: Ad hoc committee chair German presented a job description, developed by the committee and previously distributed electronically to Board members, for the proposed volunteer coordinator position. She also requested that the Board extend the life of the ad hoc committee for one more year. Cavins so moved, and the Board approved the motion unanimously. Schiffman moved that the volunteer coordinator position and the job description be approved. The motion carried without objection. The interview team will consist of the chairs of the Development, Program and the ad hoc Volunteer committees, as well as the ED.
IHD’s Organizational Structure: Weaver moved that the Board approve the revised graphic representation, previously disseminated electronically to the Board by Chang. The motion passed unanimously.
Proposed Program(s) on Iran: The President provided the Board with background on a proposal to offer one or more programs on Iran to capitalize on public interest in the recent Iranian elections. The Program committee had considered several format options and possible speakers. The ED outlined a proposed women’s panel discussion with three experts on August 31; she will pin down participants and topics in coming days. Becker was to approach a UCD history professor regarding a lecture on a different day. The Program committee chair said she would monitor electronic information flows to ensure greatest efficiency in developing this project.
Personnel Committee (CLOSED SESSION): (NOTE: The ED departed the meeting prior to the following discussion.) Committee chair Handy outlined the completed process and results of its 2009 performance evaluation of the ED, as well as plans for evaluating the Office Manager’s performance. The Board approved the committee’s recommendations on the ED’s performance. The Board also accepted the President’s recommendation that, subject to budget constraints, the “ordinary consumer price index” be used to calculate cost of living adjustments to staff salaries.

The meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM.
Submitted by Shirley German (Acting Sec.)/Rick Becker (Board Sec.)