Minutes of FZ Business meeting San Jose, 11/16/04 8:20-9:20 Members present: Angie, donnalynn, Samia, George, Jane, Russ, Carolyn, Pat, Dan, Wendy Financial Status: donnalynn distributed a financial report that summarized 2003 and 2004 YTD. On 12/31/03 there was an ending balance of $694.00. Currently the FZ has a balance of $2,024.41, thanks to generous donations. The October sesshin financed itself and left a surplus of $331.29. donnalynn requested approximately $100.00 to pay for a November mailing which would include Angie$(B!G(Bs schedule for 2005 and a short announcement of the Parinirvana sesshin. This request was approved. The need for renting storage space for the FZ paraphernalia might be solved by Samia$(B!G(Bs offer of attic space at her residence. At this point George brought up the subject of obtaining non-profit status (501c3) for the FZ. He pointed out that donnalynn, as the signatory of FZ checks, is now taking all the responsibility for any legal or tax liabilities. Carolyn stated that she has experience with a 501c3 group, and that liability insurance gets more expensive each year. Another option would be to function under another organization, which is how Beth Goldring$(B!G(Bs Bramivihara project is funded. The issue was tabled until the next meeting, with donnalynn and others to research possibilities. New Year$(B!G(Bs Eve: Do we want to gather for a sit on 12/31 even though Angie will not be able to join us? (Angie will be leading a sesshin in Austria.) Carolyn agreed to lead the sit in response to general interest. donnalynn has contacted Amos and we have the meetinghouse reserved. More details will follow. People that keep the Floating Zendo Afloat: How has the experiment worked? Are there roles that were not listed? Can some roles be combined? Carolyn has been Ino for 10 months, although it was set up as a 6 month term. Dan has really performed the position of Shika. The monthly Open & close functions have been split, and this has been working well. The treasurer pays monthly rent, not the Shika. The 1-month term for Doan has allowed for frequent rotation between our 2 bellringers, Dan & Samia. donnalynn reported that the position of Coordinator has been workable. Since we have not had a Communications Coordinator, donnalynn has been requesting volunteers for all the channels of communication. This has been acceptable. However, she has also been fulfilling the Treasurer role this year. It needs to be filled by a separate person! As Secretary, Wendy has recently taken on the mailing list, in addition to the e-mail list. Managing both lists is do-able. The Secretary role could also send out Public Service Announcements to the Mercury News. The current notice was discussed as to content and response. Carolyn and Wendy will further discuss a re-write of the announcement. The Communications Coordinator position was never filled. The tasks of this position have been reassigned to Coordinator and Secretary. Our Website Manager, Dan, suggested the extension of the term from 6 months to 1 year. He reported that membership has remained steady. Perhaps sprucing up the home page with a group picture would entice more interest in joining. Carolyn vetoed the idea of a picture of the Friend$(B!G(Bs House. Amos has expressly discouraged any mention of the Friend$(B!G(Bs House in our public relations communications. In the discussion of the roles, Carolyn suggested having terms of indefinite length. Opposing viewpoints were expressed that a term gives you an out, and allows rotation of role holders. donnalyn will incorporate the above suggestions into the new role descriptions. These revised role descriptions will be posted on the Yahoo group site and also distributed. People will have the opportunity to sign up for the longer term roles beginning next Tuesday. December will be a transition/training period for the new role holders. In January the hand over should be completed. Open Forum: George expressed his opinion that this group works really well. Angie agreed. A desire for a night of poetry was voiced by Jane. The next meeting will be in January 25.