Friends of Mali Board Meeting

Sunday, January 19, 2003

10:00 a.m.

Meeting Minutes

I. Progress Report

Jumana

· Postcards are done

· Newsletter was not put in the Peace Corps career office because the office has moved to Arlington, VA. Jumana will look into dropping off or mailing future issues to the office.

· Malian community in DC will be invited to the National DC happy hour but TeachNet is still in flux. As soon as they are organized, Jumana will contact them.

· Membership dues from all board members are due ASAP. Send a check to Jumana made out to ‘Friends of Mali’

Jeff

· FOM membership form sent to Bamako.

· Calendar and domain name fees have been paid.

· Jeff will change the font on the web page:

- shrink font on the main page

- enlarge the font on the photo credits

· Jeff will look into putting a separate set of site links on the web site, specifically a direct link to the Peace Corps Partnership page.

· All Board of Director bio’s are done except Jumana’s.

Sabrina

· National Happy Hour – February 7, 2003 – Confirmed hosts/host cities

San Fransisco – Heather McCurdy and Kelvin Quan

Denver – Elizabeth Buckius

Austin – Danny Buecheler

London – Vanessa Cesarz

Boston - ?

DC – Jumana Quamruddin

Mpls – Simone Bramble (just contacted)

*For this happy hour and others in the future, we will communicate that gatherings should have a purpose i.e. membership drives.

· Evites will be prepared by mid-week, the week before the happy hours

Matt

· Articles of Incorporation Our registered agent is now DeeDee Swesnik (Watsan 96-98). She has been sent the consent form which she’ll sign and forward to Jumana. Jumana and Jenna will serve as incorporators and get the documents notarized.

Matt will file for a tax exemption as soon as he gets financial records for FOM and a budget for the next 2 years.

· Bylaws Matt will incorporate the requirement that one membership meeting will be held every year. As far as amending the bylaws, we agree to not put votes for amendment to the membership. For simplicity just the Board of Directors will vote.

· Board of Directors We agree to change the following 7-person description of the Board of Directors:

“The Board of Directors will consist of the Executive Committee plus two directors representing other regions of the country and one director representing the Malian people.”

We will remove the stipulation that a representative of the Malian people and from other regions of the country be on the board.

· Finances Do we want to keep the part about 2 people signing $100+ checks? No, just the President will sign checks.

· Length of Officer Terms Length of officer terms will be 2 years but ½ the board will come up for election every year providing continual turnover but also institutional memory.

· Loans Matt will add the following statement to the bylaws: Section 8.4 LOANS TO DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, and Employees. In accordance with DC Code Ann. §29-528, the Corporation shall not make any loans to officers or directors.

Allison

· Verified that the FOM hotmail account is being checked and inquiries responded to.

· Clarified that any news and information that Board Members come across will be sent to Allison. I will then forward them to Jeff.

II. Friends of Mali Contributions

To other organizations or projects – Friends of Mali will not directly subsidize or fund projects. We will inform members of opportunities to contribute to projects of interest and/or direct them to websites like Peace Corps Partnership.

Folklife Festival – Denise Mortimer has clarified (somewhat) exactly what the Smithsonian is asking of Friends of Mali. Jumana is summarizing a proposal for our involvement that the BOD’s willl be asked to vote on.

III. Website

Feedback – the randomly alternating photos on the website look great! Nice job, Jeff! We decided not to add a music page because members should get enough info through the newsletter and the links on the website.

Add announcements like RPCV marriages, birthdays, births etc.

IV. Other

GAD Committee – The once fledgling GAD Committee has really grown since its inception in 1998. The camp has now grown to 50+ kids, boys and girls, age 12-19 still hosted at Tubani So. This is a definite newsletter item!

US Regional Reps – Still need to create a job description and recruit from the membership

Budget – Jeff will (has) put together a current budget and future projections for the website.

There was a further suggestion to prioritize what Board of Directors should spend funds on.

July Reunion – Publicity should start soon. Need to finalize a time/place for the happy hour and number of events. Jeff will add info about it on the website by (DATE)? in an ‘upcoming events’ format.

Next Meeting: Sunday February 23, 2003 at 3pm