FCC Board Meeting Minutes
October 7th 2004

Attending: David Youtz, Kevin Matthews, Barry Radick, Beth Rosenthal, Ross Lewis, Amanda Baden, Deb Levine, Marjorie Berman
Guest: Hollee McGinnis
Recording: Cara Blouin
Absent: Marylou Cooper Green, Joe Kelly, Aileen Koger, Tim Stoenner, Edna Moy, Elizabeth Smith Mao

Commenced 6:20 PM

A. David opened the meeting by inviting the board members to offer changes to the minutes of the August 12th board meeting, attached before it is posted to the site Changes, if there are any, may be emailed to David.
B. Upcoming Events
1. St. John’s Adoption conference
a. Amanda gave a brief outline of the plan for the conference,highlighting two films and a panel of speakers
b. Beth reminded board members to encourage both people in the FCC community and people who work with adopted children, such as teachers, to attend, and suggested a reminder posting to the website
2. David mentioned an opportunity to cooperate with the APC, and the possibility of partnering with them for events at NYU
3. Chinese New Year/ Annual Meeting
a. Ross outlined his plans for this event at the New York Hall of Science, including working with China Institute to incorporate science and Chinese chocolate
b. Board members expressed hope for better publicity and more outreach to the Chinese American community
c. The committee is looking for both a theme and volunteers for programming help
d. The event will be held Saturday, February 5th
4. Proposals for new events
a. Deb reported that her surveys showed members would like more events
b. Ross suggested a biking event for older kids, and agreed to talk with his contact about setting one up for the Spring
c. A gala fundraiser was suggested – with an understanding that this is a great deal of work
d. There is increasing interest in some parents only events
C. Possible mentoring with Chinese students at Forest Hills High School
1. Barry introduced the suggestion of a teacher at FHHS that her Chinese students may fulfill a community service requirement by serving as “big brothers/sisters” to FCC kids
2. It was suggested that the students could help at events, such as Chinese New Year
3. Marjorie will follow up with the contact at FHHS
D. David introduced Hollee McGuiness, founder of AKA and Policy Director at the Donaldson Adoption Institute as a potential board member, Hollee introduced herself and circulated her resume.
E. Orphanage Assistance Proposal
1. David introduced Aileen’s proposal for funds to Amity (attached) (Aileen was unable to attend the meeting due to a death in the family
2. Appx $250, 000 will be dispersed this year, up from the usual $200-212,000, and leaving appx 4,000 in the bank
3. Barry expressed concern about whether we are raising the level of commitment that we would be expected to continue in future years
4. David said he had asked Aileen the same question, and understands that most of the spending above $212,000 is going to one-time projects, such as surgeries, and that we are not creating expectations for $250K next year.
5. Ross and Deb suggested more updates of CIC’s work to donors in that many members don’t understand how much CIC does, and also to present it in a less formal way, discussing individual successes rather than financial reports
6. Marjorie suggested an anecdotal presentation about children helped by CIC and agreed to take the initiative to talk to Aileen about putting something together
7. Ross suggested a minimum rollover amount to give security to ongoing projects
8. Amanda, Beth and Kevin built on this idea, raising the idea of creating a more permanent endowment or reserve for CIC, and considering taking an administrative fee in the interest of growing CIC
9. Barry suggested increasing the size of the CIC committee again, so that we could look more seriously at these suggestions for CIC’s future
10. David moved for the acceptance of the Amity proposal, Beth seconded and the proposal was unanimously approved
F. Adam Pertman book deal
1. David introduced an idea from the author of Adoption Nation for micropublishing approximately 1500 special edition versions of the book with a forward by a board member and an updated FCC section for sale to nationwide FCC membership, including a large publicity drive. Mr. Pertman has offered to be involved as a speaker and promoter of the new edition
2. The cost to produce each book would be $6.80, the selling price somewhat higher (to be determined so as to cover FCC’s cost and risk), with FCC footing the cost for production and relying on presale orders to help with that cost
3. Marjorie said that a major project would need a coordinator, and suggested it may be too time consuming for David to take on by himself
4. Barry suggested his daughter in law, who works in publishing as a potential volunteer and agreed to suggest the idea to her
5. David agreed to put out a “feeler” message to get an idea of regional support in New England and San Francisco
6. Barry moved to take the project on with the understanding that it would need a coordinator, Marjorie seconded, and it was unanimously approved
G. Kevin reminded the Board that at the August meeting, there was a recommendation to idenfity a solution for an accounting deficiency in our systems. At present, it is very difficult to reconcile the statements that we receive from our bank, and the statements received from Verisign about our web-based revenue. In the past, these have had to be painstakingly reconciled by hand, and it has greatly delayed our ability to keep the budget up to date month-by-month, to prepare tax returns, etc. The Board had agreed to spend the necessary funds to make these accounts more transparent and up-to-date. Kevin introduced a proposal from Ron Tralle (a former FCCNY treasurer) to undertake for us the reconciling of the current backlog and to then keep these up on a monthly basis. The service proposed would be well below the price previously suggested to us. The proposal represents an outsourcing to someone with a close understanding of the books and of FCC activities, which is beneficial. The cost of getting back up to speed would be $1400 (below the previous estimate of $2000), and the regular monthly cost would be 6 – 8 hours ar $35 per hour – which again is considered a good rate. Kevin moved that the Board accept the proposal. After discussion, the move was seconded and was unanimously approved
H. Beth announced that, having served the board since 1999, she would be rotating off at the next vote, but expected to remain active in the organization. Beth was thanked for her service, which has extended into numerous areas of the organization.
I. Beth directed members to her email regarding fundraising to get an idea of where the fundraising/grant writing committee stands. A committee has been established, met again recently, and has activities and research underway
J. Culture Day 2005
1. The subgroup that is researching potential new venues for Culture Day reported that the ideal venue may not yet have been found, although several NY and NJ sites have been looked at, including Montclair State University, the Jersey City Hyatt Hotel, and a conference center in Westchester
2. David explained that because of doubling costs and changes at the space at Liberty State Park, the lack of a Coordinator (so far), and the appeal of bringing something new to members, the Culture Day committee was considering new venues, and perhaps a new style of culture day, including expanding the event to a weekend, and holding it at a hotel, university campus, or retreat center
a. Several members expressed concern about members’ potential reaction to the change
b. Deb noted that holding Culture Day at a hotel would be prohibitive for some families
c. Kevin suggested polling membership for their reactions to the changes
d. Marjorie agreed to check with Liberty State Park about options for Culture Day there
3. Marjorie reported that the pressing need for Culture Day is a coordinator, who would traditionally be beginning organizational work at this point
a. It was suggested that a plea be put out to general membership – although the ideal leader is someone who has been through CD themselves and understands well the specific nature of the tasks/event
b. Marjorie also suggested engaging a professional event planner who had worked on the event in the past and agreed to contact Diana Hunt for an estimate
c. Barry suggested involving the energetic volunteers in the Long Island Region (David Youtz and Marylou Green recently had a very positive meeting with FCCLI leadership)
d. David closed the discussion on Culture Day by suggesting a renewed exploration into having a tenth Culture Day at Liberty State Park, and then perhaps considering an expanded CD for the following year Adjourned 8:45