In attendance: Hanan Bell, Joan Fairbanks, Charlotte Hotchkiss, Jackie Kirn, Teresa Metzger-Howe, Koko Morgan, Doug Potter, Bruce Sherman, Gennie Winkler, and Samantha Young
Approve Minutes for Board Meeting June 12, 2024
The June 12, 2024 Board Meeting minutes were approved as amended.
Potluck at Magnusson on Wednesday, August 21st
The potluck gathering at Magnusson Park will be on Wednesday, August 21st at 6:00 pm. Gennie will bring cups, plates, water, cleaner, and table clothes. Members will be asked to bring a dish to share. This event needs to be communicated to the members soon. Doug will send an email soon.
Membership Procedures and Preparing for First Rehearsal, September 4th
A reminder that members need to give money to keep the Symphony going. Presenting the finances to the whole group might help everyone understand why they need to donate. Musicians joining the Symphony will be required to fill out a registration card on-line or a paper copy where the amount of their donation will be stated. The goal is to attain 100% of the membership donating some amount.
Music
The cost of the music will be about the same amount as last year, $1,300. Hanna will give Bruce a better estimate for the budget soon.
Sectionals Report
Gennie has all but one of the sectional coaches lined up the year. The sectional locations are set, if the violas and 1st violins can meet at a member's house.
Grants
The grant funding for the fiscal year 2003-24 was $7,600. The Symphony received $2,100 from the King County's 4Culture grant and $5,500 from the Seattle Arts and Culture grant. The future funding, which is available every other year, is $2,100 from the 4Culture grant and $6,275 from the Arts and Culture grant.
There was a discussion about how to expand our fundraising and what options are available. Our fundraising could be increased through having every member donate and through audience donations. We could still find that the Symphony is short of the money needed to operate.
Finance
The budget projection for fiscal year 2025 has a deficit of $3,445. The current budget reflects $5,500 from the Seattle Arts and Culture grant. No money was included from King County's 4Culture grant of $2,100. Bruce will update the budget adding the King County grant.
How to reduce this deficit was discussed. Selling tickets was proposed. There are issues that come up with selling tickets. One of the main issues is the expectation of the quality of the performance. Being a non-audition symphony leads to different levels of the performance quality. Also, our mission is to provide music at no cost to the audience.
The audience is asked to donate money, which they do. Thus, another way to increase income is to increase concert attendance. Inviting former Symphony members using their email addresses might increase the attendance. Members can also promote the concerts to family and friends.
Concert Venue
Joan has contacted the First Free Methodist Church on Seattle Pacific University's campus. The church is available for our concert dates as long as back up our Fall Concert date to November. The church is booked for December.
We will need to find a person to cover the front of the house for the concerts. This person will need to collect money and have the programs available. The goal will be to find a person by the end of October for the Fall Concert.
Diversity
What do we mean by diversity and how can we reach out to other organizations are two questions that need to be answered to help the Symphony expand on this topic. Joan would like to form a group to look at inclusion, diversity and equality. Doug will ask in the Symphony members in the fall.
Publicity
Charlotte needs emails of friends to help publicize concerts. She is learning a new email platform called dribbble. Her goal is to learn it in time for the Fall concert.
Music Director
Teresa needs to know who will be returning this fall and the instruments he/she plays. We are still short of trombones, percussion, and violas. A harpist will come and play Winter and Spring quarters.
The website needs some modernizing. The pictures and copy need to be updated. Doug said he would look into it by August 15th.
The tympani have not be repaired. Coordination with the Music Center needs to be done to get this done.
Concert Recordings
The Spring Concert recording had a few problems. The audio recording worked, but the video did not. Bruce could add images to the audio and post it. The new venue might make recording the concert easier.
Revisit "who we are"---What is our mission
We might need to remove the "at no charge to the audience" from our mission statement, if we need to charge for our performances.
Succession for next year
Doug, Joan, and Koko's terms are up. Bruce has decided to leave the Board. He will stay on until someone with an understanding of bookkeeping and willing to learn Quicken is found.
Board Meetings next season
A mid-October meeting is needed to follow-up on the tasks needed to be accomplished before the Fall concert.
One Year Goals
1. Push membership donations - 100% membership donations each quarter
2. Increase concert attendance - have the audience donations meet or exceed the cost of the venue
3. Stabilize our financial solvency
4. Get orchestra members involved and have information available about what "involved" means
5. Recruit new treasurer and house manager - present description and ask the membership if they know of anyone who would help
6. Review and revise bylaws to have anti-racism purpose - Joan and Jackie
7. Vote on revise bylaws with anti-racism purpose - Notice needs to be given to the membership and a vote needs to be taken
8. Change the website platform by August 15th
9. Upgrade website - Charlotte and Doug
10. Learn new email platform - Charlotte
11. Create an email list of friends - Charlotte
12. Administer questionnaires to orchestra
13. Consistent Web presence. For concerts store posters, programs, concert video/audio.
14. Find stage, house managers; find cash box watchers
15. Consistently solicit help from the orchestra
Five year plan
1. Increase concert attendance
2. Continue to Increase Artistic Excellence
3. Strengthen online presence
4. Involve more Members in Orchestral Operations
5. Increase funding network
6. Increase diversity
