GPUS Steering Committee Minutes – 26 November 2017
SUMMARY FOR DISTRIBUTION TO STATES AND LOCAL CHAPTERS:
1. Standing Business: Treasurer’s Report, Fundraising Report
2. Voting Queue: Proposal for GPUS to join the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC); Presenter: GPAX; Floor Manager Gloria Mattera, Majority of Yes and No Votes; Discussion 11/20/17-12/10/17, Voting 12/11/17-12/17/17; https://secure.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=887
3. Old Business: 2018 Budget, Letter to AFL-CIO
4. Progressive Independent Party update – GPUS will continue to engage with progressive community effort to explore collaborative relationships; GPUS representatives will clarify the GPUS position of GPUS as a participant in the dialogue of collaborations but that GPUS has not officially joined a coalition, spokescouncil, or other formal organizational partnership; GPUS will begin explorative talks with DSA in terms of a collaborative relationship
5. Executive Session
The full minutes are available at http://gpus.org/committees/steering/minutes/november-26-2017/
The call recording is available at 712-451-0309, 936334#, reference 11
Jody Grage, Secretary
GPUS Steering Committee Minutes – 26 November 2017
I. CALL SETUP & BACKGROUND – 15 min.
a) Facilitator: Holly Hart
b) Roll call: Jody Grage, Hillary Kane, Darlene Elias, Darryl! Moch, Chris Blankenhorn, Andrea Merida, Gloria Mattera, Mike Dennis
Absent: George Martin
Observers: Dave Gerry MA, Tamar Yager VA, Starlene Rankin OR
c) Agenda revision suggestions – Remove discussion with Jill Stein – accepted
II. NEW BUSINESS – none
III. STANDING BUSINESS – 25 min.
a) Treasurer’s report – Hillary Kane, 20 min.
Savings/reserves – $74,402.33, Basic checking – $30,818.30, Merch – $26,759.98, total in all accounts – $131,980.61; PayPal cash on hand: $4,780.31, approximate total of other assets (Staff gift cards): $8,804.57, Total cash on hand: $145,565.49
Reserves need to be increased; $80-$100 on various cards; purchased Quick Books and will be entering financial records
Treasurer’s Report to the GNC – in process – needs income side from Tamar and further research on tracking code details
Budget requests: none
b) Fundraising report – Starlene Rankin, 5 min.
Eblasts – November about $4147 – sent 20 tote bags as premium for $100 one time or $10 or more sustainer; BAC eblast recent – $1118 – 31 donations
Check deposits – $6698 from office – mostly from direct mail
Direct mail – $1312 from Jill/Ajuma donors, $5825 from Mike to regular donor list; direct mail with tote bag offer just out
CallHub and survey – 13 phone bankers so far; Lists from state parties – still working to get more; Volunteer designers have stickers for Facebook premiums ready to go; Paypal use stopping bogus donations; discussing with NationBuilder about using Stripe
Mike – survey – began to promote Thursday, 175 responses already – mostly new people; asking about volunteering, committees, issues, donation, sustainer – $500 annually brought in so far – please promote at gp.org/greensurvey
IV. VOTING QUEUE– Jody – 5 min.
In the queue: Proposal for GPUS to join the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC); Presenter: GPAX; Floor Manager Gloria Mattera, Majority of Yes and No Votes; Discussion 11/20/17-12/10/17, Voting 12/11/17-12/17/17; https://secure.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=887
V. OLD BUSINESS – 65 min
a) 2018 Budget – discussion and decisions (except for staffing consideration in Executive Session) – Hillary – 45 min
Staff has not yet determined who will be their negotiator
FinCom (Finance Committee) recommended less expensive office space, independent contractor for graphic design, maintaining staff (SC didn’t accept that recommendation), IT at $10K (SC didn’t accept); election database more important that software updates (SC didn’t accept)
Assumption about percentages for payroll taxes and merchant fees being reviewed
Budget meeting on Wednesday 13 December 5-6:30 planned – after union negotiations with results taken back to staff and SC – then craft budget around the agreements; Gloria will write to David for timeline; could just determine overall personnel budget and go from there
Need more strategies to increase fundraising
Current office – no lease so short notice to vacate
b) Letter to AFL-CIO and other unions inviting conversation with GPUS on electoral reform – Mike – 10 min
Mike will resend Google Doc for prompt comments and perhaps shortening – send letter then individuals reach out to union contacts
Online discussion and vote – discussion Monday/Tuesday with voting Wednesday/Thursday – consensus
c) Review pending agenda items – very brief updates as available – 10 min
1. Staff computer purchase protocol recommendation from FinCom – Hillary
2. Strategic planning scheduling – coordination with George/Gloria/Darryl! – George working on process and content; January/February, Gloria will do video conference doodle poll; Mike suggests January discussion focus on staffing and job descriptions and Mike’s 6 month plan;
3. Speakers Bureau – Chris/Darryl!
4. Election database Phase II and III update – Hillary
5. Voting page maintenance/Tech issues update – Chris
6. ANM Final Financial report – by 31 December – Hillary
7. Personnel Working Group update – Darryl!
8. Progressive Independent Party update – Gloria, Darryl! – great controversy between Araguel Bloss from PIP and Nick Brana from Movement for a People’ Party; the Huffington Post statement was rushed and not properly approved; Araquel uninvited Berners and Nick invited everyone but Araquel; Gloria and Darryl! are staying in both conversations; may be face-to-face meeting this week which Darryl! may attend and Gloria may call in though they haven’t been included in some of the communications; doesn’t seem likely the two groups will join together; SA says they aren’t interested; PIP has no resources, draft Bernie does have resources; discussion about building new party and GP not mentioned – everyone else is not a party and doesn’t have ballot access, DSA has resources and money and could have national presence but doesn’t seem interested and isn’t a political party – did work on Jabari’s GP campaign
Consensus: GPUS will continue to engage with progressive community effort to explore collaborative relationships; GPUS representatives will clarify the GPUS position of GPUS as a participant in the dialogue of collaborations but that GPUS has not officially joined a coalition, spokescouncil, or other formal organizational partnership; GPUS will begin explorative talks with DSA in terms of a collaborative relationship
9. ETC Final Report – Committee – Holly and David on committee and working to get this done
10. Location on gp.org for candidate statements/press releases – Gloria
End recording of call – 7:03
VI. EXECUTIVE SESSION – 60 min.
TOTAL TIME: 3 hours 41 min
Jody Grage, Secretary