The new budget for the year was discussed and voted on, passed with unanimous approval. We have not budgeted for CPA/tax prep because Robin Russell has assumed these tasks as a volunteer. We did not budget for workshops, as we have not had the funding to cover workshop expenses. We have dropped our funding for scholarships, as the Richard Rohr memorial endowment at LCC has been fully funded and is now generating funds for a yearly scholarship award in the Art Dept.
We added funding in the Clay in Education budget to cover a possible raise for teachers. We added funding in the PresidentÕs budget to cover possible costs to be incurred with establishing legal non-profit status (see discussion below under new business). We added an Outreach budget to cover expenses involved with that position. Budget details are available on the website.
Cecile shared notes from a meeting she and Annie had to discuss questions that have arisen in regard to their respective chairs (Outreach for Local Clay and Sponsorship for Clay Fest). There is a continuing need to clarify our legal status as a corporation, non-profit or otherwise.
We have been asking for sponsorships for the Clay Fest as a non-profit, and making references to the community outreach activities we do (Clay in Ed., Empty Bowls) as well as putting on a bang-up show every year. But it appears that non-profit status papers were never filed, or if they were, no one seems to know when or by whom.
It was also suggested that perhaps the Sponsorship Chair should be a Local Clay position rather than a Clay Fest position. This would repurpose a portion of the funds generated toward the community focus of Local Clay. Nothing was decided, but Annie will discuss this further with Karen.
Cecile knows a guy named Tim Armstrong who specializes in non-profit questions, and would be willing to meet with us, or with a subcommittee, so that we could understand the various non-profit options. After that, we could begin a focused process to become clearer about our vision for the organization.