Nishmat Shalom CDM Minutes – 17 February 2009 – Meeting hosted by Emily
Others attending: Alice, Max, Shana, Raja (by phone), Alex (scribe)
 
1) Treasurer’s report and 2009 budget plan: Alice reported that the current balance is $944.64, with $86 awaiting deposit.  Max noted that the recent fund-raising cycle collected $600, which is less than Nishmat’s annual budget.  Alice added that Nishmat spends $700 to $800 per year.  Given the current economic situation, this shortfall is not surprising and does not pose an immediate problem because of past surpluses.

We discussed some potential cost reductions.  Shana suggested buying “Forever” stamps for mailings.  Alice added that we spent $162 on postage in 2007 and $102 in 2008.  She asked whether the mailing list has been pruned (apparently, not).  Shana asked about electronic distribution of the newsletter.  A PDF version could be distributed via the e-mail list.  Raja (and newsletter editor Vicky) think it makes sense to distribute a PDF version.  Max agreed and will assist for June newsletter.  Vicky proposes a four page June issue that includes details about the summer pool party and camping Shabbaton.  We will inquire (via the Nishmat e-mail list) who would prefer NOT to receive the print version in the mail.

2) From Lea: Giving a gift or bonus to the childcare workers. We did this last year and I would like to do it again.  Follow-up: per Alice, our regular childcare provider, George, was on duty eight times in 2008; Ed took over twice, and two other providers did one session each.  We agreed that George deserves a bonus, and it happens that an extra $40 was budgeted (but not used) for an additional childcare session, so this money will be awarded to George.

3) Calendar updates through July 2009: Shabbat services will be held on 18 July and 15 August (the third Shabbat in the Gregorian month), as well as 12 September (the week before Rosh Hashanah) and 03 October (Sukkoth).  

Therefore, the proposed camping Shabbaton cannot be scheduled in September (since the Labor Day weekend would be too congested at local campgrounds), and 28 to 30 August was proposed as an alternative.  This date appears to be acceptable to last year’s participants; Lea and Alex will continue to research possible sites and announce details soon.

4) Pool Party scheduled for 12 July 2009 (Robin): The recent newsletter incorrectly announced 11 July (a Saturday). We noted that 12 July corresponds to 20 Tammuz, and therefore falls between the fasts of 17 Tammuz and 09 Av.  We agreed that another date (e.g. 05 July) would be preferable but no one opposed going ahead with 12 July.  It's not clear which date would attract more participants.  Robin will decide shortly which date she prefers and a follow-up announcement will appear in the June newsletter.

5) Co-sponsorship of Bonfires: Future Yeashore bonfires will be held in San Francisco and in Emeryville (rather than Berkeley, which has imposed new restrictions on bonfires).  Nishmat will provide advertising and is not required to help with the cost of these events.

6) Follow-up on letter of kashrut for Sefer Torah: Alex has exchanged messages with the soferet via Facebook and is waiting for her response to the request for a letter.  He will follow up again in early March.

7) Consensus decision review: This policy allows for super-majority (six out of seven rather than consensus) decision-making.  It has been invoked at most once.   A yearly review is currently specified, and no changes were suggested at this time.  The consensus was to renew the policy for another year.

8) Lea: Camping Shabbaton for September 11 to 13: Now proposed for August 28 to 30 (see above).

9) Max: Wither Nishmat?  Cancellation of the Tu b’Shevat seder may be a sign of declining interest; attendance at Shabbats is down, too.  Need to expand or revive our base. Follow-up on inreach/outreach: Max noted that in the past, the Tu b’Shevat seder had been one of our most popular events.  This year the publicity may have been insufficient (it was announced in the newsletter, followed by a single, long e-mail announcement from Alex).  This event appears to need more volunteer participation in the planning stages. We discussed other possible causes for declining interest, including the lack of variety because the same limited group of service leaders do most of the davening.  Suggestion: train more services leaders, especially those who think we need more variety!  Shana is ready to train the leaders (something that Carol has done in the past).  She suggested finding the “closet” service leaders – those with good Hebrew skills who could lead with minimal additional training. 

Note:  Alex has a P’sukei de Zimra / Birkot haShachar tape that he used a while ago.  

Suggestion: send an e-mail message that focuses on the need for service leaders.  Suggestion: provide more options for service leaders, increase variety
in the service. To increase participation, personal outreach to the local community (e.g. Gan Eden / Or Zarua) was also suggested.

The next Nishmat Shalom Community Decision Meeting will be 09 June 2009, hosted by Ethel.  Please forward proposed agenda items to Alex.
 
Raja volunteered to coordinate urgent decision making until the next meeting.  If an urgent issue arises, please contact him.