Minutes, March 19, 2024
Minutes from the March 19, 2024 Clarksville CDC Monthly Meeting
Board members present: BJ Friedman, Paula Hern, Kim O’Brien, Mary Reed, Thomas Schiefer, Chris Thomas
Others present: Felicia Miller, Otisha Montgomery
1. Approval of minutes from the February 20, 2024 monthly meeting.
On a motion made by BJ, seconded by Paula, the minutes were approved.
2. Presentation of monthly financial reports. Brad Prak, Prak Property Management.
Brad was unable to attend the meeting. Mary presented his report. Our monthly financials showed a significant loss due to the foundation repairs done to 2 properties. (Note: we have money designated in reserves to cover these costs. Money will be transferred when all work is complete.)
The Finance & Operations Committee did not meet this month.
3. Monthly property reports:
a. CCDC properties managed by Prak Property Management.
Beyond the substantial repairs described above, there were no issues to discuss.
b. New construction at 1611 W. 10th Street.
Kim reported that progress at 1611 remains stymied. AYW has provided City officials with all requested information, but the required permit to pour the driveway has yet to be issued. There may be hope on the horizon, though. Our contact in the City Housing Department has offered to intervene on our behalf—a request that we first made almost a year ago. Perhaps they will be able to break through the bureaucracy. Thomas mentioned that he has a friend who is a permit expediter. If the Housing Department is unsuccessful, Kim will contact him. Regarding the pending lawsuit with Tony Brown, the original concrete subcontractor, Malcom is in negotiations with his lawyer to reach a settlement.
4. Report on results of SVP Austin survey, recommendations, and suggested responses.
Mary gave a summary of SVP Austin’s key recommendations, the most significant being that there needs to be a greater clarity of roles within the organization, and more board members involved in the organization’s activities. SVP recommended designating “point persons” for each of our missions: housing, community building, and heritage. SVP included financial projections showing that within 3 years, CCDC will have a healthy cash flow. The projections rely on vigorous fundraising and steadily increasing rents.
SVP also recommended the creation of a separate Clarksville Heritage Commission. The board agreed that this is not a recommendation we want to pursue at this time.
Going forward, Mary recommended that the board discuss this fully in a future meeting. A specific point is that we need to define “community building.” Mary wants board members to respond to what they thought community building meant when they responded to SVP’s survey, and beyond that, we need to reach a consensus on the definition.
Paula brought up the idea of future fundraising toward building an endowment in order to keep our rents affordable. It was agreed that this was an idea worth pursuing.
5. Discussion of beginning CCDC bylaw revision process in May, including adding a provision to expand the size of the Board of Directors to include descendants of Clarksville founders.
Kim reminded the Board that last fall the Board agreed to postpone revising our bylaws, which were adopted in 2011, until SVP Austin has reviewed our operations and made their recommendations. Now that we have received their recommendations, we can begin moving forward on revising the bylaws. The recommendation was made to begin reviewing the current bylaws in May, with a goal of completing the revision by the end of the summer, and calling the required Special Meeting for adoption before the end of the year.
6. Report on Amplify Austin Day fundraising. Kim O’Brien.
CCDC raised $4401 on Amplify Austin Day, far less than what we raised last year in our initial outing, but money we are happy to have. We received money from many new donors this year, which is good news. And we will be receiving at least an additional $1,900 in the coming months from an Amplify Austin day-related match from the Reissa Foundation. A detailed report appears at the end of the minutes.
The board and others attending the meeting discussed various future fundraising ideas, including holding a Rally Day, specifically for the neighborhood, and identifying a fundraiser (a board member or CCDC member, or perhaps hiring someone) to conduct a campaign. Also discussed was expanding CCDC membership beyond our geographic boundaries, and soliciting business ads for our newsletters. It was suggested that we look toward OWANA (who charges for membership) and how they get people invested in what they do.
7. Reminder of upcoming Annual Meeting (April 16, 2024) and Board of Director election.
Kim reported that a flyer will be delivered to all Clarksville households over the upcoming weekend with information about the Annual Meeting, membership, and running for the board (along with other info about CCDC events, accomplishments, and actions. The deadline for expressing interest in being included on the ballot is Friday, March 29. The deadline for receiving Membership Applications (in order to be eligible to serve on the Board &/or vote in 2024 election) is Tuesday, April 2.
Voting will be conducted online only. Ballots will be sent to Members around Friday, April 5. The deadline for ballot return will be noon on Tuesday April 16. The Annual Meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 16. Election results will be announced. The monthly meeting will take place upon adjournment.
8. Report from OWANA Steering and Zoning Committees. Paula Hern & Kim O’Brien.
No news was reported.
9. Other Business.
No Other Business was discussed.
10. Executive Session.
The board did not meet in Executive Session.
Report on CCDC’s participation in Amplify Austin Day 2024
(Prepared by Kim K. O’Brien)
Good news:
· 59% of our donors are returning donors
· 41% of our donors are new donors
· Only 1 of the new donors was on our email list. Other 10 learned of us in some other way.
· In addition to money raised so far, we have received or will receive the following contributions
o $1900 match from the Reissa Foundation
o Small amount from matches with Lee & Roger Kintzel and the Shields-Ayer Foundation
o $500 from a donor who did not want to go through Amplify
o Additional donation from a donor who did not go through Amplify (amount unknown; picking up the check on Thursday)
o $200 from Shawnton Haskell-Hankins will come later this year, but was inspired by Amplify reach out.
· Of the approximate 200 recipients on our email lists, only 3 unsubscribed.
Less than good news:
· We raised far less money this year ($4011 in 2024 compared to $9122 in 2023), with far fewer donors (11 in 2024 compared to 61 in 2023)
Known Factors:
· We raised $1150 in November and December 2023 through first-ever Giving Day and end-of-the-year fundraising appeals. 75% of those who gave also had donated to Amplify 2023. Only 2 gave again to Amplify 2024.
· This was the first time we utilized the email marketing associated with our website. It’s likely that many of our emails ended up in Spam folders—delivery rate was high, 99%; opening rate only 51%-62%.
Unknown/Unproven/Just Guessing Factors:
· Donor overwhelm: My email box was filled with Amplify asks. I didn’t open most of them (and a confession: most of those that I did, I was looking at what they were sending in order to “lift” copy.)
· Amplify happened at the same time as the primary election. Another big financial & emotional draw.
Take-aways:
· Membership in I Live Here I Give Here, Amplify’s sponsor organization, costs us $350/year. This provides us with our on-line donation platform (which has excellent support.)
· We would not have raised $4K+ without participating in Amplify
· We would not be getting $1.9K from the Reissa Foundation without participating in Amplify
· We somehow reached 10 new donors. Some of these came from Board member contacts and at least one is a Community Gardener, but others came about otherwise. Amplify is a known product which gives us additional legitimacy.