Summer Board Part 2

• So, you'd think the most interesting part of the Summer board meeting would be the ACTUAL board meeting. As I'm not on the board and not able to vote, there wasn't much to do on Sunday. The discussion portion was mostly Saturday. On Sunday, Board minutes from Winter and Board officer and committee reports were approved. The budget was approved. Thanks to some extra fundraising in Jennifer Colby's term the caucus is in a slightly better position than before. So I will list some things to consider that we can take part of:

• A new/renewing member drive: Dues are increasing next year HOWEVER, if you pay before the end of the year, you can renew/become a member at this year's price. If dues seem like a lot of money, please remember that other organizations dues are much higher (ex. CAA=$55-$175 depending on your income). Instead of going out to dinner and a movie, support women in the arts!
• Institutional/Lifetime Membership drive: We have a lot of museums, art schools, and arts organizations in the city. We could be connecting with them more. We could also connect with the new Arts and Culture Office somehow.
• Lifetime Achievement Awards: Fundraising for the awards needs to be done. It is $90 for members to attend the dinner (the award ceremony is free!), $1100 for a table of 8 + catalogs, $2500 for a table, catalogs, and 1/2 page ad, $5000 for a table, catalogs, and full page ad. Ads alone are $550 for 1/2 page, and $1100 for a full page. National has suggested the possibility that chapters or regions pool money for a 1/2 or full page ad in the catalog. In our region (NE) there are 5 chapters, so each chapter could contribute $110... thinking out loud. The LAA is one of the most important things the WCA does every year. Take a look at our mural on 23rd ST under JFK and take a look at all the names up there. Each of those women made an important contribution to the Arts. The LAA could gain a lot more visibility with corporate sponsorship.
• Fundraising/New Media Opportunity: C.M Judge of the Central Mass chapter is part of Femlink www.femlink.org (link is down at time of publishing this post) and she has offered chapters an opportunity to fundraise using a DVD video collage of international women filmmakers work. They will provide the DVD for free, and we only need to find a space and date to screen it (need DVD player, projector, and screen). She recommends charging a small cover charge, and keeping half of the money raised for the chapter, and half donating to National. I've already asked her to mail the DVD to me!
• LA Conference: this will be held Sat, Feb 28th- Monday March 2nd. There will be openings/bus tours on Friday evening, Feb 27th, Chapters' Council/FAP panels/LAA awards on Saturday the 28th, Chapters' Council/WCA activities on Sunday MArch 1, and the winter board meeting on Monday the 2nd. National would like an estimate on how many people are planning to go, so please email president@nationalwca.org if you plan on going. Our Fringe Festival First Friday Bake Sale has been a fundraiser in the past to help send a rep to the conference, so we will decide details at the August meeting.

So those are the important things. There is a feeling of change in the air....... a desire to update the mission of the caucus......an understanding of the need to connect with a younger generation... concerns for the economic success of members and the organization in current times... a hope that members within chapters and chapters within regions and regions within national will find more ways to connect and interact with each other and the world at large.

It is exciting and interesting to see how the Caucus works on a National Level and to get connected to other empowered women across the country. I hope more members will get involved!

Respectfully,

Marie