Open to the public, San Francisco, 12:00 PM Pacific Time, September 1, 2001
Please email board@onlinepolicy.org for specific location if you wish to attend.
Board Meeting Agenda
1. Welcome and board responsibilities discussion
2. Financial report:
- Status
- Forecast
- Donor thank you notes
- 990 and 199 Filing by December 15, 2001
- Bank and brokerage account
- Fundraising strategy brainstorm
- Board fundraising commitments
3. QueerNet/PLUSnet:
- Services: Email list hosting, Website hosting, Domain registrations
- Online Community tool
- Upgrades
- Verio incident
- Downtime procedure (Will’s security clearance for Verio facility)
4. Research
- Overall: need to recruit volunteers/interns and prioritize projects
- OSPA: AOL/LGBT data analysis, report, review, negotiate, publish;
add Bess and CyberPatrol for CHIPA evidence, tool development
- School & Library
- Online oddities & atrocities museum: more to add, graphic treatment before release
5. Outreach
- Web site status: new design cleanup and conversion, 6782 unique hits, 483 pages
- Logo design, web site design, business cards, letterhead, brochure, reply card
6. Action
- Action alert updates: considering Yahoo Adult groups, AOL and Muslims
- Legislative updates: none
7. Network:
- Application to NCAC not yet accepted
- Web and email list hosting excellent way to expand networking
- Networking brainstorm
8. Media:
- Media coverage
9. Office space:
- EFF
- LGBT Community Center: MOU, rental agreement, liability insurance, machines
10. Human Resources:
- Board election: nominations, vote
- Board, advisory board, and committee recruitment
- Volunteer recruitment
- Intern recruitment
11. Vacation and travel schedules
12. Public Comment Period
13. Next meeting(s):
- 12 noon, Saturday, December 1, 2001
- 12 noon, Saturday, March 2, 2002
- 12 noon, Saturday, June 1, 2002
- 12 noon, Saturday, September 7, 2002
-end-
Board Meeting Minutes
MINUTES OF MEETING OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF
ONLINE POLICY GROUP, INC.
a California Nonprofit PUBLIC BENEFIT Corporation
The Board of Directors of Online Policy Group, Inc., held its regular meeting on September 1, 2001, at 304 Winfield Street, San Francisco, California. Multiple notices of the meeting were provided in person, by phone, and by email starting with notice provided at the last board meeting of June 2, at which all directors were present.
The following directors, constituting a quorum of the full board, were present at the September 1, 2001, board meeting:
- Will Doherty
- David Gudelunas
- Roger Klorese
There were absent:
1. Welcome and board responsibilities discussion
2. Financial report:
- Status
$120 in July/Aug revenue
$24 in July/Aug expenses plus QueerNet/PLUSnet expenses ($1,013 per mo.)
Action item for Roger: change billing, submit receipts for Internet services;
Reconfigure home office DSL
Target revenue through June 2001: $70,100
Actual revenue through June 2001: $31,298
Variance: $38,802
Target expenses through Feb 2001: $67,461
Est. actual expenses through Feb 2001: $15,410
(not including non-forecast June expenses)
Balance per books: $15,888
Balance in bank/brokerage accounts: $6,661 ($3,716 in bank and $2,945 at brokerage)
Discrepancy because no reimbursements yet paid to Will or Roger
Individual contributors - $6,413
Major donors - $24,885
Source: QueerNet: $18,834
OPG: $11,097
Undesignated: $1,368
Action item - order QuickBooks checks - Will
- Forecast
Will presented revised draft budget for FY01-02
Run rate currently approx. $2,000 per month
$45,000 revenue forecast
no grants
$6,600 individuals
$36,000 major donors
removed paid staff and interns - paying did not improve intern work output
expense line $33,755
including rent forecast $400/month
surplus $11,345 - try to use for reserve
Will should be working at EFF through at least end of year
Need accountant for filings - $1,200 allocated
Stock - sold ½, remaining stock appreciating
Brokerage no longer withholding
- Donor thank you notes
- 990 and 199 Filing by December 15, 2001
- Fundraising strategy brainstorm
- Board fundraising commitments
- Email solicitation: start again once lists fully operational
- Direct mail campaign
Direct mail appeal to new prospects and offline contacts before year end
- Foundation proposals: none
- Board fundraising commitments
o Roger sent appeal to QueerNet list-owners
o Need new board members who can raise funds
Fundraising ideas:
- Roger to solicit funds from events
- New QueerNet solicitation in late September/early October
3. QueerNet/PLUSnet:
- Services: Email list hosting, Website hosting, Domain registrations
Now registrar - reseller of OpenSRS/TUCOWS domains (.org, .com, .net)
Cost to OQP is $10/year/domain
Initially paid $500 for 50 domains, will have to refresh soon
Also can do digital certificates for secure sites for $100/year/certificate
Email list upgrade to Majordomo2 75% complete, with some quirks remaining
Number of lists decreased from approx 650 to approx 450 due to list inactivity
- Sendmail Advanced Message Server donated to OQP: New hi-performance user mailbox hosting that does virtual domains more easily
- Online Community tool
Considering WebCrossing or alternative, possibly open source free software project
- Verio incident: they dumped Elcomsoft site hosting, will monitor the situation but
not move due to costs unless situation worsens, Roger to give Will copy of Verio
agreement to check if OQP has protected status
- Downtime procedure (Will’s security clearance for Verio facility, 3rd & Harrison
during business hours, tell on authorized entry sheet for QueerNet and need to get
badge and biometrics done)
4. Research
- Overall: need to recruit volunteers/interns and prioritize projects
- OSPA:
AOL/LGBT data analysis, all data collected, needs analysis and merging - in multiple Excel spreadsheets; Will to merge, David to put it into SPSS; Will to pose specific questions - then need to write report, then have it reviewed - David needs to submit it in a larger submission (conference, journal) - CMC? Journal of Computer Networking? ACM? - then negotiate with AOL - then if no progress, publish
Add Bess and CyberPatrol for CHIPA evidence
Continue tool development
- School & Library:
In conjunction with EFF - reviewing California curriculum - need software to run against blocking product; can research real-use conditions in classrooms - full study cost up to $1M, pilot study increases ability to get funding
- Online oddities & atrocities museum:
Class working on website says they’ll do presentation for this section as part of web site work
5. Outreach
- Web site status: new design cleanup and conversion, 6782 unique hits, 483 pages
Class needs to turn web page over to us for maintenance, need navigation and look-and-feel changes
- Logo design, web site design, business cards, letterhead, brochure, reply card
Will to order primted materials
6. Action
- Action alert updates:
Considering Yahoo Adult groups: Opposition strongly organized, What is their call to action?, Stress value of non-commercial net services, Roger to draft it
AOL and Muslims
- Legislative updates:
CHIPA legal challenge proceeding
7. Network:
- Application to NCAC not yet accepted
- Web and email list hosting excellent way to expand networking
o Roger to put together website-owner list
- Networking brainstorm
o Need to promote web-hosting, list hosting, domain registrations
o Brochures for networking
o Working Assets? EFF? Conferences: academic, NLGJA, ALA
o Put OPG in list footers or in high-profile link from QueerNet page
8. Media:
- Media coverage: None
9. Office space:
- EFF
Interns working @EFF
- LGBT Community Center:
MOU: Roger to write language on fallback server on Community Center net
Rental agreement
Liability insurance
Machines: Two computers - Roger’s iMac, OPG’s Dell which needs network card
All by October - move into Community Center, 1-2 desk space
Need volunteers to staff the office - advertise
10. Human Resources:
- Board election:
o David moves to renominate entire board and officers - seconded by Will, approved unanimously
o David moves to vote - Will seconded - voted unanimously
- Board, advisory board, and committee recruitment
David to follow up with Cynthia Cooper
- Volunteer recruitment
- Intern recruitment
David to review and repost internship descriptions - Will to define specific requirements
Will to provide contact info for project coordinator, URL for project management page
11. Vacation and travel schedules
- Will - no plans
- David - no plans
- Roger - unreachable 9/6-9/12
12. Public Comment Period
No attendance.
13. Next meeting(s):
- 12 noon, Saturday, December 1, 2001
- 12 noon, Saturday, March 2, 2002
- 12 noon, Saturday, June 1, 2002
- 12 noon, Saturday, September 7, 2002
-end-
