CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chris Colby. Also attending were Ann Farnell, Mike McNeil, Dave Nelson, Joanne Swenson, and Trevor Westrom.
Others Present: Audrey Betcher, Library Director; Tom Dyer, Communications Director; Carrie Farrow, incoming Communications Director; and Kathy Olson, Administrative Assistant.
Chris Colby called the meeting to order and turned it over to Trevor Westrom, incoming President for 2005.
Trevor thanked Chris for his year of service as President.
Trevor introduced Mike McNeil, new Board member.
TREASURER'S REPORT
Kathy Olson reviewed the 4th Quarter Treasurer's report. The majority of income was from end of year donations to the annual fund drive. We also received two donations for additional storytime kits. These donations were passed through to the Library. There were three donations to the Book-A-Year Endowment Fund.
Expenses included a reimbursement to the Library for Kathy's salary for time spent on Foundation activities, postage expenses for the newsletter and the Wit, Wisdom & Wine mailing, and the previously mentioned distribution to the Library for the storytime kit donations.
Kathy reviewed the 2004 budget versus actual expenses. Approximately $23,000 was budgeted and expenses were roughly $13,000. The main reasons for the difference are that the majority of costs for the donor recognition system have not been invoiced yet, and the invoice for printing the December newsletter has not been received as of yet. These costs will be reflected in the 2005 budget.
LIBRARY BOARD AND DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Audrey reported that the Friends presented a check for $40,000 to the Library at the January 19th Library Board meeting. This represents the proceeds from the bookstore.
Volunteer hours were up 10% in 2004. 342 volunteers contributed more than 14,000 hours; the equivalent of 7 full-time employees. In addition, about $160,000 in donated books/materials was added to the collection.
The Library has worked cooperatively with the Olmsted County Historical Society for many years. We often direct patrons to their collection when appropriate. The challenge has been to know what they have in their collection.
We have worked through a "Statement of Understanding" which will host some of their databases on our servers so that we may provide access to the information to our patrons. Some of their titles will also be loaded into our database. This should be a win/win situation for the public, RPL, and the History Center.
The Library Board has approved the allocation of $21,944 from the Foundation endowment proceeds. The funds will be allocated as follows:
Joanne Swenson suggested that something be set up for parents to view the orientation video. It would be helpful if the schools received copies of the video; also the Salvation Army, and Boys and Girls Club.
Carrie Farrow has been hired as Communications Director to replace Tom Dyer. Her first day in the position will be February 3, 2005. Tom's retirement party is scheduled for Friday, January 28th in the Library Auditorium.
In December the City Council approved the 2005 budget. Olmsted County increased their allocation by $7,000 and the City has increased the Library's bottom line by the same amount. The majority of the $7,000 has been allocated to early literacy efforts. Our goal is to work with businesses to get the message out to parents in the workplace. There is enough money to do a small pilot project; we are working with First Steps.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Board members are asked to sign up for their first and second choice of committee assignments for the coming year. We will allocate as many first choices as possible.
Advocacy: none.
Finance: none. The Committee will probably have a recommendation at the next meeting on how to allocate the Wit, Wisdom & Wine proceeds from 2004 and 2005.
Development: Chris met with Audrey, Carrie, Tom, and Kathy to talk over strategy for the coming year. There is a need to restaff the committee since many of the past members are no longer on the Board due to term limits.
The committee needs to get active early in the year on the personal solicitations. We need to get out and ask before everyone's budget is spent.
We came up shorter than anticipated on the personal solicitations in 2004, although it was our first year in developing and implementing a strategy. Once the new committee is appointed, they will review the strategy and see what changes need to be made.
We should clarify the different opportunities to contribute to the Foundation: Endowment Fund, Book-A-Year Endowment, annual fund drive for materials, etc.
There are a lot of capital campaigns in town. Early literacy could be a helpful selling point.
The donor recognition system is in progress. We will have a special unveiling event when it is completed, specifically targeting those donors on the wall.
Kathy reviewed the results of the 2004 annual fund drive. Total donations were just over $29,000, with expenses of approximately $1,700. $27,318.56 in proceeds will be turned over to the library.
Special Events: Kathy reviewed the financial recap for Wit, Wisdom & Wine 2005. There were 145 paid registrations, compared with our previous high in 2003 of 113. The silent auction brought in $2,688, compared to the high of $2,055 last year. Net income is $9,756.16.
The radio spots donated by Daube's Bakery and Construction Partnership are not reflected in the report. They had a big impact on increasing our attendance, especially from last minute registrations.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
The next meeting is scheduled for March 23, 2005 at 4:45 p.m.
If you have any names for potential Board members, please contact Trevor, Audrey, or Carrie.
Ann expressed appreciation for Tom's work for the Foundation. We could not have made the strides we have without his help. She wished him good luck in his future endeavors.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Joanne Swenson
Secretary