Event:2017/10/19 Delegates

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Omni Delegates' Meeting - 19 October 2017 7pm-9pm

Agenda

  • Introductions, Meeting Roles, and Delegates Count [10 minutes]
  • Announcements [5 minutes]
  • Bans [5 minutes]
  • Working Group Report-Backs [15 minutes]
  • Member Collective Updates (10 minutes)
  • Proposal X: [15 minutes]
  • Proposal Y: [15 minutes]
  • Discussion Z: [10 minutes]

Introductions

Introduce yourself: Name; Preferred Pronoun; Affiliation

  • Michael Arron
  • Marcus - ABDC
  • Asia - Phat Beets

Meeting Roles

  • Facilitator/s: Marcus
  • Explanation of hand signals: "deaf applause", "raised hand", "point of process", "direct response"(wildcard), etc.
  • Stacktaker: robb
  • Timekeeper: Julian
  • Notetaker/s: Laura, Julian, Robb, Marcus, Michael
  • Vibe Reader: Joe
  • Next meeting's facilitator(s): Julian will find a new person to co-facilitate with

Delegates

  • ABDC: Marcus
  • BAPS: Julian
  • CCL: Michael Arent
  • CSC: Mary Ann
  • FNB: Joe
  • GWS: remote-Rachel
  • LL: inactive
  • Sudo: robb
  • TIL: inactive
  • GCEA: remote-Almaz
  • Quorum: yes

Announcements

  • Approaching holiday season, gonna lose people going out of town for holidays. Let Laura know if you're leaving so we can make plans. Let's make this an agenda item for the next meeting.
  • The Village wants Omni to fiscally sponsored
  • GROW on Market and 7th, they need fiscal sponsor, they do have a fiscal a 20% that they don't even have a connection with. Marcus mentioned that perhaps Omni can be. Grow, do community garden. This is kind of urgent. The grant has been granted, but not cashed.


Bans

  • Add to list of people asked to leave
  • ZRW mediation:
    • anon - a week ago RW threatened to burn Joe's house & smash all the omni's windows apparently over the status of the mediation process
    • Almaz is the conflict steward. She is in discussion w ZRW about using SEEDS. MArcus has agreed to represent the Omni.
    • ALmaz: ZRW agreed to have seeds to be conflict mediator I am working to schedule the mediation with SEEDS.

Working Group Report-Backs

Building & permits

Meetings: 1st & 3rd Mondays @ 6pm

Commons

Meetings: Second and Fourth Thursdays at 6pm

Communications

Meetings: Second and Fourth Sundays at 5pm

  • Julian - At last meeting we talked about how a lot of people who have recently signed up on our list serv, and people whoexpressed interest in volulnteering. We used to do orientations. We're suggesting that we have orientations at 6pm before the Delegates meeting. Have put on the calendar. Do we need to make a proposal
  • Laura - Thats awesome and you dont need to make a proposal

Finance

Meetings: Currently conjoined with Fundraising, 2nd & 4th Mondays at 6pm

  • Slowly getting better!

Fundraising

Meetings: Currently conjoined with Finance,, 2nd & 4th Mondays at 6pm

Member Collective Updates

What is going on with your collective? What are you working on? What have you accomplished? Any events coming up? Any difficulties you are encountering that you need help with?

ABDC

  • Several members are getting used to working within Omni and following Omni culture, though membership is slow.

BAPS

  • Julian - Writing with World Stuff, the class I facilitate is having its year anniversary.

CCL

  • We're participating this Saturday in the EB Mini Maker Faire. We have a whole schedule of classes. We get revenue from the classes. Classes oar on the calendar board in CCL. DOing better financially than after finishing the construction.
  • Using Google adwords grants to get free ads on Google. Phone support is very helpful to get through the complicated setup.

CSC

  • MAry Ann - Waffles and Zapatismo here on Saturday morning 10am. Will have a researcher there to observe. DOes work on groups in solidarity with indigenous people.
    • Roberto from LL will talk on Indigenous values vs capiatlis values

FNB

  • Annual meeting at 28th of OCtober. Did dinner for ecumenical peace council where COl Ann Rice spoke, was very successful

GCEA

GWS

  • We are organizing a big fundraiser for Haiti Emergency Relief Fund on Dec 9th and doing a presentation with Margaret Prescod from Women of Color in the GWS on the history of the welfare rights movement and its relationship to the Wages for Housework Campaign on Oct 29. Also I'm speaking at the Howard Zinn book fair on the book Alice and the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the sex workers occupation of a church in 1917. We are organizing a multiracial delegation to attend a Women's conference in Houston Nov 6 &7.

LL

Sudo

  • Having gatherings around secure Scuttlebutt, a peer to peer social network platform. Encrypted.

TIL

Phat Beets

  • Asia - new to Phat Beets, will be in the office from Tues-Sat from 11-5,


Proposal 1: Fiscal sponor Daniel's project

  • Fiscally sponsoring (grant model) a crowdfunding campaign that Daniel launched on October 7th to raise funds for a school in Guatemala that was devastated by a tropical storm: https://www.youcaring.com/escuelaoficialbarriochajsaquil-974517
  • Deadline to attach a bank account is October 22nd, but we may be able to retroactively reroute funds sent to a personal bank account.

Discussion

  • Daniel: the situation is that in December I connected with a Principal at a school in Guatemala. Daniel wanted to donate equipment to support school construction, but there's an issue with electricity. in the meantime, flooding from the recent tropical storm have significantly damaged the school. all of the students there are indigenous; in Guatemala they are among the most oppressed folx. [Daniel then shows photos & reads from the above "youcaring" page]
  • Marcus: please clarify the ask of the proposal; it is to have it as a grant model to receive the crowdfunded money.
    • Daniel: when I started raising money I didn't think it through all the way, but it is now clear to me that for people giving donations of @250+ that to give tax exemption, the fundraising requires a non-profit fiscal sponsor.
      • Daniel: I recognize the process concers, but it remains that I have until Oct 24th to link a non-profit's bank account.
        • Daniel: If Omni accepts then the money from the platform will go into Omni's account and then Omni would send the check to Gautamala
  • Mary Ann: could you tell me where this is happening?
  • Laura: could CSC take this on?
    • Mary Ann: probably we can't take more on.
      • Laura: at the very least we'll need to consult w/ you & CSC regarding bank transfers
  • Mary Ann: is this a government school?
    • Daniel: yes, but there is much corrupption so in ways the school is operating outside of thoroughgoing governemtn regulation
      • Mary Ann: who would the money go to?
        • Daniel: it would go to this school. I've been speaking with the principal.
    • Mary Ann: would the money go to a government entity?
      • Daniel: it would go to the school.
      • Mary Ann: politically CSC can't do that
      • Laura: would it be a legal issue for the Omni?
        • Mary Ann: not sure, but that's not the issue for CSC
  • Laura: regarding the tax exemption, few actually take it for these kinds of donations. but there is an issue putting the money in your personal account, because then there is tax liability.
    • Mary Ann: there are also issues with international transfers because of money laundering laws.
    • Daniel: I've dealt with some of that previously, but the money goes through.
    • Laura: are you planning on going any time soon?
      • Daniel: yes, December
      • Laura: maybe you should bring cash
        • Mary Ann: agree w/ Laura
  • Julian: it seems like we should access if it fits our criteria, if it makes sense for us to sponsor, and if we can even procedurally do it.
    • Daniel: it's okay if it's not feasible. No hard feelings if it doesn't work out.
    • Laura: it is kind of boarderline w/ our mission. also there are maybe other groups better suited & could do this. like the Network in Solidarity with Guatemala. They have offices in Guatemala. basically it would be a donation to NISGua.
      • Asia: Youcaring won't send you a 1099 tax form if you're collecting under $20,000. if they aren't going to send you a 1099 then, there's no tax liability for Daniel.
        • Mary Ann: it's also cheaper to do it through currency exchanges than
  • Julian: maybe we can just offer informal financial support via CSC, Mary Ann & our finance folx.
    • Laura: if you get a big offer that needs tax write offs, then come back
    • Mary Ann: the best way is to find a Guatemalan non-profit
      • [Almaz or Rachel, via remote?]: Mary Ann is right the best way to transfer money is to find non profit there name of Non profit have to be different, I meant the mame of NGO can't be the same in US and Guatemala.

Proposal 2: Fiscal sponsor The Village

  • Fiscally sponsoring (project model, possible application for Omni membership) The Village, which has successfully pressured the City of Oakland to declare a Shelter Crisis Ordinance and agree to hand over some city-owned land parcels for them to build viable villages for the homeless and provide wraparound support services.
  • Deadline to provide proof of fiscal sponsorship and associated General Liability insurance is October 24th.

Discussion

  • Laura: there two forms of fiscal sponsorship. one is mostly a financial relationship ("the grant model"). another is the "project model." the latter includes insurance.
    • because they are in-line with our values, but because their activities are substantially different, this could raise potentially significantly the cost of our insurance b/c their actvivities are relatively "risky" (from an insurance perspective)
      • the city seems to be requiring them to have "general liability insurance"—which we could help with, but more than likely they need to cover it themselves
  • Joe: FNB supports Needa and brings them food, but I'm concerned we dont really have any idea what thisproject will be. Its all very impromptu. It is hard to be confident and I think she should have been here.
  • Julian: what kind of liability do we have if we are just doing the grant model?
  • We would only be giving a grant and have get a report from them to ensure they are spending the money as they said. We aren't liable for what happens at the site.
  • in general: check with your collective about what your collective's concersn & questions are. Laura will put a final proposal with Jenny once they get info from insurance agent and ask Needa about any concerns, potential to get other insurance.

Discussion 1: regular cleaning days?

  • Julian: We had said we would discuss the idea of nonmandatory regular cleaning days, one on a weekday and one on a weekend. We were supposed to bring this back to our collectives to see what days would be the best. Did anyone do this?
  • Michael: CCL regular cleaning days have been on Wednesdays
  • Joe: we haven't talked about it.
  • Julian: what would help this happen? I can send an email to discuss to emind people to check in with their collectives on this question.
  • Phil: I'll make a list of the regular cleaning tasks
  • Michael: one way to make this successful, it worked for us, is not only to set days but identify specific activities needed on those days so people know what they will accomplish.
  • Robb: and they should all end with karaoke


Last Meeting Notes

https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Event:2017/10/05_Delegates_Meeting

End of Meeting

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