Event:2024/02/01 Delegates

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Omni Delegates' Meeting - Day Month 2024 7pm-9pm

Meeting Details

Roles

  • Facilitator/s:
  • Stacktaker:
  • Timekeeper:
  • Notetaker/s: Yar, Paige
  • Next meeting's facilitator(s):

Delegates

  • CCL: Patrik
  • FNB: Toan
  • LL: John
  • ML: Pallavi
  • SB: natalie
  • SM: juul
  • SR: alex
  • Quorum (2/3 of active groups):

Deb Gives Member Collective Application

Application for Membership at Omni Commons sent on behalf of C. Dominic Powell - For rental beginning as soon as possible.

Organization Name: Deb Gives

Contact Person: C. Dominic (Dom) Powell

Website/Online Presence: https://www.instagram.com/debgives/

Deb Gives, a non-profit organization established in memory of Deborah Brand, is dedicated to uplifting and supporting the most vulnerable in our community. Our journey began with distributing essentials like clothing, medical supplies, and food to the homeless. In Summer 2022, we expanded our impact by initiating backpack giveaways to assist underprivileged children. Our core mission is to foster inclusivity and prosperity for the displaced and disadvantaged, thereby building a stronger, more cohesive society.

Our decision-making process is led by our Executive Director, with critical inputs from our team of three dedicated members. This approach ensures streamlined and effective decision-making while remaining adaptable to the evolving needs of our community.

As a prospective member of Omni Commons, our aim is to:

- Promote cultural equity within the Omni Commons and the wider neighborhood. - Enhance awareness and participation in Omni Commons' activities. - Contribute to the community through volunteering, events, and collaborations. - Align with and strengthen the Omni Commons Statement of Solidarity.

Space Needed: Upstairs office with windows.

Purpose: The space will serve as our primary office for planning, coordination, and administration of our activities.

Spaces Needed:

- Ballroom and Den: For hosting workshops, meetings, and collaborative projects. - Other collective spaces: For potential partnerships and joint initiatives.

Usage Plans: The shared spaces will be pivotal for our educational and community-building events, allowing us to engage effectively with various groups.

Building Modifications

While we do not plan to modify the structure, we are committed to contributing to the building's infrastructure improvements and necessary repairs.

Financial Commitment

We propose a monthly contribution of $300, with openness to negotiation based on the mutual agreement and understanding of our capabilities and the needs of Omni Commons.

Vision Statement

"Building a Nation where our people can contribute to society by helping each other create a better community of love, peace, and stability."

Room requested is 438 sqft (no it's about 260 sf) Space previously rented for $400($418.55 to be precise); TANC had offered $700/mo for that room, is that correct?

  • a bunch of questions and answers, nobody took notes
  • Question from chat: Why does Debgives website have the Omni's address listed?
    • they are receiving mail at omni, as many many orgs do
  • dom: will my proposal be voted on next week? then what happens?
    • patrik: next week is earliest it could be voted on. need to resolve details of room. voting next week would be fastest ever. usually there's a little more back and forth.
  • marc: i keep saying this. it's a bad idea to just get people straight from not being in the building at all to being full member collective. just not something we should be doing at all. 6 month period before deciding.
  • pallavi: that's too cumbersome. you're not gonna get folks to run the building if that's the pace.
  • marc: not blocking renting space, but making them a full member collective is different.
  • pallavi: i really want us to move things forward. every time we try, we have a history of folks coming in and pushing back on things for weeks.
  • patrik: would you be interested in renting for a while first?
    • dom: no, i wanna be a member collective. we wanna do the work, not just rent space. be a part of the community there.
  • yar: there's a tension forming between people who want to keep the status quo of who's in the building, and people trying to grow, which we need to do in order to run this community center at the scale it needs to survive
  • pallavi: we've been talking about bringing in new collectives for months, since october, and not one person ever said we need a 6mo waiting period before deciding. if every time bringing in a member collective of color there's this kind of discussion, no wonder people think there's a racism problem. this question didn't come up at all with media lab. we were here, but there were a bunch of new people involved in it and no litigation about that. i feel like we need to be able to, as yar pointed out, there's this old way of doing things, and we have to be able to figure out new solutions for things and try things out. maybe a compromise here is we start renting for 1mo and in that month we figure out if DEB gives is a good fit. but 6mo makes no sense, we don't even know if we'll have a building
  • phil: sketchboard and media lab have been active in multiple working groups. seems like there should be a short period before getting voting power.
  • patrik: not appropriate to bring up while someone is applying.
  • dom: if we could get an agreement signed, what space and what price, today, then that'd speed up the process for everyone. we can meet and you guys can vote. we're just hanging in the weeds before you all decide. Dom proposes $400, for the corner office.
  • Philip: for new rentals, could we just approve them with an email process? Can put together a google form for voting


Establishing Fundraising Working Group cadence meeting and time

  • pallavi: tuesday meeting wasn't well attended, just me + silver. need to pick a time for all stakeholders. silver sent email w/when2meet. want all collectives represented to open up grants & emergency appeals w/collaborative language. hard to cater to each group's histories without them there. maybe improvements to the building to better generate revenue. immediate needs like roof/rain.
    • patrik: i can join every other tuesday. maybe a meeting just w sudo + CCL for stem grants?
    • discussion of particular grants. pallavi can share instrumentl account w/others
  • When2meet link for scheduling here: https://www.when2meet.com/?23459337-cXwWk

Meeting with Jackie from Hellman

  • tomorrow morning to ask for at least another 50K in capacity building to pay for key positions
  • pallavi: some money needs to be replenished.
  • patrik: will you check about what's appropriate in last year's grant?
    • pallavi: i think they're all accounted for already
    • patrik: there was disagreement over whether skylights count
  • pallavi: will also check about capital improvements, insurance, taxes etc

Pallavi's bid to be Omni's interim ED

  • See https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hEJuEHY7fWBzhLAI2E2bfpt3iDXwqQUbA7TwA7mNQxk/edit?usp=sharing
  • fulltime = 40 hours per week
  • pallavi: last week david said land trusts aren't comfortable with dysfunctional leadership. funders want to see an ED. commission-baseed contract w/jamal caused concerns. might make sense for me to take the role. i can combine my hours with work i'm already doing. if we get more money i can bring in more folks for operations. different scope of work from what jamal was proposing. can only commit to 3 months full time, but can transition part time after that. steward a new leadership structure more conducive to traditional funding opportunities. might be easier to move to w2 at that point. if you consent to this, i'm open to stepping down as a delegate and couldn't be treasurer/officer. i'd propose a retreat to re-envision decision making structure. i'm not here to hoard power, literally just doing this because i can't see an option going forward without executive leadershp designated to talk to funders. i'm volunteering to do that with CAST, city of oakland, etc to represent omni. nobody else has come forward willing to do this, with institutional understanding of omni. it's just on the delegates to determine what the decisionmaking structure is gonna look like between ED & delegates. i'd be serving at behest of the board like any other. i don't want this to be a litigation of the theoretical role. just a concrete discussion of types of things in front of us that i can help with. being able to speak as executive is more impactful.
  • patrik: nothing in bylaws says you can't be ED + delegate. maybe not good idea but no strict restriction.
  • natalie: yes please
  • pallavi: i'd be focused on fundraising more than operations. not fully qualified for a place like omni but we don't have the luxury of that.
  • patrik: is anybody concerned about a conflict of interest if pallavi is asking for money to pay her?
    • yar: no, this is how you bootstrap an org. her being there gives them confidence. only interest is saving this place
  • pallavi: i can recuse myself if you wanna figure out an executive decisionmaking process. what you'd want an ED to do. want it to reflect the values & history of our org. don't wanna just come in and bark orders. already have an idea of how decisions are reached here. want it to be equitable, not push out anybody. but without some kind of ED in place it just really hard to get funding to move forward on certain things. you need someone designated to meet with. i do a little of that as dev consultant, but not as much power to speak on behalf of org in eyes of others.
  • pallavi: want delegates to make a list of bullet points. then i can make a contract from that. i'd use some sort of reference for a standard interim contract. it'd probably be w2 not 1099. want input.
  • yar: so a 2 week process where we come back with bullet points next week?
  • marc: 3 things: title, work & power. sounds like the ED title is important to some people. what power would be granted to ED? how would delegating responsibilities to delegates work? we're all volunteers. maybe a minor point.
    • pallavi: specific fundraising things for your collectives, like if we need a tax form from you. i can facilitate some RJ convos with experts, but this is more about fundraising than personell issues or things jamal wanted to restructure. that'd be wonderful to work on, but we don't have luxury of multiple day long DEI retreats until fundraising is figured out. i'm not gonna be deciding who can do what. my focus would be on what's best for maintaining the building so that we can all stay here. if some of that involves having conversations with folks to help re-establish trust where it's been lost, i'm open to doing that, but that's not gonna be my primary focus. not trying to tell people what to do with their space they're already stewards of.
    • marc: cool. my collective would need to see the list of powers we need to delegate to you for you to take this role
    • pallavi: the main thing is we have one designated person in all the relevant meetings, of different proposals, relationships with land trusts etc, to tie all those discussions together and bring it back to the board, discuss how to best move forward. the reason it's important to be "executive" is so outsiders can look to someone and say they're the designated contact, vs disparate disunited conversations. being able to best advocate for omni. if folks want to trust that i can best represent them, have as many conversations with me as possible so i can best advocate for your collective. i've been talking to folks within my immediate community. it's easier to get money from giving circles from traditional donors. meeting w/radiant strategies next week.
  • patrik: want to table discussion, it depends on funds being available
  • yar: come back with questions next week, and also with any outlines your group might have for what the job should be
  • john & patrik will work on jamal's contract this weekend

New Omni Secretary?

  • Candidates: Yar, Taylor, Sierk
  • yar: i was nominated a couple weeks ago. then jake blocked me and reached out to taylor & sierk as alternatives to me. they both said maybe. today taylor told me they are willing but don't support the block of me and don't want to be part of that mess. they declined secretary position. personally i don't need to do this i'm just willing to.
  • john: maybe other candidates can talk to us with their ideas of the job?
  • marc: i'd like to see new people step up and make effort. if anyone wants to step up and do work for omni, new people are good. yar's already doing a lot of stuff.
  • phil: ED is very needed, please pick one. and officers are needed too. will send description of what i need.
  • Omni Officer Duties: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18qTUgFjRM_76C0oi3x_3QTU4tjtXyY8jEmVh-3GIqks/edit#heading=h.imwvnk3u96d4
  • john: marc is saying let's not put additional burdens on yar. we should find new people. but we don't know if the other 2 candidates are serious.
  • alex: impetus for choosing officers was tax forms due soon. sarah said no, we have plenty of time. could we get input from other candidates? and is this a consensus vote?
    • john: yes it's consensus
    • patrik: i would prefer it not be consensus. we've tried to do it in the past, it's not required by bylaws, and it's slowing things down seriously. if we can put off til next week, but we shouldn't be sitting on these decisions too long
  • alex: if secretary takes role seriously, meetings could be more organized. an agenda would be better. it's already 9pm. i'd like to have that. and shorter meetings.
  • john: all in favor of shorter meetings say aye
  • pallavi: i'd try to implement that as ED
  • alex: should we invite candidates to give input next meeting by email or in person?
  • patrik: let's try more outreach. maybe a more descriptive subject line than "solicitation for nominees"

New Omni Bookkeeper?

  • david proposed names last week, has anybody reached out?
    • Alex spoke to Sarah about donna
    • silver has relationship with her, will reach out
  • sarah resigned a while ago. invoices coming in like jesse. who can pay these?
    • yar proposes we give silver permission to pay bills as member of finance wg.
    • silver afraid of checks bouncing etc. wants help.
    • pallavi's mom can help
  • yar: pallavi if you're ED would you see hiring bookkeeper as your job?
    • pallavi: absolutely, if i was ED i'd talk to donna, seems qualified. i'd just give them a background. but quickbooks is mostly ok, we just need long term management of cash flow. making sure things go into right accounts, replenished if borrowed. that's out of scope of most bookkeeping. that's why sarah suggested people with extra skills on top of bookkeeping. also we're weird, new person might need handholding.
  • Ian C also offered to be Omni bookkeeper
  • sarah made something like $45 for accounting, $30 for bookkeeping, $65 for tax prep
  • jesse's invoice was way too much. stop talking to jesse so much. gatekeep his time more.
  • silver: we got $6k events this month. 7k next month maybe. spread the givebutter!
  • patrik: do we need to pay rent early?
  • send folks to fundraising wg + pallavi's workshops

People's Programs member collective proposal

  • alex: i suggest a narrow time period for consensus items. people already left.
    • natalie: that's why i suggested online form
  • john: liberated lens is still in favor
  • patrik: CCL still a no because of their radical politics mostly
  • alex: sudo blocks member collective application for now, but maybe in the future. someone said it's a conflict of interest re future plan for building. many people feel their politics are not a good match. it goes on.
  • patrik: i think if marc had time to stick around, sudo mesh would have been a no as well.
  • toan: FNB had not made a decision yet.
  • pallavi: media lab is in favor
  • natalie: sketchboard is in favor
  • yar: i won't editorialize though i'm tempted. i've quit sudoroom after 11 years. i'm no longer a sudoroom member.
  • john: it'd do well for every collective to think about whether it's a good look to first ban CLP, and then reject PP when we have been admitting other groups fairly quickly, and just sit with that question. i am someone who came up through the movement called critical race theory. i've also functioned many years in predominantly white progressive spaces. i'm very concerned there's a possibility that the record we're establishing on racial inclusion could be held against us in litigation. i want delegates to know that. maybe we can talk about radical politics offline. i don't think they're as radical and problematic as they're perceived. i don't want a discussion here and now, but i'll just put that on the table.
  • yar: if you don't like radical politics you shouldn't be at omni commons. who's going to say you haven't benefited from the reputation omni commons has for radical politics? why in the world would you call yourself "counter culture"? it's a very bold position to take. rename your group to "cash out culture labs".

Continuing to Pay Event Staff Even Though The Grant Has Been Expended

  • Silver submitted an invoice for event work in January, but currently Omni has not agreed to continue paying for that work into 2024.
  • Patrik: a while back we had agreed to set aside 20% of all event income to be able to cover event staff and urgent repairs. We should just continue to do that. There is an existing account for this. If there is not enough left in account, bring it up with delegates.

New Omni Treasurer?

  • Candidates: Pallavi
  • tabled for next week


End of Meeting

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