Attendees: Marty Theriault, Adam Morgan, Joe Kennedy, Chris Norfolk, Greg Hughes, Steve Adamson
CFB Gagetown Meeting Update
Marty met with representatives of CFB Gagetown on April 24th. The meeting was successful and the draft rescue plan in it’s simplest form was accepted. We will need to submit an application letter with our proposal in order to move the agreement forward. Another meeting isn’t required. The letter should:
- reference Marty���s meetings
- cite how Ascent NB is meeting their requirements
Joe agreed to draft a proposal and forward it to the rest of the group for review. The target submission date is May 16th. Marty will confirm who should be the official recipient of the proposal. In the meantime, we will need to secure our policy by paying installments with the funds we have available. Quote expires soon.
Hatchery Access Update
Greg reported that he spoke with Mr. Cushnie in April and he���s generally happy with the cooperation he received from Ascent NB during the latter half of ice season. For next year, he�����s agreed to a permanent arrangement for accessing the Hatchery via his land. The approach trail is to be relocated further out-of-sight and Ascent NB members will need some type of vehicle visible identification. Parking doesn���t seem to be an issue.
Membership Card / Identification
Adam has designed a mock-up of a membership card. They will need to have a name, expiration date, and membership number. CFB Gagetown is asking for members to have cards on-hand at the crag. At the hatchery, a dashboard placard is required. If both can be printed at a reasonable cost than that’s ideal however if only one is possible than it could serve a dual-purpose. For the limited number of ice climbers we could consider a special run of placards.
Partnering Organization Update
Marty has a list of companies to pursue that ranges from local businesses to major sports companies. Chris will be securing the contribution from the UNB Rock and Ice club in the next week.
Chris suggested that Ascent NB consider a new model for small businesses owned/operated by active climbers that support the community. He proposed that after a minimum donation of $500 in the first year that a $250 ongoing donation should be sufficient to keep their partner status. All agreed. Marty will keep this in mind as he pursues other partnerships.
Our biggest incentive is to offer logo-space on our website and any printed materials. The value of social media exposure shouldn’t be underestimated as upwards of 300 people are seeing every post we put out. The group discussed how else we could provide value to businesses that partner. We are not in favor of divulging our membership’s contact information. If companies have specific ideas in mind than we can negotiate.
Budget
Chris presented a draft budget for March 31st, 2014 - April 1st, 2015. The operating expenses of the organization are estimated at approximately $5,500 / yr with liability insurance being the largest driver. Our current worth is only $2,000 approx. Given the need to proceed with agreements we agreed that we will pay for the insurance and then work hard to recoup the cost later on with fundraising and corporate sponsorship. Even optimistically, at current structure, membership dues will only ever pay for ⅓ of the operating expense. Budget issues were highlighted:
- Adam and Steve are to price the rescue cache and defer as much expense as possible to next year. They will update Chris when ready.
- Crag improvement funds will not be set aside for this year due to start-up costs and uncertainty.
The draft budget was approved by the executive pending the adjustments mentioned above.
Charitable Status Application
After further research and a call over the phone to the Canada Revenue Agency, Chris has determined that we may have a case for charitable status. The application process is lengthy and it’s not a guaranteed outcome but the benefit would be that Ascent NB would be able to write tax receipts, and thereby become more attractive to donors. In the long-term this status would require that we be diligent at bookkeeping but that’s a good idea anyway. All agreed to pursue. Chris will lead the drafting of the application. As a part of the package, we’ll have to include all our governing documents including the Constitution. Chris suggested maturing the language to omit the fun, yet confusing references to guides, sherpas, etc. Adam will lead the process to get the language changed while following our rules for amendments.
T-Shirts and Stickers
Joe is ready to do an initial order and has had some input from both men and women. Based on the feedback he’s narrowed down a list of colors and it���s clear that we���ll need to order women’s-specific tops. Adam suggested a Facebook poll to arrive at the final color selection.
Chris suggested in light of our cash flow, it would be prudent to keep the order to 50 shirts at this time. If we sell out, we can always get more. As well, they are to be a fundraiser so the price was agreed at $20 / each. Joe will also get several hundred stickers at the same time.
Other Ideas:
- Marty brought forward the idea of a social gear-swap BBQ event
- Chris suggested that this could be successful if combined with a challenge event like last year’s Cochrane Lane Classics. Could bring in a lot of interest and be fun.
- Marty to develop the idea and organize the event
Meeting Adjourned