November 2006 Business

1) ANONYMOUS DONATION:
“V” reported that an anonymous donor from out-of-state would like to make a gift of $600 to New Landscape to cover the room-rental fee for one year at $50 per month. [The donor, who is organizing a group for DID/MPD’s in her own locality, heard about New Landscape from Many Voices and emailed us for information on how our group got started. “V” sent her copies of the Writing Project; that’s how she learned of our room-rental arrangements.]

The group was delighted to hear of this offer. The only concern raised was whether the money would come with stipulations or conditions. “V” said she had already asked the donor about that, and there are no conditions attached.

“V” will let the donor know that the group thanks her and would be glad to accept the donation.

This donation will come in one of two ways (as specified by the donor). If we have a bank account, it will come in one check made out to “New Landscape.” If we do not have a bank account, she will send it in four quarterly installments of $150, made out to the YMCA. This is so if we change our meeting venue, the money will not be left with the YMCA. [Note: We have no plans to change our meeting venue; this is just a precaution suggested by the donor.]

2) BANK ACCOUNT:
One of the members, “F,” has set up an EIN (Employer Identification Number, also known as Federal Tax Identification Number) for New Landscape. Though we now have the number, we have not yet received the actual paperwork from the government. When we do, “F” will open a bank account in the name of New Landscape. We will use that account to pay room rental, as well as any incidental expenses we have. We will also be able to accept donations made out to “New Landscape.” Currently, without a bank account, we have no way of depositing checks made out to New Landscape.

3) CONTINUITY OF NEW LANDSCAPE:
We continued the discussion (from previous months) about enabling New Landscape to become self-sufficient after January, when “V” will no longer be able to devote as much time or money to it as she has in the past. [The money issue has been temporarily resolved. The room-rental expense will be taken care of for one year through the donation. The monthly mailings are no longer being sent out through the post office, so we won’t have the postage and duplicating costs we have had in the past.]

The various functions for keeping the group going will be split up. These are:
Relationship with the YMCA:
– Paying the monthly rental of $50.00: This will be done by “F,” who is setting up the bank account. She will mail a check to the YMCA.
– Making sure the room is reserved for the correct dates: This can be tied into the monthly mailing of the check. (At present, “V” hand-delivers a check the week before the meeting and makes sure of the room at that time.)
– Coming to meetings 15 minutes early to set up the room: This involves posting a sign on the door, arranging chairs, setting up the table. These preparations are necessary in order for the meeting to start exactly at 10:00. Currently, “V” does this. Someone is needed to do it after January (it doesn’t have to be the same person at each meeting).

Moderator for the Sharing portion of the meeting:
Jeanette was the moderator for October and November. She will continue to be moderator in December and January. After that, we need a moderator. [Note: The moderator shares as well as moderates; the moderator just calls on him/herself when he/she has something to share.]

Moderator for the Group-Format portion of the meeting:
In December, “R” will moderate the second part of the meeting (group format and structure). At her request, “V” will provide her with a list of topics/issues, since “V” is the one who currently monitors the email account and knows what is going on. The main focus of the business meeting in the next few months is to put in place a structure to enable the group to continue after January.

Setting up a Website:
We would like to set up a website for New Landscape which would be secure; only those on the mailing list would have the password. The reason for making the site secure (not accessible on the open Internet) is safety. We do not want our meeting date and location available to people who may be voyeurs just wanting to see what a Multiple looks like.

The website would contain the monthly mailing: meeting notice and Writing Project. It would also contain things like: past issues of the Writing Project, Sharing Guidelines, copy of the pamphlet about New Landscape, copy of the Phone Outreach Guidelines, etc. When the site is up and running, it will not be necessary to send out the monthly mailings anymore. Anyone with the password will be able to log to get the information.

Until the website is a reality, we will continue to send out the monthly mailings by email. They are sent out individually, not in bulk, to avoid their winding up in the junk-mail folder. This is time-consuming. It will be easier when they can just be posted on a website.

NOTE: We will continue to keep the Post Office box, even though we will not send out monthly mailings through the post office. Anyone can contact us via email or post-office mail.

Publicity:
It was felt that getting the word about New Landscape to therapists is the best method of publicity for right now. Several members took copies of the New Landscape pamphlet to leave with therapists, trauma centers, and counseling services.

If anyone who was not at the meeting would like copies of the pamphlet to distribute, please let us know, and we will mail them to you.

Mailing list:
The mailing list is considerably smaller, as only a few people asked to be converted from snail-mail to email. At present it is about 50 people.

If you know of anyone you think should be on our mailing list, please let us know (therapists, DID clients, clinics).

Overall administration:
It was felt that dividing up responsibilities would only work if there were a person to do overall coordination. “V” volunteered to do that at least until June, even if she isn’t at the meetings. She would need to be informed by the people who did come the meeting what the topics were, etc.