Teleconference Meeting called to order 5:05pm

1. Roll Call- absent: Dave Miller & Barb Tyndall
2. Kathy moved to accept board minutes from October. Meryem seconded- minutes accepted.
   1. CHANGES ARE AS FOLLOWS: 6. Policies: We reviewed the Financial Policies posted on the board website:  changes which are “grant driven” discussed and agreed to pass. We agreed to redraft Consultants and Consultant Fees section in the Financial Policies and to accept that at the next meeting.
3. Thank you calls to donors: We will divide up names and take a few minutes to call people and thank them. –This will be done by accessing a blog post later (tomorrow, but not much later). Everyone is asked to post that they’ve made contact so we all know who has thanked whom.
4. Financial Report: Brad (Link to treasures report) Signature and voting items?
   1. No amendments needed for the 2013 budget.
   2. Review tentative 2014 Budget
      1. COLA: Brad asked for consensus about putting a cost of living (cola) increase on the wages. Patrick asked if this was pretty standard or if there’s a standard policy that organizations adopt cola increases. Brad says no there is not a standard policy and some organizations go years without any pay increase. Particularly when a founding director doesn’t want a raise, but then when they need to be replaced, it is very difficult in a competitive market. It will cost $4,500 more than if we didn’t adopt a COLA increase.  Marylee noted that it would be a small price to pay for letting staff know they are valued. Maybe not yearly, but that we consider it each year along with certain circumstances we’re dealing with. Kathy shared the concern of not being able to afford it considering fundraising. Marylee stated that it’s more about making it a priority, philosophically, rather than worrying about the details of how it will happen.
      2. property taxes $3165-will apply for an exemption for this from the Borough.
      3. The 2013 property taxes paid for 132 10^th were $1,476.60-this may or may not be eligible for exemption.
      4. Marylee shared about Art Carroll who is an executor of an estate for someone who has passed- they are trying to find an agency as a beneficiary. He offered $100,000. It has to be approved by lawyers and executors of the estate, but they want to take care of it before the end of the year. It may take longer.
      5. Kathy suggested that board members could divide up the cost of board member trainings and pay it ourselves instead of making it a budget item.
      6. Brad will make changes to include COLA increase on wages and add in property tax for 132 10^th and we’ll be able to take a look before the next meeting so we can vote on it in December.
      7. Greater Giving $695- this is part of the office expenses under licenses, membership, and fees. Patrick noted that currently we are under-utilizing the services we’re paying for with Greater Giving. The only thing we’re utilizing is the monthly withdrawal option for individuals who donate. Patrick would like to figure out how to better make use of this service or find an alternative service that is cheaper. If anyone else has ideas or thoughts, please bring it up at a later time. Tabled for later discussion. Marylee appreciates that automatic messages are sent thanking the donor and they get a full receipt. Patrick noted that this feature is pretty standard for merchant accounts.
5. Conflict of Interest amendments in Financial Policies. See the below edits in the policies and we can decide if this is agreeable.
   1. Consultants and Consulting Fees
      1. Consulting or professional services may be required to provide expertise not otherwise available. Services that are expected to cost ($5000??- We have a policy in place that says we will do this for certain at $5000 or more). or more will be obtained through competitive bidding. A request for proposal (RFP) describing the scope of work needed will be submitted to appropriate service providers and/or by advertising with the goal of obtaining at least 3 bids. The bids will be evaluated based on cost, ability to perform, competence, skill and experience, and other appropriate factors. No contract shall be subdivided to avoid these requirements
      2. Brad looked into it and says that $5000 is pretty standard for RFPs for services. Patrick noted $5,000 as a minimum. Patrick motioned, that when we consult for professional services, we don’t need to go out to bid for an RFP unless the services are expected to exceed $5,000. Sarah seconded and motion carried.
      3.  For example, if an audit were to cost $5,000-$7,000, we would put out an RFP and request several agencies to bid on it. If we were asking for someone to do our taxes (much cheaper) we can simply ask and employ someone in those services without an RFP.
   2. We have an Alaska Airlines Business Card and the following is a policy that Brad drafted for the credit card:
   3. FYA Credit Card
      1. The Executive Director shall obtain a credit card for FYA use only. Preferably the credit card should be in the name of Fairbanks Youth Advocates.
      2. Only one physical credit card is permitted. The authorized signers on the card should be the Executive Director & the Shelter Supervisor.
      3. If an appropriate rewards (airfare, travel) credit card is obtained, the rewards may only be used for FYA business.
      4. The credit card will be used only for FYA purchases.
      5. Receipts for credit card purchases will be turned into the Executive Director as soon as practicable. A credit card purchase form should be attached to the receipt to documenting what was purchased and the purpose of the purchase as well as the fund/class to be charged. A copy of the purchase should be forwarded to the treasurer/bookkeeper for recording in QuickBooks.
      6. On receipt of the credit card statement, a copy should be forwarded to the treasurer/bookkeeper and reconciled to the receipts. The bill should be paid only upon satisfactory completion of the reconciliation.
      7. All credit card bills will be paid in full and in a timely manner to prevent interest and fees from being assessed.
      8. Notes: Marylee is currently the only signer, but we might work towards Nikki becoming a signer as well. Brad recommended that we use a bookkeeper for keeping track of receipts so they get logged in to accounting records immediately and don’t get misplaced- a common problem for agencies. Marylee will send receipts to Brad from now on.
6. To participate in Click Pick Give, It will require us to be audited at an approximate fee of $5000 a year?? plus a $250 application fee. (must apply between 2/1 and 3/31 2014) Should we do it?
   1. $250 application fee
   2. has completed and provided to the department a financial audit with an unqualified opinion conducted by an independent certified public accountant for the fiscal year to which the Internal Revenue Service Form 990 required under (4) of this subsection applies; this paragraph applies only to an organization with a total annual budget that exceeds $250,000 during the fiscal year to which the Internal Revenue Service Form 990 required under (4) of this subsection applies;
   3. Notes: Brad says the audit will be more like $10,000-$15,000. Patrick voted that we do not do Pick Click Give. Marylee noted that when you have an audit (we should choose the year to do it carefully) it opens up more grant opportunities as many of those organizations who give grants will want us to have an audit (even the Fred Meyer grant, but they waived it this time). It’s a credibility measure. Patrick asked if there’s a grant that covers auditing services. Brad says we could write it into a grant that requires an audit. Brad says an audit cannot be donated. Sarah suggested we might wait on this decision. Brad wonders if The Door is being constructed by moneys being managed by the city, will the money we receive be considered federal or state funds? When you get property from the federal government, you need to include it as an income and what will that do for an audit? This is something he’ll figure out in January. We agreed to table Pick. Click. Give until we have more information in January.
7. Reports
   1. The Door Report: Dave Miller  (We will need to buy the following items back when we finish The Door.) Added items below that we are raising funds for: ~$36,000
      1. CO ‐1 8‐11‐13 Casework added to scope $18,250
      2. CO‐2 9‐13‐13 Flooring added to scope (Mac Cheynes $14,600)
      3. RFP‐01 10‐21‐13 Hand Sink (negotiated at no extra costs)
      4. RFP‐02 10‐31‐13 Additional Camera System $1,898.96
      5. RFP‐03 10‐31‐13 Floor Joist Insulation $1932
      6. Marylee noted that the house is moving along full speed ahead- doing a lot of wall work, sheet rocking and dry walling. The last two items (4 & 5) came up in the past week.
   2. Public Information Report: Patrick and Marylee
      1. Non profit web hosting with Bluehost. FYA holds primary account, CC to be merged soon. Patrick basically had a virtual parking lot and was letting FYA park our website there. He wanted FYA to get our own “Parking Lot” and we can get a free one, which involves lots of paperwork that he took care of. Now we have our own “Parking Lot” which means we are not going to move Clearwater Counseling, which Dave will pay for (he already pays a monthly fee for his website, so it won’t make a difference monetarily). This will give us our own security system.
   3. Volunteer and Events Committee- nothing happening with this committee right now, but will be getting involved with the Open House.
8. Director’s Report:
   1. Traveling Reports
   2. Commercial Sex Trafficking- 3 day workshop in Anchorage. Randy Lewis of Fairbanks Counseling & Adoption also attended. Sex Trafficking is happening in Fairbanks and we need to be aware of it and diligent about making sure people are not watching our location to prey upon young people.
   3. Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness- Marylee will attend this (or someone from the agency should) each year. Lots of good info and workshops. Especially good for the face-to-face connections that could happen.
   4. AHFC Monitoring Review Findings- Anchorage folks came up a couple weeks ago and spent time with Brad & Marylee and had two findings: 1) they want a separate ledger for grant items, not part of whole book. Brad has adjusted this so we meet this requirement; 2) (Ironically something we were counseled not to do) We are required to report how many homeless folks we are dealing with. They said to collect data and don’t do data entry until we have a secure way of entering it. Now they are saying that we need to start entering data. Dave Bates has a secure computer. Seeing as how he only works until noon on Friday, these afternoons would be an ideal time to spend inputting data- which we will begin doing.
   5. Paint – Pipeline Training Center: donation of 2 pallets by Lowes
   6. Mattresses – 12 donated by Pogo Mine: brand new or barely used– need to move them to 132 Tenth for storage?
   7. 132 Tenth 20 LDS young people who want to help with a 2-4 hour project
   8. Re-focus on the ages at the shelter: Originally FYA was focused on serving youth up through 17 year-old. However, the first dozen clients were 18, 19, & 20 year-olds. This bumped up our age requirements. Lately, staff have been wanting to re-focus on younger age clients for a couple of reasons. Partly it’s because 18+ can go to the Rescue Mission and are taking up lots of time & energy. Lots of times they just bully their way through because they are so demanding. Marylee and staff are coming to the following conclusion, but no final decision has been made: Starting December 1^st, going to start turning away 20 & 21 year olds. Going to really start cutting down, and not taking new folks who are 19. Starting to take kids who are focused on going to school, or getting into school. This will be finalized at an upcoming staff meeting.
   9. Training: Trauma Informed Care & Motivational Interviewing (RESPECT) grant/ AK Mental Health Trust Fund: Training started, but ending was canceled due to weather. Approximately 30 people attended.
   10. closed for 4 days – update initially were going to close for 7, but cancellation of RESPECT allowed us to remain open the last 3 nights.
   11. PSA – Radio & TV- Marylee has moved forward. Purchased air time on kyakFM, 101 Magic FM, KFVF Conservative Talk Radio. Radio will start next week with an add recorded today at ClearChannel Media, who matched the purchase 100%, buy one, get one free.
   12. 29 letters were sent last week to churches asking support for house parent,
   13. Fairbanks Co-op Market: My name is Amber and I am e-mailing from the Co-op Market Grocery & Deli here in town. We are starting a new donation program called Lend-A-Hand and have selected the Fairbanks Youth Advocates as our December benefit.Customers can donate when they check out at the register and at the end of the month the benefitting business will get a donation from our store of the total amount. Customers also get a slip they can write their name on and put on the wall near our front door. For October we are using paper pumpkins and November will be paper turkey feathers.
   14. Niki – down to Covenant House on 19th and 20th of November This is so she can shadow & hang out there for on-going training to inform programs and operations at The Door. Not covered by a grant, but air fair and hotel is half the price it was for Marylee in October.
   15. FMH is reviewing Employee Handbook free of charge
9. 9)   Unfinished business
   1. Donor Wall in The Door: What will this look like. Any ideas?
      1. Patrick: Don’t let it look like any other donor wall- something creative & fitting to heartbeat of building.
      2. Kathy: tiles that are door-shaped with organization name.
      3. Marylee: we have one door saved from original building which could be painted and used for this purpose.
      4. iv)  Patrick: a graffiti wall where kids could contribute art/creativity. If the original door is embedded/mounted/framed/placed somewhere in that environment. Names could be engraved/tiled/glued on to the door. Could be incorporated into an art wall- perhaps connected to graffiti wall space? Or names could go on the doors in the building itself- could be wooden tiles that are engraved and glued onto the doors. Stick with the door concept (the poem)- walking through the door and supporters’ names are on those doors. Everyone seemed to like this idea. Patrick mentioned Superior Hardwoods, who might be interested in supporting ideas or contributions. Patrick & Marylee will discuss this further in the future.
   2. Clearwater Counseling mission statement/goals – postponed for a later date.
10. Meeting with Mike / Foraker?
    1. Can we do this before Dec 16^thMarylee: board wanted more information from Brad & training on how to read the budget, but Brad will be gone, so it looks like we shouldn’t meet. We’re going to look at late January instead. (January 25^th or later).
11. Open House: Marylee envisions something similar to groundbreaking ceremony.  Monday December 16th, 5-8, or another day?
    1. organizer? (food?)
    2. Food- Brad suggests asking donors to make hours’devours, not us.
    3. invitations, (Interior Delegation, Senators and Rep, FNSB council, city council, partner service agencies, supporters, etc) (Cold Climate + JRE + Design AK +)
    4. “Angel Tree” or gift tree? people can take requests and return at later date???
    5. Parking will be biggest challenge—perhaps use Banner Health, WestMark, TVC? – Brad suggests getting in touch with TVC immediately so we can put it in the invitation.
    6. Notes: Marylee has been working on potential invitations. This is really important and we should do it. Once we get kids in there, we won’t have as much of an opportunity for this kind of event. Patrick noted the importance of this event- especially since this is City funded. It can be made into as big of an event as we want/can make. Sarah, Marylee, and Patrick will meet to make further plans.
12. What to do with the vehicle at Patrick’s. It’s use, insurance, etc.- right now we’re not using it and don’t have plans to use it until January. Patrick suggested selling it and using the money instead so it’s not sitting around. We will keep it for now, but Patrick noted keeping a vehicle unused through the winter without driving it and we should consider maintenance to do if it’s sitting for a long time. No insurance means it’s not driveable, not registered, etc. Brad suggested writing down what we’d use the vehicle for and see if this vehicle fits those uses. We’ll discuss it at the next board meeting. We’ll need to decide what kind of insurance, who it will be registered to, etc.- Tabled for next meeting.
13. Any updates on possible board members by anyone? None noted.Kathy will create a Google Doc to keep track of potential board members. All board members will have access and can put ideas there so we’re not contacting the same people or are apprised of potential conflicts of interest.
14. Greater Giving and merchant account options. Our annual fee for Greater Giving is high, at $600+. Is there a less expensive option out there to receive credit card donations? -Tabled for later
15. ED evaluation (ml brought up that it was something folks needed to be thinking about – no response)-Tabled for later
16. We have been providing lunches for The Door work crew on Fridays. Consider participating in that if you have time. Coordinate with Dave M. Patrick is doing Friday Nov. 15. (Friday Dec. 13th – Last Friday before being turned over to FYA – All board gathering to say thank you”- Tabled for later
17. We received the grant for a conference for two staff and 1 board member to go, with per diem, registration + hotel covered by grant. Airfare costs are covered by us.
    1. 2014 National Conference on Ending Family and Youth Homelessness
    2. FEBRUARY 18 – 19, 2014 http://www.endhomelessness.org/news/calendar/2014-national-conference-on-ending-family-and-youth-homelessness This would require flying on Feb 17th and returning on Feb 20th. –Barb, Meryem, Patrick, Dave Miller? Need to know by December 1st. Marylee will check on deadline and post to board site.
18. Our next meeting date will be Thursday, December 12^th, 5:00pm-7:00pm at Wilson & Wilson.
19. Meeting adjourned at 7:09pm