La kunveno komenciĝas. Estas kvorumo. 

Protokoloj

Restas kelkaj komentoj pri la protokolo de 14a Julio. La protokolo de 12a Julio estas aprobita unuanime. En la protokolo de 14a Julio, la estraro ŝanĝis kelkajn partojn por klarigi la intencon, kaj la protokolo estas aprobita unuanime. La protokolo de la 28a Julio estas aprobita unuanime. La protokolo de 25a Aŭgusto estas aprobite unuanime.

Raportoj

Dulanda Kongreso/NASK

Amanda raportas, ke ĝis nun estis 4 kunsidoj de la LKK. La LKK diskutas lokojn, kaj ĝis nun la plej bona loko estus Toronto Metropolitan University, kaj NASK okazus tuj antaŭ la LK en la sama loko. Estas bonega transportsistemo tie, kaj ne estas multekosta. Ekde Majo, oni bezonos pasporton por atingi la lokon el Usono. La LKK jam havas kasiston kaj homoj, kiuj okupigzas pri programado, varboj, ktp. Oni bezonos pasporton por eniri Kanadon el Usono. La estraro diskutas tiajn logistikajn aferojn, kaj kiel helpi homojn atingi la kongresejon el Usono. Hanso kaj Brajeno flugos tien dum la fino de Oktobro por konfirmi ke la ejo estas taŭga por NASK antaŭ findecidi ke NASK okazos tie. E-USA esperas varbi la kongreson antaŭ ol la fino de 2024, por ke homoj povos akiri pasportojn kaj plani antaŭ la kongreso. Margo mencias la eblajn defiojn por transgenruloj, pri akiri pasporton. Rachel diras, ke ŝi povus helpi homojn pri tio, ekzemple, per doni informon pri la proceso. Pegazo sugestas, ke iu de la LKK povus prezenti ion dum la Virtuala Kongreso de UEA dum la fino de Novembro. 

Malnovaj Aferoj

Aferoj pri LK 2024

Amanda raportas pri la mono, kiun ni devis pagi por la plaĝ-festo kaj al Office Depot. Amanda provas kontakti la posedanton de la restoracio sed ankoraŭ ne povis konversacii kun ŝi. Nenio plu restas por raporti.

777 Fonduso/UN-Oficejo

Brandono verkas malnetan proponon pri la UN-Oficejo en Novjorko. Se aprobita de la E-USA estraro, E-USA proponus tion al UEA kiel oficiala interkonsento pri la kostoj kaj uzado rilate al la Esperanto-oficejo ĉe la Unuiĝintaj Nacioj. E-USA ne konscias, ĉu ni pagas asekuron pri tiu oficejo, sed se jes, Brandono ŝanĝus la interkonsenton por mencii tion. La interkonsento validus dum tri jaroj. Brandono sugestas, ke ni daŭre iru kun tiu malneto, ŝanĝi tion se necesas, kaj Humphrey prezentus al UEA.

Novaj Aferoj

Financaj Politikoj

Mateo prezentas pri malneta “Financial Management Policy” kiun li jam montris al la estraro kaj al Deepika, por komentoj. The Financial Management Policy is written in English, and the Board here switches to English for clarity to members. In the section on Inventory, it is stated that the Accountant will enter inventory. Ruth and Peggy ask whether this is a wise use of the accountant’s time, and Mateo clarifies that inventory management is not always straightforward and easy, but sometimes, the Executive Director can do this on their own. Therefore, that section is amended to state that the accountant will assist the Executive Director if needed. Mateo explains some processes that need to be done very particularly, which may require input from the accountant. The section on “Internal Controls” specifies policies regarding conflicts of interests and segregation of duties. After this basic document is finalized, the board will then create a policy regarding spending limits and a policy regarding investment strategy. 

Charlotte raises the point that, traditionally, the members would be permitted to vote on the budget for the upcoming year, and asks whether we are prepared with an explanation as to why the members would not be included in voting on the budget. Brandon states that the bylaws do not require members to vote on the budget, and Mateo states that members should be involved at all stages of the budget planning process, and that members can join committees to have more input on how funds are spent. Charlotte explains how budget discussions have traditionally gone at LK-j in the past, and Mateo states that a similar presentation can and should still take place at the Kongreso, but that it would be important to differentiate between the budget concerning the day to day operations of the organization and the programming budget, which would govern spending on projects and programs. Brandon suggests that July is not the ideal time to set a budget for the following calendar year, and that E-USA can have a presentation about the budget in July at the LK. Ruth requests that a financial report be presented at every Board meeting. Peggy recommends that, if a virtual session later in the year is planned to occur, such a session should be presented this year as well, if possible. Matt explains that this would be difficult specifically for the programming budget, as the organization has never before presented a budget for both organizational expenses and also programming. While there may not be time for a virtual session by the end of this calendar year, there could be a session regarding the budgeting process, with a full review of the budget at the 2025 LK.

Brandon adds the financial report to the start of meeting agendas going forward and echoes Matt’s concerns that presenting on programming budgets to solicit member feedback this year would be difficult, as it would be difficult to get clear information prepared for presentation in sufficient time to solicit member feedback. Charlotte and Matt work to clarify that this will be the organization’s first year creating a comprehensive budget, including not just day to day expenses, but also program expenses. Isabel recommends that, if a meeting on budget were to occur with the whole membership, it would be important to conduct the meeting in Esperanto, to ensure that the board has the trust of the members by communicating with the members in Esperanto. The financial report was presented in Esperanto, in order to allow members to learn the budgeting terms in Esperanto by looking up the words in the report as needed. 

Proposal: Matt proposes that the Organization accept the draft version of the Finance Policy. Ŝneoro seconds. Proposal passes by acclamation.

Matt clarifies that the policy is a living document and will be modified as needed in future.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee will begin drafting an investment management policy.

Grant Requests

ESF has requested a grant for NASK Scholarships, to include $2000 from the NASKE Fund, which will be paid to William Peace University. Matt and Brandon suggest that next year, this may be a part of the budget. Matt suggests an updated form may be beneficial. The ESF Grant for NASK Scholarships is approved by the Board.

Andy Blair and Chuck Mays, on behalf of Asocio Nova Familio, request a grant for Children Around the World to pay for a laptop which they purchased and donated to the Asocio Nova Familio orphanage. Brandon states that the organization does seem to be legitimate, but that in the future, a policy should be in place to suggest that grant requests be made ahead of time. Charlotte states that this could be a way for E-USA to be seen helping Esperantujo at large and supporting our members, but that a clear statement should also be given which clarifies that in the future, grant requests should be made prior to the expenditure. Ŝneoro leaves the meeting, but a quorum remains. Matt suggests that the general principle should be that E-USA support Esperanto organizations or provide Esperanto material to this kind of organization. The board approves this grant request, under the condition that it be clarified to Chuck and Andy that future requests be made prior to the money being spent.

The Promotions Committee has also requested a grant for bookmarks. Action Item: Matt will communicate with the Promotions Committee to ask for clarity as to when their timeline would be for needing a response to this request.

Bookstore

Amanda reports that most items have been entered into the new program for the bookstore and that it is coming along but is time-consuming, and she asks whether the prices should be adjusted in order to account for the manpower costs of setting up the bookstore. She also reports on Librejo Esperanta, the online bookstore that Lee Miller and Hans Becklin run for Esperanto books. Amanda reached out to Lee and Hans as to whether they would like to continue this project, and Hans explained that their bookstore was a temporary measure while E-USA was not able to sell books. Hans is willing to sell his entire stock to E-USA in order to allow E-USA to sell the books through its own bookstore. Ruth asks for more information, including what the costs would be and what stock we would be purchasing. Matt concurs. Action Item: Amanda will contact Hans to inquire about the stock he has and the costs involved. The board discusses briefly questions that would need to be answered regarding the bookstore going forward. Amanda shows the new E-USA bookstore. Matt suggests that we have a separate meeting to discuss issues related to the future of the bookstore.  Margo praises Amanda’s hard work & thinks the listings look beautiful, but shares concerns about costs of creating book listings, and suggests that she limit photos to two per book from now on to reduce time spent creating listings.

Meeting is adjourned at 6:01pm Eastern Time.