Minutes of the Meeting of the Staying Put
Board of Directors July 14, 2008
A meeting of the Staying Put Board took place on Monday July 14, 2008 at 4PM at the New Canaan Library.
Tom Towers welcomed the Board and Jane Nyce gave her progress report on operations and upcoming events. Membership stands at 228 individuals and includes 160 households, with nine special memberships. Increasing membership is very important. We should target out-of-town adult children of New Canaanites to be sure they are aware of SP. The expectation is that they would encourage their elderly parents in New Canaan to join SP. When SP was written up in Consumer Reports some out-of-town offspring of New Canaan's elderly became aware of how their parents could be helped by joining SP.
Jane expects to have an increase in home visits in the future; how the home health need calls are handled will have to be considered more extensively. Which calls are socially based and which are health-issue based (and therefore may require a trained professional vs. a well-intentioned volunteer) must be clarified.
Recent programs have included some very successful events (a reading at the Library, a show at The Westport Playhouse, the Ox Ridge Horse Show, Jane Wappler's garden tour, Summer Theater of New Canaan's Twelfth Night at Irwin Park) and some future ones (tour of Christine Yordan's garden, Don Axelroad's -he's an artist with an extensive art collection - party at Shippan Point on Aug 12th, the Fantastiks on Aug 8th, Waveny concert in the Park on July 23rd). Other programs under consideration include: Pepsi Gardens tour, ferry boat trip to Sheffield Island, and a local scavenger hunt. Any further suggestions are welcome. Interest was expressed in having a regular date-say the third Tuesday of every month-to have dinner at a local restaurant so that it becomes a habit.
The results of the transportation survey came back from 73 members - that's 48% of those surveyed. Most of the respondents used the GetAbout and the Red Cross to get to medical appointments while a minimal number used the transportation for shopping. Half of the 73 used it less than 5 times. 30% said they would use the transportation help next year. Last year the number who said they would use it was 15% - a significant increase. 79% of respondents said they would use this service in the next five years. The need for volunteer drivers will likely increase not only because it is free, but also because the volunteers will wait until an appointment is over, whereas the GetAbout cannot wait.
The renewal rate goals for membership this year are 80 to 90%. Scholarship membership is below what the IRS granted SP, which was 10% of membership. We have 9 and need 6 more scholarship members in order to meet the 10%. Potential scholarship members should be encouraged to call Jane.
Fundraising and Market Research go hand-in-hand and making the "Friendly Calls" and a well-crafted survey are part of the process. It will be important to show donors the success SP has had thus far so they will continue to support SP.
It was noted that there is an "I'm not there yet" group who support SP but aren't using the membership yet. This "Farm Team" group should be solicited for their tax-deductible donations rather than dues and membership.
A newsletter, the cost of which has been donated, will also be key in informing potential renewals and donors. Volunteers are needed to do some of the unskilled newsletter work.
Tom Ferguson passed out the latest Balanced Scorecard, which has been helpful in setting measurements and goals for the success of SP. Renewal rate is one of the most important measurements for success. The four categories of measurement are Financial, Operational, Marketing/Outreach, and Learning and Growth. Each Board member is encouraged to identify with one of these categories in order to be actively involved.
Judy Schurman encouraged everyone to "call your people" and tell them about the upcoming events. Urge them to make use of calling SP and also of using the discounted services through SP membership. NB: Judy saved enough in SP services (painted her house) to pay for her SP dues for the next two years!
The next board meeting will be at the Library on September 8, 2008 at 4 PM.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Lyn Bremer Chivvis, Secretary
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