Monday, October 14, 1996 - 12 Noon
Lincoln Park Grille
580 Lincoln Park Blvd.
Kettering, OH 45429-3493
513-293-6293
MOTION to accept the minutes as written, made by Siebenthaler, seconded by Creager. Motion carried unanimously.
Stuart also reviewed a list of 1996 donors to date - including honorary and memorial gifts - and commented on the broad mix of ages and backgrounds of the donors.
A letter was sent on June 6, 1996 to all Advisory Board members from Larry Maxwell and Anne Weinberg requesting that the Board consider if their portion of the yearly distribution could be designated to support staff training opportunities instead of camperships as originally intended.
Stuart also reviewed a letter sent by him to the Advisory Board on May 31, 1996 summarizing how the actual amount of this "portion" could be determined - based on the percentage of the total value of the Kern Fund that these two entities represented at the time they were established. It was calculated that this was approximately 8.0%; therefore, 8.0% of the yearly distribution could be considered as coming from the Larry Maxwell Campership Fund and the Anne Trowbridge Scholarship Fund.
MOTION to approve Larry and Anne's proposal to redesignate their monies for training purposes, made by Weinberg. Discussion: questions were raised on who would be accountable for ensuring this training was done, if it wasn't being done now for financial reasons. There was also discussion on how much control, if any, that donors or honorees should have over their gifts or Funds after the initial gift or establishment of an honorary Fund "is completed" - and that it may set a dangerous precedent to have donors designate specific uses. It was generally agreed that it was up to the Advisory Board to make the ultimate decision on the use of the distribution. Plus there was concern whether the Board would be getting too involved in camp operations as it related to training, and that this proposal represented persons outside of camp trying to influence management decisions within camp. On the other hand, it was brought up that - assuming Camp Kern was already spending a certain sum of money on training, this proposal only suggests that the money come from the Kern Fund on behalf of Larry and Anne, instead of camp's operating budget.
MOTION to acknowledge that the request was received and is denied, made by Root, seconded by Singerman. Vote was 5 in favor and 1 against. Motion approved.
MOTION to change the Kern Fund's commitment to the Dayton YMCA's Capital Campaign to be $10,000 over a 3-year period beginning with the 1996 distribution, made by Weinberg, seconded by Singerman. Motion carried unanimously.
MOTION to reserve $300 of the 1997 distribution for camperships in honor of Larry and Anne, made by Weinberg, seconded by Singerman. Motion carried unananimously.
Jeff Siebenthaler and Jack Singerman asked about enticing potential donors through the web pages. Stuart replied that there are some YMCA's which have a "pledge form" on-line for their annual campaigns.
Stuart also reviewed the establishment of an electronic mailing list for The Carl B. Kern Fund to share news about the Fund. There were currently about 60 subscribers including Bob Barr, and it costs $50 a year to maintain the list. It has been up and running for about a month, and feedback has been great.
- haven't touched much yet on the in-kind donations
- still awaiting decisions from some private foundations
- half of the $4 million goal is going to camp
Tom Creager asked if it was still necessary to have an appointee from the Kern Fund Advisory Board, since the level of trust has greatly improved. Stuart replied that the initial intent was to increase communication. Greg Love noted that the Kern Fund Advisory Board will be helpful with its background when it comes time for the Dayton YMCA to look at endowment issues. Mike Parks added that Committee members are expected to participate in annual support and other campaigns, so that it may be more appropriate for the Kern Fund Advisory Board to be available for advice but to not appoint a member at this time on the actual committee.
Stuart commented on why it was necessary for the Kern Fund to maintain a separate mailing list, at least currently - and asked Jack Singerman to comment on a mailing list that he had recently received from Camp Kern for fundraising activities. Jack had been trying since May/June to send out a mailing on the Capital Campaign to former campers and staff. Jack asked for a mailing list from Kern and finally received one in August which was 80+ pages - "probably 50% is worthless", with deceased individuals, incomplete addresses, etc. - the mailing list was returned to John Fiely. The mailing has still not been completed.
The proposed solution involved the Address-Sharing Agreement, including twice-a-year (August and December) updates from Camp Kern to the Kern Fund which were verbally agreed to by John Fiely in April. Mike Parks recommended that the "Executive Director of YMCA Camp Kern" be replaced with the "V.P. of Finance" throughout the document.
Further discussions will take place between Stuart Weinberg, Jack Singerman, Mike Parks, and Greg Love following the meeting.
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