From jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org  Mon Feb  1 10:11:03 2010
From: jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org (James Grenier)
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 07:11:03 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference
In-Reply-To: <4B61D331.5020903@thecsl.org>
References: <4B61D331.5020903@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <740727.4599.qm@web507.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

I'm fine with it, as long as you can get the "memo of agreement", and the return on your investment of time and energy are worth it. Am I correct in thinking that there is no financial investment (Fee) needed to take place in the event? 

Event marketing/fundraising can be a great way to advance any NPO. Should we open a discussion about how to maximize this opportunity?

Here's one idea: let's get some radio coverage in the area prior to the event. I can handle the arrangements for that coverage. Is there someone from our group, or theirs, that would be an appropriate spokesperson? 

We don't need to know any of this today, but the sooner we do, the better.

JG






________________________________
From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
To: CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Thu, January 28, 2010 1:10:57 PM
Subject: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference


A Monday call goal was to get board feedback on proceeding with putting
on a joint conference with Organizer's Collaborative.

We decided to give people time to think.

So please hit reply with:

    WHY NOT?
    HELL NO
    ABSTAIN

...and perhaps a sentence of thought.

Unless anyone is violently apposed, I'll tell the OC folks when we see
them Saturday, that we are moving to the next step.

The next step would be to create an MOU (memorandum of understanding),
which you will have a chance to approve or disapprove.

This an advise more than govern issue, so attendene will not be taken.

The big possible negative is that we will be distraced from other
opportunities.

###########
Relivant bits from Carolyn's minutes below.
###########
?Unconference?

We might partner with an organization kind of like us.
http://organizerscollaborative.org/

Dan is on the OC board. We might partner with them on 1) office space
(doubtful- they're located in Boston) 2) An unconference in the spring.

We have a reasonable shot at making a couple grand with the unconference
but it will absorb a large chunk of Dan and Carolyn's time until May.

By doing the unconference the CSL can build its donor list and increase
its visibility (the people that sponsor the conference and people that
donate to the Organizer's Collaborative now)

The OC have around 1500 donors (Dan's guess) and they have 200-400
people attending their Grassroots conference.

An ?unconference?- is essentially a conference without an agenda and
people will gather and talk about whatever they want to talk about with
other people who want to do the same thing. Each session may or may not
have a facilitator.

CSL would be responsible for outreach and arranging the facility and the
OC would be responsible for advising us on how to organize the
conference and they will run it the actual day.

Dan will draft out a MOU with Organizer's Collaborative. Possible 50/50
split with the OC on profits.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

From John_Wooding at uml.edu  Mon Feb  1 12:04:36 2010
From: John_Wooding at uml.edu (Wooding, John)
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 12:04:36 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference
In-Reply-To: <740727.4599.qm@web507.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <4B61D331.5020903@thecsl.org>
	<740727.4599.qm@web507.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <293E25AA97FDC34C882C58EB26135DCE029CA84F@umlfsis02.fs.uml.edu>

I'm fine with it.

------------------------------------------
John Wooding, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Regional Economic and Social Development
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Lowell, MA 01854
978 934 4257
 
John_Wooding at uml.edu
http://www.uml.edu/college/arts_sciences/resd/
 
-----Original Message-----
From: divinerightofkings-bounces+john_wooding=uml.edu at lists.thecsl.org
[mailto:divinerightofkings-bounces+john_wooding=uml.edu at lists.thecsl.org
] On Behalf Of James Grenier
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 10:11 AM
To: Dan MacNeil; CSL Board
Subject: Re: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference

I'm fine with it, as long as you can get the "memo of agreement", and
the return on your investment of time and energy are worth it. Am I
correct in thinking that there is no financial investment (Fee) needed
to take place in the event? 

Event marketing/fundraising can be a great way to advance any NPO.
Should we open a discussion about how to maximize this opportunity?

Here's one idea: let's get some radio coverage in the area prior to the
event. I can handle the arrangements for that coverage. Is there someone
from our group, or theirs, that would be an appropriate spokesperson? 

We don't need to know any of this today, but the sooner we do, the
better.

JG






________________________________
From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
To: CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Thu, January 28, 2010 1:10:57 PM
Subject: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference


A Monday call goal was to get board feedback on proceeding with putting
on a joint conference with Organizer's Collaborative.

We decided to give people time to think.

So please hit reply with:

    WHY NOT?
    HELL NO
    ABSTAIN

...and perhaps a sentence of thought.

Unless anyone is violently apposed, I'll tell the OC folks when we see
them Saturday, that we are moving to the next step.

The next step would be to create an MOU (memorandum of understanding),
which you will have a chance to approve or disapprove.

This an advise more than govern issue, so attendene will not be taken.

The big possible negative is that we will be distraced from other
opportunities.

###########
Relivant bits from Carolyn's minutes below.
###########
"Unconference"

We might partner with an organization kind of like us.
http://organizerscollaborative.org/

Dan is on the OC board. We might partner with them on 1) office space
(doubtful- they're located in Boston) 2) An unconference in the spring.

We have a reasonable shot at making a couple grand with the unconference
but it will absorb a large chunk of Dan and Carolyn's time until May.

By doing the unconference the CSL can build its donor list and increase
its visibility (the people that sponsor the conference and people that
donate to the Organizer's Collaborative now)

The OC have around 1500 donors (Dan's guess) and they have 200-400
people attending their Grassroots conference.

An "unconference"- is essentially a conference without an agenda and
people will gather and talk about whatever they want to talk about with
other people who want to do the same thing. Each session may or may not
have a facilitator.

CSL would be responsible for outreach and arranging the facility and the
OC would be responsible for advising us on how to organize the
conference and they will run it the actual day.

Dan will draft out a MOU with Organizer's Collaborative. Possible 50/50
split with the OC on profits.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

From cthompsonj at thecsl.org  Mon Feb  1 12:38:45 2010
From: cthompsonj at thecsl.org (Carolyn Thompson)
Date: Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:38:45 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] Andy Jacoboson officially on board
In-Reply-To: <4B65CB6E.6090504@thecsl.org>
References: <4B65CB6E.6090504@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <4B6711A5.4090801@thecsl.org>

Welcome Andy!!

does this mean discounted coffee/muffins? :) (kidding!)



Dan MacNeil wrote:
> Please welcome Andy to the board, already he has shown commendable zeal
> for being briefed.
>
> YES
> 	Muriel Parseghian (setting record for quick voting)
> 	Karen Zgoda
> 	Jim Grenier
> 	Diane Nassif
> 	John Wooding
> ABSENT
> 	Peter Bull
> 	Fred Martin
> 	Josh Harding
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
>   

From dan at thecsl.org  Mon Feb  1 13:21:09 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:21:09 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
Message-ID: <4B671B95.9000409@thecsl.org>

> [MOU]

coming up.  All this assumes we get a good MOU written and approved by
both boards.

> Am I correct in thinking that there is no financial
> investment (Fee) needed to take place in the event?

Right now participants in the un-conference would pay as much as
possible to registration. Low income people (anyone who says they are
low income) would pay $20 (or maybe nothing).

We and the OC folks (Felicia & Ben) discussed possibly having a early
bird special of $35 and then $50 at the door. That would be an incentive
to get people to register early so we'd know if we need to do even more
outreach/marketing.

We (CSL & OC) would split expenses of event (food, hall rental, etc),
and split profits.

>Should we open a discussion about how to maximize this opportunity?

Mai Oui!

>appropriate [radio] spokesperson?

Carolyn or me.

It can't hurt to spread a few hours out on the shows of our friends and
supporters. Charlotte and you in particular.

I don't know that progressive tech people are big listeners of radio in
the Merrimack Valley so after a certain point, an hour phone banking to
10 people who have gone to past conferences is likely to prove more
productive than an hour on the air.

It is always dangerous to judge by one's personal experience instead of
books. One's personal experience is by definition limited. Our past
experience with radio results/effort ratio is indifferent.

We appeared (4) times on WUML "Sunrise" & "Thinking Out Loud", to
promote a senior volunteer program and got precisely zero repsonses.

Can we do some radio, see how many registrations we get and then go from
there?


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 07:11:03 -0800 (PST)
From: James Grenier <jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org>
To: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>, CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
References: <4B61D331.5020903 at thecsl.org>

I'm fine with it, as long as you can get the "memo of agreement", and
the return on your investment of time and energy are worth it. Am I
correct in thinking that there is no financial investment (Fee) needed
to take place in the event?

Event marketing/fundraising can be a great way to advance any NPO.
Should we open a discussion about how to maximize this opportunity?

Here's one idea: let's get some radio coverage in the area prior to the
event. I can handle the arrangements for that coverage. Is there someone
from our group, or theirs, that would be an appropriate spokesperson?

We don't need to know any of this today, but the sooner we do, the better.

JG






________________________________
From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
To: CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Thu, January 28, 2010 1:10:57 PM
Subject: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference


A Monday call goal was to get board feedback on proceeding with putting
on a joint conference with Organizer's Collaborative.

We decided to give people time to think.

So please hit reply with:

    WHY NOT?
    HELL NO
    ABSTAIN

...and perhaps a sentence of thought.

Unless anyone is violently apposed, I'll tell the OC folks when we see
them Saturday, that we are moving to the next step.

The next step would be to create an MOU (memorandum of understanding),
which you will have a chance to approve or disapprove.

This an advise more than govern issue, so attendene will not be taken.

The big possible negative is that we will be distraced from other
opportunities.

###########
Relivant bits from Carolyn's minutes below.
###########
?Unconference?

We might partner with an organization kind of like us.
http://organizerscollaborative.org/

Dan is on the OC board. We might partner with them on 1) office space
(doubtful- they're located in Boston) 2) An unconference in the spring.

We have a reasonable shot at making a couple grand with the unconference
but it will absorb a large chunk of Dan and Carolyn's time until May.

By doing the unconference the CSL can build its donor list and increase
its visibility (the people that sponsor the conference and people that
donate to the Organizer's Collaborative now)

The OC have around 1500 donors (Dan's guess) and they have 200-400
people attending their Grassroots conference.

An ?unconference?- is essentially a conference without an agenda and
people will gather and talk about whatever they want to talk about with
other people who want to do the same thing. Each session may or may not
have a facilitator.

CSL would be responsible for outreach and arranging the facility and the
OC would be responsible for advising us on how to organize the
conference and they will run it the actual day.

Dan will draft out a MOU with Organizer's Collaborative. Possible 50/50
split with the OC on profits.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

From jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org  Mon Feb  1 14:36:15 2010
From: jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org (James Grenier)
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 11:36:15 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
In-Reply-To: <4B671B95.9000409@thecsl.org>
References: <4B671B95.9000409@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <758670.61776.qm@web503.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

I'm not surprised at your results w/ radio in the past. Generally, it's best used as part of a total marketing mix...something we should probably decide upon sometime when we're ready to do more outreach.

The truth is that if you're going to use radio as a stand alone, then it only works when you have a lot of repetition: a single interview is unlikely to do much unless the subject is very much targeted at the listening audience. 

When I was with WBNW (Personal Finance/Business format), authors and events that were about money, and how to make it, would draw with very little effort. Other things (such as cars and internet services) needed a lot more exposure to be promoted effectively.

Re: cost to get in: Please do charge admissions and take a piece of it. My concern was that the CSL not have to make a large financial investment, in addition to your (probably large) investments of time and energy...






________________________________
From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
To: CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Mon, February 1, 2010 1:21:09 PM
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion

> [MOU]

coming up.  All this assumes we get a good MOU written and approved by
both boards.

> Am I correct in thinking that there is no financial
> investment (Fee) needed to take place in the event?

Right now participants in the un-conference would pay as much as
possible to registration. Low income people (anyone who says they are
low income) would pay $20 (or maybe nothing).

We and the OC folks (Felicia & Ben) discussed possibly having a early
bird special of $35 and then $50 at the door. That would be an incentive
to get people to register early so we'd know if we need to do even more
outreach/marketing.

We (CSL & OC) would split expenses of event (food, hall rental, etc),
and split profits.

>Should we open a discussion about how to maximize this opportunity?

Mai Oui!

>appropriate [radio] spokesperson?

Carolyn or me.

It can't hurt to spread a few hours out on the shows of our friends and
supporters. Charlotte and you in particular.

I don't know that progressive tech people are big listeners of radio in
the Merrimack Valley so after a certain point, an hour phone banking to
10 people who have gone to past conferences is likely to prove more
productive than an hour on the air.

It is always dangerous to judge by one's personal experience instead of
books. One's personal experience is by definition limited. Our past
experience with radio results/effort ratio is indifferent.

We appeared (4) times on WUML "Sunrise" & "Thinking Out Loud", to
promote a senior volunteer program and got precisely zero repsonses.

Can we do some radio, see how many registrations we get and then go from
there?


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 07:11:03 -0800 (PST)
From: James Grenier <jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org>
To: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>, CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
References: <4B61D331.5020903 at thecsl.org>

I'm fine with it, as long as you can get the "memo of agreement", and
the return on your investment of time and energy are worth it. Am I
correct in thinking that there is no financial investment (Fee) needed
to take place in the event?

Event marketing/fundraising can be a great way to advance any NPO.
Should we open a discussion about how to maximize this opportunity?

Here's one idea: let's get some radio coverage in the area prior to the
event. I can handle the arrangements for that coverage. Is there someone
from our group, or theirs, that would be an appropriate spokesperson?

We don't need to know any of this today, but the sooner we do, the better.

JG






________________________________
From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
To: CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Thu, January 28, 2010 1:10:57 PM
Subject: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference


A Monday call goal was to get board feedback on proceeding with putting
on a joint conference with Organizer's Collaborative.

We decided to give people time to think.

So please hit reply with:

    WHY NOT?
    HELL NO
    ABSTAIN

...and perhaps a sentence of thought.

Unless anyone is violently apposed, I'll tell the OC folks when we see
them Saturday, that we are moving to the next step.

The next step would be to create an MOU (memorandum of understanding),
which you will have a chance to approve or disapprove.

This an advise more than govern issue, so attendene will not be taken.

The big possible negative is that we will be distraced from other
opportunities.

###########
Relivant bits from Carolyn's minutes below.
###########
?Unconference?

We might partner with an organization kind of like us.
http://organizerscollaborative.org/

Dan is on the OC board. We might partner with them on 1) office space
(doubtful- they're located in Boston) 2) An unconference in the spring.

We have a reasonable shot at making a couple grand with the unconference
but it will absorb a large chunk of Dan and Carolyn's time until May.

By doing the unconference the CSL can build its donor list and increase
its visibility (the people that sponsor the conference and people that
donate to the Organizer's Collaborative now)

The OC have around 1500 donors (Dan's guess) and they have 200-400
people attending their Grassroots conference.

An ?unconference?- is essentially a conference without an agenda and
people will gather and talk about whatever they want to talk about with
other people who want to do the same thing. Each session may or may not
have a facilitator.

CSL would be responsible for outreach and arranging the facility and the
OC would be responsible for advising us on how to organize the
conference and they will run it the actual day.

Dan will draft out a MOU with Organizer's Collaborative. Possible 50/50
split with the OC on profits.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

From andy at brewdawakening.com  Mon Feb  1 18:24:45 2010
From: andy at brewdawakening.com (Andy Jacobson)
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 18:24:45 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
In-Reply-To: <4B671B95.9000409@thecsl.org>
References: <4B671B95.9000409@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <1A85D9E55F0B4E10A087F7E53BDB139E@PC556411137441>

I think this could help with increasing marketability of CSL & MVHub while
increasing the potential of new funding sources (i.e. new donors,
politicians) all which appear to be part of the 2010 objectives. 

So I think that it is good for that.  



Just out of curiosity
1) If this will take up a lot of time over the first half of '10 what of the
critical objectives may not be met as listed in the Business Plan? For
example are any of those enhancements for the existing implementation
critical or promised to existing users? 

2) Obviously you folks are the subject matter experts but given the
relationship with UML and maybe forge a new one with Middlesex is there a
potential of finding a student that would be willing to project manage the
event (i.e. be the event planner).  Was it Middlesex of UML that just
launched a new Hospitality program? May free up some of your time while
having someone else ensure the details are being done. 

I know from Brew'd we got low response from radio. I believe only my
existing customers heard me or the 'ad' that I have on the morning show. 

 
Thanks
Andy
-----Original Message-----
From: divinerightofkings-bounces+andy=brewdawakening.com at lists.thecsl.org
[mailto:divinerightofkings-bounces+andy=brewdawakening.com at lists.thecsl.org]
On Behalf Of Dan MacNeil
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 1:21 PM
To: CSL Board
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion

> [MOU]

coming up.  All this assumes we get a good MOU written and approved by
both boards.

> Am I correct in thinking that there is no financial
> investment (Fee) needed to take place in the event?

Right now participants in the un-conference would pay as much as
possible to registration. Low income people (anyone who says they are
low income) would pay $20 (or maybe nothing).

We and the OC folks (Felicia & Ben) discussed possibly having a early
bird special of $35 and then $50 at the door. That would be an incentive
to get people to register early so we'd know if we need to do even more
outreach/marketing.

We (CSL & OC) would split expenses of event (food, hall rental, etc),
and split profits.

>Should we open a discussion about how to maximize this opportunity?

Mai Oui!

>appropriate [radio] spokesperson?

Carolyn or me.

It can't hurt to spread a few hours out on the shows of our friends and
supporters. Charlotte and you in particular.

I don't know that progressive tech people are big listeners of radio in
the Merrimack Valley so after a certain point, an hour phone banking to
10 people who have gone to past conferences is likely to prove more
productive than an hour on the air.

It is always dangerous to judge by one's personal experience instead of
books. One's personal experience is by definition limited. Our past
experience with radio results/effort ratio is indifferent.

We appeared (4) times on WUML "Sunrise" & "Thinking Out Loud", to
promote a senior volunteer program and got precisely zero repsonses.

Can we do some radio, see how many registrations we get and then go from
there?


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 07:11:03 -0800 (PST)
From: James Grenier <jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org>
To: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>, CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
References: <4B61D331.5020903 at thecsl.org>

I'm fine with it, as long as you can get the "memo of agreement", and
the return on your investment of time and energy are worth it. Am I
correct in thinking that there is no financial investment (Fee) needed
to take place in the event?

Event marketing/fundraising can be a great way to advance any NPO.
Should we open a discussion about how to maximize this opportunity?

Here's one idea: let's get some radio coverage in the area prior to the
event. I can handle the arrangements for that coverage. Is there someone
from our group, or theirs, that would be an appropriate spokesperson?

We don't need to know any of this today, but the sooner we do, the better.

JG






________________________________
From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
To: CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Thu, January 28, 2010 1:10:57 PM
Subject: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference


A Monday call goal was to get board feedback on proceeding with putting
on a joint conference with Organizer's Collaborative.

We decided to give people time to think.

So please hit reply with:

    WHY NOT?
    HELL NO
    ABSTAIN

...and perhaps a sentence of thought.

Unless anyone is violently apposed, I'll tell the OC folks when we see
them Saturday, that we are moving to the next step.

The next step would be to create an MOU (memorandum of understanding),
which you will have a chance to approve or disapprove.

This an advise more than govern issue, so attendene will not be taken.

The big possible negative is that we will be distraced from other
opportunities.

###########
Relivant bits from Carolyn's minutes below.
###########
"Unconference"

We might partner with an organization kind of like us.
http://organizerscollaborative.org/

Dan is on the OC board. We might partner with them on 1) office space
(doubtful- they're located in Boston) 2) An unconference in the spring.

We have a reasonable shot at making a couple grand with the unconference
but it will absorb a large chunk of Dan and Carolyn's time until May.

By doing the unconference the CSL can build its donor list and increase
its visibility (the people that sponsor the conference and people that
donate to the Organizer's Collaborative now)

The OC have around 1500 donors (Dan's guess) and they have 200-400
people attending their Grassroots conference.

An "unconference"- is essentially a conference without an agenda and
people will gather and talk about whatever they want to talk about with
other people who want to do the same thing. Each session may or may not
have a facilitator.

CSL would be responsible for outreach and arranging the facility and the
OC would be responsible for advising us on how to organize the
conference and they will run it the actual day.

Dan will draft out a MOU with Organizer's Collaborative. Possible 50/50
split with the OC on profits.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
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07:35:00

From jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org  Tue Feb  2 14:05:05 2010
From: jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org (James Grenier)
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 11:05:05 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
In-Reply-To: <1A85D9E55F0B4E10A087F7E53BDB139E@PC556411137441>
References: <4B671B95.9000409@thecsl.org>
	<1A85D9E55F0B4E10A087F7E53BDB139E@PC556411137441>
Message-ID: <358707.13647.qm@web503.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>


Andy,

Good points! Here are a few of the things I might be able to shed some light on.

1. Re: Hospitality. MCC has had a program for several years. I'm not sure about using a student as slave labor to orchestrate the whole event, but getting them involved is not a bad idea. I have several of them in my Sales principles class, and they tend to be hard working, organized and savvy (more so than the general student population). I can get us in touch with the right people, IF we want to go this route.

2. Re: Radio: you proved my point exactly: It can't be done occasionally, and expect results.

You have a trade deal for "sporadic" radio advertising. If your current customers are mentioning it, then you are getting "top of mind" awareness in the form of brand reinforcement. You may get an occational new customer with that approach, but for Brew'd to really use the medium effectively, you'd need to saturate certain day parts with a consistent, targeted message.

Mix your media or own one outlet. Either can work, but not with "occasional" coverage. newspapers are the same way, though they try to deny it; Why do you think the car dealers all buy full and half page ads in the Sunday paper every week? 

If we were going to try the PR approach, I'd get Dan on several radio interviews, to start. Then we'd need him to do a few interviews with newspapers and local TV, and support it all with social media...

Lots to discuss. I like Karen's original ideas: short and to the point, unlike this email.

Thanks.






________________________________
From: Andy Jacobson <andy at brewdawakening.com>
To: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>; CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Mon, February 1, 2010 6:24:45 PM
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion

I think this could help with increasing marketability of CSL & MVHub while
increasing the potential of new funding sources (i.e. new donors,
politicians) all which appear to be part of the 2010 objectives. 

So I think that it is good for that.  



Just out of curiosity
1) If this will take up a lot of time over the first half of '10 what of the
critical objectives may not be met as listed in the Business Plan? For
example are any of those enhancements for the existing implementation
critical or promised to existing users? 

2) Obviously you folks are the subject matter experts but given the
relationship with UML and maybe forge a new one with Middlesex is there a
potential of finding a student that would be willing to project manage the
event (i.e. be the event planner).  Was it Middlesex of UML that just
launched a new Hospitality program? May free up some of your time while
having someone else ensure the details are being done. 

I know from Brew'd we got low response from radio. I believe only my
existing customers heard me or the 'ad' that I have on the morning show. 


Thanks
Andy
-----Original Message-----
From: divinerightofkings-bounces+andy=brewdawakening.com at lists.thecsl.org
[mailto:divinerightofkings-bounces+andy=brewdawakening.com at lists.thecsl.org]
On Behalf Of Dan MacNeil
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 1:21 PM
To: CSL Board
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion

> [MOU]

coming up.  All this assumes we get a good MOU written and approved by
both boards.

> Am I correct in thinking that there is no financial
> investment (Fee) needed to take place in the event?

Right now participants in the un-conference would pay as much as
possible to registration. Low income people (anyone who says they are
low income) would pay $20 (or maybe nothing).

We and the OC folks (Felicia & Ben) discussed possibly having a early
bird special of $35 and then $50 at the door. That would be an incentive
to get people to register early so we'd know if we need to do even more
outreach/marketing.

We (CSL & OC) would split expenses of event (food, hall rental, etc),
and split profits.

>Should we open a discussion about how to maximize this opportunity?

Mai Oui!

>appropriate [radio] spokesperson?

Carolyn or me.

It can't hurt to spread a few hours out on the shows of our friends and
supporters. Charlotte and you in particular.

I don't know that progressive tech people are big listeners of radio in
the Merrimack Valley so after a certain point, an hour phone banking to
10 people who have gone to past conferences is likely to prove more
productive than an hour on the air.

It is always dangerous to judge by one's personal experience instead of
books. One's personal experience is by definition limited. Our past
experience with radio results/effort ratio is indifferent.

We appeared (4) times on WUML "Sunrise" & "Thinking Out Loud", to
promote a senior volunteer program and got precisely zero repsonses.

Can we do some radio, see how many registrations we get and then go from
there?


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 07:11:03 -0800 (PST)
From: James Grenier <jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org>
To: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>, CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
References: <4B61D331.5020903 at thecsl.org>

I'm fine with it, as long as you can get the "memo of agreement", and
the return on your investment of time and energy are worth it. Am I
correct in thinking that there is no financial investment (Fee) needed
to take place in the event?

Event marketing/fundraising can be a great way to advance any NPO.
Should we open a discussion about how to maximize this opportunity?

Here's one idea: let's get some radio coverage in the area prior to the
event. I can handle the arrangements for that coverage. Is there someone
from our group, or theirs, that would be an appropriate spokesperson?

We don't need to know any of this today, but the sooner we do, the better.

JG






________________________________
From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
To: CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Thu, January 28, 2010 1:10:57 PM
Subject: [CSL board] VOTE (optional) un-conference


A Monday call goal was to get board feedback on proceeding with putting
on a joint conference with Organizer's Collaborative.

We decided to give people time to think.

So please hit reply with:

    WHY NOT?
    HELL NO
    ABSTAIN

...and perhaps a sentence of thought.

Unless anyone is violently apposed, I'll tell the OC folks when we see
them Saturday, that we are moving to the next step.

The next step would be to create an MOU (memorandum of understanding),
which you will have a chance to approve or disapprove.

This an advise more than govern issue, so attendene will not be taken.

The big possible negative is that we will be distraced from other
opportunities.

###########
Relivant bits from Carolyn's minutes below.
###########
"Unconference"

We might partner with an organization kind of like us.
http://organizerscollaborative.org/

Dan is on the OC board. We might partner with them on 1) office space
(doubtful- they're located in Boston) 2) An unconference in the spring.

We have a reasonable shot at making a couple grand with the unconference
but it will absorb a large chunk of Dan and Carolyn's time until May.

By doing the unconference the CSL can build its donor list and increase
its visibility (the people that sponsor the conference and people that
donate to the Organizer's Collaborative now)

The OC have around 1500 donors (Dan's guess) and they have 200-400
people attending their Grassroots conference.

An "unconference"- is essentially a conference without an agenda and
people will gather and talk about whatever they want to talk about with
other people who want to do the same thing. Each session may or may not
have a facilitator.

CSL would be responsible for outreach and arranging the facility and the
OC would be responsible for advising us on how to organize the
conference and they will run it the actual day.

Dan will draft out a MOU with Organizer's Collaborative. Possible 50/50
split with the OC on profits.

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From cthompsonj at thecsl.org  Tue Feb  2 15:22:20 2010
From: cthompsonj at thecsl.org (Carolyn Thompson)
Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:22:20 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] subcommittee to review CSL/OC MOU
Message-ID: <4B68897C.3040304@thecsl.org>

Dan and I are currently drafting an MOU to send to the OC board for the
"unconference".

We're wondering if anyone on the CSL board would like to review and
provide feedback on the MOU.

Please respond to this email if you would like to be part of the
reviewing process and I will send you an email with the MOU tomorrow.


Thanks!
Carolyn

From drnassif at comcast.net  Tue Feb  2 17:07:51 2010
From: drnassif at comcast.net (drnassif at comcast.net)
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 22:07:51 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: [CSL board] subcommittee to review CSL/OC MOU
In-Reply-To: <4B68897C.3040304@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <833629806.3080511265148471049.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>

I would like to take a look but will be away from my email most of tomorrow. So please send it along and if I have time to send comments before your deadline I will. But don;t wait for me. 
Diane 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carolyn Thompson" <cthompsonj at thecsl.org> 
To: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, February 2, 2010 3:22:20 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: [CSL board] subcommittee to review CSL/OC MOU 

Dan and I are currently drafting an MOU to send to the OC board for the 
"unconference". 

We're wondering if anyone on the CSL board would like to review and 
provide feedback on the MOU. 

Please respond to this email if you would like to be part of the 
reviewing process and I will send you an email with the MOU tomorrow. 


Thanks! 
Carolyn 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ### 

From jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org  Wed Feb  3 08:50:57 2010
From: jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org (James Grenier)
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 05:50:57 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [CSL board] subcommittee to review CSL/OC MOU
In-Reply-To: <4B68897C.3040304@thecsl.org>
References: <4B68897C.3040304@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <30442.29913.qm@web505.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Call if you have a shortage of opinions (unlikely) , otherwise, I trust you both.

I would like a copy after it's complete, to keep in the files.

Thanks.




________________________________
From: Carolyn Thompson <cthompsonj at thecsl.org>
To: CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Tue, February 2, 2010 3:22:20 PM
Subject: [CSL board] subcommittee to review CSL/OC MOU

Dan and I are currently drafting an MOU to send to the OC board for the
"unconference".

We're wondering if anyone on the CSL board would like to review and
provide feedback on the MOU.

Please respond to this email if you would like to be part of the
reviewing process and I will send you an email with the MOU tomorrow.


Thanks!
Carolyn

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

From karen at karenzgoda.org  Fri Feb  5 16:46:54 2010
From: karen at karenzgoda.org (Karen Zgoda)
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 16:46:54 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] Next Meeting - Feb. 22
Message-ID: <C4BE1A20-890D-4C71-A691-7850D7937C7E@karenzgoda.org>

Folks --

I've been trying to use a new Google calendar, as requested by one of  
our members, to make it easier to keep track of upcoming Board  
meetings.  At this time I'm thinking about posting this calendar on  
our Board page (http://thecsl.org/go/about/board/).

Unfortunately I ran into some technical problems so I sincerely  
apologize if you have received multiple messages about this meeting.   
I believe all the issues are taken care of.

Using this calendar will also be helpful for providing RSVPs for the  
meetings.  You can view the calendar at:
http://bit.ly/CSL-Calendar
---------------------------
Meeting Details:

         6:30-8:00 p.m. Monday 2/22/2010
         LTC Conference Room

         Directions - http://lctc.org/go/contact/directions/index.shtml
                         - http://tinyurl.com/LTCGoogleMap
---------------------------
Tentative Meeting Agenda:

1.   Conversations need to be held with people- we need facts- Dan
doesn't have any specific details about the CSL getting kicked out of  
the
university office space. Dan, John and Fred need to meet in person.
2.   A note will be sent to the board over the list serve by Friday-
to decide whether the CSL should proceed with the unconference or not.
3.   Karen will check in with each board member within the next 2
weeks.
4.   Review Dan?s job description and evaluation procedure.

---------------------------

...Karen

Karen Zgoda, MSW, LCSW, PhD Candidate
_______________________________________________________
Email: karen [at] karenzgoda.org
Web Site: http://www.karenzgoda.org
Academic Editing Services: http://EditMyManuscript.com
Fussy Eater Blog: http://www.fussy-eater.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/karenzgoda




From dan at thecsl.org  Fri Feb  5 20:41:09 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:41:09 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
In-Reply-To: <1A85D9E55F0B4E10A087F7E53BDB139E@PC556411137441>
References: <4B671B95.9000409@thecsl.org>
	<1A85D9E55F0B4E10A087F7E53BDB139E@PC556411137441>
Message-ID: <4B6CC8B5.1030807@thecsl.org>


Andy writes:
> Just out of curiosity
> 1) If this will take up a lot of time over
> the first half of '10 what of the critical
> objectives may not be met as listed in the Business Plan?

I've put the plan (with all the unfinished bits) here:

	http://thecsl.org/go/board/csl_business_plan.doc

Activities that have a good chance of falling off are:

	  Formally position CSL with respect
	  to other resource registries; ....

	  Determine a workable fee schedule
	  for a hosted CSL Hub installation
	  and test it out with partners....


	   Identify a partner for the MVHub
           and solicit annual funding for it.

	  Increase awareness of CSL among
          the pool of potential donors and
          increase donor funding.

	Differentiate core development tasks
        from educational opportunities for
        trainees.

Activities we have a decent shot at:

	Move to a membership/pledge model for donors.

	Publicize the CSL Hub software so that
	it is visible within the open source
        community through conferences and
        journal articles.


Activities (I think) we need to finish no matter what:

	  Create a formal development cycle
	  for the Hub software.

	 Define staff roles and responsibilities
         in job descriptions for an Executive
         Director, Technical Lead, and
         Outreach Lead.

	Enhance, package, and document the CSL
        Hub software for easy use by the FOSS
        developer community.

	Follow up on aging data and keep 80% of it
	current within six months.

	Enhance the Hub software to improve its
	usability, including search functionality.

	Enhance the Hub software to satisfy partner
 	requirements for traffic reporting.

	Enhance the Hub software so that the same code
	and database is used for both sites.

	Broaden the use of the software by community
	residents by enhancing the Hub software to make
	use of the Google search engine.

	Refactor some of the code to make it easier to maintain.

Andy:
> For example are any of those enhancements for
> the existing implementation critical or
> promised to existing users?

No, the things we've promised to NSCAP are doable still. Most of he
conference work will fall to Carolyn. My ability to help Lee, Frank,
Tory and Priya improve the software will be reduced but not eliminated.

Andy:
> [student from Middlesex hospitality program]

Jim> [maybe good, let me know if hookup desired]

I don't know, maybe. The big thing is doing outreach. postcards,
letters, emails, phone calls.  To the extent that the tea was a success,
it was because Carolyn did this.

If we want to get 200 people to the un-conference, we'll need to work
the Organizer's Collaborative database hard.  There are probably some
people on past OC conference committees who can do this but this kind of
grunt work, while a skill worth learning might be a hard sell.

Getting a venue  ( UML ???? Middlesex ???) might be something a student
could do well but our time line is likely to be pretty tight. After
(if?) the MOU gets signed, we'll have to hussle to get the date & venue
set.

From drnassif at comcast.net  Sun Feb  7 08:15:32 2010
From: drnassif at comcast.net (drnassif at comcast.net)
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 13:15:32 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
In-Reply-To: <4B6CC8B5.1030807@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <822405305.802861265548532544.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>

This is a good question Andy and I guess we didn't explore it sufficiently at the board meeting. I notice that most of the things that Dan says we will do are software development. And the things that fell off the radar are things pertaining to marketing. The assumption is, I guess, that Carolyn would do the things pertaining to marketing and now is doing the conference. 

I think that some of the things pertaining to marketing, especially positioning of the product, are essential to the future viability of CSL. And I am not sure that only Carolyn can address them. In fact, I think they are things that the board and ED should address. Possibly with the help of Steve Smith who has a lot of experience in this realm. 

I hope we can have some conversations about the product and how it can be marketed successfully in advance of the conference. Don;t know if that is a priority for others. 

Diane 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan MacNeil" <dan at thecsl.org> 
To: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org> 
Sent: Friday, February 5, 2010 8:41:09 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion 


Andy writes: 
> Just out of curiosity 
> 1) If this will take up a lot of time over 
> the first half of '10 what of the critical 
> objectives may not be met as listed in the Business Plan? 

I've put the plan (with all the unfinished bits) here: 

http://thecsl.org/go/board/csl_business_plan.doc 

Activities that have a good chance of falling off are: 

Formally position CSL with respect 
to other resource registries; .... 

Determine a workable fee schedule 
for a hosted CSL Hub installation 
and test it out with partners.... 


Identify a partner for the MVHub 
and solicit annual funding for it. 

Increase awareness of CSL among 
the pool of potential donors and 
increase donor funding. 

Differentiate core development tasks 
from educational opportunities for 
trainees. 

Activities we have a decent shot at: 

Move to a membership/pledge model for donors. 

Publicize the CSL Hub software so that 
it is visible within the open source 
community through conferences and 
journal articles. 


Activities (I think) we need to finish no matter what: 

Create a formal development cycle 
for the Hub software. 

Define staff roles and responsibilities 
in job descriptions for an Executive 
Director, Technical Lead, and 
Outreach Lead. 

Enhance, package, and document the CSL 
Hub software for easy use by the FOSS 
developer community. 

Follow up on aging data and keep 80% of it 
current within six months. 

Enhance the Hub software to improve its 
usability, including search functionality. 

Enhance the Hub software to satisfy partner 
requirements for traffic reporting. 

Enhance the Hub software so that the same code 
and database is used for both sites. 

Broaden the use of the software by community 
residents by enhancing the Hub software to make 
use of the Google search engine. 

Refactor some of the code to make it easier to maintain. 

Andy: 
> For example are any of those enhancements for 
> the existing implementation critical or 
> promised to existing users? 

No, the things we've promised to NSCAP are doable still. Most of he 
conference work will fall to Carolyn. My ability to help Lee, Frank, 
Tory and Priya improve the software will be reduced but not eliminated. 

Andy: 
> [student from Middlesex hospitality program] 

Jim> [maybe good, let me know if hookup desired] 

I don't know, maybe. The big thing is doing outreach. postcards, 
letters, emails, phone calls. To the extent that the tea was a success, 
it was because Carolyn did this. 

If we want to get 200 people to the un-conference, we'll need to work 
the Organizer's Collaborative database hard. There are probably some 
people on past OC conference committees who can do this but this kind of 
grunt work, while a skill worth learning might be a hard sell. 

Getting a venue ( UML ???? Middlesex ???) might be something a student 
could do well but our time line is likely to be pretty tight. After 
(if?) the MOU gets signed, we'll have to hussle to get the date & venue 
set. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ### 

From dan at thecsl.org  Sun Feb  7 12:38:58 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:38:58 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
In-Reply-To: <822405305.802861265548532544.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
References: <822405305.802861265548532544.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
Message-ID: <4B6EFAB2.5060703@thecsl.org>

Thank you Andy for asking the questions and Diane for your follow-up and
for your good work in creating the plan that made this thinking possible.

As an action item from the last Steve/Karen/Dan meeting, I am to create
a 1st draft job description for myself as the first step in creating an
evaluation process. I haven't done it yet.

We could easily table:

	Define staff roles and responsibilities
	in job descriptions for an Executive
	Director, Technical Lead, and
	Outreach Lead.

and focus on:

	Formally position CSL with respect
	to other resource registries; ....

The positioning task, has the potential advantage of not being
bottled-necked as much by me.



###########
This is a good question Andy and I guess we didn't explore it
sufficiently at the board meeting. I notice that most of the things that
Dan says we will do are software development. And the things that fell
off the radar are things pertaining to marketing. The assumption is, I
guess, that Carolyn would do the things pertaining to marketing and now
is doing the conference.

I think that some of the things pertaining to marketing, especially
positioning of the product, are essential to the future viability of
CSL. And I am not sure that only Carolyn can address them. In fact, I
think they are things that the board and ED should address. Possibly
with the help of Steve Smith who has a lot of experience in this realm.

I hope we can have some conversations about the product and how it can
be marketed successfully in advance of the conference. Don;t know if
that is a priority for others.

Diane
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan MacNeil" <dan at thecsl.org>
To: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Friday, February 5, 2010 8:41:09 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion


Andy writes:
> > Just out of curiosity
> > 1) If this will take up a lot of time over
> > the first half of '10 what of the critical
> > objectives may not be met as listed in the Business Plan?

I've put the plan (with all the unfinished bits) here:

http://thecsl.org/go/board/csl_business_plan.doc

Activities that have a good chance of falling off are:

Formally position CSL with respect
to other resource registries; ....

Determine a workable fee schedule
for a hosted CSL Hub installation
and test it out with partners....

Identify a partner for the MVHub
and solicit annual funding for it.

Increase awareness of CSL among
the pool of potential donors and
increase donor funding.

Differentiate core development tasks
from educational opportunities for
trainees.

Activities we have a decent shot at:

Move to a membership/pledge model for donors.

Publicize the CSL Hub software so that
it is visible within the open source
community through conferences and
journal articles.


Activities (I think) we need to finish no matter what:

Create a formal development cycle
for the Hub software.

Define staff roles and responsibilities
in job descriptions for an Executive
Director, Technical Lead, and
Outreach Lead.

Enhance, package, and document the CSL
Hub software for easy use by the FOSS
developer community.

Follow up on aging data and keep 80% of it
current within six months.

Enhance the Hub software to improve its
usability, including search functionality.

Enhance the Hub software to satisfy partner
requirements for traffic reporting.

Enhance the Hub software so that the same code
and database is used for both sites.

Broaden the use of the software by community
residents by enhancing the Hub software to make
use of the Google search engine.

Refactor some of the code to make it easier to maintain.

Andy:
> > For example are any of those enhancements for
> > the existing implementation critical or
> > promised to existing users?

No, the things we've promised to NSCAP are doable still. Most of he
conference work will fall to Carolyn. My ability to help Lee, Frank,
Tory and Priya improve the software will be reduced but not eliminated.

Andy:
> > [student from Middlesex hospitality program]

Jim> [maybe good, let me know if hookup desired]

I don't know, maybe. The big thing is doing outreach. postcards,
letters, emails, phone calls. To the extent that the tea was a success,
it was because Carolyn did this.

If we want to get 200 people to the un-conference, we'll need to work
the Organizer's Collaborative database hard. There are probably some
people on past OC conference committees who can do this but this kind of
grunt work, while a skill worth learning might be a hard sell.

Getting a venue ( UML ???? Middlesex ???) might be something a student
could do well but our time line is likely to be pretty tight. After
(if?) the MOU gets signed, we'll have to hussle to get the date & venue
set.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

From jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org  Sun Feb  7 17:38:18 2010
From: jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org (James Grenier)
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 14:38:18 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
In-Reply-To: <4B6CC8B5.1030807@thecsl.org>
References: <4B671B95.9000409@thecsl.org>
	<1A85D9E55F0B4E10A087F7E53BDB139E@PC556411137441>
	<4B6CC8B5.1030807@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <637779.62352.qm@web507.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

The big thing is doing outreach. postcards,
letters, emails, phone calls.  To the extent that the tea was a success,
it was because Carolyn did this.

I would argue that outreach and donor development is a full time job in and of itself.  Which is why I asked about Carolyn's duties during our last phone call. Looking forward to seeing the revised and finalized (?) list that you all came up with...








________________________________
From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
To: CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Fri, February 5, 2010 8:41:09 PM
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion


Andy writes:
> Just out of curiosity
> 1) If this will take up a lot of time over
> the first half of '10 what of the critical
> objectives may not be met as listed in the Business Plan?

I've put the plan (with all the unfinished bits) here:

    http://thecsl.org/go/board/csl_business_plan.doc

Activities that have a good chance of falling off are:

      Formally position CSL with respect
      to other resource registries; ....

      Determine a workable fee schedule
      for a hosted CSL Hub installation
      and test it out with partners....


       Identify a partner for the MVHub
           and solicit annual funding for it.

      Increase awareness of CSL among
          the pool of potential donors and
          increase donor funding.

    Differentiate core development tasks
        from educational opportunities for
        trainees.

Activities we have a decent shot at:

    Move to a membership/pledge model for donors.

    Publicize the CSL Hub software so that
    it is visible within the open source
        community through conferences and
        journal articles.


Activities (I think) we need to finish no matter what:

      Create a formal development cycle
      for the Hub software.

     Define staff roles and responsibilities
         in job descriptions for an Executive
         Director, Technical Lead, and
         Outreach Lead.

    Enhance, package, and document the CSL
        Hub software for easy use by the FOSS
        developer community.

    Follow up on aging data and keep 80% of it
    current within six months.

    Enhance the Hub software to improve its
    usability, including search functionality.

    Enhance the Hub software to satisfy partner
    requirements for traffic reporting.

    Enhance the Hub software so that the same code
    and database is used for both sites.

    Broaden the use of the software by community
    residents by enhancing the Hub software to make
    use of the Google search engine.

    Refactor some of the code to make it easier to maintain.

Andy:
> For example are any of those enhancements for
> the existing implementation critical or
> promised to existing users?

No, the things we've promised to NSCAP are doable still. Most of he
conference work will fall to Carolyn. My ability to help Lee, Frank,
Tory and Priya improve the software will be reduced but not eliminated.

Andy:
> [student from Middlesex hospitality program]

Jim> [maybe good, let me know if hookup desired]

I don't know, maybe. The big thing is doing outreach. postcards,
letters, emails, phone calls.  To the extent that the tea was a success,
it was because Carolyn did this.

If we want to get 200 people to the un-conference, we'll need to work
the Organizer's Collaborative database hard.  There are probably some
people on past OC conference committees who can do this but this kind of
grunt work, while a skill worth learning might be a hard sell.

Getting a venue  ( UML ???? Middlesex ???) might be something a student
could do well but our time line is likely to be pretty tight. After
(if?) the MOU gets signed, we'll have to hussle to get the date & venue
set.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

From jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org  Sun Feb  7 17:42:11 2010
From: jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org (James Grenier)
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 14:42:11 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
In-Reply-To: <822405305.802861265548532544.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
References: <822405305.802861265548532544.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
Message-ID: <252131.50657.qm@web504.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Exactly my thoughts, Diane.

My previous e-mail wasn't to suggest Carolyn would handle the planning on this, but questioned whether she, and others would be available for the implementation.

Should be an interesting meeting.

JG




________________________________
From: "drnassif at comcast.net" <drnassif at comcast.net>
To: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
Cc: CSL Board <board at thecsl.org>
Sent: Sun, February 7, 2010 8:15:32 AM
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion

This is a good question Andy and I guess we didn't explore it sufficiently at the board meeting. I notice that most of the things that Dan says we will do are software development. And the things that fell off the radar are things pertaining to marketing. The assumption is, I guess, that Carolyn would do the things pertaining to marketing and now is doing the conference. 

I think that some of the things pertaining to marketing, especially positioning of the product, are essential to the future viability of CSL. And I am not sure that only Carolyn can address them. In fact, I think they are things that the board and ED should address. Possibly with the help of Steve Smith who has a lot of experience in this realm. 

I hope we can have some conversations about the product and how it can be marketed successfully in advance of the conference. Don;t know if that is a priority for others. 

Diane 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan MacNeil" <dan at thecsl.org> 
To: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org> 
Sent: Friday, February 5, 2010 8:41:09 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion 


Andy writes: 
> Just out of curiosity 
> 1) If this will take up a lot of time over 
> the first half of '10 what of the critical 
> objectives may not be met as listed in the Business Plan? 

I've put the plan (with all the unfinished bits) here: 

http://thecsl.org/go/board/csl_business_plan.doc 

Activities that have a good chance of falling off are: 

Formally position CSL with respect 
to other resource registries; .... 

Determine a workable fee schedule 
for a hosted CSL Hub installation 
and test it out with partners.... 


Identify a partner for the MVHub 
and solicit annual funding for it. 

Increase awareness of CSL among 
the pool of potential donors and 
increase donor funding. 

Differentiate core development tasks 
from educational opportunities for 
trainees. 

Activities we have a decent shot at: 

Move to a membership/pledge model for donors. 

Publicize the CSL Hub software so that 
it is visible within the open source 
community through conferences and 
journal articles. 


Activities (I think) we need to finish no matter what: 

Create a formal development cycle 
for the Hub software. 

Define staff roles and responsibilities 
in job descriptions for an Executive 
Director, Technical Lead, and 
Outreach Lead. 

Enhance, package, and document the CSL 
Hub software for easy use by the FOSS 
developer community. 

Follow up on aging data and keep 80% of it 
current within six months. 

Enhance the Hub software to improve its 
usability, including search functionality. 

Enhance the Hub software to satisfy partner 
requirements for traffic reporting. 

Enhance the Hub software so that the same code 
and database is used for both sites. 

Broaden the use of the software by community 
residents by enhancing the Hub software to make 
use of the Google search engine. 

Refactor some of the code to make it easier to maintain. 

Andy: 
> For example are any of those enhancements for 
> the existing implementation critical or 
> promised to existing users? 

No, the things we've promised to NSCAP are doable still. Most of he 
conference work will fall to Carolyn. My ability to help Lee, Frank, 
Tory and Priya improve the software will be reduced but not eliminated. 

Andy: 
> [student from Middlesex hospitality program] 

Jim> [maybe good, let me know if hookup desired] 

I don't know, maybe. The big thing is doing outreach. postcards, 
letters, emails, phone calls. To the extent that the tea was a success, 
it was because Carolyn did this. 

If we want to get 200 people to the un-conference, we'll need to work 
the Organizer's Collaborative database hard. There are probably some 
people on past OC conference committees who can do this but this kind of 
grunt work, while a skill worth learning might be a hard sell. 

Getting a venue ( UML ???? Middlesex ???) might be something a student 
could do well but our time line is likely to be pretty tight. After 
(if?) the MOU gets signed, we'll have to hussle to get the date & venue 
set. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ### 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

From dan at thecsl.org  Sun Feb  7 18:08:44 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:08:44 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
In-Reply-To: <637779.62352.qm@web507.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <4B671B95.9000409@thecsl.org>
	<1A85D9E55F0B4E10A087F7E53BDB139E@PC556411137441>
	<4B6CC8B5.1030807@thecsl.org>
	<637779.62352.qm@web507.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <4B6F47FC.4050600@thecsl.org>

>Which is why I asked about Carolyn's duties during our last phone call.

Both VISTA descriptions are here:

http://thecsl.org/sys/00_fundraising.d/bids-grants.d/grants.d/succeeded.d/ctcvista.d/ctcvsita_2009_application.html

http://thecsl.org/sys/00_fundraising.d/bids-grants.d/grants.d/succeeded.d/ctcvista.d/csl_v3_CTCVISTA-VISTA_Assignment_Description_2009.doc

We've not kept to them very strictly.

From drnassif at comcast.net  Mon Feb  8 09:00:59 2010
From: drnassif at comcast.net (drnassif at comcast.net)
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 14:00:59 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion
In-Reply-To: <4B6EFAB2.5060703@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <1963638932.1178411265637659439.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>

I don't think it would be a good idea to switch the plan for Steve Smith from working on an ED job description to positioning the product. Rather I wonder if we could ask Steve to do two things -- the job description and the product positioning -- while he is working for us, until June right? 

Does the board have the time to work on both? Does Dan? 

In terms of product positioning I am thinking of some very crisp, concise statements/presentations that point out the value of the product to its users (and a precise definition of who these are). This is purely about the product, not about the technology behind it or the fact that it is developed by volunteers. These are interesting facts but don't pertain to why someone would want to pay money to use this product in their community. 

These are the things I think we are missing: 
1. one minute elevator speech about the product and how useful it is 
2. five minute pitch to donors 
3. twenty minute pitch to potential partners or community users of the product 

Diane 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan MacNeil" <dan at thecsl.org> 
To: drnassif at comcast.net 
Cc: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org>, "Steve Smith" <s.p.99smith at gmail.com> 
Sent: Sunday, February 7, 2010 12:38:58 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion 

Thank you Andy for asking the questions and Diane for your follow-up and 
for your good work in creating the plan that made this thinking possible. 

As an action item from the last Steve/Karen/Dan meeting, I am to create 
a 1st draft job description for myself as the first step in creating an 
evaluation process. I haven't done it yet. 

We could easily table: 

Define staff roles and responsibilities 
in job descriptions for an Executive 
Director, Technical Lead, and 
Outreach Lead. 

and focus on: 

Formally position CSL with respect 
to other resource registries; .... 

The positioning task, has the potential advantage of not being 
bottled-necked as much by me. 



########### 
This is a good question Andy and I guess we didn't explore it 
sufficiently at the board meeting. I notice that most of the things that 
Dan says we will do are software development. And the things that fell 
off the radar are things pertaining to marketing. The assumption is, I 
guess, that Carolyn would do the things pertaining to marketing and now 
is doing the conference. 

I think that some of the things pertaining to marketing, especially 
positioning of the product, are essential to the future viability of 
CSL. And I am not sure that only Carolyn can address them. In fact, I 
think they are things that the board and ED should address. Possibly 
with the help of Steve Smith who has a lot of experience in this realm. 

I hope we can have some conversations about the product and how it can 
be marketed successfully in advance of the conference. Don;t know if 
that is a priority for others. 

Diane 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan MacNeil" <dan at thecsl.org> 
To: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org> 
Sent: Friday, February 5, 2010 8:41:09 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion 


Andy writes: 
> > Just out of curiosity 
> > 1) If this will take up a lot of time over 
> > the first half of '10 what of the critical 
> > objectives may not be met as listed in the Business Plan? 

I've put the plan (with all the unfinished bits) here: 

http://thecsl.org/go/board/csl_business_plan.doc 

Activities that have a good chance of falling off are: 

Formally position CSL with respect 
to other resource registries; .... 

Determine a workable fee schedule 
for a hosted CSL Hub installation 
and test it out with partners.... 

Identify a partner for the MVHub 
and solicit annual funding for it. 

Increase awareness of CSL among 
the pool of potential donors and 
increase donor funding. 

Differentiate core development tasks 
from educational opportunities for 
trainees. 

Activities we have a decent shot at: 

Move to a membership/pledge model for donors. 

Publicize the CSL Hub software so that 
it is visible within the open source 
community through conferences and 
journal articles. 


Activities (I think) we need to finish no matter what: 

Create a formal development cycle 
for the Hub software. 

Define staff roles and responsibilities 
in job descriptions for an Executive 
Director, Technical Lead, and 
Outreach Lead. 

Enhance, package, and document the CSL 
Hub software for easy use by the FOSS 
developer community. 

Follow up on aging data and keep 80% of it 
current within six months. 

Enhance the Hub software to improve its 
usability, including search functionality. 

Enhance the Hub software to satisfy partner 
requirements for traffic reporting. 

Enhance the Hub software so that the same code 
and database is used for both sites. 

Broaden the use of the software by community 
residents by enhancing the Hub software to make 
use of the Google search engine. 

Refactor some of the code to make it easier to maintain. 

Andy: 
> > For example are any of those enhancements for 
> > the existing implementation critical or 
> > promised to existing users? 

No, the things we've promised to NSCAP are doable still. Most of he 
conference work will fall to Carolyn. My ability to help Lee, Frank, 
Tory and Priya improve the software will be reduced but not eliminated. 

Andy: 
> > [student from Middlesex hospitality program] 

Jim> [maybe good, let me know if hookup desired] 

I don't know, maybe. The big thing is doing outreach. postcards, 
letters, emails, phone calls. To the extent that the tea was a success, 
it was because Carolyn did this. 

If we want to get 200 people to the un-conference, we'll need to work 
the Organizer's Collaborative database hard. There are probably some 
people on past OC conference committees who can do this but this kind of 
grunt work, while a skill worth learning might be a hard sell. 

Getting a venue ( UML ???? Middlesex ???) might be something a student 
could do well but our time line is likely to be pretty tight. After 
(if?) the MOU gets signed, we'll have to hussle to get the date & venue 
set. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

###To unsubscribe send blank email to: 
Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ### 




From jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org  Mon Feb  8 09:52:16 2010
From: jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org (James Grenier)
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 06:52:16 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion - Marketing and (not VS)
	Admin
In-Reply-To: <1963638932.1178411265637659439.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
References: <1963638932.1178411265637659439.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
Message-ID: <133307.22820.qm@web503.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

There are two foci here: Admin and marketing.

ED job description would fall under the admin side of things, and positioning would fall under marketing.

Since both are important: I would like to suggest that it would probably be more effective if we each chose one area of the two to focus on in the next year.  We can THEN decide who will do what within each sphere.

Since each of us gets a turn to lead in this group, I'll start and lead by example.

I choose marketing.

FYI to those that don't already know: I will not be serving as Vice Chair next year, because I would like to focus on marketing, especially outreach and donor cultivation (PR and sales in bus-speak).

 Ido intend to be active with the board, but have realized that my skills are better suited to the marketing side than the admin side. I am happy to co-chair the fundraising sub-committee with John again if we feel this is the best way to do that.

I don't mean to suggest that the whole board should not be involved with final decisions in each area; we should. But I do think we should each concentrate on one of the two areas to get started, and build the momentum we've started on these projects.

Any thoughts?

From drnassif at comcast.net  Mon Feb  8 10:00:13 2010
From: drnassif at comcast.net (drnassif at comcast.net)
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 15:00:13 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion - Marketing and (not VS)
 Admin
In-Reply-To: <133307.22820.qm@web503.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <63073077.1214571265641213339.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>

Thanks Jim. I love the idea of being focused. I sort of think that marketing and product positioning are essential too. But what do others feel? 

Diane 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Grenier" <jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org> 
To: drnassif at comcast.net, "Dan MacNeil" <dan at thecsl.org> 
Cc: "Steve Smith" <s.p.99smith at gmail.com>, "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org> 
Sent: Monday, February 8, 2010 9:52:16 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion - Marketing and (not VS) Admin 



There are two foci here: Admin and marketing. 

ED job description would fall under the admin side of things, and positioning would fall under marketing. 

Since both are important: I would like to suggest that it would probably be more effective if we each chose one area of the two to focus on in the next year. We can THEN decide who will do what within each sphere. 

Since each of us gets a turn to lead in this group, I'll start and lead by example. 

I choose marketing. 

FYI to those that don't already know: I will not be serving as Vice Chair next year, because I would like to focus on marketing, especially outreach and donor cultivation (PR and sales in bus-speak). 

I do intend to be active with the board, but have realized that my skills are better suited to the marketing side than the admin side. I am happy to co-chair the fundraising sub-committee with John again if we feel this is the best way to do that. 

I don't mean to suggest that the whole board should not be involved with final decisions in each area; we should. But I do think we should each concentrate on one of the two areas to get started, and build the momentum we've started on these projects. 

Any thoughts? 



From andy at brewdawakening.com  Mon Feb  8 19:07:13 2010
From: andy at brewdawakening.com (Andy Jacobson)
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 19:07:13 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion - Marketing and (not VS)
	Admin
In-Reply-To: <63073077.1214571265641213339.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
References: <133307.22820.qm@web503.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
	<63073077.1214571265641213339.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
Message-ID: <B2DA6D93A9644EE19F89BF8370650486@PC556411137441>

I agree with the market and positioning as being up there in priority
(potential communities, donors etc). I guess this may lead into technology
after begin 'selling' the product.  


-----Original Message-----
From: divinerightofkings-bounces+andy=brewdawakening.com at lists.thecsl.org
[mailto:divinerightofkings-bounces+andy=brewdawakening.com at lists.thecsl.org]
On Behalf Of drnassif at comcast.net
Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 10:00 AM
To: James Grenier
Cc: Steve Smith; CSL Board
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion - Marketing and (not VS)
Admin

Thanks Jim. I love the idea of being focused. I sort of think that marketing
and product positioning are essential too. But what do others feel? 

Diane 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Grenier" <jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org> 
To: drnassif at comcast.net, "Dan MacNeil" <dan at thecsl.org> 
Cc: "Steve Smith" <s.p.99smith at gmail.com>, "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org> 
Sent: Monday, February 8, 2010 9:52:16 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion - Marketing and (not VS)
Admin 



There are two foci here: Admin and marketing. 

ED job description would fall under the admin side of things, and
positioning would fall under marketing. 

Since both are important: I would like to suggest that it would probably be
more effective if we each chose one area of the two to focus on in the next
year. We can THEN decide who will do what within each sphere. 

Since each of us gets a turn to lead in this group, I'll start and lead by
example. 

I choose marketing. 

FYI to those that don't already know: I will not be serving as Vice Chair
next year, because I would like to focus on marketing, especially outreach
and donor cultivation (PR and sales in bus-speak). 

I do intend to be active with the board, but have realized that my skills
are better suited to the marketing side than the admin side. I am happy to
co-chair the fundraising sub-committee with John again if we feel this is
the best way to do that. 

I don't mean to suggest that the whole board should not be involved with
final decisions in each area; we should. But I do think we should each
concentrate on one of the two areas to get started, and build the momentum
we've started on these projects. 

Any thoughts? 



----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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From karen at karenzgoda.org  Mon Feb  8 22:27:04 2010
From: karen at karenzgoda.org (Karen Zgoda)
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 22:27:04 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] un-conference discussion - Marketing and (not VS)
	Admin
In-Reply-To: <B2DA6D93A9644EE19F89BF8370650486@PC556411137441>
References: <133307.22820.qm@web503.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
	<63073077.1214571265641213339.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
	<B2DA6D93A9644EE19F89BF8370650486@PC556411137441>
Message-ID: <F7CAB3DF-800E-4EE1-ACEF-4F7933C7D88B@karenzgoda.org>

This has been a very fruitful discussion and am grateful for your  
contribution.  I think this is the sort of discussion that will help  
us think through things to help move things forward.

If I'm understanding the discussion correctly, and please correct me  
if I am wrong:
1. Multiple Board members are concerned that the un-conference might  
force the CSL to both
a. Move away from targets identified in current business plan draft  
(found here: http://thecsl.org/go/board/csl_business_plan.doc) and
b. Move Carolyn away from her assigned duties (as described here: http://thecsl.org/sys/00_fundraising.d/bids-grants.d/grants.d/succeeded.d/ctcvista.d/ctcvsita_2009_application.html)

Playing devil's advocate a bit, might there be a way to use the un- 
conference to better achieve our goals and make the best use of  
Carolyn's time this year?

In addition, I'm sensing that our next meeting on Feb. 22nd should be  
used to come to consensus on the CSL's strategic direction and  
priorities for 2010.  I think we've outlined many of our "growing  
pains" for this year but I think we need to decide on a timeline/ 
implementation schedule.

...Karen

Karen Zgoda, MSW, LCSW, PhD Candidate
_______________________________________________________
Email: karen [at] karenzgoda.org
Web Site: http://www.karenzgoda.org
Academic Editing Services: http://EditMyManuscript.com
Fussy Eater Blog: http://www.fussy-eater.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/karenzgoda



On Feb 8, 2010, at 7:07 PM, Andy Jacobson wrote:

> I agree with the market and positioning as being up there in priority
> (potential communities, donors etc). I guess this may lead into  
> technology
> after begin 'selling' the product.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: divinerightofkings-bounces+andy=brewdawakening.com at lists.thecsl.org
> [mailto:divinerightofkings-bounces+andy=brewdawakening.com at lists.thecsl.org 
> ]
> On Behalf Of drnassif at comcast.net
> Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 10:00 AM
> To: James Grenier
> Cc: Steve Smith; CSL Board
> Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion - Marketing and  
> (not VS)
> Admin
>
> Thanks Jim. I love the idea of being focused. I sort of think that  
> marketing
> and product positioning are essential too. But what do others feel?
>
> Diane
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Grenier" <jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org>
> To: drnassif at comcast.net, "Dan MacNeil" <dan at thecsl.org>
> Cc: "Steve Smith" <s.p.99smith at gmail.com>, "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org 
> >
> Sent: Monday, February 8, 2010 9:52:16 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: Re: [CSL board] un-conference discussion - Marketing and  
> (not VS)
> Admin
>
>
>
> There are two foci here: Admin and marketing.
>
> ED job description would fall under the admin side of things, and
> positioning would fall under marketing.
>
> Since both are important: I would like to suggest that it would  
> probably be
> more effective if we each chose one area of the two to focus on in  
> the next
> year. We can THEN decide who will do what within each sphere.
>
> Since each of us gets a turn to lead in this group, I'll start and  
> lead by
> example.
>
> I choose marketing.
>
> FYI to those that don't already know: I will not be serving as Vice  
> Chair
> next year, because I would like to focus on marketing, especially  
> outreach
> and donor cultivation (PR and sales in bus-speak).
>
> I do intend to be active with the board, but have realized that my  
> skills
> are better suited to the marketing side than the admin side. I am  
> happy to
> co-chair the fundraising sub-committee with John again if we feel  
> this is
> the best way to do that.
>
> I don't mean to suggest that the whole board should not be involved  
> with
> final decisions in each area; we should. But I do think we should each
> concentrate on one of the two areas to get started, and build the  
> momentum
> we've started on these projects.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
> Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 8.5.435 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2675 - Release Date:  
> 02/08/10
> 07:35:00
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>  ###


From dan at thecsl.org  Fri Feb 19 17:05:58 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:05:58 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] results space meeting 02/18
Message-ID: <4B7F0B46.8010406@thecsl.org>


Fred & John were busy, Carolyn & I met with Robin Toof who is #2 @ the
CFWC to talk about CFWC and CSL partnerships.

It was a happy meeting.

Robin and CFWC are about as excited about us doing tech support as we
are. (not at all excited). CFWC is all about CSL making CWFC grants
stronger by doing our mission.

We respect each other's work. This is very generous of the CFWC since
they've done things like help cut the murder rate in Lowell by 50% and
get 100s of kids into college.

We decided if we did partner, CSL would stay a seperate 501c3.

The space they **might** have for us is very nice, We gave little
squeaks of joy when we saw that there were windows.

Right now, given the climate at the university, odds are good we'll get
the boot in the next 6-12 months, but if that weren't the case, I'd
still want to explore partnering with CFWC.

The biggest possible barrier on their end seems to be the medium to
small possibility that they'll get pushed out of their space by the
medical devices people.

If this happens, they will get other space in Wanalancett, probably as
much as they have now. Given they just got a big grant, they are in
strong position to defend their space.

They will know about their space by start of June.

Our next steps are:

	1) Wait for a bigger meeting with CWFC
	2) Wait until end of may
	3) check out western ave as backup backup plan.

From fredm at cs.uml.edu  Fri Feb 19 19:04:23 2010
From: fredm at cs.uml.edu (Fred G. Martin)
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:04:23 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] results space meeting 02/18
In-Reply-To: <4B7F0B46.8010406@thecsl.org>
References: <4B7F0B46.8010406@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <72ef860f1002191604j13766ddo93d63023a59558dd@mail.gmail.com>

Dear CSL advisers -- Just so people are aware -- I'm "busy" in the
sense that I'm home recuperating from a life-threatening illness.   I
would have loved to have been at the meeting.

But enough about me!  It sounds like there is a real opportunity for
the CSL and the CFWC to partner together.  That should be the impetus
for future discussions and considerations.  The provision of space is
a bonus in this case, and the continued (and deepened) connection with
the university should be seen as another plus.

In other words, thinking about the potential partnership should focus
on natural synergies between the CSL and CFWC.

If they're not there, then it doesn't make sense to pursue just to get
"free space."

If they are there, then it makes sense.

It sounds like you had a great meeting with Robin and there certainly
are some opportunities that are evident.

Yours,
Fred

PS I am doing pretty well -- it's going to be weeks or even months
before I'm fully back physically, but I should get there.


On Fri, Feb 19, 2010 at 5:05 PM, Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org> wrote:
>
> Fred & John were busy, Carolyn & I met with Robin Toof who is #2 @ the
> CFWC to talk about CFWC and CSL partnerships.
>
> It was a happy meeting.
>
> Robin and CFWC are about as excited about us doing tech support as we
> are. (not at all excited). CFWC is all about CSL making CWFC grants
> stronger by doing our mission.
>
> We respect each other's work. This is very generous of the CFWC since
> they've done things like help cut the murder rate in Lowell by 50% and
> get 100s of kids into college.
>
> We decided if we did partner, CSL would stay a seperate 501c3.
>
> The space they **might** have for us is very nice, We gave little
> squeaks of joy when we saw that there were windows.
>
> Right now, given the climate at the university, odds are good we'll get
> the boot in the next 6-12 months, but if that weren't the case, I'd
> still want to explore partnering with CFWC.
>
> The biggest possible barrier on their end seems to be the medium to
> small possibility that they'll get pushed out of their space by the
> medical devices people.
>
> If this happens, they will get other space in Wanalancett, probably as
> much as they have now. Given they just got a big grant, they are in
> strong position to defend their space.
>
> They will know about their space by start of June.
>
> Our next steps are:
>
> ? ? ? ?1) Wait for a bigger meeting with CWFC
> ? ? ? ?2) Wait until end of may
> ? ? ? ?3) check out western ave as backup backup plan.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
>

From dan at thecsl.org  Fri Feb 19 23:14:44 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:14:44 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] results space meeting 02/18
In-Reply-To: <72ef860f1002191604j13766ddo93d63023a59558dd@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4B7F0B46.8010406@thecsl.org>
	<72ef860f1002191604j13766ddo93d63023a59558dd@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4B7F61B4.4060707@thecsl.org>


I'm happy that you are on the mend.

It would have been better for me to have said that you were ill rather
than busy. Somehow I had it in my head that you had leapt from the
hospital to the start of the semester and your many other
responsibilities.

I'm actually a little disturbed that you are still recuperating.

Your counsel is (as always) wise.

From karen at karenzgoda.org  Sat Feb 20 14:16:29 2010
From: karen at karenzgoda.org (Karen Zgoda)
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:16:29 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] Monday's Meeting - Venue Change
Message-ID: <8772735E-599D-47E1-9F5A-ECB6A2852D57@karenzgoda.org>

Folks, our meeting this coming Monday night will be held at our new  
Board member's coffeehaus at 6:30pm:

Brew'd Awakening
61 Market St.
Lowell, MA 01852

Agenda will be sent ASAP!

...Karen

Karen Zgoda, MSW, LCSW, PhD Candidate
_______________________________________________________
Email: karen [at] karenzgoda.org
Web Site: http://www.karenzgoda.org
Academic Editing Services: http://EditMyManuscript.com
Fussy Eater Blog: http://www.fussy-eater.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/karenzgoda

From dan at thecsl.org  Sun Feb 21 10:33:51 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:33:51 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] unconference MOU
Message-ID: <4B81525F.5060507@thecsl.org>


Attached is the MOU for the possible partnership between us (CSL) and
http://organizerscollaborative.org/ on an spring un-conference.

At Monday's meeting, We (CSL board) will vote to approve this (or not).

There will be another opportunity to kill the project, as the MOU
requires both boards to approve a project budget. --which will be
difficult to create until we get quotes on things like hall rentals.

The minuses as previously discussed, are that this will mean we won't
get some other things done. A previously un-mentioned minus is that
setting up registration will take some of Lee's time. Lee & I produce
90% of our development results.

The big plus is the sister conference, without a lot of outreach pulls
in $7K, We could bring in 3.5K for this work.

Right now, we don't have another plans to bring in money we will need to
pay VISTA fees in August.

We could also lose money.


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From jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org  Sun Feb 21 12:57:24 2010
From: jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org (James Grenier)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 09:57:24 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [CSL board] unconference MOU
In-Reply-To: <4B81525F.5060507@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <203453.58012.qm@web502.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>


Dan,

Thanks for sending this on. Will review the doc before the meeting.

I'm interested in discussing potential gains, vs potential losses. The idea sounds great, but as your email suggests, we're not in a position to lose money either (VISTA fees due, etc).

Karen, are we safe in assuming this is a high priority item on the agenda? 

Beyond the meeting:

Fundraising Events: We'd discussed trying to do 4 events a year. The Tea was great, as was the appreciation cookout. I have an idea for another:

If you're interested, Half-Past Eight may be willing to do a "pass the hat" blues show fundraiser for the CSL sometime this year.







--- On Sun, 2/21/10, Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org> wrote:

From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
Subject: [CSL board] unconference MOU
To: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org>
Cc: "Steve Smith" <s.p.99smith at gmail.com>
Date: Sunday, February 21, 2010, 10:33 AM


Attached is the MOU for the possible partnership between us (CSL) and
http://organizerscollaborative.org/ on an spring un-conference.

At Monday's meeting, We (CSL board) will vote to approve this (or not).

There will be another opportunity to kill the project, as the MOU
requires both boards to approve a project budget. --which will be
difficult to create until we get quotes on things like hall rentals.

The minuses as previously discussed, are that this will mean we won't
get some other things done. A previously un-mentioned minus is that
setting up registration will take some of Lee's time. Lee & I produce
90% of our development results.

The big plus is the sister conference, without a lot of outreach pulls
in $7K, We could bring in 3.5K for this work.

Right now, we don't have another plans to bring in money we will need to
pay VISTA fees in August.

We could also lose money.



-----Inline Attachment Follows-----


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

From fredm at cs.uml.edu  Sun Feb 21 13:59:00 2010
From: fredm at cs.uml.edu (Fred G. Martin)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:59:00 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] unconference MOU
In-Reply-To: <203453.58012.qm@web502.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <4B81525F.5060507@thecsl.org>
	<203453.58012.qm@web502.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <72ef860f1002211059u2191a94o2e67062758b6789e@mail.gmail.com>

Dear Dan and fellow board members,

Clearly you have put a lot of work into this MOU and developed some
real momentum behind tbe concept.

I am worried, though, that you are trying to do too many things. Specifically:

1. the Un-conference.
2. A CSL-only fund-raiser, the very next day.
3. A fall conference.

For #2, I am worried about gettibg people to show up for 2 days, or
splitting the recruiting resources (which day matters more to the
CSL?) It's hard enough getting people to show up on a Sat, no less the
Sun too. I think this will dilute the work in a bad way.

RE: Fall conf, I would seriously suggest waiting to see how the
un-conf goes before committing to a 2nd event.

(BTW: why is one an un-conf and the other not?)

Finally, it is not clear to me who the intended audience of the
un-conf is. This must be decided and promoted clearly.

I hope this is helpful.

Fred

On 2/21/10, James Grenier <jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org> wrote:
>
> Dan,
>
> Thanks for sending this on. Will review the doc before the meeting.
>
> I'm interested in discussing potential gains, vs potential losses. The idea
> sounds great, but as your email suggests, we're not in a position to lose
> money either (VISTA fees due, etc).
>
> Karen, are we safe in assuming this is a high priority item on the agenda?
>
> Beyond the meeting:
>
> Fundraising Events: We'd discussed trying to do 4 events a year. The Tea was
> great, as was the appreciation cookout. I have an idea for another:
>
> If you're interested, Half-Past Eight may be willing to do a "pass the hat"
> blues show fundraiser for the CSL sometime this year.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- On Sun, 2/21/10, Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org> wrote:
>
> From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
> Subject: [CSL board] unconference MOU
> To: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org>
> Cc: "Steve Smith" <s.p.99smith at gmail.com>
> Date: Sunday, February 21, 2010, 10:33 AM
>
>
> Attached is the MOU for the possible partnership between us (CSL) and
> http://organizerscollaborative.org/ on an spring un-conference.
>
> At Monday's meeting, We (CSL board) will vote to approve this (or not).
>
> There will be another opportunity to kill the project, as the MOU
> requires both boards to approve a project budget. --which will be
> difficult to create until we get quotes on things like hall rentals.
>
> The minuses as previously discussed, are that this will mean we won't
> get some other things done. A previously un-mentioned minus is that
> setting up registration will take some of Lee's time. Lee & I produce
> 90% of our development results.
>
> The big plus is the sister conference, without a lot of outreach pulls
> in $7K, We could bring in 3.5K for this work.
>
> Right now, we don't have another plans to bring in money we will need to
> pay VISTA fees in August.
>
> We could also lose money.
>
>
>
> -----Inline Attachment Follows-----
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
> Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
> Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
>

-- 
Sent from my mobile device

From dan at thecsl.org  Sun Feb 21 14:40:51 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:40:51 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] unconference MOU
In-Reply-To: <72ef860f1002211059u2191a94o2e67062758b6789e@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4B81525F.5060507@thecsl.org>	
	<203453.58012.qm@web502.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
	<72ef860f1002211059u2191a94o2e67062758b6789e@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4B818C43.3020804@thecsl.org>

Carloyn & I have large sunk costs here, but:

	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs

I've got more emotional invested in not making emotional decisions than
I have invested in doing this.

The post-conference fund-raiser is dinner after the un-conference.

My hope is that people will want dinner and will want to continue
conversations. We will get some people to come to the fundraiser only
and some people to to come only the un-conference.

We are not on the hook for a fall conference, OC is. They've run one for
 10 years, mostly with success. They are commited to run fall conference

>(BTW: why is one an un-conf and the other not?)

The OC board is pretty committed to a conventional format for the fall.

The audience for the un-conference are tech oriented or interested
community activists and OC has successfully reached out to these folks
for a while. ---though with less success since their founder has left.

From fredm at cs.uml.edu  Sun Feb 21 16:16:33 2010
From: fredm at cs.uml.edu (Fred G. Martin)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:16:33 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] unconference MOU
In-Reply-To: <4B818C43.3020804@thecsl.org>
References: <4B81525F.5060507@thecsl.org>
	<203453.58012.qm@web502.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com> 
	<72ef860f1002211059u2191a94o2e67062758b6789e@mail.gmail.com> 
	<4B818C43.3020804@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <72ef860f1002211316y2e693b15le12761de891c5040@mail.gmail.com>

[Dan -- I hope you're OK with me forwarding this message to the board,
it is quite helpful and others should see it.]

When you say sunk costs, you really mean time and mental energy, (and
not cash) right?  I just want to make sure we're being clear. It was
obvious to me that a ton of work went into the MOU.

OK, I'm putting on my constructive hat now.  I think the big issues are:

1. Not losing money (and not having expectations for making big money
on the un-conf).    What you are proposing is like an academic-type
conference, with low reg fees, rather than a commercial-type conf,
which would have reg fees more like $500 per day.

So you really have to be careful that you're not going to lose money.

I don't know if you've already done the research, but I suggest you
need to get hard numbers ASAP for space and catering (the two primary
costs for running a conf).  Most professional type spaces are
ridiculously expensive.  My dept ran an event at a hotel last summer,
and the cookies at the coffee break were literally $5/ea.

I am assuming you're planning alternate space, but you seriously need
numbers, and then project how many people you expect to show, and
multiply to make sure this is not a money-loser.

Related to this, unless turnout is very high, I don't think it's
likely that much money will be made.  Conferences like these are a
service-oriented, community-building activity, not a money maker.

Obviously we should shoot for a positive result rather than a
break-even, but I don't expect the potential $$ upside is very large.


2.  I really like the dinner-afterward fund-raiser concept. Somehow in
the MOU I got the idea it was a separate day.

So you'll have people register for a $50 dinner that costs $20 to
serve (or something like this)?  I think this is great.  People like
getting something tangible for their donation (food) and then they
also know that they are contributing to a good cause.  Plus -- "you
gotta eat."


3.  I read about the idea of an "un-conference" at the wikipedia.  I
entirely support the notion of people self-organizing into groups of
mutual interest at an event.  Most conferences have too many talks and
not enough time for people to mingle.

But I think you will need some "anchor" talks-- advertised features
that will draw people into the event.  If people are going to be
paying $60 or so, they're going to want to be sure they will get some
value other than chatting with new friends.

The people who will give these anchor talks need to be recruited ASAP,
and advertised with the event.

Also, plans will need to be made to assist in the self-organization of
breakouts during the day.  Some kind of catalyzing structure.  I
assume you already know this.


4.  I am not sure that "un-conference" will be a sell to your
prospective sponsor list.  It should work for the prospective
attendees (assuming the anchor talks) so perhaps that dimension can be
demoted a bit when you go to recruit sponsors.


5.  Most importantly, this event NEEDS A NAME!  And pronto, 'cause May
is pretty soon if you're talking about putting on a big party and you
want people to show.

The name should clearly communicate who conference is for (non-profit
tech folk?) and make people want to come.


That's it for now -- Dan, it sounds like you really really want to do
it; these are my suggestions on how to make it work.

Fred



On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 2:40 PM, Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org> wrote:
> Carloyn & I have large sunk costs here, but:
>
> ? ? ? ?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs
>
> I've got more emotional invested in not making emotional decisions than
> I have invested in doing this.
>
> The post-conference fund-raiser is dinner after the un-conference.
>
> My hope is that people will want dinner and will want to continue
> conversations. We will get some people to come to the fundraiser only
> and some people to to come only the un-conference.
>
> We are not on the hook for a fall conference, OC is. They've run one for
> ?10 years, mostly with success. They are commited to run fall conference
>
>>(BTW: why is one an un-conf and the other not?)
>
> The OC board is pretty committed to a conventional format for the fall.
>
> The audience for the un-conference are tech oriented or interested
> community activists and OC has successfully reached out to these folks
> for a while. ---though with less success since their founder has left.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
>

From dan at thecsl.org  Sun Feb 21 21:42:09 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:42:09 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] general fundraising
Message-ID: <4B81EF01.1040800@thecsl.org>

Jim G writes:
>> Fundraising Events: We'd discussed trying to do
>> 4 events a year.

I'd say (2) events per year was about right.

The conventional wisdom is that events take up a huge amount of work and
often don't return much relative to the effort. --especially cash.

The conventional wisdom on events is that they increase awareness
(software should be free!) and build a donor base and that's why you do
them.

>> The Tea was great,

We made about $1,400

The tea was worth the effort even though this amounted to about minimum
wage because we now (thanks to Carolyn) have a donor database. Crude but
far, far superior to what we had before.

Also, more capacity building than me doing contract coding in the lab's
name.

>> as was the  appreciation cookout.

Everyone who came had a good time. --which was the primary goal. As a
party for ourselves it was tops. Alumni who live further south of Lowell
re-connected

We made about $100

As a fund-raising and awareness event --not so good. One person didn't
know us before the event & he was going to volunteer anyway.

Again, making real money and getting lots of new friends wasn't the goal.

>> If you're interested, Half-Past Eight may be willing
>> to do a "pass the hat" blues show fundraiser for the
>> CSL sometime this year.

Of course we'd be happy to take a hatful of cash.

I think before doing the full-on outreach bit, using our name to
increase turnout, we'd want know we had a reasonable shot at netting $1000.

Says me, who has years of experience reading about fundraising, but so
far not huge fundrasing results.

From karen at karenzgoda.org  Mon Feb 22 02:20:22 2010
From: karen at karenzgoda.org (Karen Zgoda)
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:20:22 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] BOD Meeting Agenda - Mtg Tonight!
Message-ID: <D7F164C6-53AB-455C-ACE1-020DE24D0CC5@karenzgoda.org>

---------------------------
Meeting details:

         6:30-8:00 p.m. Monday 2/22/2010

         Brew'd Awakenings Coffeehaus
         61 Market St., Lowell, MA

         Directions - http://bit.ly/Brew_d-Awakening

---------------------------
Meeting goals:
         Elect BOD members
         Vote on OC/CSL Unconference MOU
         Ensure BOD members understand CSL physical space issues
         Review role of the Board and the ED
         Review ED job description draft
         Elect BOD Officers

---------------------------
Meeting agenda:
6:30pm            Call to Order

6:30 - 6:40pm  Introductions / eat/ meeting location switch
6:40 - 6:45pm  Elect BOD members
	                The chair will entertain a motion to elect Karen &  
Jim to another term

6:45 - 6:55pm  OC/CSL Unconference
                         Discussion - pros and cons
                         The chair will entertain a motion to vote on  
accepting or declining the MOU

6:55 - 7:05pm  [Dan] Review Space / University partnership situation

7:05 - 7:20pm  [Steve] Review role of board / ED

7:20 - 7:30pm  [Dan, Steve] Review ED job description draft

7:30 - 7:45pm  [Dan] Review finances

7:45 - 7:55pm  Elect BOD officers or decide to defer to list

7:55 - 8:00pm  Other business

8:00pm             Adjourn

...Karen

Karen Zgoda, MSW, LCSW, PhD Candidate
_______________________________________________________
Email: karen [at] karenzgoda.org
Web Site: http://www.karenzgoda.org
Academic Editing Services: http://EditMyManuscript.com
Fussy Eater Blog: http://www.fussy-eater.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/karenzgoda




From karen at karenzgoda.org  Mon Feb 22 02:25:29 2010
From: karen at karenzgoda.org (Karen Zgoda)
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:25:29 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] general fundraising
In-Reply-To: <4B81EF01.1040800@thecsl.org>
References: <4B81EF01.1040800@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <21D4A3BD-4BF5-41C2-A47A-AC1A42B42C68@karenzgoda.org>

I love the idea of a Half-Past Eight fundraiser!!

...Karen

Karen Zgoda, MSW, LCSW, PhD Candidate
_______________________________________________________
Email: karen [at] karenzgoda.org
Web Site: http://www.karenzgoda.org
Academic Editing Services: http://EditMyManuscript.com
Fussy Eater Blog: http://www.fussy-eater.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/karenzgoda



On Feb 21, 2010, at 9:42 PM, Dan MacNeil wrote:
>
>>> If you're interested, Half-Past Eight may be willing
>>> to do a "pass the hat" blues show fundraiser for the
>>> CSL sometime this year.
>
> Of course we'd be happy to take a hatful of cash.
>
> I think before doing the full-on outreach bit, using our name to
> increase turnout, we'd want know we had a reasonable shot at netting  
> $1000.
>
> Says me, who has years of experience reading about fundraising, but so
> far not huge fundrasing results.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org 
>  ###


From dan at thecsl.org  Mon Feb 22 10:13:41 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:13:41 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] QUICK: ED evaluation process
Message-ID: <4B829F25.1030900@thecsl.org>


Steve got this document to me & Karen some time ago.

It is worth reading & considering, I think this process would fit well
with the business planning we've already started.

The only thing, I might quibble on is discouraging/forbiding board from
working directly with staff or forbidding staff to complain to the board
about the ED.

In my small experience, staff who have complained to the board about me
have either gotten an objective third party view of their situation and
mended their ways or helped me to see where I've been powermad.

In fact, in our long, boring boilerplate, official personal policies,
part of the grievence procedure is to compaline to the BOD president.

http://thecsl.org/sys/00_fundraising.d/bids-grants.d/grants.d/succeeded.d/ctcvista.d/personel_policies_final.txthttp://thecsl.org/sys/00_fundraising.d/bids-grants.d/grants.d/succeeded.d/ctcvista.d/personel_policies_final.txt

...We adopted these officially, because we needed official policies to
apply for VISTAs and this is what google gave us.

##############

Performance Review of the Executive
by the Board of Directors ? DRAFT

Recommendations for Community Software Lab


Perhaps the most valuable asset of an organization is its executive
director.  Boards of directors are well advised to invest in the growth
and development of their executive.  An important component of this
process is performance review:  to provide feedback through a well
thought out assessment process on how the executive is carrying out
his/her responsibilities.

Nonprofit, or community benefit organization, boards of directors have
legal, fiduciary and loyalty requirements to fulfill.  When the IRS
bestows 501?(3) status on an organization, it demands accountability,
and assurance that this nonprofit is performing according to the mission
and purpose it has set out.  Further, States authorize incorporation to
nonprofits to fulfill a stated purpose.  Boards of directors fulfill
their duty in adhering to their legal and fiduciary duties by assuring
that their organization is operating in accordance with its bylaws and
with policies it approves from time to time.

Performance review should be based on criteria agreed to by the board
and the executive.  There should be a job description drafted by the
executive and presented to the board for discussion and approval.

Each year, as there is a budget and a program plan laying out the work
of the nonprofit organization, there should be an accompanying ?plan of
work? for the executive.  This plan identifies specific activities for
focus in the coming year.  These activities can be organized around
categories of responsibilities for the executive, such as: financial
reporting, fundraising, community relations, program objectives,
advocacy, staff supervision/training/review, board relations,
fundraising, execution of the various policies of the board.

The board identifies a month when performance review will take place.
This usually occurs a month-or-two prior to fiscal year-end, so plans
for the executive ?plan of work? can be laid out in consonance with the
annual budget and nonprofit program plan.

The executive initiates the process by writing a summary of the nearly
concluded year, in terms as described in the plan of work agreed to a
year ago.  This report is presented in advance of the performance review
face-to-face meeting, usually chaired by the board chair/President.
Frequently, the Treasurer or Chair of the Finance Committee, and chairs




CSL Executive Performance Review DRAFT
Page 2.

of other ?key? committees of the nonprofit have seen the executive
report and also attend.  Prior to this meeting, the chair/President of
the board solicits the board for input in the review process: are there
particular things members want to be sure receive proper commendation,
are there other things members wish to point out needing improvement.
The executive and the chair/President must always strive to achieve
objectivity in the process.  For this reason, the executive plan of work
is the centerpiece of the process to help assure inconsequential or
irrelevant factors do not color the review.

An additional element of the executive plan of work is
training/development: allowances  for time and travel reimbursement at
workshops, conferences, other educational opportunities that help build
the executive?s skill base.

Members of the board must remember that they do not have the benefit of
working with the executive day-to-day, so they are hard pressed to walk
a mile in the executive?s shoes.  The executive needs to know s/he has
the support of the board, that staff cannot maneuver around the
executive to complain to board members about the executive, and that
there is always an open, transparent relationship with volunteer
leadership.  And the board, in turn, needs to count on that transparency
in how the executive carries out the business of the nonprofit.

Following the face-to-face meeting between the executive and board
leadership, the chair/President writes a summary of the meeting,
providing assessment of performance in each of the areas of
responsibility of the executive.  This is shared in DRAFT form with
board members who attended the review meeting.  The volunteers identify
areas for special focus, perhaps citing areas of improvement they hope
to see in the year ahead.  This DRAFT is shared with the executive, who
can suggest edits to the chair/President.  Ultimately, the staff and
volunteer leader agree on the final review, which usually includes a pay
increase for the executive.

This document should be CONFIDENTIAL between board leaders and the
executive. A copy should go to the personnel folder of the executive.
The board should be advised in general terms by the chair/President of
the result of the review.

There should be a performance review process that the executive conducts
with staff.

And, there should be a board self-assessment process established and
conducted each year.

From dan at thecsl.org  Mon Feb 22 10:38:34 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:38:34 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] QUICK: ED  (short link)
In-Reply-To: <d334831b1002220729i416a3ba5kf2698a5bbfe98c96@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4B829F25.1030900@thecsl.org>
	<d334831b1002220729i416a3ba5kf2698a5bbfe98c96@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4B82A4FA.2020905@thecsl.org>

Think link to personel policies got wrapped./ truncated / mangled

	http://tiny.cc/F2l9l

....Again, I'd not read this unless you were avoiding day job. Steve's
short easy to ready process document in last message is better use of time.

From dan at thecsl.org  Mon Feb 22 11:52:56 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:52:56 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] DRAFT job description
Message-ID: <4B82B668.4040407@thecsl.org>


Very much a draft.


#################
CSL Fearless Leader Job Description and General Evaluation criteria. (to
start in FY 2010/2011)

Under the direction of the CSL board, the fearless leader implements the
CSL mission to develop and promote useful open source software, provide
training in software development and connect people to the social
services they need through the web.

STRATEGIC
Consulting with relevant board committees insure that a 1-2 page,
organizational work plan with measurable administrative, financial and
pragmatic outputs and outcomes is created on a quarterly basis.

This work plan will be ready 1 week prior to the regularly scheduled
quarterly board meeting.

Insure that plan is revised as needed based on input from board at and
around quarterly meeting.

With the approval of the BOD, insure that the work-plan is revised as
unforeseen opportunities arise.

The board's ultimate check on FL power to set/met outputs/outcomes to
achieve mission is to fire FL.

SUPERVISION
Consulting with the CSL BOD President and (if one exists) CSL BOD
personnel committee, The CSLFL will assign work to, hire, evaluate,
promote and (if needed) fire CSL staff and volunteers.

Consulting with CSL staff and volunteers, develop and evaluate
procedures and policies to help CSL meet output and outcome goals. Examples:

   "To prevent data loss and to insure error free operation,
    all new code will have 100% unit test coverage"

    "It is ok to be late, as long as you check in via email
     or phone before hand."

Consulting with CSL staff and volunteers, make exceptions to tactical
policies and procedures. Examples:

  "We won't get paid if we don't finish this week,
    we're not doing all the unit tests, right now"

CHORES
Insure that 2 weeks prior to quarterly board meeting a report listing
met and umet goals in the previous quarter's work plan

Insure that paperwork required by goverment (990, MA Dept Revenue, MA
Atty General) is done on time and accurately.

Insure that financial records are maintined in a timely and accurate
manner and that useful financial reports be prepared

Insure that web services are usable and accurate 95% of the time.

Insure that crucial bugs are fixed within 24 hours

Insure that serious bugs are fixed within 1 week.

Insure that constituant relations database is accurate and up to date.

FUNDRAISING
  See: STRATEGIC

ADMINISTRATIVE
  See: STRATEGIC

PROGRAMATIC (software development)
  See: STRATEGIC

PROGRAMATIC (software development training)
  See: STRATEGIC

GENERAL EVAULATION CRITERA

What percentage of CSLFL chores got done?
    ---on time ?

Did CSLFL set realistic output/outcome goals in the quarterly work plan?

Did the organization meet the goals set in the quarterly work plan?

Were the output/outcome goals set measurable ?

Was useful work done that wasn't on the workplan ?

Did this work not on the plan, preclude workplan outputs/outcomes?

From jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org  Mon Feb 22 12:53:14 2010
From: jgrenier at thoughtsonsales.org (James Grenier)
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:53:14 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [CSL board] QUICK: ED evaluation process
In-Reply-To: <4B829F25.1030900@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <49654.244.qm@web502.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>


I agree. Staff need to be able to speak to the board if there's an issue they can not speak to the ED about (no matter who he or she may be at any point in time).

The fact that Dan appreciates this as a positive thing? is a sign of his good nature, and that perhaps any 'forbidding' of the practice be stricken from the language of this document.

Thanks for the hard work on this issue by all.





--- On Mon, 2/22/10, Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org> wrote:

From: Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org>
Subject: [CSL board] QUICK: ED evaluation process
To: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org>
Cc: "Steve Smith" <s.p.99smith at gmail.com>
Date: Monday, February 22, 2010, 10:13 AM


Steve got this document to me & Karen some time ago.

It is worth reading & considering, I think this process would fit well
with the business planning we've already started.

The only thing, I might quibble on is discouraging/forbiding board from
working directly with staff or forbidding staff to complain to the board
about the ED.

In my small experience, staff who have complained to the board about me
have either gotten an objective third party view of their situation and
mended their ways or helped me to see where I've been powermad.

In fact, in our long, boring boilerplate, official personal policies,
part of the grievence procedure is to compaline to the BOD president.

http://thecsl.org/sys/00_fundraising.d/bids-grants.d/grants.d/succeeded.d/ctcvista.d/personel_policies_final.txthttp://thecsl.org/sys/00_fundraising.d/bids-grants.d/grants.d/succeeded.d/ctcvista.d/personel_policies_final.txt

...We adopted these officially, because we needed official policies to
apply for VISTAs and this is what google gave us.

##############

Performance Review of the Executive
by the Board of Directors ? DRAFT

Recommendations for Community Software Lab


Perhaps the most valuable asset of an organization is its executive
director.? Boards of directors are well advised to invest in the growth
and development of their executive.? An important component of this
process is performance review:? to provide feedback through a well
thought out assessment process on how the executive is carrying out
his/her responsibilities.

Nonprofit, or community benefit organization, boards of directors have
legal, fiduciary and loyalty requirements to fulfill.? When the IRS
bestows 501?(3) status on an organization, it demands accountability,
and assurance that this nonprofit is performing according to the mission
and purpose it has set out.? Further, States authorize incorporation to
nonprofits to fulfill a stated purpose.? Boards of directors fulfill
their duty in adhering to their legal and fiduciary duties by assuring
that their organization is operating in accordance with its bylaws and
with policies it approves from time to time.

Performance review should be based on criteria agreed to by the board
and the executive.? There should be a job description drafted by the
executive and presented to the board for discussion and approval.

Each year, as there is a budget and a program plan laying out the work
of the nonprofit organization, there should be an accompanying ?plan of
work? for the executive.? This plan identifies specific activities for
focus in the coming year.? These activities can be organized around
categories of responsibilities for the executive, such as: financial
reporting, fundraising, community relations, program objectives,
advocacy, staff supervision/training/review, board relations,
fundraising, execution of the various policies of the board.

The board identifies a month when performance review will take place.
This usually occurs a month-or-two prior to fiscal year-end, so plans
for the executive ?plan of work? can be laid out in consonance with the
annual budget and nonprofit program plan.

The executive initiates the process by writing a summary of the nearly
concluded year, in terms as described in the plan of work agreed to a
year ago.? This report is presented in advance of the performance review
face-to-face meeting, usually chaired by the board chair/President.
Frequently, the Treasurer or Chair of the Finance Committee, and chairs




CSL Executive Performance Review DRAFT
Page 2.

of other ?key? committees of the nonprofit have seen the executive
report and also attend.? Prior to this meeting, the chair/President of
the board solicits the board for input in the review process: are there
particular things members want to be sure receive proper commendation,
are there other things members wish to point out needing improvement.
The executive and the chair/President must always strive to achieve
objectivity in the process.? For this reason, the executive plan of work
is the centerpiece of the process to help assure inconsequential or
irrelevant factors do not color the review.

An additional element of the executive plan of work is
training/development: allowances? for time and travel reimbursement at
workshops, conferences, other educational opportunities that help build
the executive?s skill base.

Members of the board must remember that they do not have the benefit of
working with the executive day-to-day, so they are hard pressed to walk
a mile in the executive?s shoes.? The executive needs to know s/he has
the support of the board, that staff cannot maneuver around the
executive to complain to board members about the executive, and that
there is always an open, transparent relationship with volunteer
leadership.? And the board, in turn, needs to count on that transparency
in how the executive carries out the business of the nonprofit.

Following the face-to-face meeting between the executive and board
leadership, the chair/President writes a summary of the meeting,
providing assessment of performance in each of the areas of
responsibility of the executive.? This is shared in DRAFT form with
board members who attended the review meeting.? The volunteers identify
areas for special focus, perhaps citing areas of improvement they hope
to see in the year ahead.? This DRAFT is shared with the executive, who
can suggest edits to the chair/President.? Ultimately, the staff and
volunteer leader agree on the final review, which usually includes a pay
increase for the executive.

This document should be CONFIDENTIAL between board leaders and the
executive. A copy should go to the personnel folder of the executive.
The board should be advised in general terms by the chair/President of
the result of the review.

There should be a performance review process that the executive conducts
with staff.

And, there should be a board self-assessment process established and
conducted each year.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###

From dan at thecsl.org  Tue Feb 23 00:03:10 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:03:10 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] finance reports
Message-ID: <4B83618E.6020004@thecsl.org>

I didn't get them out before the meeting, We didn't go over them in the
meeting.

http://thecsl.org/sys/finance.d/bod.d/2010-02.d/	

The big news is that w/ contracted income & expenses we are projected to
be $10,000 in the hole come August/September.
			
This is actually fairly typical 6 months out. While past results don't
guarantee future performance, we've always muddled through in the past.

Diane's balance sheet format is also pretty interesting. I'd not
realized we'd spent $488 in payroll fees. --Which is more than we spend
on payroll most months.

http://thecsl.org/sys/finance.d/bod.d/2010-02.d/balance_sheet_as_of_2010-02.xls

Documents are all in excel & PDF

From drnassif at comcast.net  Tue Feb 23 09:00:22 2010
From: drnassif at comcast.net (drnassif at comcast.net)
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:00:22 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: [CSL board] finance reports
In-Reply-To: <4B83618E.6020004@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <114410655.8144701266933622513.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>

Thanks Dan. This is a big improvement over the past reporting. It might be a good idea going forward to report through the end of a month or quarter rather than to some arbitrary mid-month date. I will take a look at this in more detail and maybe make some updates if you don't mind, not to the numbers but to the format. Maybe put it into the uniform chart of accounts format so that the reports can easily feed the government reporting? 

I will have questions for you Dan, so will do that off this list. If anyone else has suggestions or comments please let me or Dan know. The goal here is to be able to make informed decisions and hopefully once we get the format figured out the overhead involved in putting the financial data in will be limited. 

Diane 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan MacNeil" <dan at thecsl.org> 
To: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 12:03:10 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: [CSL board] finance reports 

I didn't get them out before the meeting, We didn't go over them in the 
meeting. 

http://thecsl.org/sys/finance.d/bod.d/2010-02.d/ 

The big news is that w/ contracted income & expenses we are projected to 
be $10,000 in the hole come August/September. 

This is actually fairly typical 6 months out. While past results don't 
guarantee future performance, we've always muddled through in the past. 

Diane's balance sheet format is also pretty interesting. I'd not 
realized we'd spent $488 in payroll fees. --Which is more than we spend 
on payroll most months. 

http://thecsl.org/sys/finance.d/bod.d/2010-02.d/balance_sheet_as_of_2010-02.xls 

Documents are all in excel & PDF 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ### 

From fredm at cs.uml.edu  Tue Feb 23 21:11:03 2010
From: fredm at cs.uml.edu (Fred G. Martin)
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:11:03 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] unconference?
Message-ID: <72ef860f1002231811m46807957m4f919bfb53f2926b@mail.gmail.com>

Hey all. what was the verdict yesterday? Did you come up with a name
for the event?

Fred

-- 
Sent from my mobile device

From dan at thecsl.org  Wed Feb 24 13:24:14 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:24:14 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] unconference?
In-Reply-To: <72ef860f1002231811m46807957m4f919bfb53f2926b@mail.gmail.com>
References: <72ef860f1002231811m46807957m4f919bfb53f2926b@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4B856ECE.4050600@thecsl.org>

> Hey all. what was the verdict yesterday?

MOU was approved provided it was amended so we could bail if we didn't
have $1000 in sponsorship 60 days before conference date.

Next step is to create & approve project budget.

> Did you come up with a name for the event?

Not yet, Given name recognition of past conferences, the name should
include "tech" and "grassroots"

Perhaps:

	grassroots un-tech conference 10.6 "dopey dog"

10.6 meaning May 2010, 10.6 and  "dopy dog" being homage to ubuntu fans.

un-tech being a bit of paradox & setup for:

	"tech but with a purpose beyond coolness or making money"

From fredm at cs.uml.edu  Thu Feb 25 12:46:52 2010
From: fredm at cs.uml.edu (Fred G. Martin)
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:46:52 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] unconference?
In-Reply-To: <4B856ECE.4050600@thecsl.org>
References: <72ef860f1002231811m46807957m4f919bfb53f2926b@mail.gmail.com> 
	<4B856ECE.4050600@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <72ef860f1002250946i46778f50p628349406e5b0ece@mail.gmail.com>

Dan I think you put the "un" in the wrong place.  Don't you mean

  Grassroots Tech "Un-Conference"

I would remove the dopey dog -- way too much of an inside joke.

Have you gotten some ballpark pricing on space and food?

What did you all think of my suggestion for keynote speakers?

Fred




On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 1:24 PM, Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org> wrote:
>> Hey all. what was the verdict yesterday?
>
> MOU was approved provided it was amended so we could bail if we didn't
> have $1000 in sponsorship 60 days before conference date.
>
> Next step is to create & approve project budget.
>
>> Did you come up with a name for the event?
>
> Not yet, Given name recognition of past conferences, the name should
> include "tech" and "grassroots"
>
> Perhaps:
>
> ? ? ? ?grassroots un-tech conference 10.6 "dopey dog"
>
> 10.6 meaning May 2010, 10.6 and ?"dopy dog" being homage to ubuntu fans.
>
> un-tech being a bit of paradox & setup for:
>
> ? ? ? ?"tech but with a purpose beyond coolness or making money"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
>

From drnassif at comcast.net  Thu Feb 25 14:02:15 2010
From: drnassif at comcast.net (drnassif at comcast.net)
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:02:15 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: [CSL board] DRAFT job description
In-Reply-To: <4B82B668.4040407@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <1440767998.9462711267124535081.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>

Hello, 

Here are some thoughts, not particularly orderly, on this ED job description. 

First of all, I think it should cover in some detail a range of things that the ED is responsible for under the following topics: management and organization including hiring and supervision of staff, marketing and customer relations, fund raising and donor relations, operations and software development, and financial management and reporting. 

There are certain critical items that the organization should have and I think that the ED is responsible for creating them and/or working with the board to have them generated and approved. These include: the business plan, an annual budget, financial reports (operating revenues and expenses against budget, and assets and liabilities), legal and regulatory reports, and product marketing and pricing material. 

The ED is also responsible for the quality, integrity, and confidentiality of the data in the various hub implementations, the donor/member data, and the software code that makes up the product. 

The ED is responsible for the organization's relations with third parties such as donors, partners/customers, grant makers, sponsors, in kind donors, and the FOSS community. Responsibility for certain relationships may be delegated to others, or the Board may help. 

The ED should be expected to keep up to date on things that matter to the organization such as software development technologies and methods, Web technology and social media, social service directories and databases, and possible grantmakers and funders. 

The job description should include a section on how the ED is expected to do the job as well as what needs to be produced. Decisions should be made based on facts, the ED should show leadership, influence, collaboration, be able to give and take direction from others. 

Succession planning is important to this particular job, not only for the ED position, but for the other positions in the organization. It is critical that the ED is able to manage a new set of Vista volunteers coming into the organization each year, as well as new trainees. 

Finally, I had hoped that perhaps this exercise of writing a job description for the ED would help us to better define the relative responsibilities of the ED and the board. For example, the ED can approve expenditures. But is there some limit at which the Board is also required to approve an expenditure? If it exceeds the budgeted amount or a particular threshhold? 

The notion of RACI is used to clarify responsibilities in larger organizations: Who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed? It might be helpful to have some of the critical items described in these terms. What must the ED do vs. the Board? What can be delegated to others for execution? When does some issue need to be escalated to the Board? 

I'm sure that the rest of you have thoughts on this as well. Looking forward to hearing them. 

Diane 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan MacNeil" <dan at thecsl.org> 
To: "CSL Board" <board at thecsl.org> 
Cc: "Steve Smith" <s.p.99smith at gmail.com> 
Sent: Monday, February 22, 2010 11:52:56 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: [CSL board] DRAFT job description 


Very much a draft. 


################# 
CSL Fearless Leader Job Description and General Evaluation criteria. (to 
start in FY 2010/2011) 

Under the direction of the CSL board, the fearless leader implements the 
CSL mission to develop and promote useful open source software, provide 
training in software development and connect people to the social 
services they need through the web. 

STRATEGIC 
Consulting with relevant board committees insure that a 1-2 page, 
organizational work plan with measurable administrative, financial and 
pragmatic outputs and outcomes is created on a quarterly basis. 

This work plan will be ready 1 week prior to the regularly scheduled 
quarterly board meeting. 

Insure that plan is revised as needed based on input from board at and 
around quarterly meeting. 

With the approval of the BOD, insure that the work-plan is revised as 
unforeseen opportunities arise. 

The board's ultimate check on FL power to set/met outputs/outcomes to 
achieve mission is to fire FL. 

SUPERVISION 
Consulting with the CSL BOD President and (if one exists) CSL BOD 
personnel committee, The CSLFL will assign work to, hire, evaluate, 
promote and (if needed) fire CSL staff and volunteers. 

Consulting with CSL staff and volunteers, develop and evaluate 
procedures and policies to help CSL meet output and outcome goals. Examples: 

"To prevent data loss and to insure error free operation, 
all new code will have 100% unit test coverage" 

"It is ok to be late, as long as you check in via email 
or phone before hand." 

Consulting with CSL staff and volunteers, make exceptions to tactical 
policies and procedures. Examples: 

"We won't get paid if we don't finish this week, 
we're not doing all the unit tests, right now" 

CHORES 
Insure that 2 weeks prior to quarterly board meeting a report listing 
met and umet goals in the previous quarter's work plan 

Insure that paperwork required by goverment (990, MA Dept Revenue, MA 
Atty General) is done on time and accurately. 

Insure that financial records are maintined in a timely and accurate 
manner and that useful financial reports be prepared 

Insure that web services are usable and accurate 95% of the time. 

Insure that crucial bugs are fixed within 24 hours 

Insure that serious bugs are fixed within 1 week. 

Insure that constituant relations database is accurate and up to date. 

FUNDRAISING 
See: STRATEGIC 

ADMINISTRATIVE 
See: STRATEGIC 

PROGRAMATIC (software development) 
See: STRATEGIC 

PROGRAMATIC (software development training) 
See: STRATEGIC 

GENERAL EVAULATION CRITERA 

What percentage of CSLFL chores got done? 
---on time ? 

Did CSLFL set realistic output/outcome goals in the quarterly work plan? 

Did the organization meet the goals set in the quarterly work plan? 

Were the output/outcome goals set measurable ? 

Was useful work done that wasn't on the workplan ? 

Did this work not on the plan, preclude workplan outputs/outcomes? 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ### 

From drnassif at comcast.net  Thu Feb 25 14:23:23 2010
From: drnassif at comcast.net (drnassif at comcast.net)
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:23:23 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: [CSL board] Marketing Communication
Message-ID: <1995495041.9475671267125803735.JavaMail.root@sz0133a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>

This week I attended a seminar on Effective Marketing Communications for Non Profits. It was thorough and to the point, with a good deal of discussion of networking, which seems to be the technique that we at CSL are planning to pursue. The slide deck and audio recording may be found here: http://www.nonprofitnet.us/ 

The speaker made the point that it is essential to have a clear, consistent message to be delivered across all channels. She had some sample materials for getting organized as part of her deck. 

Enjoy, 
Diane 

From dan at thecsl.org  Thu Feb 25 17:08:20 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:08:20 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] Gold watch for John
Message-ID: <4B86F4D4.4010707@thecsl.org>


John regrets that his other duties keep him from further service with
the CSL board.

As is usual, I'll leave him on the board list until he demands to be
taken off or he starts to SPAM us with get rich quick schemes.

We'll lift a glass in his name Friday night 03/12 at the Dubliner. I
imagine he'll be walking the dog then, but that won't stop us drinking.

From dan at thecsl.org  Thu Feb 25 17:36:25 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:36:25 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] unconference?
In-Reply-To: <72ef860f1002250946i46778f50p628349406e5b0ece@mail.gmail.com>
References: <72ef860f1002231811m46807957m4f919bfb53f2926b@mail.gmail.com>
	<4B856ECE.4050600@thecsl.org>
	<72ef860f1002250946i46778f50p628349406e5b0ece@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4B86FB69.4020003@thecsl.org>

> Dan I think you put the "un" in the wrong place.  Don't you mean

>  Grassroots Tech "Un-Conference"

I did actually mean un-tech, as in not for mere money or ego, but this
is probably too much of an inside joke also.

>I would remove the dopey dog -- way too much of an inside joke.

Done.

> Have you gotten some ballpark pricing on space and food?

Not yet, we've got quote requests out from a friendly restaurant and are
working on a quotes from

Middlesex  (Jim)
North Shore Community College (Carolyn)
UML (me)
Lowell Public Schools (Carolyn)

btw, Richard_Sherburne at uml.edu was clear that the depth of Faculty
involvement was the primary factor in his price setting.  If Faculty is
primary organizer, the price is lowest. If Faculty is just lending name,
 price is highest.

I said we were probably in the middle.

> What did you all think of my suggestion for keynote speakers?

Pretty much stuck thinking of a tactful way to say I wasn't sure it was
good idea.

I was with you in 2008, but "Gunner" a somewhat stereo-typical
California dude, convinced me that key note speakers part of the
hierarchy and harshed the mellow for the conference.


From fredm at cs.uml.edu  Thu Feb 25 18:26:45 2010
From: fredm at cs.uml.edu (Fred G. Martin)
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:26:45 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] unconference?
In-Reply-To: <4B86FB69.4020003@thecsl.org>
References: <72ef860f1002231811m46807957m4f919bfb53f2926b@mail.gmail.com> 
	<4B856ECE.4050600@thecsl.org>
	<72ef860f1002250946i46778f50p628349406e5b0ece@mail.gmail.com> 
	<4B86FB69.4020003@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <72ef860f1002251526y10706122re68e85637298db4@mail.gmail.com>

I think the direct method is best.  I should assume that assigned
speakers and unconferences are fundamentally incompatible then?  I was
thinking a hybrid approach would be valuable; it would hinge on
getting speakers that (a) can make inspiring short talks, and (b)
certainly don't use powerpoint.

But if unconference implies no a priori speakers, that's cool.

I like the venues you listed, these are certainly going to be lower
priced than a hotel!  Let me know if you need help talking to Rick
Sherbourne.

A couple key questions though:

* how many people do you want to show up (and how many rooms do you
need for them)

* can you describe your thoughts about how to get people into
productive configurations over the course of the day?  what have you
experienced at other unconferences that seemed to work?  is a whole
day affair?

I have been at conferences that had a few self-organized blocks
scattered about the normal structured session format, but I've never
been at an unconference that literally has no pre-existing sessions
upon arrival, so I am having some trouble imagining how it would work.

I think depending on the attendee count, different approaches might be
needed.  E.g., for 10 people, you probably don't need to plan
anything, but for 20, 50, or 100, you might need various different
strategies.

Thanks Dan!

Fred




On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 5:36 PM, Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org> wrote:
>> Dan I think you put the "un" in the wrong place. ?Don't you mean
>
>> ?Grassroots Tech "Un-Conference"
>
> I did actually mean un-tech, as in not for mere money or ego, but this
> is probably too much of an inside joke also.
>
>>I would remove the dopey dog -- way too much of an inside joke.
>
> Done.
>
>> Have you gotten some ballpark pricing on space and food?
>
> Not yet, we've got quote requests out from a friendly restaurant and are
> working on a quotes from
>
> Middlesex ?(Jim)
> North Shore Community College (Carolyn)
> UML (me)
> Lowell Public Schools (Carolyn)
>
> btw, Richard_Sherburne at uml.edu was clear that the depth of Faculty
> involvement was the primary factor in his price setting. ?If Faculty is
> primary organizer, the price is lowest. If Faculty is just lending name,
> ?price is highest.
>
> I said we were probably in the middle.
>
>> What did you all think of my suggestion for keynote speakers?
>
> Pretty much stuck thinking of a tactful way to say I wasn't sure it was
> good idea.
>
> I was with you in 2008, but "Gunner" a somewhat stereo-typical
> California dude, convinced me that key note speakers part of the
> hierarchy and harshed the mellow for the conference.
>
> >From the 3 un-conferences I've been at:
>
> ? ? ? ?http://penguinday.org
> ? ? ? ?http://www.barcampboston.org/
> ? ? ? ?http://www.aspirationtech.org/events/devsummit08
>
> ...I've come to believe he's right.
>
> If the focus of the day is to facilitate discussion and eschew
> powerpoint....
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
>

From dan at thecsl.org  Fri Feb 26 15:05:50 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:05:50 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] [Fwd: One Day Conference for Board Member-March 27,
	2010]
Message-ID: <4B88299E.8050500@thecsl.org>



Any interest in this ?


#############


Jericho Road Project is pleased to support Essex County Community
Foundation in hosting the Institute for Trustees.  Jericho Road
Project nonprofit partners in Lowell are welcome to attend.  See below
for information on the one-day conference for board members.


Essex County Institute for Trustees
A day of instructive and inspirational workshops filled with critical
information for those in leadership roles at nonprofit organizations.


Saturday, March 27, 2010

8:30 am - 3:00 pm

To be held at Pingree School, South Hamilton, MA

This Institute is restricted to Trustees of nonprofit organizations.
Full Boards are welcome. Executive Directors may attend if accompanied
by at least one Trustee

Fees:

$45 per person for one Trustee

$35 per person for 2-5 Trustees from one organization.

$25 per person for 6 or more Trustees from one organization.

Topics
These topics will be covered for all participants

A Trustees Job in 2010
Vision, values, policy and strategy

Legal Issues for Trustees
State and federal laws affecting nonprofit boards, required duties of
Trustees and key strategies

Fiduciary Responsibilities
Resource Management, investment management, fundraising, records,
audit, filings, reporting to constituents and risk management

Fundraising and the Board
Whose responsibility is it? Trustees' roles, teaching versus asking,
how to handle gifts most effectively

Luncheon Roundtables
with peers from similar organizations

Technical Assistance
Opportunity for individual board members to meet privately with
experts

Breakout Sessions
Please choose from the following sessions

How to Build the Board
Determining what you need, how to find and engage the right
candidates, stages of Board development.

Succession Planning in the Board and Staff
Balancing continuity and renewal, defining terms of service, assuring
organizational sustainability.

The Board and the Executive Director
The difference between leadership and management, what makes a healthy
relationship, evaluation and compensation

Board Evaluation
Effective ways to measure Trustees' performance, assure institutional
progress, and know when you are succeeding.

Running Effective, Productive Meetings
Providing substance, engagement, understanding, and renewal in the
boardroom.



Registration: Pre-registration is required. Registration is online
only. Space is limited. Please register early. Registration is now
open.

 Register Now	

Please note: If you are registering for more than one Trustee, please
have all the information ready before beginning the registration
process including how many Trustees you will be registering for, their
email address, home address, and their first and second choice of
breakout sessions they would like to attend.




Join Our Mailing List!

Go to www.eccf.org


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From dan at thecsl.org  Fri Feb 26 17:12:20 2010
From: dan at thecsl.org (Dan MacNeil)
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:12:20 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] consistent msg
Message-ID: <4B884744.4000403@thecsl.org>


Diane,

Thanks for slide deck link. It was worth the time to read.

I think consistent message is good but perhaps a completely controlled
message isn't desirable or perhaps possible.

see 4 minute video on greenpeace resisting naming whale 'Mr Splashy Pants':

http://www.ted.com/talks/alexis_ohanian_how_to_make_a_splash_in_social_media.html

From s.p.99smith at gmail.com  Fri Feb 26 17:18:17 2010
From: s.p.99smith at gmail.com (Steven Smith)
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:18:17 -0500
Subject: [CSL board] consistent msg
In-Reply-To: <4B884744.4000403@thecsl.org>
References: <4B884744.4000403@thecsl.org>
Message-ID: <d334831b1002261418x63d747e2lff26ec9043129ae@mail.gmail.com>

>
> Dan & CSL board:
>
> *I think consistent message is good but perhaps a completely controlled
> message isn't desirable or perhaps possible.
> *
> Exactomundo.
>

Steve

From bogus@does.not.exist.com  Fri Feb 26 15:06:03 2010
From: bogus@does.not.exist.com ()
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:06:03 -0000
Subject: No subject
Message-ID: <mailman.0.1269202389.1129.divinerightofkings@lists.thecsl.org>

will take valuable time away from what I see as far
more pressing isues.

Here's to March madness

Steve
On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 3:47 PM, Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org> wrote:

>
> It feels like we're doing a bit of bike shedding on the conference name.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_Law_of_Triviality
>
> The name of the conference is a pretty accessible topic, one everyone
> can make a contribution to without too much effort.
>
> Other topics, are much more difficult and perhaps require more than
> talk, but are perhaps more important. For example:
>
>        financial systems that permit surprise cash flow problems
>
>        how we will proceed without VISTAs in 2012 at the latest.
>
>        connecting to funds
>        ....
>        balancing getting software written with giving people useful
>        experience.
>
> I'm not a big person for boundaries and ordinarily any kind of input is
> better than no input for me but...
>
> The conference name is pretty far outside the board policy / oversight
> realm. For reasons already stated, I am going to lift my leg, mark my
> spot and name it:
>
>         "Grassroots tech un-conference, Lowell"
>
> I hope this doesn't harsh anyone's mellow or discourage further input on
> other topics. --especially if the conversation can be asynchronous and
> squezed into the cracks between everyone's regular work.
>
> Again, I think given people's time constrants, the board has done a good
> job. For example, without the board's careful deliberations, we'd still
> be hosting and growing irrelevant.
>
> This particular thing though...
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
> Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
>

From bogus@does.not.exist.com  Fri Feb 26 15:06:03 2010
From: bogus@does.not.exist.com ()
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:06:03 -0000
Subject: No subject
Message-ID: <mailman.1.1269221806.1129.divinerightofkings@lists.thecsl.org>

will take valuable time away from what I see as far
more pressing isues.

Here's to March madness

Steve
On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 3:47 PM, Dan MacNeil <dan at thecsl.org> wrote:

>
> It feels like we're doing a bit of bike shedding on the conference name.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_Law_of_Triviality
>
> The name of the conference is a pretty accessible topic, one everyone
> can make a contribution to without too much effort.
>
> Other topics, are much more difficult and perhaps require more than
> talk, but are perhaps more important. For example:
>
>=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 financial systems that permit surprise cash flow problems
>
>=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 how we will proceed without VISTAs in 2012 at the latest.
>
>=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 connecting to funds
>=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 ....
>=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 balancing getting software written with giving people usef=
ul
>=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 experience.
>
> I'm not a big person for boundaries and ordinarily any kind of input is
> better than no input for me but...
>
> The conference name is pretty far outside the board policy / oversight
> realm. For reasons already stated, I am going to lift my leg, mark my
> spot and name it:
>
>=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0=A0=A0"Grassroots tech un-conference, Lowell"
>
> I hope this doesn't harsh anyone's mellow or discourage further input on
> other topics. --especially if the conversation can be asynchronous and
> squezed into the cracks between everyone's regular work.
>
> Again, I think given people's time constrants, the board has done a good
> job. For example, without the board's careful deliberations, we'd still
> be hosting and growing irrelevant.
>
> This particular thing though...
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
------
> ###To unsubscribe send blank email to:
> Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecsl.org ###
>

---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
----
###To unsubscribe send blank email to: Divinerightofkings-leave at lists.thecs=
l.org ###