Hello hello! We have a board meeting at the makerspace this Wednesday, June 28, at 7:00 pm. You’re welcome to stop in and say hi and if you have questions or feedback, we have a spot designated for member discourse as well!
If you’re unable to attend but have a topic you’d like me to bring up for you, please share it in the comments below. 
Agenda
- Approval of agenda
- Approval of previous minutes
- Executive report
- Treasurer’s report
- Secretary’s report
- Committee updates
- Member-led discourse
- Schedule the next board meeting
- Public board meeting adjourns
- Executive session
Location Details
Topic: LMN Board Meeting
Time: June 28, 2023 at 7:00 PM Eastern
Location: 2730 Alpha Access St. Lansing, MI 48910
Lansing Makers Network
Board of Directors
Regular Meeting Minutes
June 28, 2023, 7:00 pm at 2730 Alpha Access
Present: Erik Gillespie (Secretary), Brian Adams (President), Carl Raymond, Jerry Jodloski, Joe Zimmerman, Jody Applegate (Treasurer), Charlie Finkel
Absent:
Spectators: Maria Riolo, Evelyn Down
Minutes: Erik Gillespie
Meeting called to order: 7:07 pm
1. Approval of agenda
MOTION: Approval of Agenda as Submitted. [Charlie, Jody]
RESULT: Approved by unanimous consent
2. Approval of previous minutes
Link to 2023-05-24 Meeting Minutes
MOTION: Approval of Minutes as Submitted. [Erik, Jerry]
RESULT: Approved by unanimous consent
3. Treasurer’s report
Link to 2023-05 Treasurer’s Report
Link to 2023-06 (Partial) Treasurer’s Report
- Jody plans to follow up on a backlog of undeposited checks.
- We haven’t started paying for the electrical upgrade and are trying to be as conservative as we can right now with spending.
- Brian has requested that Jody schedule a meeting for Maria A, Dot, Carl, and Brian to task themselves with bookkeeping and our budget.
4. Secretary’s report
- Patronicity report is complete except for the budget - Erik and Brian will start tagging these transactions over lunch.
- We don’t have enough documentation to identify which items of ours are in Cliffs possession. The board will focus on moving forward without it.
- Erik followed up with Cheyenne about her interest in becoming a board member and will continue to do so until hearing back.
5. Executive report
- Brian Dale is stepping down from Digital Fab area manager position. We’ll figure out how to fill this position.
- Brian encourages board members to read Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Laloux (Erik has a physical copy to be lent and it can be borrowed/bought digitally) as we figure out how to evolve our organization.
- We’ll be having more convos about organization structure in the coming weeks to find people interested in making positive changes to the organization.
- Brian attended an NPN networking event and met LaToya Turner of the Capital Region Community Foundation. She plans to visit the space in the next month or so.
- Brian would like to improve on networking for the organization. Can we start hosting more events?
- We need to improve our LMN pitch and consider more ways we can involve ourselves in other communities around Lansing.
- Charlie plans to teach a multipart cabinet-making class where the attendees learn cabinet-making skills and the cabinets made during the class go to the MSU Student Housing Co-Op (or Habitat for Humanity, or others).
- We could similarly do this for other craft areas such as making beds, quilts, or other items local organizations may need and partner with individuals that can teach and offer new skills through their organizations.
6. Committee updates
- Strategic Planning Committee (Brian, Carl, Charlie)
- No meeting since the previous board meeting.
- Fundraising Committee (Carl, Erik, Joe, Maria, Evelyn)
- Link to Fundraising Committee Meeting Minutes
- Erik has a lead on a photographer who can do an hour-long photoshoot for us.
- Maria A. has created a solid mailer design, Joe has made an embeddable map for it, and Carl is working on a landing page we can direct people to from the mailer.
- Mike Lautner plans to seed Scrapfest with physical QR code tokens that direct people to our website saying they found a treasure and can bring it in for a key chain.
- Brian wonders if there are matters of process we can consider to improve outreach, routine processes, and donations in addition to earned income. e.g. following up with class participants routinely to remind them we’re a nonprofit and benefit greatly from donations. This is an area where messaging (having a clear and obvious reason to donate) will be greatly beneficial to us.
- We will also pursue more press releases to get the word out about community events like the cabinet-making class that involves the MSU Housing Co-Op and our tenth anniversary.
7. Member-led discourse
- Maria R. recommends small asks too, like send us $25 for craft supplies (or cabinet supplies, or a particular area).
- We’ll need to ensure that messaging is clear how the money is used and that we follow through on spending directed donations as they are designated.
- Lex shared the following document for where we can send press releases: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nVxJ6daqvaJC7G4Szeknhf7YWaIk8KiBTzrvumDVL3k/edit
- Lots of brainstorming around projects for other organizations where they want a skill and/or thing made and we partner with them to make it happen.
- Sleep in Heavenly Peace: beds
- League of Enchantment: cosplay
- R.J. Scheffel Memorial Toy Project: wood toys
- Erik will review Soup Grant and Giving Jar posts to find other organizations who may be looking for volunteers to build things they need.
- Brian wonders if we can adopt a core value of exploring ways to empower our members.
- How do we break down the barrier people feel when they find the space and are overwhelmed by how much there is here and they don’t know where to start?
- Maria R. suggested a sampler class
- Evelyn and Brian have been thinking about ways people can sample practically everything at the space
- Evelyn shared the new initiative of hosting small events every Friday like lightning talks and make-and-takes.
- Erik will totally do a lightning talk on unschooling
- There are so many organizations that make a specific thing and we can invite them here so we can help them and vice versa
- Evelyn pointed out that the calendar still includes a Zoom link even though the meeting is in person. Erik fixed this.
- Maria R. requested we find a way to approve previous minutes sooner than the subsequent board meeting. Erik will try to do this asynchronously a couple weeks after each board meeting.
- Maria R. suggested we look at the Low Carbon Enhancement Grant.
8. Schedule the next board meeting
Next board meeting: Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at 7:00 pm
9. Public board meeting adjourns
MOTION: Adjourn board meeting and move into the executive session. [Jody, Jerry]
RESULT: Approved by unanimous consent.
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