Board Meeting Agenda Oct. 2019 - Farm & Wilderness

The Farm & Wilderness Board meets four times a year – in a major northeast city in January and in Vermont in May, August (on the day before Fair), and October. According to the F&W By-Laws, the Board is “responsible for the investment, use, and expenditure of all funds and property of the corporation and for determining general policy of the corporation.” In plain English, that means we have to make sure that F&W is financially healthy. We also make significant policy decisions, hire and supervise the Executive Director, and have committees that provide guidance on various aspects of the camps’ operations, including Finance, Development (fundraising and community engagement), Conservation, Inclusivity and Equity, Risk, and Nominations (selecting new Board members). Following the process of Quaker meeting for business, the Board makes decisions by arriving at a sense of the meeting.

The Board welcomes input from community members, and to that end has begun to share our Board meeting agendas. The following topics will be on the agenda for the October meeting, which is the most dense of the four, with many departments reporting on outcomes and challenges from the summer camp season:

• Strategic Planning: see a separate update in the e-Interim about our progress, next steps as we evaluate areas of focus and goals towards achieving progress in those areas identified.
• Directors’ Reports and Quarterly Report: At every meeting, the Board reviews the activities and events of the last quarter. At this meeting, each camp director and the program director share about the summer and answer questions.
• Finance: In October, the Board reviews the 2019 financial statements year to date and hears initial thoughts on the 2020 budget, including projections on enrollment for 2020.
• Inclusivity and Equity: The Board will participate in a White Supremacy Culture activity, related to one that year-round staff participated in during the winter/spring.

If you have comments on any of these topics that you would like shared with the Board, please send them to Becca Steinitz, Clerk of the Board, at rsteinitz@gmail.com BEFORE OCTOBER 19.