General Lesotho Information
Contacts and Links
News
Membership - Email List and Contact Form
Sesotho Language Audio Files
Maps
Photos
Letters from Lesotho















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Friends of Lesotho
                    Board of Directors


Organizational Information:         Board Manual 566k Word Document

Board Calendar 23k Excel Spreadsheet

FOL Powerpoint Presentation 10Mb - 3 or 4 minute download on DSL.
44 slides covering an introduction to Lesotho, FOL activities, and how you can help.
Easy to edit for your own use. Contact Bill Dunn if you'd prefer to have a CD mailed.

Committee Resource Pages:         Treasurer     Fund Raising     Membership     Nominating

Annual Meeting     Donations     ByLaws     NGO/Lesotho

Other Documents:         Email Policy     Free Conference Instructions

Board Development Planning Document

2007 Year End Financial Statement

2007 Operating Plan



Minutes of the FOL Board Meeting

March 16, 2008

 

Present by teleconference: Bill Dunn, Kevin Freer, John Hollister, Mary Beth Kwenda, Ella Kwisnek, and Richard Rowan.

 

In his opening remarks Bill noted that Janissa Balcomb has been working with Faye and Kevin.  He welcomed her to FOL and wanted to note FOL’s appreciation for her help.

 

Following roll call, the agenda and the minutes of the January 20, 2008, regular Board meeting were approved without revision. 

 

I.                   Treasurer’s Report

 

John reported that the online account has been set up.  FOL currently has $25,310.70 in checking and $6,449.76 in savings.  Fourteen memberships have been paid, year to date.  Bill noted that there are more than 300 memberships in the current database.  Currently, $22,768.28 remains to be sent to Lesotho and there is a cash reserve of $2,858.64. 

 

John noted that FOL has been reaffiliated with NPCA and the tax filings for Maryland completed.  He is working on the federal taxes.

 

A motion to affirm the Treasurer’s Report carried.

 

The Secretary reported that the Board voted by e-mail to approve the budget.

 

II.                Committee Reports

 

a.       Donations and Distributions

 

The Committee recommends sending $9,000 for TAP (TAP designated funds) and $2,360 to the VAC ($1,003.50 from undesignated funds, $600 from HIV Aids, and $756.50 from orphanages).  The Committee will verify that the designated funds can be used appropriately, if not, they will be replaced with undesignated funds.  The Board voted to approve the recommendations to send the funds and also approved $1,000 recommended for the African Library Project.  Richard will get John all of the account information for the fund transfers.

 

Concerning the FOL-Lesotho NGO, an account is set up, and ‘M’e Thembi writes checks from it.  The MOA with the NGO has not been finalized.  However, now, ‘M’e Thembi writes the checks rather than FOL sending them directly to the committees.  A very positive report about the NGO is anticipated from Scott when he returns from Lesotho.

 

The Committee further recommended $300 for Peggy Tabor’s well project.  There is a U.S. account where these funds can be deposited.  A motion to approve the recommendation carried.

 

Richard further reported the GeorgeAnn Gall is back in Lesotho and Village Hope is operating again, so he anticipates there may be future requests for orphanage funds from her.

 

Cameron Barr has been contacted about updating the LCCU web page, which is linked from the FOL site.  He will review it.

                       

b.      Finance Committee

 

John reported that the Committee had its first meeting.  Matt Diver has a lot of good experience.  He will conduct a peer review of the documents and then the Committee will decide if an accounting service is needed.  The Committee will meet every two months.

 

Bill will add Matt under the Committee memberships on the website and Richard will add his information to the Board Manual.

 

c.       Membership Committee: 

 

Kevin thanked Bill for covering the mailings for February and for creating an automatic mail merge that generates the letters to be sent monthly.

 

The brochure has been updated and sent to Peace Corps Lesotho for COS packets.  Kevin received no acknowledgement of their receipt, and Richard suggested that Kevin e-mail the country director to verify their receipt.

 

The brochure and membership form have been updated to indicate the ability  to renew and donate via JustGive.  Bill invited the Board to review the information about renewing via credit card and to give any suggestions for a clearer way to convey the information.

 

Bill noted that inactive member deactivations have been processed and finalized.

 

d.      Fundraising

 

Kevin reported that he updated the organizational information for JustGive.org on Guidestar.

 

Kevin asked everyone to consider our major accomplishments so that they can be included in the Annual Report to encourage donations.

 

FOL is now registered as an association on Amazon.com.  There is a link on the donations page.  6% of purchases made via the website link will go to FOL.  Funds will be sent in increments of $100.00

 

Janissa and Patricia have been reviewing alternatives to CafePress to see if they can find better quality items and lower cost.

 

Patricia is working on a teleflorist proposal.

 

e.       Newsletter

 

Ella read Faye’s report.  Faye reported that the March newsletter will be mailed on March 17.  217 will be sent via post and 100+ via e-mail.

 

Faye thanked Scott Rosenberg for submitting an article and Kevin for his feedback on the drafts.

 

Faye thanked Janissa for doing the layout and design.  Janissa, Dorothy, and Nicole are now working with Faye on the newsletter, and the system is working well.

 

Faye reported that the next newsletter will be coordinated earlier concerning structure and standardizing organization, font, article length, and continuation between pages, membership form, and market place.  Anyone with additional suggestions should e-mail Faye.

 

The next newsletter deadline is June 1, 2008.  Faye has a retrospective on 10 years back at home from Julie Faulkner, but will ask everyone for articles again.

 

III.             Old Business

 

There was no Old Business.

 

IV.              New Business

 

a.       Privacy Policy concerning the Membership Form.  Bill reported that the current policy was a result of an event in 1992 when a private company published a Peace Corps Directory.  Since that time, information has been included on the membership form to have members consent to release of information. It takes up a lot of space on the form.  A discussion ensued about having a policy of not releasing the information except to other FOL members and new volunteers.  Bill will draft a policy and circulate it for consideration and approval.

 

V.                 Action Items

 

1.      Richard will send John information for deposits to the new NGO.

2.      John will send Richard the TAP bank statement.

3.      Richard will ask GeorgeAnn Gall to write a letter for the June Newsletter on Project Hope.

4.      Donations will write an article for the June Newsletter about disbursements and Scott’s report on the NGO.

5.      Richard will send John contact information for Peggy Tabor’s well project.

6.      Richard will add Matt Diver to the Committee List in the Board Manual.

7.      Bill will add Matt Diver to the Committee List on the website.

8.      Mary Beth will send her photo to Bill for the website.

9.      The next newsletter deadline is June 1, 2008.

10.  Bill and Richard will meet to discuss officer succession.

11.  Kevin will email Elizabeth to see if she is active on the Yahoo groups.

12.  Richard will add the new Privacy Policy to the relevant section of the Board Manual, after it is distributed by Bill and approved by the Board.

13.  Bill will draft the new Privacy Policy and circulate it to the Board for consideration and approval.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:32 p.m. EST.  The next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, 2008, at 8:00 p.m. E.S.T. 







Minutes of the FOL Board Meeting

January 20, 2008

 

Present by teleconference: Bill Dunn, Kevin Freer, John Hollister, Ella Kwisnek, Martha Munson, Scott Rosenberg, and Richard Rowan.

 

In his opening remarks Bill noted that Claire Hilger recently resigned her FOL Board position due to increased family obligations.  The Board thanked her for her service and will miss her participation in the organization.

 

Following roll call, the agenda and the minutes of the November 18 , 2007, regular Board meeting were approved without revision. 

 

I.                   Treasurer’s Report

 

The Treasurer, John Hollister, asked that any outstanding receipts be submitted.

 

There were 181 paid members for 2007, which is an increased number.  Bill noted that the total number of members on the books is 380.

 

The current FOL balance is $29,905.09.  $18,737.01 was sent to Lesotho in 2007.  $6,456.81 is in reserve.  John is preparing the draft budget for 2008.

 

There is no reporting of all in kind donations, so we have no real basis to estimate actual expenses. Therefore, it would be useful for Committees to track real and in kind expenses.   John will add columns as in kind donations are reported.  The budget will be sent to everyone for review shortly.

 

A motion to affirm the Treasurer’s Report carried.

 

Documents requiring signatures for on-line banking are currently being circulated.

 

John noted that a number of projects listed on the Treasurer’s Report have not had funds sent from them recently.  The Donations and Distributions Committee will review all of the categories to work on having the money sent to Lesotho and cleared from the books.

 

A discussion ensued about using JustGive to pay for membership, which enables members to pay dues by credit card.  Although approximately 47 cents in dues/member is lost with this option, the Board agreed that the potential for increased membership will likely offset any such losses.  A motion to add an option of JustGive for membership renewal carried. This new option will be implemented with the spring newsletter.   Bill and Kevin will work on updating the website and membership form/brochures respectively.  The updates will also clarify that members renewing their membership via JustGive will have to take an additional step to update their contact information.

 

II.                Committee Reports

 

a.  Donations and Distributions

 

Richard Rowan reported that the Committee had two recommendations.  The first is to approve $1,000 for the African Library Project.  The funds will assist a PCV working with the project.  Peace Corps Lesotho will administer distribution of the funds.  The motion carried.

 

The second recommendation was that $400 be given to Scott Rosenberg for his annual summer program service project in Lesotho.  This also carried. Other requests are still under consideration.  The Committee has heard nothing regarding the NGO in Lesotho.  Adam Livingston is now in the Peace Corps staff.  Richard will e-mail Ted and ask him the status of the NGO. 

 

Theresa Faye Williams is affiliated with a church group in Minnesota that recently sent $500 for HIV Projects.  Sandy Puckett, who previously gave large TAP donations via the Taiwan American School, is seeking another project to support.  The bore hole project may be one. 

 

TAP currently has lots of funds.  Matt and Rachel Kline have an education foundation outside of Leribe that the funds might be sent to if the NGO does not work out.

 

b.  Finance Committee

 

The Finance Committee has not yet met, but John sent lots of information to Committee members.  They will have a meeting to begin discussing these items.  Scott asked that John prioritize the items so he knows what to focus on for the meeting.

 

c.  Membership Committee

 

Kevin reported that the transition is complete and he has been through a one month cycle.  He is working with Bill to set up a seamless process between John, Bill, and Kevin.  He has submitted the Committee’s goals and budget to John.  Kevin is focusing on the Membership Survey.  Ella will send Kevin last year’s survey.  Kevin also plans to add the Memorial Scholarship Fund to the Membership Form and brochure.  The Committee will also check JustGive to see if it needs to be updated.

 

d.  Fundraising Committee

 

Three volunteers (Patricia, Janissa, and Julie) continue to work on Café Press and consider items to add. They will focus on a calendar for next year.

 

Kevin also asked Scott if his students might consider new designs for items.

 

e.  Newsletter

 

Ella read the following report on Faye’s behalf:

 

The spring newsletter deadline is March 1, 2008.  Ella will do news.  Faye will do a review of the movie Tsotsi.  Scott agreed to write another article.  Any other submissions are greatly appreciated.

 

Faye will teleconference with Janissa and Dorothy to create a newsletter template for the spring issue.

 

Faye will cover March duplication and mailing.  Faye suggested that in the future she do duplication and mailing for the spring newsletter, Ella do the fall issue, and Kevin the winter issues.  That leaves the summer issue still needing someone to handle duplication and mailing.

 

Assistance will be needed with the summer newsletter, because Faye will be on maternity leave until the end of May.  A suggestion was made that she ask Janissa if she would be able to assist.

 

f.  Nominations Committee

 

Bill noted that the Committee will need to meet to address officer succession.

 

III.             Old Business

 

Ella read the action items from the prior meeting. All had either been completed or were in the process of being completed.

 

IV.              New Business

 

a.  2008 Operating Plan

 

Richard reported that he received the items from the Committees and will update the Board Manual.  He will also send a copy to Bill for posting on the website.

 

b.  2008 Budget

 

John will send the budget via e-mail and votes will be cast via e-mail.

 

V.                 Action Items

 

  1. Donations and Distributions will review the various funds to begin to send available funds to Lesotho.
  2. Bill and Kevin will add the option of renewing membership via JustGive to the website and the relevant forms and clarity options of updating contact information.
  3. Richard and Martha will notify John of the contacts for the funds being given to the Library Development Project.
  4. Scott will send John contact information for the funds awarded to the summer program service project.
  5. Richard will e-mail Ted concerning the Library Development Project and ask about the status of the NGO.  If the communication is not too long, he will also ask Ted to review the website to see if information about government officials is up to date.
  6. Donations and Distributions will contact T.A.P. to see if they will provide a budget.  They will ask Ted/Adam for the current contact.
  7. John will schedule a Finance Committee meeting.
  8. Ella will send Kevin last year’s Membership Survey.
  9. Ella will send the deadline noted in the deactivation letters to Bill.
  10. Scott will send Bill a photo for the website.
  11. Kevin will add the Memorial Scholarship Fund to the appropriate forms.
  12. Kevin will check Just Give to see if it needs to be updated.
  13. Scott will see if students have ideas for promotional items.
  14. The spring newsletter deadline is March 1, 2008. 
  15. Bill will ask Faye to send John a budget for the newsletter and ask to see if Janissa might be able to help with the summer newsletter.
  16. A Nominations Committee meeting will be called to address officer succession.
  17. Richard will update the Board Manual with the new operating plans and will send copies to Bill for the website.
  18. John will send the budget to all Board members via e-mail with a motion for approval.

 

VI.       Closing

 

Bill proposed that Board members complete a Board meeting survey when a meeting is held during their birthday month.  Bill will post the survey on the website and leave it up for a week after a meeting.  Any other members are also always welcome to complete the survey.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. EST.  The next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Sunday, March 16, 2008, at 8:00 p.m. EST.