Monthly Summaries of Board Meetings

Monthly summaries of board meetings will be posted after the next meeting (for example: August’s notes will be published after September’s meeting) to allow volunteers sufficient time to prepare and post content.

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Board Meeting Summary – July 17, 2023,7:00 PM – via Zoom

Attendees: Virginia Hager (BoardChair), Shelly O’Rourke (Vice-Chair), Amber Woodard (Secretary), Emily Jaeger, Antoni Sustaita, Justin Smith (Treasurer), Takeshia McIntyre (Interim Executive Director).

Visitors/OWLS (Out Wilmington LGBTQ+ Seniors) Members: Ed Adams, Jeff Mills, Denise A’mour, Laurie Morin, Kathy Ferber, Shele Williams, Nora Adams, Pam Jones, Chuck Femia, Tab Ballis, Alana Schilling, Jerry Marshall, Dave Olin Rogers, and Esther Murphy

• Board Development [Virginia]: John McLaughlin resigned from board on June 5, 2023.
• Budget and Finance Comm [Justin, Shelly]–provided feedback on budget report and successful fundraising for Pride Month.
• Fundraising [Shelly, Emily, Amber]: Upcoming fundraising events and grants we will pursue.

• Review of events for Pride month including Pride Prom, Family Fest, presence at Fermental, Live Oak Pavilion for Boy Genius Concert, Dock Street Pride Festival, Pleasure Island Pride, and Love Dance at the Cameron Art Museum.
• Report on collaborations and harm-repair work with local nonprofits, leaders, and our internal groups.
• Upcoming events discussed.
• Center is moving to our new location at Carousel Center – “The Village” at 1506 Market Street.

• OWLs is a diverse and talented group with skill sets and expertise to share with the organization.
• OWLS is weighing options related to self management or more fully integrating into the Center.
• OWLS members asked questions and gave feedback to the Board about various Center governance issues:
  • Requested more transparency around how the Center tracks and reports earmarked donations
    • Treasurer explained that every donation + spending is documented and tracked. We committed to adjusting our processing of donations with help from Neon CRM tech support to improve our reporting capabilities.
  • Requested a change to the formatting of donations forms on website for clarity
    • Board committed to making this change with help from Neon CRM tech support.
  • Discussion around the Center and how OWLS’ budget is created
    • Each year a budget proposal is voted on and passed by the board. For the 2022-2023 year the budget was proposed by the former Executive Director. The budget can be adjusted by a board vote at any time (as needed or requested). 
  • How can OWLS become more involved in governance
    • Anyone can (and is encouraged to!) volunteer on governance committees: including personnel, finance & budget, fundraising. Anyone can apply to become a board member during December elections.
    • Right now Antoni Sustaita is the only OWLS member serving on the Board but typically in the past there have been 2 or 3 OWLS (formerly SAGE Wilmington) representatives serving on the Board of the Center.
  • Requested more information about personnel/leadership change from previous Executive Director
    • Board chair summarized reasons for the Board’s decision to part ways with the former Executive Director.
  • Requested more information about demographics and term limits for board members.
    • Current Board list was distributed to all visitors. The Board reaffirmed the crucial role of allies in our community and leadership, and noted that Virginia Hager is the only straight ally on the Board at this time.  

• Motion to put annual budget and board meeting summaries on the website approved unanimously.
• Previously scheduled meeting with Neon CRM tech support committed to adjusting issues OWLS raised on donation reporting.