NCPR Executive Council Meeting Minutes 5/4/16

1. EC Chair Rod Giltz called the meeting to order.
2. NCPR Staff Jon Sklaroff called the roll.

1. No objections, minutes approved.

1. Spring 2016 fundraiser results

a. Successful, reached our goal of $250,000 without interrupting programs.

b. The best spring fundraiser ever, system-wide spring drives are more difficult than fall drives.

c. Improved fundraising attributed to NCPR Giving and Finance Director June People’s sophisticated, targeted approach.

i. Email

ii. Direct Mail

iii. Vastly improved upon in last 3 – 4 years

d. Executive Council Chair Rod Giltz inquired on numbers of donors decreasing by 15% from 2015 spring fundraiser.

i. June indicated this could be due to a number of factors, including donors giving at different times of the year as we work to spread out giving across the year—getting away from the traditional notion of just giving during fall or spring drive.

ii. Acknowledged that obtaining new donors is difficult both locally and across Public Radio.

e. Due to success of the NCPR fundraising model June has consulted with over 50 stations.

i. A majority of stations are using a hybrid of the NCPR model and traditional on-air.

f. John Ernst asked why more additional gifts, less donors.

i. Not necessarily the case, due to fundraiser software migration causes slightly skewed numbers.

1. Rejoin and renewal numbers specifically skewed.

ii. Confidence in accuracy of the numbers will be higher in the next year.

iii. Some donors give half their annual giving in spring, half in fall, not necessarily “additional gifts”.

1. Many annual donors who donate during fall, will often give additional gift in spring.

2. Personnel

a. With NCPR Underwriting Director Sandy Demarest’s pending September retirement, Development Assistant Jon Sklaroff has been approved by SLU HR for promotion. Pending SLU Board of Trustees final budget approval May 19^th.

b. Monique Cornett has come on as NCPR’s Giving Coordinator in a part-time capacity.

i. Position created to assist June Peoples in fundraising.

ii. Creative position, geared towards giving.

c. Pending Jon Sklaroff promotion approval, the development assistant full-time position responsibilities will be reviewed to ensure they meet the needs of our organization.

d. Underwriting Representative experiment to continue this fall, moving from Champlain Valley to Glens Falls.

i. HR approved position.

ii. Pending offer for Jim Goodspeed, expected start date in late October / November.

3. Awards

a. NCPR has won numerous awards in the last year and recently been recognized for regional Murrow Awards.

i. Among the awards, Ellen is most proud of Overall Station Excellence and Website Excellence.

ii. Regional Murrow winners are automatically nominated for national. Only way to be nationally nominated.

iii. New York falls into region with Pennsylvania, New Jersey while Vermont falls in New England region.

iv. Nationals will be awarded in the summer.

b. NCPR also winners of several Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI) awards, with official notification expected in July.

c. NCPR Director of Digital Services Bill Haenel and his team are working on updating the NCPR awards page. Build out will include comprehensive list dating back to the 1980s.

4. Internships

a. Two to four interns a year.

b. High interest in NCPR from college and post-college individuals, Ellen has to turn away about 95% of intern requests a year.

c. NCPR interns are either paid or receive college credit and they don’t “make the coffee”.

i. Interns work out with their institution how to be compensated.

d. Investment for interns is taken seriously and needs staff time to give the intern a quality experience.

5. Next Generation Fund

a. A draft document will be making its way around the Executive Council members for review to help build the Next Generation Fund.

i. Goal of $450,000 annually for next 5 years.

1. Current YTD about $125,000

ii. Priority to start raising money within current fiscal year.

iii. The fund will help build the next generation of public media professionals.

iv. Five year timeline is important due to Ellen’s eventual retirement and will serve as a bridge for the next administration during transition.

v. Development of youthful talent is vital to the future of public media.

SLU ex-officio EC Members Marion Roach Smith & Melissa Richards
SLU Board Report

1. SLU Board of Trustees Report

a. Meeting from May 19^th – 21^st.

b. Ellen and Marion will connect to prepare NCPR report.

i. Focuses on awards and NCPR pride.

ii. The SLU Board is noticeably more engaged and understanding of NCPR and the value it has for SLU.

1. Melissa and Ellen continually communicate on ideas for new space for NCPR.

a. SLU is trying to address facilities needs by renovating existing space, whenever possible.

b. Major work needed to bring NCPR facility up to speed is hard to navigate due to the station’s necessity to operate full-time. And, the station needs more space in light of staff and operations growth since NCPR moved into current space back in 1990!

c. Melissa had brief conversation with Canton development about potential for a downtown space for NCPR.

1. Steve Hopkins reviewed the CPB regulations from a legal standpoint and, specifically, NCPR’s obligations.

a. Self-explanatory guidelines.

b. Steve brought to attention guideline number 3 – “NCPR is required to act in good faith to ensure that the EC meets at regular intervals (in-person meetings are preferred but telephonic are OK), that its members regularly attend the meetings and that the EC members are … reasonably representative of the diverse needs and interests of the communities served by [NCPR]”

c. Advising on the EC is an obligation not a right, and benefits the communities served by NCPR.

1. Term Limits

a. Initially term limits were staggered so that board members would not all rotate on and off at the same time.

b. B laws indicate that no member may sit for more than 3 terms, each term is a 3 year period.

c. John Ernst to provide schedule of rotation.

2. Adding new members

a. Ellen preparing application to be made widely available so that people interested in serving on the EC may self-nominate, with final approval from sitting EC.

b. Ellen recently met with Mark Dzwonczyk who expressed interest in joining the council, will follow new EC induction protocol. Mark has Nicholville residency, a region not currently represented on the council.

i. Due to his profession, Mark is very digitally inclined, a good tool for the council and NCPR going forward.

c. Michael Clarke announced his intention to retire from the council, would like to nominate a retired school administrator from the Glens Falls area to join.

i. Follow up at July meeting in Canton.

1. Transmitters sold for one-hundred and thirty thousand, with the help of Joe Manory, VP of Finance at SLU.

a. Bob will be at July meeting if any further questions arise in regards to the sale or transmitters in general.

2. Moving south into Utica does not fall within the defined North Country region. Expansion has always included locations that make sense for the North Country.

Bob Shepherd, Potsdam, NY:
I agree with the idea of expanding who should be included in this Executive Committee. In addition to geography I would like to see additional characteristics* that define the diversity of the “community” of the NCPR Region, and considered these in the future when recruiting members. These could be delineated by the EC.

*i.e.:

People with Disabilities

Ethic Minority: especially Native Communities Age Level of education SES (socio-economic status)
THANKS for what you do!

Ellen:

1. In full agreement on diversity of all kinds.

2. New application process will allow people to identify themselves for diversity candidacy.

3. Ideally, representation would include Fort Drum and Akwesasne.