This proposal will be up for discussion for 1 month. the next meeting is May 6 at 5:30pm. Potluck at 5:00pm.

Meeting notes from April 1, 2009
People Present: Dave, Liz, Susan, Marilyn, Fahiym, Susan B., Kammaleathahh, Miriam
Purpose: Discussion of proposal to reorganize HIVE as a 50l(c)3 nonprofit organization
Next meeting: Wednesday, April 8 at 5:30pm

PLEASE READ AND COMMENT

Reorganization Proposal

Proposal: Reorganize the HIVE as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. This will include developing a board of directors and creating two part-time paid staff positions.

Goals
Re-organizing the HIVE as a traditional 501(c)3 will make lines of responsibility and accountability clear. By creating a board through a deliberative and consultative process, we can bring new voices into the HIVE community who represent a variety of communities and efforts in the area. The original organizing effort had hoped this would happen organically, but it has not materialized. The part-time staff positions will provide clear, central points of information and motivation for the various requirements of operating the HIVE. The end goal of a well organized and vibrant institution in Greensboro that serves as a platform for a spectrum of cultural, social, and political organizing can best be met with this more traditional structure. The 501(c)3 model will remove the burden of some basic organizational obstacles that have manifested within our efforts in the last year.

Board
A smaller advisory panel will be tasked with developing the initial board. Members of the advisory panel will not be eligible to serve as an initial board member, but will be eligible to serve on the board at a later date. The board will be made up of representatives from the partner organizations, local neighborhood residents, and interested members of the larger Greensboro community. The board will meet regularly to receive a report from the staff on the current state and activities of the HIVE. They will provide oversight and strategic planning for the future growth of the HIVE.

Staff
There will be two part-time staff positions created. They will be 20-hour a week positions paid the “living” wage set by the Raise the Wage campaign. The salary cost for these two positions for a 48-week year comes to 18,854.40.

The general manager will be tasked with maintaining the finances of the HIVE, overseeing building maintenance, partner communication, updating the website, and serving as a “spokesperson” for the HIVE. They will be required to maintain regular weekly office hours.

The event coordinator will be responsible for assisting groups hosting events at the HIVE as well as identifying and programming original events. The event coordinator will be responsible for announcing the event calendar to local media outlets and distributing physical calendars around Greensboro.

Funding
The HIVE finished its first full year of operation in 2008. The total cost of running the HIVE for one full year was just slightly over $20,000. Our income during last year totaled $21,403. There were approximately $3,200 in donations. Re-organizing as a 501(c)3 will give potential donors the incentive of a tax deduction for donations to the HIVE. The HIVE has never applied for a grant of any substantial size or for general operating costs, nor have we carried out an organized fund raising campaign. Having this designation will also allow us to access a wider range of grants.

Conclusion
The HIVE began life as a radical collective experiment. For a full year a core group of organizers worked through a consensus decision making process that resulted in a flexible, progressive, & radical Vision Statement that continues, despite some organizational issues, to underlie our efforts at The HIVE. This new structure should not be seen as a “defeat” for that earlier collective process, but rather a recognition that the work required to maintain The HIVE and grow it to meet new needs and new communities is greater than what that process is able to handle at this time. the benefits of the 501(c)3 structure outweigh the negatives in relation to our needs and can thus be seen as an opportunity to grow The HIVE in new and more functional directions.

Meeting Notes

Discussion of small amount of people present
Timing of meeting. We may need to switch the meeting time again for people. Wednesday at 5:30 was previously voiced as a good time, but may no longer be.

Proposal
Organizing committee is basically nonexistent. We have to get serious about fundraising, and have a core group at all times. We should formalize a board of directors that is representative of the community, and develop The HIve as a community instiution with memory and stability.

Some Concerns raised

• We may become locked into grants/funders criteria.
• Does this kind of structure provide the kind of flexibility we want as a collectively run space in accordance with the original vision statement?
• What is the role of people being paid at the HIVE?
• Will people feel like they can come into the leadership roles?

Discussion

• Lots of grants exist specifically geared towards radical collectives/organizations. With this status we can get tax deductible donations and have more incentive to organize fundraising events.
• We need to better document events here to build HIVE memory.
• A nonprofit structure can still allow us to run the space collectively. We can run the HIVE horizontally. Create an advisory panel that meet on a regular basis, not paid, but provide oversight and direction.
• 2x/year or on quarterly basis hold Community Meetings.
• Possibly open board meetings.
• We want communities represented. We don’t want voices left out. We need to reach out to a variety of people as we work on this.
• There will need to be a process of creating bylaws. Ideas thrown out for possible simple process: 1) organize board, 2) create bylaws committee, 3) take back to board for review
• Contact Donna Newton from Nonprofit Consortium for guidance on creating nonprofit. Other community resources for consultation? Marilyn has experience going through the filing process.
• Lines of Accountability: the culture of the board should reflect that “we are accountable to those we serve”.
• Transparency: open board meetings as often as possible.
• Number of hours for staff people: 20 hours goes by quickly. 10 hours is too little.
• The HIVE is a valuable resource for people and many of us have come to depend on it.

In our first year as Sustainable Health Choices we have met and worked with a fascinating array of committed, thoughtful people who are deeply engaged in caring for others. Part of our mission is to help sustain those people so they can do their own work better.

In February we will expand a group program called “Touch of Wellbeing” that began with the Center for New North Carolinians. Join us on January 7 to learn more about this exciting project, meet some of the other wonderful people we are connected with, and help us introduce our work to other people who might benefit from what we do.

Price of admission: Bring at least one person who does not know SHC yet!
Date: Wednesday, January 7
Time: 5:30-7pm
Location: The HIVE, 1214 Grove St

Philanthropic Futures: Life After Guilford Without Forgetting What You Learned

Gift Certificates
Gift certificates are also available for individual health counseling programs and massage sessions. Prices range from $30-$90 for massage sessions to $25/person for a group cooking class – a great gift idea for a circle of friends or co-workers. Holiday Special: Purchase 3 Massage Gift Certificates and receive 25% off.

Private Classes:
These are very affordable gifts for someone who is having a baby soon (or has recently delivered) or someone who would like to expand their cooking abilities. For only $45, Kammaleathahh will teach a private infant massage class. Miriam will provide all the food and create a scrumptious menu for a private cooking class for $100.

The HIVE is a collectively run community space in Greensboro’s historic Glenwood neighborhood committed to community empowerment, grassroots organizing, and democratic development. We officially opened our doors on October 1, 2007 and since then have hosted a wide variety of programs and events. The space also contains several offices. Our long-term partners in these spaces include:

• The Fund for Democratic Communities, a non-profit foundation supporting community-based initiatives and institutions working to make communities better places to live through authentic democracy. (http://f4dc.org)
• Sustainable Health Choices, a health counseling and massage therapy practice focused on serving communities that do not traditionally have access to alternative health therapies. (http://gsohive.org/partners/sustainablehealth)
• Farm Labor Organizing Committee, which empowers workers through collective bargaining and gains in worker health and safety. (http://floc.com)
• Food Not Bombs, whose Greensboro chapter has been feeding the community for many years, has built a new kitchen where they will be cooking.
• North Carolina Occupational Safety & Health provides referrals for injured workers, publishes factsheets in English and Spanish for workers about legal rights and job hazards, and conducts trainings for employees and employers about many occupational health and safety topics.
• The Bike Me! Collective operates from a shed in the back parking lot where they have open bike workshops every Sunday.

Application Process
The HIVE Organizing Committee makes decisions through consensus. Once an application is received, it will be discussed at the following HOC weekly meeting and possible questions or concerns will be collected. Members of the HOC will then be asked to meet with the applicants to have a face-to-face meeting, discuss those questions and concerns, the role of the applicant in the HIVE, and the commitments the HIVE makes to the partner organizations. After that a decision will be made and the applicant notified.

If this community of social action sounds like its the right place for your group, please fill out the Partner Application (.pdf) and return it, either electronically or by mail (addresses are in the packet), to the Greensboro HIVE Organizing Committee.

• 10am-2pm: Really Really Free Market in the parking lot. Need some stuff? Take some stuff. Have some stuff? Give some stuff.
• 2pm-5pm: Art’s Cool in the main space. All ages arts and crafts fun.
• 3pm: Glenwood Community bike ride. The Bike Me! Collective is sponsoring a relaxed all-ages ride around Glenwood. Enjoy a nice ride and see some parts of the neighborhood you didn’t know about.
• 5:30pm: Potluck & cookout in the parking lot. Food Not Bombs is making vegetarian chili. Bring a dish to share (especially desserts). We will also have a grill available for hot dogs and burgers.
• 7:30pm: Movie night in the parking lot. Hang out when the sun goes down and enjoy a family-friendly movie right on the side of the building!

(All of this will be inside if the weather doesn’t cooperate with us.)

The colorful counter-tops look even better than we had hoped, the major appliances are in; all that’s left to complete is the plumbing and electrical work, and the finishing details. And—again thanks to the many donations of time and materials, and to a lot of ingenuity—we are still within the $1,000 budget we raised at our banquet last October! This has been truly a community effort, and it shows what a community can do when it puts its mind to it.

We are now beginning to build up our inventory of kitchenware. We have already received a number of donations but we could still use some help. If you have something on the list (scroll down) and are ready to part with it, we’d love to know!

Liz Seymour is heading up the collection effort and can be reached at hobbldhoy [at] aol.com

Update: Watch the progress in the Building The HIVE gallery by clicking here!

We have put together a list of all the material needed as this project moves forward. We are happy to accept donations of all these materials! When it comes to basic building materials, we ask that donations of Lowes or Home Depot gift cards be made rather than the materials themselves because of storage space restriction. For donations of appliances or other large materials, please contact us first before dropping off.

We’ll cross out the items as we get them, so you can see a current list of items needed here!

Kitchen Material List

Building Supplies

• 2×4’s of all lengths
• Drywall, 8-10 full sheets, 3/8″ or 1/2″ thick
• 1/4″ thick concrete backerboard or “hardiboard” for ceramic tile backing. About 8 or 9 3×5-foot sheets
• 32″ door with frame for pantry
• Vinyl adhesive for floor tiles, about 5-6 gallons
• Mastic for ceramic tile counter tops (90 square feet)
• Grout for ceramic tiles (light color)

Vinyl & Ceramic Tile

• VCT (vinyl composite tile) flooring, 12″x12″. 450 total tiles needed.
• Ceramic tiles for counter tops. Sizes desired: 2″x2″, 4″x4″, 6″x6″. Also, smaller or specialty pieces can be used. Enough needed for 90 square feet.

Electrical Supplies

• Two range 220V 3 or 4 wire electric sockets
• Five surface mount electrical boxes for single gang 110V, 20 amp sockets
• Two surface mount electrical boxes for 2 light switches each
• Seven new construction electric boxes for sockets & switches
• Two GFI (ground-fault interruption) 110V, 20 amp sockets
• 300 feet, 12-2 with ground electric wire (110V and 220V circuits)
• 3 single pole light switches, 2 “three-way” light switches
• 100 feet, 8-2 with ground electrical wire (ranges)
• 300 feet electrical conduit with fittings, clamps

Appliances

• Two residential-type refrigerators
• Two (closely) matching electric stoves
• Two (closely) matching residential-type range hoods
• One chest freezer, 4-5 feet long
• One under-counter dishwasher

Specialty Items

• Butcher block table or slab, about 26″x60″
• 4 heavy duty 3″-5″ casters, swivel and lockable
• 40 feet of 2″ diameter schedule 40 PVC pipe
• Miscellaneous 2″ PVC fittings – tees, elbows, joints
• About 100 feet of 3/4″ PEX flexible water pipe
• Miscellaneous 3/4″ PEX fittings (brass) – tees, elbows, joints, etc.

Kitchenware

• Large frying pans
• Large deep baking pans (lasagna pans)
• Cookie sheets
• Deep roasting pans
• Wok
• Industrial-sized rice cooker
• Large colanders
• Gallon pitchers
• Serving utensils
• Salad servers
• Sharp knives
• Knife sharpener
• Dishtowels
• Hot pads
• Silverware (knives, forks, spoons)

Updates
The end of the AK Press book drive is coming up on the 12th, so stop by to browse the catalog and fill out an order form for great books and cd’s. A portion of every book sale will go to The HIVE. Click here to view the online AK Press catalog.

Over the holidays we received big donations of zines and books. Jonathan and Sam are beginning to organize them and set up the library for easier check-out.

The next Organizing Committee meeting will be tomorrow, Thursday, January 10, from 4pm to 5:30pm. These meetings are open to anyone interested in getting involved in developing The HIVE, but be aware, these are business meetings with a tight agenda.

The January calendar is filling up with a number of unique community events. Check it out here. If you or your organization is interested in reserving space at The HIVE for an event, fill out the new online reservation form. The Organizing Committee will review your request and get back to you soon.

Below are the videos of Bellefea, des_ark, and ZEGOTA. Some technical issues caused some problems with the recordings and a few songs are missing from des_ark (apologies!). Enjoy!

ZEGOTA

des_ark

Bellefea