Community Vitality Center Board Minutes

April 2, 2009

ISU Schilletter University Village Community Center, Stange Road, Ames, IA

Meeting called to order by Carol Richardson Smith @ 10:00 AM

Members Roll Call; 15 Present

Staff and Guests in attendance - 3

Chairperson’s Report

Discussion of January 15, 2009 Minutes. Motion to approve, 2nd and carried.

Directors Report

Edelman: FY09 budget of $209,000. FY10 is pending but expecting cuts, thus need to move forward with grant and other sources of funding. Ron Prescott is currently in Ghana with a Millennium Fund microenterprise project. His future scope of work with the Ghana project is pending and not yet decided. The Entrefest had 250 attending and was a success. Farm Bureau programs reviewed by Ehrig and Edelman. Iowa MicroLoan activity is on track, one loan closed. The SBDC state advisory group remains interested in referring clients to Iowa Microloan. The IDED microenterprise program is back on track and is working to get something in place for further action. The annual Leopold Center Food System conference took place and Downs gave a presentation. Edelman gave comments at the USDA RMAP listening session and visited with Secretary Vilsack. There is discussion of a possible rural policy summit to be held in Iowa which the CVC would participate with and help plan. Edelman attended the National Community Reinvestment Coalition annual conference in Washington. Burke has been doing county reports along with visits and meetings with counties in the New Movers Study. Burke and Edelman have research papers from the New Movers Study accepted for the annual national Sociology and Rural Sociology meetings. Edelman has done several local meetings for entrepreneurship, microloans, and partnering.

Director’s FY10 Budget and Grant Recommendations

Edelman: FY10 planning budget with expected allocation of $209,000; minus % for USDA and ISU, CVC Center operations, and IFMCV commitment leaves $70,000 for discretionary projects. Would recommend funding at least $5,000 per project because a lot of bureaucratic paperwork for small amounts of money. Board could fund fewer projects if decided to fund some more fully. Two recommended for $10,000 funding. Rural Summit would give national presence. The NE Iowa FF Coalition is a possible affiliate with a lot of potential for success.

Smith: Look more closely at projects with only one reviewer.

Heidt: Favorably viewed a project if seemed like would actually do a network, if putting a partnership together.

Erb: Some of the applicants in the field and new to the process; may need help to get functioning well.

Hamilton: Some of the projects may need additional grant writing help.

Houghtaling: There may be a need to revise the application somewhat.

Ehrig: The scoring is too sophisticated for the scope of the applications; perhaps just use a 1 to 5 rating system.

Chaplain: Favorably viewed projects that had some focus and were not too broad.

Smith: There may be a need for additional discussion with Board members to help improve the projects and applications.

Pantini: What would be the role of Prescott if he is on the Ghana project? The CVC is on some of the grants under his name.

Edelman: At this time it isn’t known for sure what role Prescott may be able to fulfill; it does affect the grant functioning. The funds would be used to access professional services from somewhere else, if Prescott is not available.

Heidt: It should be possible to find someone who can fill the desired functions specified in these projects.

Meier: Since the CVC is a recipient for some of these couldn’t the funds have gone into center operations?

Edelman: CVC has historically not put more than 1/3 of the budget in Center operations, which allows two thirds for demonstration projects. Since staff are actually assisting with carrying out projects, it is appropriate to include some of their salaries under the individual projects.

Houghtaling: Some members of the Board have their names associated with projects as well. And they should abstain from voting. Edelman: Correct, the conflict of interest policy states that Board members should publicly state when they have a potential conflict of interest and abstain from evaluating and voting on that project.

Hamilton: There have been cautions in the past of not having too much funding coming back to ISU so that it is truly a statewide center.

Erb: When this was started, there was difficulty in getting applications in for the grants. This set of applications is slanted more toward entrepreneurship than toward philanthropy.

Smith: Proceed with reviewing and discussing projects as they are grouped.

Review/Discuss Grant Applications

Group A: Strategic Collaborative Leveraging Opportunities

A1: IDED Main Street and National Trust
Menner: this would be a partnership with very strong organizations. Menner moved to tentatively accept director’s recommendation of $5,000. Raber seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved; abstentions: Houghtalling, Erb, Heidt, Hamilton.

A2: USDA RMAP, Ag Ventures
Edelman: Prescott positioned to be primary drafter of application for RMAP. If he remains in Africa for an extended time then would use the $5,000 to hire a grant writer. Ehrig moved to follow director’s recommendation of $5,000. Raber seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved; abstention: Erb

A3: USDA RCDI, SEDC
Heidt moved to accept director’s recommendation of no funding. Meier seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved.

A4: Marshall Co Hispanic Food Business Network
Smith: farmland and athletic track issue had been resolved. Eblen: they had done a good job of putting a coalition together. Heidt: a similar program in Maine works well. Pantini: this the most innovative of all the applications. Heidt moved to accept the director’s recommendation of $5,000. Halliburton seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved; abstention: Smith

A5: My Entrenet Web Microenterprise Community
Houghtaling: how is this different from usual operations? Edelman: this would create an actual online microenterprise community which is beyond their usual groups. This would help to serve areas where that is not already an affiliate microloan group. Heidt moved to accept the director’s recommendation of $5,000. Frahm seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved; abstention: Chaplain.

A6: Nano Loan Incentive, Wells Fargo
Edelman: If Prescott not here then would need to find someone to fill the role. For this, Wells Fargo will put up the loan money. The loan loss reserve would reside locally. This would be a partnership with the local entities. At the Entrefest, was a suggestion to create a web page that lists all nano loan programs. Menner moved to accept director’s recommendation of $5,000. Mike Wells seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved.

A7: National Rural Summit
Halliburton moved to accept director’s recommendation of $10,000. Frahm seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved.

Noon Lunch Break

Downs gave an update on the IFMCV activities and loans.

Resumed discussion of applications and projects

Group B: Support for Network Development for Philanthropy or Entrepreneurship

B1: Keokuk Co Entrepreneur Network
Heidt: this is a good opportunity of people trying to get things going in their community. Raber moved to accept the director’s recommendation of $5,000. Meier seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved.

B2: NE IA Business Network
Edelman: the group had received a CVC grant last year. Ehrig moved to not fund. Heidt seconded. Vote: all in favor, motion approved to not fund. Corbin not on phone after lunch at time of vote.

B3: Ida Co, Western IA Philanthropy Capacity
Edelman: this has a linkage to the COG and builds on infrastructure that is already there. Raber moved to accept the director’s recommendation of $5,000. Meier seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved.

B4: NW IA Development Philanthropy
Menner: the specifics of the budget not detailed. Menner moved to support the director’s recommendation not to fund. Pantini seconded. Vote: all in favor, motion approved to not fund; abstention: Meier.

B5: IA School Philanthropy Project
Menner: Not much detail on the budget, could be refined more. Hamilton: a number of school foundations just limping along that might be better off aligning with a community foundation. Menner moved to accept the director’s recommendation not to fund. Chaplain seconded. Vote: all in favor, motion approved to not fund.

Group C: Innovation Oriented Opportunities

C1: Warren Co Entrepreneur Network
Edelman: there wasn’t an identification of a fiscal agent. Pantini moved to accept the director’s recommendation not to fund. Skora seconded. Vote: all in favor, motion approved to not fund; abstention: Morain.

C2: LIFE Louisa Co Microenterprise Project
Chaplain moved to accept the director’s recommendation of $5,000. Erb seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved; abstention: Skora.

C3: NIFF NE IA Food and Farm
Houghtalling: this the only one getting a recommendation of full funding at $10,000. Raber: this a targeted project. Hamilton: would suggest actually doubling. Edelman: could put it on a list of priorities to see if could find more funding. Raber moved to accept the director’s recommendation of $10,000. Heidt seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved; abstention: Corbin.

C4: Buy IA Seller Workshops
Hamilton: this would have the potential to expand to the rest of the state. Houghtalling: the project focuses on vendor education. Pantini moved to accept the director’s recommendation of $5,000. Raber seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved; abstention: Houghtalling.

C5: Fairfield Pathfinders Green Microenterprise Project’
Ehrig: suggest they be an applicant for nano loan project. Ehrig moved to not fund. Morain seconded. Vote: all in favor, motion approved to not fund.

Edelman: There remains now $5,000 that was not allocated. Erb moved to add $5,000 more to the Ida County Western IA Philanthropy project. Chaplain seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved; abstention: Frahm.

Edelman: suggest that the NW IA collaboration consider revising and submitting a proposal again next year.

Next Board meeting: July 16th Wells moved and Pantini seconded. Vote: all in favor, approved.

Heidt moved to adjourn. Seconded. All in favor, approved.

Adjourned