KC Clay Guild Board Minutes - July 3rd, 2024
Start: 6:00 End: 8:00
ATTENDEES: Cynthia Brown, Kelly Daniels, Deborah Kashyap, Laura Tyler Strawn, Louis Reilly, John Devaney, Josh Wood, Abby Callaghan, David Firman.
BUSINESS UPDATES:
Treasurer’s Report –
1. Monthly Update
• Revenue for June: $48,167
o High Revenue due to $20,000 Grant check received and cash deposit from Spring Sale
• Expenditures for June: $21,929
o Includes $11,500 in New Building related costs (including $10,000 Earnest check)
o Excludes Teacher payments because they went out on July 1
• Gross Profit: $26,237
2. Proposal for Increases to Pricing
• See attached Powerpoint for discussion
•
• Board to discuss options on pricing, including tiered pricing strategy and all other options.
• Vote requested to approve preferred items and timeline to implement them
*Only revision: For Family Fun Night – Keep membership pricing free, for non members $10 per adult and $5 child.
Voted yes to move forward with sliding pricing model as well as price increase changes to make $50k more a year.
3. Proposal to Add Savings/CD Accounts & Credit Card to Accrue Interest and Cash Back
• Currently have $125,472 in Regular Funds Checking Account + $236,692 in BUILD Checking Account
• Proposal below is based on an assumed desire to stay with Bank of America. Alternative option is to move to a different bank, such as BMO Harris, where we could achieve slightly greater interest rates, but would be a huge lift to make the change.
• Proposal to Make Changes to Accrue Interest
o Regular Funds
Leave about $25,472 in Checking Account to cover up/down monthly movement
Propose to open a Bank of America Savings Account for $25,000 as a safe access for security, 0.04% Interest - Gains about $10 per year in interest, but maintains us having Bank of America Gold Preferred Rewards, so that means no bank fees
Open a Bank of America 7 Month CD for 4.75% interest for the remaining $100,000 - Gains $4,750 this year in interest
*John proposed putting $10k in CD once a month to be able to have money available each month after 7 months
*Voted Yes on CDs and savings accounts
o BUILD Funds
Assuming that we would take out a loan for $750,000 but only buy the building for $600,000 - Propose that we would put $200,000 in a 7 month Bank of America CD for accrue $9,000 in 7 months before it is needed to pay contractors
*We are going to wait to talk about this one when we know whether or not we are buying the building
• Propose to Open a Credit Card to Accrue Points/Cash Back
o Ink Business Unlimited
$750 welcome bonus
$0 annual fee
1.5% cashback on everything
Anticipate that in the first year, this would be over $1,000. Once we move to building out the new building, would expect this to increase.
*Voted yes to open credit card to accrue points
• Should put our volunteer hours on balance sheet so our revenue and expenses show larger
Votes outside of meeting
Spring Sale – Kelsie, Josh, Laura, Amy T, David
Workshops –
Wheel Thrown Bird Feeder Workshop at KC Clay Guild
Join us at KC Clay Guild for a wheel thrown bird feeder workshop given by Guild board member, Deborah Kashyap. We will explore throwing closed and narrow-necked forms, and the various vessels you can make with those skills. At the end, we will have gone over the steps to throw and alter a closed-form vessel to make a bird house, along with a variety of other vessels using the same technique.
The workshop will take place on July 17, 2024, at 7-8:30pm. Attendance is free with limited seating, or can be watched on Youtube live on the @kcclayguild channel.
Workshops Goals 2024-2025
1.) Move our main workshops platform from Instagram to Youtube. I feel like we’re losing out on a big opportunity by limiting ourselves to Instagram. I propose we do our live stream on Youtube, and connect that to Instagram so it streams on both. For playback, Youtube is far more user friendly.
2.) Upload all of our past workshops from Instagram to our Youtube channel. Faster way to have a channel that, when new people come, there’s enough videos for us to suck them down the rabbit hole. Ricky has already converted a bunch of videos for me, I just need to edit and upload.
3.) Reach out to our members to find out what type of workshop content they want.
4.) Create more opportunities for studio members to teach each other through workshops on their own work, or through shorter skills videos.
5.) Create opportunities for skills workshops or shorts that members are willing to share on video only without attendees.
6.) Create basic skills workshops (centering, opening, pulling a wall, centering for trimming, trimming, etc.). These can be shorter workshops. I think it would be nice for some of the basic skills to have 5 different people take 5 min to show their method for doing these things, so people can see different techniques.
7.) Get to uploading at least 1 video a week by October. This will include shorts, full workshops, basic skills workshops, and uploads of old workshops taken from Instagram.
8.) More glazing workshops! To include information about underglazing techniques, airbrush and booth use, etc.
9.) Workshops explaining the science of various aspects of the ceramic process if we have people willing/able to speak on that and are able to verify the science is correct. (more like Mr. Wizard, kids-level explanations, not nitty gritty hard science).
10.) Put together a basic instructions video accessible by QR code for people coming to open studio or Family Fun night.
Things I need:
1.) Permissions and passwords to access KC Clay Guild Youtube and Instagram.
2.) A budget or information about what workshops has spent in total in past years.
3.) Information about how much and how we pay paid workshop teachers.
4.) Forms/releases that we give people before workshop to establish content ownership if any.
5.) Anything else you all think I need!
Helped answer questions for Deborah.
Louis offered to give workshop.
Monitors / Volunteers -
A couple monitor and cleaners aren’t pulling their weight and making shifts/cleaning
15 people on the waitlist to monitor
Volunteer picnic will be July 21st
Publicity – Kelsie
Community Outreach/Membership –
Membership as of June 20, 2024 – 646
Date of Request Organization Event Name Donation Value Event Date Expires Sent by Date Sent Certificate # Date Redeemed
6/4/2024 Hillcrest Platte County Gala and Auction (for homeless in the community) 2 Sunday $140.00 10/5/2024 10/5/2025
6/4/2024 Public Safety Credit Union Summer 2024 Special Olympic MO Raffle 2 Sunday $140.00 6/20/24 6/20/2025 CP-USPS 6/10/2024 061024b
6/4/2024 Prairie Paws Animal Shelter Annual Gala Silent Auction 2 Sunday $140.00 9/13/2024 9/13/2025 CP-USPS 6/10/2024 061024a
6/19/2024 Newhouse Gala Imagine a Day Gala 2 Sunday $140.00 11/9/2024 11/9/2025
6/20/2024 Camp Encourage S'Mores and Pours 2 Sunday $140.00 10/25/2024 10/25/2025
ENewsletter
Feature: Building and capital campaign update
Spotlight: Artist in Res
Workshops:
Events:
Education –
Education Coordinator –
We survived Kids Summer Classes.
I’ll be sending out teacher evaluations this week. In the past, we’ve offered a free class to entice participation. As classes are so booked up, do we want to continue that?
I’m working on an email to the new AIRs with info about the classes they’ll have to choose from and some general information about how others have structured their classes. I’ll send that out in the next couple of weeks after meeting with Abby.
Summer Class—Louis
Building Maintenance -Louis
Building carriage doors for the large opening to get the Blauw through
Washing machine situation: Keep buying old used washing machines, can buy commercial style washing machine for $1,500 that might last 3 years, could buy machine for $9K-$10k and another $10k for install.
Technology–
Grants
Louis had a positive meeting with William T. Kemper Foundation and have a meeting at the guild with them soon.
Then had an executive meeting with the Mabee Foundation
Artist in Residence
Exit show is mostly installed for show on Friday
Gallery –
*Deborah brought up possibility of silent auction or raffle in the gallery. Firing could be free for artists donating.
Talking with Izanna about doing a potential solo show soon, maybe in September. If not Izanna, Louis could do a show of his collection in the gallery.
In the future could do a volunteer or teacher show
Strategic Planning Committee- Josh, John, Melynda, Abby, Louis
Owners of building are not budging on price. We have over $300,000 in renovations that need to happen in order for the building to be occupied.
We’ve spent $4,000 of the approved $5,000 for the lawyer. He already reduced his price.
Voted yes to reject offer on building
Voted yes to put $200k build fund in CD so we can get interest money
Teabowl National – Aimee, Josh, Louis (Committee) David
Shikha Joshi is TBN juror for 2024
100 applications this year
Raku Weekend
Holiday Sale
Apparel Committee
New business:
Clay Olympics Proposal (See attached)
*Voted yes on Clay Olympics
Studio Tech position
Louis Annual Review discussion
*Board members will send write up on Louis’ performance. Josh, Mellissa, and John will meet and make a proposal for raise. Also send thoughts on studio tech position and title.
*Should start Fundraising committee
-Deborah, Laura, Mellissa, Louis, John, Cynthia
Clay Olympics Proposal
Date and Time: July 28th 9 am – 12pm
Staff: Pay Allison for 3 hours (event time) plus 3 hours prep. (@$25/hr, $150 total).
2 volunteers per room 830-12
3 volunteers to clean up from 12-1
Total of 9 volunteers
Participation Fee: $20 for 3 events, $5 for each additional event
Max Participants: Room for 72 if each person does only 3 events. We were thinking keep it at 50.
Total @50: $1000
Prizes: Medals for 1 person each event (clay, made by Deb and Allison)
Age Limit: 16 and up or 18 and up
Rules
-Participants get Sponge, wooden knife, wooden rib, needle tool, wire, water bucket (borrowed from guild) Towel allowed. No other tools allowed.
-Participants clean own station after each event.
Judging
Prize and medal awarded to the best performer in each category, across times and rooms (not one prize per room/per session, one prize for each event across all participants for the entire day.)
Tallest Cylinder: Measured with ruler by room volunteer.
Blindfolded Throwing: Measured with ruler by room volunteer.
One Handed Throwing: Most centered/even walls judged by Louis or Josh.
Widest plate: Must be able to get the wide end of a needle tool under the rim on the edge, going in at least 2 inches. Width measured by room volunteer
Teapot Challenge: Judged on completely arbitrary parameters by a 6 year old (Proposing Cynthia’s daughter or Louis’ son, or they can confer and choose together).
Oven Mitt Pinch pot: Most cubic inches (WxLxH)
Tallest Coil Pot: Measured by room volunteer.
Longest Coil: Longest continuous coil. Measured by room volunteer.
Proposed Prizes
3x3 vinyl event sticker for each participant <$75
Clay medals for event winners 8 total <$15 for ribbons to go on medals
(made with recycle clay and studio glaze)
$25 KCCG gift card for each event winner $200
Costs
Average clay per event per person is just under 3 lbs. If we have 50 participants doing 3 3vents each, that’s 450lbs of clay needed, or $187.5 worth of recycle clay, most of which will be recycled with us again.
Clay $187.50
Labor $150.00
Stickers $75.00
Ribbons $15.00
GC Prizes $200.00
Total $627.5
If we have 50 people sign up for only 3 events each, we bring in $1000, which leaves a profit of $372.50
Big Wheel Room Small Wheel Room Handbuilding