All Agenda Items ================ This file has been built from the information that has been provided on the menu. To download this file, start your capture function now, and press "c" to continue; or "go pda", choose "items of interest", then "board agenda". Last update: Fri May 12 23:16:44 EDT 1995 ============================================================================ begin: freenet/board/agenda/agenda20.txt ============================================================================ National Capital FreeNet Board Meeting 16 May, 1995 - 7:00 PM Honeywell Room, RMOC Headquarters, 111 Lisgar AGENDA 1. Introductions 2. Approval of the minutes of the 18 April, 1995 meeting 3. Review of the Agenda 4. Review of Two Hour Limit (For background, see on-line debates especially in the System Design newsgroup) 5. Proposed Public Relations Strategy (Mike Anderson) 6. Educational Sessions for Board Members (Rosaleen Dickson) Note - Let's have a short break at around 8:30 pm 7. Reports a) Board Planning Committee (Julie Chahal) b) Executive Committee - proposed mandate c) Operations Update (Lisa Donnelly) d) Fundraising Update (Gordon Pearson) e) Financial Report (Jeff Bossert) - financial roles and responsibilites (Lisa Donnelly) 8. IRC Time Limit Adjustment 9. Clarification of Guest Access (Lisa Donnelly) 10. External Access to NCF Newsgroups (?) 11. Next meeting 12. Adjournment =========================================================================== begin: freenet/board/minutes/minute19 ============================================================================ *DRAFT* Minutes of the National Capital FreeNet Board of Directors Meeting held on 18 April 1995 6th Floor Lounge, Robertson Hall, Carleton University The following Board members were in attendance: David Blackwood, Scott Catterill, Julie Chahal, Jessica Cohen, Brett Delmage, Yvonne Dionne, Rosaleen Dickson, Chris Hawley, Richard Mount, Dave Sutherland, and Richard Taylor. 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Dave Sutherland at 7:10 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF 21 MARCH 1995 MINUTES It was noted that there was an error in 4 (b) Signing Authority - bank documents have not yet been updated to reflect the new Executive as a new Treasurer is still to be chosen. Two corrections were noted regarding Board members in attendance. On a motion by Brett Delmage, seconded by Dave Blackwood, the minutes of the meeting held 21 March 1995 were approved with the aforementioned changes. 3. REVIEW OF THE AGENDA It was agreed that the Board Planning Committee Report would be moved forward on the agenda to appear before the discussion on IRC restrictions. 4. EXTERNAL ACCESS TO "NCF" NEWSGROUPS Chris Lewis and Michael Richardson, representatives of the Ottawa on-line community, were present to discuss items 4 (a), (b), (c) and (e) which were effectively subsumed into one discussion. Mr. Lewis discussed the pros and cons of the various established news servers (UseNet and O-Net) and pointed out that in sharing the "ncf" newsgroups NC FreeNet would be providing a benefit to the entire community. By sharing information NC FreeNet will effectively become more a part of the Ottawa-Carleton community. On a motion by Dave Blackwood, seconded by Scott Catterill, the Board agreed in principle with sharing of newsgroups and set up a Task Force to establish the parametres of doing so. A Task Force composed of Dave Blackwood (Chair), Scott Catterill, Jessica Cohen, Matthew Darwin, Brett Delmage, Yvonne Dionne, Chris Hawley, and Chris Lewis was struck. 4 (a) LIMITING POSTINGS TO "NCF" NEWSGROUPS TO NCF MEMBERS This item, brought forward by Brett Delmage, was referred to the Task Force on External Access for review. 4 (b) OFF-LINE NEWSREADERS It was noted that this matter is already being looked at by the Hardware/Software Committee and ties in with the rest of the items discussed under agenda item 4. 5. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) POST-MORTEM Report is on-line. Garth Graham noted that the on-line AGM was a unique experience in electronic democracy but that it was a more complicated exercise that most would expect. The report outlines a number of recommendations for the organizers of the next AGM, of particular importance are items 7 and 8. It was also noted that the process has to start earlier next year. 6. PROPOSED ON-LINE VOTING PROCEDURE This item was brought forward by Lisa Donnelly for approval. On a motion by Julie Chahal, seconded by Richard Taylor, the on-line voting procedures with one change (8 votes in favour required to carry a motion) were approved. 7. BOARD PLANNING COMMITTEE On a motion by Chris Hawley, seconded by Richard Taylor, the Terms of Reference (as outlined) for the Board Planning Committee (BPC) were adopted. On a motion by Chris Hawley, seconded by Richard Taylor, it was agreed that the BPC should initially be composed of up to six members of the NCF Board of Directors, three active and interested members of NCF as appointed by the Board, and the Executive Director of NCF. The following Board Members volunteered to serve on the BPC: Julie Chahal (Chair), Brett Delmage, Yvonne Dionne, Chris Hawley and Richard Taylor. An invitation to serve in the non-Board positions will be posted. On a motion by Chris Hawley, seconded by Richard Taylor, the Board Planning Committee was tasked with organizing and presenting a coherent set of objectives and priorities to the Board at the May 1995 meeting that have basis in the existing Mission Statement, draft material from last year's Board workshops, the Annual Report and Committee plans. 8. IRC RESTRICTIONS A motion was put forward by Richard Taylor, seconded by Chris Hawley, to remove all extra time restrictions on the IRC and that it be provided to NC FreeNet users at all times. Considerable discussion ensued wherein it was eventually agreed, on a motion by Julie Chahal and seconded by Yvonne Dionne, that a decision on the aforementioned IRC motion would be delayed until the next Board meeting in order that the effects of the two-hour time limit could be evaluated. 9 (a) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE No report as the Executive Committee did not meet this month. 9 (b) OPERATIONS UPDATE Summary of Operations Update as available on-line was provided by Lisa Donnelly. In addition, it was also agreed that Miranda will be continuing, for the time being, as the key person responsible for holding public meetings. Lisa and Miranda will be ensuring that a Board member is present at each meeting. 9 (c) FUNDRAISING UPDATE Report on-line. 9 (d) FINANCIAL REPORT Lisa Donnelly introduced two candidates for the position of Treasurer - Jimmy Mui and Jeff Bossert. Material relating to these candidates will be put on-line and an e-mail vote conducted prior to the next meeting at which time a recommendation will be brought forward. The financial statement was reviewed. 10. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 16 May 1995 in the Honeywell Room, RMOC/HQ, 111 Lisgar Street, Ottawa. ** Meetings will be held the third Tuesday of every month henceforth. 11. OTHER BUSINESS The Board asked Lisa Donnelly to contact Robert Pless to handle the Humphrey/Tarini complaint. Chris Hawley reported that work on the Administrative and Donation Database is proceeding on schedule. 12. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Richard Taylor, seconded by Chris Hawley, the meeting was adjourned at 10:25 p.m. /kam =========================================================================== begin: freenet/board/agenda/prstrat.txt ============================================================================ Public Relations Strategy Document Preamble NCF is in the unique position of being both a local, user-oriented non-profit network, and a globally accessible internet entity. Having evolved from a grassroots level to the stature of a major player on the world freenet circuit, there are often challenges in trying to define who we are. Are we an information resource, an "internet on-ramp," a community communications network, or a useful tool for social interaction and leisure? We are what each of our members wants us to be. 1. The Goal of Positive Press The goal of positive press coverage is not to increase membership but to portray NCF as a valuable community and information resource, relevant to a very wide number of people. Because NCF is a high-profile organization, particular attention will be paid to its accomplishments and its faults. We have to present ourselves as a professional organization with a professional image -- presenting a clear, consistent image to the public and the media, and maintaining the standards of a professional organization in terms of our publications, internal and external communications, and approach to media and marketing. If we stumble, the media and the public are not going to forgive us and chalk it up to "growing pains." So careful planning and contingency development are important. 1.1 Recommendations for Media/Communications Policies and Practices 1.1.1 Communications with the media All media communications should be routed through the Administrative Coordinator (AC). This is *not* to prevent any member of staff or board from speaking, but to ensure that the office knows who is being interviewed, from what media outlet and what subject. As well, if there are any problems with the resulting story or interview, they can be addressed quickly and professionally. This also ensures that stories are spotted and archived. This should be set as NCF policy. The AC will also prepare and send out biweekly update packages to the media and NCF newsgroups. The AC will generate story ideas and liaise with the media to increase coverage of NCF. NCF will make a more concerted effort to involve the francophone media. All releases should be translated and sent to francophone media sources. Releases will also be sent to all regional and municipal political figures and key political/funding figures. We will be utilizing the support of NATIONAL Public Relations, which has agreed to be NCF's 'pro bono' pr agency. John Wildgust (bh916) has agreed to offer NPR's assistance to NCF in terms of sending releases, developing public relations and communications strategies, and general media advice. As well, NPR will assist in developing 'damage control' scenarios when necessary. The AC will support NCF initiatives (such as the Ontario Election Project) by publicizing them. 1.1.2 Speakers bureau There should be a regular pool of speakers available for conferences and demonstrations. This is being ably handled by Mimi Richard (br184). We should produce a speakers's kit with standard handouts (brochures, 5-minute guides, line sponsorship packages where applicable). The office can coordinate part of the bureau's activities in terms of arranging equipment and support and any public engagements should be cc'd to the office. The acquisition of a good laptop for the office and Speaker's Bureau is critical. At the moment, laptops are being borrowed from NCF board members, which leads to administrative time being spent tracking down, procuring and returning private machines. NCF needs a 386 level laptop with modem and SVGA (to handle external monitors and overhead LCD panels). 1.1.3 Publications All NCF publications (Survival Guide, brochures, pamphlets) should be designed and produced in a professional manner, and the NCF logo should be used prominently. The logo signifies that the publication is an official NCF-sanctioned product. There should also be adequate distribution mechanisms for selling publications such as the Survival Guide. All publications should be checked and proofed by administrative staff as a safeguard to avoid errors. A policy should be developed on board members and outside authors who write books on FreeNet. There has to be quality control, copyright enforcement and legal recourse available to protect NCF. 1.1.4 Internal communications The AC will circulate regular press releases and information within appropriate NCF newsgroups. The AC will also support fundraising and board initiatives (e.g. the online auction, agm). The AC will develop an online publicity area, similar to the funding, volunteer and speakers' areas. 2 Roles and Responsibilities of the Administrative Coordinator The roles and responsibilities of the Administrative Coordinator in the area of publicity and communications are as follows: 2.1 External Communications -press releases -media liaison -soliciting coverage -managing media coverage -crisis control 2.2 Marketing and Fundraising Support as above plus -graphic design support (printing, production) -acquisition of items (for auction and promotional events) 2.3. Internal Communications -announcements -calls for volunteers -speakers' bureau support -supporting fundraising and development -supporting Executive Director -supporting NCF committees and initiatives 2.4 Current Responsibilities -liaising with media -media releases for special events/news -Monitor magazine column -writing/editing NCF publications (5-minute guide, etc) -development support -special events coordination -general resource for media and public on NCF 3. Timetable Following is a list of events happening in the next year, what is required in terms of office support and logistics, and what is required from NCF staff, board and volunteers. 3.1 3.1.1 Volunteer Recognition Night June 8, 1995 Coordinated by Andre Ouellette & Volunteer coordinators. Internal postings, external publicity (release to media, media updates), soliciting coverage from local media. 3.1.2 NCF Picnic/Cookbook Launch July 1995 NCF Picnic - online and general publicity (press releases, media calls) Volunteer Coord. to help source volunteers Picnic Committee to coordinate NCF Cookbook General media release, targeted media (cooking writers, television, radio shows). Boutique/Development to coordinate 3.1.3 On-Line Auction June, 1995 (TBC) General press releases Specific media contacts and liaising Media donation of items for auction Volunteer Coord. to help source volunteers Board to help acquire items Publicity for live auction component/logistics Signage and paper materials (brochures) Development Dep't to coordinate with AC 3.1.4 Donor Drive Date TBA General press releases Press liaising Volunteer Coord. to source volunteers Board to find corp/ind. donors/sponsors Development Dep't to coordinate 3.1.5 3rd Anniversary February 1996 General press releases Press liaising Coordinating logistics (room, catering, etc) Birthday Party Committee to coordinate 3.1.6 Member no. 50,000 (TBA) General release Media/photo op (arr. logistics/room/catering,etc) AC to coordinate 3.1.7 Oracle reception (TBA) General release Media/photo op (arr. logistics/room/catering,etc) AC to coordinate 4 Resources (advisory group) A group of NCF board members, staff and users has been established to support the Administrative Coordinator and provide advice and reources. The members so far are Lisa Donnelly (am412), Brett Delmage (aa693),Christine McAllister (ai140), John Wildgust (bh916), Laura and Paul Paquette (ae121), BethAnn Burton (ba918), Gordon Pearson (au167). submitted by Mike Anderson Administrative Coordinator bc574 =========================================================================== begin: freenet/board/agenda/educate.txt ============================================================================ Date: Sat May 6 10:30:31 1995 From: ac174@freenet.carleton.ca (Rosaleen Dickson) Subject: Motion for the board meeting I'd like to see my proposed motion on the agenda for the next board meeting. The motion is to organize regular educational sessions for board members and interested volunteers, the first one to be June 5 at which time Miranda will give instruction on www. This motion was a suggestion by Miranda and after I posted it to all board members I've received several favourable comments. Now I guess it should be on the agenda. Can you arrange this? Thanks, -- Rosaleen Dickson - "Freenet For the Fun of it" - ac174@freenet.carleton.ca Date: Thu May 4 17:31:23 1995 From: ao594@freenet.carleton.ca (Yvonne Dionne) Subject: Re: A motion for our next agenda >I should perhaps have sent this just to Richard to put on our next agenda, >but I want everyone to know what I'm proposing so if there's a fateful >flaw here they will let me know (I'm sure someone will) > >This idea came from Miranda and it seems like a useful initiative. >It's because not every board member and volunteer is a technical genius and >there's no reason why we shouldn't at least give it a try. > >So my motion is as follows: >That NCF hold education sessions for interested Board members and >NCF volunteers for demonstrating new technologies at a time mutually >agreed upon each month. I agree with this motion, Rosaleen, but would like word "interested" to be dropped, though, as I feel this type of education session will also be a good time to informally discuss possible NCF policy and direction. Some folks might know all about the topic, but their ideas about how it could / should be applied to the NCF are needed too. I see these sessions as an extension of the board meeting, open equally to volunteers. We should all attend, if possible. >Miranda has offered to conduct the first of such a series: >The first month education presentation on June 5 focus on the World Wide >Web and how it could be implemented on NCF as a permanent service to users. If this date is still on, count me in! >Please let me know if anyone will second tnhis motion, and also what >everyone thinks about it. It seems very forward-looking to me. To me as well. I will second this motion. -- Yvonne Dionne National Capital FreeNet Ottawa, Ontario Board Member ao594@freenet.carleton.ca CANADA! GIVE SOMETHING BACK Note the motion I proposed and the one Rosaleen forwarded to the board are not the same. Miranda Proposal: On-going education for board members (and other volunteers) ===================================================================== Problems: ~~~~~~~~~ * Board members may not be knowledgeable enough about network technology and developing technologies to make the decisions NCF needs made. * Board meetings are a poor forum for educating board members. There just isn't time to do any teaching or for free ranging discussion. * NCF is not a good platform for demonstrating some of the new technologies out there. * Not every board member (or other interested parties) has access to a platform which can be used to try new stuff. Proposed Solution: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A monthly education session for board members in particular but open to all volunteers. A session would run about 2 hours and would focus on demonstrating something not currently available on NCF (eg open WWW, GUI, FTP) or a tour of another access provider (ie another FreeNet or a commercial provider). (Suggested day and time: Second Monday of the month) Format: ~~~~~~~ The first half of the meeting will be a demonstration. The second half will be divided into a panel shooting the breeze on how this would and would not fit into NCF's design. Then the floor could be opened up for discussion. Suggested reading material would be provided as a foundation of the discussion. Goals: ~~~~~~ The plan is not to come to any conclusions or to add tasks to the full projects lists but to give board members more perspective on how NCF differs from other access providers (and other FreeNets) and to ensure board members have a better idea what the latest buzzword refers too. Drawbacks: ~~~~~~~~~~ Yet another meeting to organize, attend, etc. Motions: ~~~~~~~~ NCF hold monthly education sessions for Board members and other interested NCF volunteers. These session shall focus on 1) demonstrating new technologies, 2) another community network system, 3) existing services of NCF not commonly used by board members, or 4) a service not currently offered by NCF. These sessions will be regularly held on the second Monday of the month. The first month education presentation on June 5 focus on the World Wide Web and how it could be implemented on NCF as a permanent service to users. The session will be coordinated by Miranda Gray ak717 (with presenters as needed). -- Miranda Gray -- xx717@freenet.carleton.ca Hardware-Software Committee Chair =========================================================================== begin: freenet/board/agenda/execmt01.txt ============================================================================ Meeting of the Executive Committee 1995-05-05 16:00 - 18:30 Present: Dave Sutherland, Chair Andrew Patrick, First Vice-Chair Julie Chahal, Second Vice-Chair Jeff Bossert, Treasurer Richard Taylor, Secretary Lisa Donnelly, Executive Director 1. Role of the Secretary Specific responsibilities of the Secretary were discussed and clarified: Maintain Policy Area - write access to this area should be limited to Secretary - all policy changes should be sent to Secretary Maintain and expand Minutes Area - expand Minutes of Board Meetings to include agenda background info - organize to serve as NCF historical reference Maintain Agenda Area - there should be more strategy in setting agenda - guide members in submission of agenda items - suggest 3-meeting schedule for major policy decisions: 1) introduction and discussion 2) presentation of researched alternatives 3) decision Direct content of Board Manual - Executive Director & volunteers will continue to maintain - Secretary will provide general direction Maintain By-Laws - ensure amendments are made properly and posted version is up to date Corporate Seal - Secretary is responsible for corporate seal - currently held at the office of Rick Mount at Bleeker Mall 2. Role of the Executive Committee Executive Committee was tasked by the Board to propose amendments to the mandate of the Executive Committee. At the Board Meeting of 1995-03-21, the consensus was that the Executive Committee did not need to retain operational authority and spending authority, but should remain responsible for implementing disciplinary actions on the advice of the Complaints volunteer. The Executive agreed with this but suggested some additional responsibilities. Motion to the full Board: that the Executive Committee be given the following responsibilities: a) In order to deal with members who contravene the User Agreement or other NCF policies, the Executive are authorized to suspend user accounts for such contraventions. All suspensions will be reported to the Board and each account will remain suspended unless the Board passes a motion to reinstate the account. Robert Pless has been delegated by the Executive Committee to look after investigation of complaints regarding contraventions of the User Agreement or other NCF policies, and to send warning notices. b) In order to deal with newsgroups that are in violation of our Acceptable Use Policy or the User Agreement, the Executive are authorized to remove the newsgroup for such contraventions. All suspensions will be reported to the Board and each such newsgroup will remain suspended unless the Board passes a motion to reinstate the newsgroup. c) Advising the Executive Director on how to implement Board policy, and making sure Board decisions are implemented. d) Primary (but not exclusive) representatives of NCF at official functions and meetings, and for media interviews. e) Take fast action on issues where speed is important. Executive Director can call on Executive Committee for people to take on urgent tasks. f) Participate in confidential business discussions until the point where a proposal can be brought to the full Board in public. 3. Relationship with Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (HRC) wrote to NCF with a proposed procedure for handling human rights complaints. Dave Sutherland suggests, and the Executive Committee agreed, that the HRC should contact the offender directly and copy NCF Complaints - this would consititute the first warning. If offense continues to violate the law (and NCF User Agreement) then NCF Complaints would act as usual to issue further warnings or recommend suspension. HRC should decide the legality of the offense. Action: Dave Sutherland will write a letter to the HRC and bring the the Board for comment. 4. Complaints: illegal activities admitted but not committed on NCF There needs to be further discussion amongst the full Board on our role in governing content. The Executive agreed that we should avoid taking responsibility for what people do on the NCF. Admissions of criminal activity are the responsibility of the Police. It was suggested that the Police Department should have a more visible role on NCF and should be available to accept reports of criminal activity. NCF should still limit violations of members' privacy and not release personal information without a warrant. Action: Dave Sutherland will contact former Board member John Ferguson to investigate whether the Police are interested/willing to have this role on NCF. 5. Scheduling for annual agenda items for the Board More forethought is needed to make sure certain issues are brought to the Board at the right times. Action: Lisa Donnelly will draft a schedule of agenda items. Action: Richard Taylor will reorganize the Agenda menu to show future agendas. 6. Developing a Board Conflict of Interest Policy Some situations have arisen in the past in which there have been suggestions that Board members or committee chairs have engaged in activities for personal profit which have been aided by their position in NCF. In order to clarify when a conflict of interest situation exists, a Conflict of Interest Policy is needed. Action: Lisa Donnelly is investigating similar policies in other organizations and will try to present a draft policy at the June Board Meeting. 7. Draft proposal for outsourcing to an Internet access provider The relationship between Carleton University, NCF and ONet is under review by Carleton U. The current informal arrangement should be formalized. Another draft proposal from a commercial Internet provider has been presented to the Executive Committee (details are confidential for the moment). The Executive Committee felt that alternate arrangements for Internet access were worth investigating. Lisa Donnelly, Andrew Patrick and Gordon Pearson will be arranging a meeting and will ask for further information. 8. Review of System Administrator Contract The System Administrator contract (Ian Allen) is up for renewal soon. Also, if certain grants are received, we will need to hire a second system administrator to handle the load. To be prepared, we should begin thinking about job descriptions and possible load-sharing arrangements. Action: Lisa will send a copy of the System Administrator's contract to Executive Committee members for review. 9. Roles of Hardware/Software and System Design Committees Not discussed. Lisa Donnelly and Andrew Patrick have clarified the roles with the two committees. 10. Evaluation of Executive Director Lisa Donnelly asked that there be a "mid-term" evaluation of the position of Executive Director. It was proposed that this should be done at an in-camera session of the full Board at the June meeting. The Planning Committee should also think about setting targets for the Executive Director for the future. 11. Regional Information Service meeting Dave Sutherland, Lisa Donnelly and Julie Chahal volunteered to represent NCF at this meeting. 12. Peak Times The implementation of the two hour time limit has made a drastic improvement in accessibility. The change in load may make it possible to adjust the definition of peak times. However, it was decided to make no further changes until one month had elapsed. =========================================================================== begin: freenet/board/agenda/developmay.txt ============================================================================ Director of Development's Report May 1995 Board of Directors Meeting 1. The RMOC awarded a grant of $40,000 under its Economic Development Grants Program on April 26, 1995. 2. Microworks/OnLine Ventures has submitted a proposal for a pilot project giving FreeNet some pages on their WWW directory in return for a pointer from FreeNet to their system. After measuring the success of the experiment, a financial arrangement would be negotiated. The directory is organized in partnership with the Board of Trade. Further input is needed before bringing the proposal formally to the Board. 3. Discussions are ongoing with MicroWorks about a proposal to partner with FreeNet in providing a number of on-line services and other tools. 4. A request for a one-time grant to be matched by private donations was approved by the Region's Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee on May 2nd. It went before Regional Council on May 10, where it was passed initially by a narrow margin but a motion for reconsideration also passed -- it will go before Council again on May 24. In the interim, members of the Development Committee and Board are discussing the proposal with Councillors. 5. Plans are being drafted for an on-line donation drive to take place in June. 6. A news conference/reception is being planned with Oracle Corporation to announce their database software donation. 7. A "Showcase" directory is ready to go up in the funding area for Connection Sponsors who give an enhanced contribution and display the FreeNet logo at their place of business. It will open with two new sponsors from the white-water rafting and canoeing field. ********************************************************************** Gordon Pearson, Director of Development, National Capital FreeNet Want to do something great for your community? Type "go $" and help make FreeNet more accessible to everyone..$25 is a good place to start. Email: au167@freenet.carleton.ca Voice: (613)749-9372 Fax: 749-9970 ********************************************************************** =========================================================================== begin: freenet/board/agenda/finroles.txt ============================================================================ NOTE: this document will be handed out at the Board meeting for inclusion in the Board manuals Financial Roles and Responsibilities at the National Capital FreeNet 1. Treasurer 2. Executive Director 3. Accountant 4. Administrative Coordinator 1. Treasurer: A volunteer position appointed by the Board Objective: Acts as a fiscal advisor to the Board and staff and ensures sound management of the National Capital FreeNet's financial resources. Reports the monthly financial statements to the Board of Directors at their monthly Board meetings Functions: - establish annual budget and financial reporting system in conjunction with the board officers, Executive Director and Board members - review financial status with the Accountant and Executive Director on a monthly basis - monitor financial performance - report financial statements monthly to the board noting key points and issues - advise on financial feasibility of new proposals, undertakings and staff issues - assist the Executive Director in setting staff remuneration - move motion to appoint auditors, and oversee annual audit process - safe guarding of the assets of the corporation (insurance, financial risk, etc.) 2. Executive Director: A full-time contract worker hired by the Board Objective: Oversees day to day spending and financial management. Decides on remuneration for staff and contractors and ensures that all expenditures are kept within the budget. Works with the Board, Treasurer and Accountant to ensure the financial health of the organization. Functions: - prepare budget with Treasurer - manage fiscal resources, including timely deposit of revenue and payment of bills - ensure accurate bookkeeping and reporting of financial performance - oversee the administrative function of processing and reporting of donations - obtain approval from the Board for any expenditures not covered in the annual budget 3. Accountant: A part-time contract worker hired by the Executive Director Objective: Ensures accurate and timely recording of financial transactions, presentation of information which clearly and concisely conveys the financial well-being of the National Capital FreeNet, and provides advise on issues of a financial nature. Functions: - maintain and reasonably safeguard the historical records and source documents of the accounting records for the NCF - maintaining and manage the General Ledger and the list of accounts - create all cheques and request signatures and issue such for payment on behalf of the NCF - calculate and issue all payments for wages for employees of NCF including payments of withholdings to the appropriate government bodies - issue employee T4's, ROE's, and other employer requirements - issue payments to all contractors of the NCF as soon as reasonably possible after receipt of invoice - record all trade and non-trade accounts payable and cash disbursements in the General Ledger. - record all invoices which meet GAAP requirements for recognition as the revenue in the period earned - record all deposits in the General Ledger and verify deposit amounts against bank statements - identify and record separately in the appropriate accounts all amounts for GST - bank reconciliation will be completed within three months of the month being reconciled - maintain a ledger of capital assets by account - calculate Depreciation and Amortization of assets and contributions respectively on a quarterly basis and record in the General Ledger - produce monthly and quarterly financial statements and provide to the Treasurer and Executive Director - provide other statements as reasonably required from time to time - assist in preparing financial budgets by providing the necessary historical information to allow the Treasurer and Executive Director to coordinate and develop the budget for the next fiscal year. - report to the Treasurer and Executive Director as necessary and as required on all material and significant variances - assist with the Financial Audit so that the NCF may achieve a low cost audit 4. Administrative Coordinator: A full-time employee hired by the Executive Director Objective: To process, deposit and accurately report all funds that arrive at the National Capital FreeNet Administrative Office. Functions: - oversee accurate and timely processing and deposit of donations - prepare an accurate monthly report of all donations deposited - prepare invoices, cheque requisitions and bank statements for monthly submittal to the Executive Director and Accountant - prepare and submit donation data to staff as needed -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lisa K. Donnelly, am412@freenet.carleton.ca Executive Director, National Capital FreeNet/Libertel de la Capitale nationale ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== begin: freenet/board/agenda/guests.txt ============================================================================ Clarification of Guest Access 1. Backround ------------ During the time limit debates many members made it publically known that they would use the guest account to do all of their reading and then use their time to do their posting. More importantly, Andrew Patrick and Miranda Gray also found that 3% of guest accounts were using Lynx. Andrew and I felt we should take approporiate operational action and limit what the guests can access if we were to effectively implement the time limits. I posted the following message which I drafted with Andrew's assistance: Subject: Changing Guest Access to Correspond with the goal of a Time Limit -------- One consequence of implementing time limits will be a need to tighten the restrictions on the guest account. If callers can use this account to access telnet, gopher, WWW, or newsgroup services, they have a method of getting around the limits (at least for reading material). So, we will be tightening the restrictions on the guest account as the time limit is introduced. The most noticable effect will be access to the discussion groups. We will either remove access to all the discussion groups for guest users, or have a short list of "sample" groups that guests can read. This sample system was the intent of the original setup, but it has not been followed consistently over the years. Please post any comments about this to the newsgroup. There was some mention of shortening the time limits for guests as well. This would be an appropriate time for the board to discuss this as well. There was a minimum of debate. 2. Current information ---------------------- I met with Matthew Darwin approximatedly a month ago regarding his volunteer position as a menu maintainer. He asked about the guest account access issue and mentioned that he could mark various newgroups with a '*' for eventual closure. Apparently we mis- communicated. He has been closing off newgroups as he does his menu work on NCF. This fact came to my attention when he temporarily shut off guest access to the Board discussion areas. He has since reactivated them. This is in no way Matthew's fault but probably due a technical misunderstanding on my part. I have asked Matthew for details on this and received the following update: >From xx673 Mon Apr 24 13:37:02 1995 [stuff deleted] Lisa writes: >Could you please send me a brief update on this. How many newsgroups have >been made unaccessible (estimate) and which, if any, are you are leaving for >guest perusals? I guess I've denied access to about 25 ncf.sub.* newsgroups, the 6 ncf.status.* groups, and a couple of others (ie ncf.admin.developer.m-darwin) I can't do many more because they belong under the domain of specific information providers or they are in SIG areas (Al Seaman's area). The ones left for guests are: # This is the list of newsgroups that guests are allowed to read. # Trees are not allowed (ie you have to specify all of the newsgroups # in the ncf.help.* tree) can.general can.infohighway can.jobs can.politics ncf.admin ncf.admin.volunteer.thank-you ncf.board-discussion-moderated ncf.board-discussion-unmoderated ncf.board-resolutions ncf.francais ncf.general ncf.help.answers ncf.help.books ncf.help.com-nets ncf.help.courses ncf.help.glossary ncf.help.modems ncf.help.pda ont.forsale ont.general ont.jobs ott.events ott.forsale ott.general ott.housing ott.jobs 3. Decision Is this an operational or Board issue? If you all think this is a Board issue I would greatly appreciate a formal decision. If a 'full accessibility' vote occurs I will request that all closed newsgroups be opened again. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lisa K. Donnelly, am412@freenet.carleton.ca Executive Director, National Capital FreeNet/Libertel de la Capitale nationale ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== EOF