Summary of June 2021 Board Minutes

BZBI Board Minutes

June 9, 2021 meeting, 7:00 pm

Consent Agenda presented by Nikki Morris (all approved)

• Approval of May board meeting minutes from Terry Hirshorn
• Community Committee report from Eileen Dwell
• HR Committee report from Matt Whitehorn

Discussion items presented by Nikki Morris

• Nominating Committee report from Deena Kobell and Gregg Kanter: Deena read all the nominated board members for 21-22, which were approved by the board and will be presented at the Annual Meeting, June 28, 2021.
• Clergy report from Rabbi Abe: Today is Rabbi Annie’s last day/night serving as Rabbi here. We now have a schedule for services until the High Holy Days, with Torah readings specified.  We will continue to alternate Zoom and hybrid (in-synagogue with Zoom access) services until the middle of July when will return permanently to the synagogue with Torah reading from the scroll, but with Zoom access for those who need it and feel comfortable doing it. We will reset the cameras in the synagogue to make the Zoom experience better.  We will green light the Torah academy, with the goal of all congregant Torah reading, perhaps 50 or more capable Torah readers.  There will be classes for all levels of Torah readers, i.e. brand new/never read Torah, to those with some experience but need a little refresher.  We will be well supplied with tutors, (whom we are actively seeking as well) and all aids that will help people learn. There is no thought to hiring a professional Torah reader to cover us until we meet the goal of total congregation coverage, thinking that a professional Torah reader would be counterproductive to encouraging people to seek the skill. Rabbi Abe feels that it won’t take too long until we can have full Torah sections, though for the first year we may not have the full Torah portion covered each week. There was a comment in the chat, that perhaps doing the Torah in triennial portions would ease the transition. We do have a town hall meeting scheduled for Monday June 21 to allow discussion of this transition to full synagogue services.
• Membership Report: Lots of membership renewals are coming in, giving us a positive outlook for next year’s membership and annual giving.  We are getting feedback that people are feeling good about BZBI.

Development report from Suzanne Litke:  Annual Giving as of 6/9 is positive, with pledges significant for this point int he year. Pledges represents 42% of households (up from 37% last month).  Other unrestricted giving is also healthy. The calls from the Board since our last meeting are  helping with our AG percent participation.  We should be prepared to do the calling again next year, so we can stay connected.  We should complete the Board calls by June 21, so they still have a week to give.

Budget report: the budget was shared with the Board as we reviewed the highlights.  We added funds to the budget to become a member of POWER and a more for incidentals for social action;  We approved raises for all staff as discussed last month, as well as a safety net which covers investments, an emergency fund, parsonage upkeep and non-specific building maintenance and we still have a small surplus in the budget.  However, since there was no leeway in Visioning budget, in case expenses arise, we moved most the small surplus into a line item that would serve the visioning process. We expect net growth overall, but we should have a better idea of our finances after the High Holy Days, when traditionally we will be more confident of 60%  of our income (with dues and tuition for Early Childhood Education and Neziner) by then. Though our budget does look healthy now, we should remember that this budget still includes PPE grants, that will not exist when we plan next year’s budget.  Maybe we should have an AG drive in Neziner, and try for close to 100% participation up from our currently ~70%. Eileen says Community is working with Early Childhood and Neziner to have programs to get them more involved in BZBI community. The board had previously made contributions for snacks during our board meetings, which have all been on Zoom this past year. This can be returned to Board members or the board member could turn that into a charitable contribution the BZBI.  Budget approved for now.

President’s report: The new Executive Director starts officially in August, but she’ll be around before that. The Kitchen renovations are moving along, but they will not be done by the High Holy Days, considering construction delays from the pandemic. The President gave moving and heart-felt thank you’s and good luck to the board members who are leaving the board, with personal comments for each.