ELT Minutes, December 13, 2012

 Extension Leadership Team Minutes

Thursday, December 13, 2012

UMA—Jewett Hall, Room 114

Facilitator:    Jon Prichard                Note taker:    Dennis Harrington

Present:         Dennis Harrington, Lisa Phelps, Jon Prichard, John Rebar and Fran Sulinski.

Guest:             Jennifer O’Leary

Please note: Due to the confidentiality and sensitivity of some agenda items, these ELT minutes do not represent the full content of each meeting.

100^th Anniversary Fundraising for 4-H: The ELT endorses the concept, brought forth by John Rebar, of challenging each Extension office to raise a minimum of $1,000 during 2013 to support the 4-H “100 for 100” fundraising initiative. The effort will contribute to the goal of raising $100,000 during 2013, the 100^th anniversary year of 4-H, to support future 4-H programming through the Maine 4-H Foundation. Offices who accept the challenge can raise the funds in whatever way they choose – through fundraisers, from local vocal volunteers, community donations, and/or staff contributions. The ELT accepts this challenge and will raise a minimum of  $1,000 to contribute to the effort during the year.

Fort Kent Office Move: The Fort Kent office move to the UMFK campus, scheduled for December 21, has been postponed until the December 26^th due to delays in remodeling the office.

Please Note:  the new address information: 34 Armory Rd. Suite 101, Fort Kent 04743; the phone number will remain the same:  1-800-287-1421 or 834-3905.

The Future of Development: The ELT discussed the future of fundraising and development in Extension based on a concept paper by Doug Babkirk [Organizational Resource Development; ELT minutes November 7, 2012]. The ELT believes strongly in the structure and goals brought forth in the paper, and will work with Doug and others to begin to implement its concepts. One element of the plan is the creation of a part-time professional position focused on development. While we believe in the proposed position and understand its elemental role in the future of this work, the ELT is not able to make a commitment to the cost of the position at this time due to the potential for additional State and Federal budget cuts for the University and Extension in 2013, 2014 and beyond. For now, the proposal for the professional position will be tabled and may be considered at a future date.

What is Required of Staff to Meet NIFA Civil Rights Interim Reporting Expectations:   As a follow-up to the 2011 civil rights review by our federal funder, we have been asked to provide a complete and accurate report of the demographics of the audiences we have contacted, all accommodations provided and the demographic make-up of our advisory groups (for one full program year). We must also identify any barriers to greater participation by minorities as compared to the available audience. In summary, we must be able to show that we have made progress or explain why we have not.

All programming staff must track the demographics of their clients, all accommodations provided (even those we may consider minor) and the demographics of their advisory groups. The demographic data of those served and those on advisory committees should be compared to the available pool and steps must be planned and taken to diversify these groups. These steps are asked of each programming staff member as part of the pre-work to the annual meeting. Please work to provide accurate and complete data and to have tangible steps to make all reasonable efforts to diversify our clients and advisory groups.

To assist staff we will provide upcoming training for civil rights coordinators and all staff on the topic of providing accommodations and tracking the demographics of our clients. We will seek to enhance the reporting system so staff can also report accommodations provided and advisory group information. You may also consult with Fran Sulinski on an individual or unit level, if you have questions or need support.

IRS Compliance: The UMaine System legal office has asked us to review our associated programs for compliance with IRS tax exemption reporting related to fundraising and revenue generated.

Important New Policies for Development, Social Media Communications, and Fundraising: The University is changing some policies and processes related to “branding” that affects development, fundraising, and the use of social media:

Changes related to development: Jennifer O’Leary reported that new University policies mandate that the UMaine Division of Marketing and Communications review and approve all new all development materials prior to being shown to the intended recipient(s).

Changes related to the use of social media: Jennifer also reported that new University policies mandate that the UMaine Division of Marketing and Communications approve all new social media efforts. It is unclear if they will be reviewing existing social media marketing – Jennifer will attempt to clarify and communicate the policy.

Changes related to fundraising: Dennis Harrington reported that revenue from fundraising will no longer be processed through the gifts processing office and accounted for in gift accounts. Please contact Dennis Harrington with questions about whether your efforts are considered “development”, or “fundraising”. At this time, fundraising efforts are not subject to review and can be financially managed through Extension.

In response to development and social media policy changes, we would like to work as efficiently as possible with the Division of Marketing and Communications by submitting materials that will merit minimal review and quick approval. To that end, we ask you to work with your program administrator on the creation of development and social media materials. PAs will then route materials to Jennifer O’Leary for review. Important: Jennifer O’Leary will be Extension’s single point of contact with the Division of Marketing and Communications – all requests for approval must be submitted by her.

As this process unfolds, we will learn more about how much time it takes for review and approval. Therefore, it would be wise to plan as much lead-time as possible.

2013 Organizational Meeting: Plans for Extension’s all-organization meeting are coming together, and Fran Sulinski presented a working draft of the agenda. The two-day event will be held on March 5^th and 6^th on the UMaine campus and include a presentation by UMaine President Paul Fergusson; a dialog with UMaine System Chancellor James Page; updates and presentations by Extension staff and outside experts; a wide variety of topical break-out sessions; poster sessions; and a focus on activities related to personal, programmatic, and organizational sustainability. The final details will be announced in late January.

Holiday Office Schedules: All staff will be granted leave time starting at noon on December 24. The President’s Office has also given UMaine units permission to close the morning of Dec 24 only IF all staff in that unit are using annual leave. Fran Sulinski will communicate this to the organization and ask for offices to respond to Joan Day by Dec 20, 2012, if offices will be open or closed that morning. The information will be reported to the Provost.  For those offices that do not respond, it will be assumed that the office will remain open.

Announcements:

• Congratulations to Karen Hatch Gagne, who has been awarded $23,000 from National 4-H and Kansas State University to support 4-H clubs for military youth in Maine.

• Jason Bolton and Beth Calder will have office space in Nutting Hall.  Jason will be in 105 and Beth in 107 Nutting Hall.  They plan to occupy the space in early January 2013.  Jason’s space is part-time as he is still primarily housed in the Penobscot County Extension office in Bangor.

• Congratulations to Oxford County Extension and Bryant Pond 4-H programs in partnership with Operation Military Kids (OMK), Penobscot, and York Counties on the award of the third year of Tech Wizard funding for $123,000 to serve a minimum of 180 youth statewide through mentoring, technology, and engineering. The funding is from National 4-H and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).

• Congratulations to the Oxford County Extension and Bryant Pond 4-H programs on the award of two 21st Century grant awards.  All new 21^st Century projects are now public and provide potential partnerships for all of our county offices and Extension programs.  Each site is required to have at least one community partner and offer extended day enrichment opportunities.

• Oxford County Extension and Bryant Pond 4-H programs in partnership with MSAD/RSU 17 awarded $300,000 of 21st Century Funding for Oxford Hills Middle School (OHMS) Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), Oxford and Paris Elementary school extended day programs with Extension enrichment and Experiential Learning Opportunities (ELO) programming.  The grant is renewable annually for five years with decreasing funds in years four and five to 65%. Funding is from the Maine Department of Education (DOE) with Federal DOE funds.

• Oxford County Extension and Bryant Pond 4-H programs in partnership with MSAD/RSU 72 awarded $150,000 of 21st Century Funding for Molly Ockett OHMS Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), school extended day programs with Extension enrichment and ELO programming.  The grant is renewable annually for five years with decreasing funds in years four and five to 65%. Funding is from the Maine Department of Education with Federal DOE funds.

2012 — 2013

Meetings are from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm – unless otherwise noted

Anyone wishing to participate in an ELT meeting should contact the facilitator for that date.

                 

Dates                          Facilitator                       Notes                              Location

 

January 14	Harrington	Sulinski	Orono — 102B Libby Hall
February 5	Sulinski	Phelps	Orono — 102B Libby Hall
February 22	Phelps	Rebar	Augusta -TBD
March 14	Rebar	Prichard	Orono — 102B Libby Hall
April 4 *Agenda Item – more calendar dates TBD	Prichard	Harrington	Orono — 102B Libby Hall
April 24	Harrington	Sulinski	Augusta — TBD
May 15	Sulinski	Phelps	Orono — 102B Libby Hall
June 4	Phelps	Rebar	Orono — 102B Libby Hall