JUNE 28, 2007, 10 PM
REDACTED Feb 11, 2012
BOARD MEETING #2
PRESENT: Naomi Novik, Rebecca Tushnet, Francesca Coppa, Cathy Cupitt, Susan Gibel; later: Misha Tepper.
AGENDA:
- revisit vision and name, ideally have vote to make final decision
- review incorporation draft
- committees
- starting with, are we happy with our list of committees
- then moving to how we will staff
- then to actual staffing
SUMMARY OF SALIENT POINTS:
Agenda Item #1: Vision Statement
Reworking of draft of the Vision Statement, debate and tweaking by board members. Thanks to Susan Gibel for her hard work in preparing early drafts.
Resolved: Vision Statement Adopted
VISION STATEMENT
We value media fandom with its rich history and unique identity as a predominantly female culture. We value its transformative works, critical commentary, and vital communities.
We value the fannish economy that recognizes and celebrates worth in myriad and diverse activities.
We value making fannish activities as accessible as possible to all those who wish to participate.
We value our infinite diversity in infinite combinations. We value the unhindered cross-pollination and exchange of fannish ideas and cultures, while seeking to avoid the homogenization or centralization of fandom.
Agenda Item #2: Mission Statement
Reworking of draft of the Mission Statement, debate and tweaking by board members.
Resolved: Mission Statement adopted.
MISSION STATEMENT
We envision a future in which all fannish works are recognized as legal and transformative, and accepted as legitimate creative activity. We are proactive and innovative in protecting and defending our work from commercial exploitation and legal challenge. We preserve our fannish economy, values, and way of life by protecting and nurturing our fellow fans, our work, our commentary, our history, and our identity, while providing the broadest possible access to fannish activity for all fans.
Agenda Item #3: Incorporation Draft:
Discussion of draft of incorporation plan, particularly where we incorporate and what kind of nonprofit corporation we’d be (social or cultural, i.e. type A or B.) Should we hire professionals to bring us through the process? How do we find lawyers? Suggestions include: contacting other arts nonprofits, VLA. Other fans had ideas about lawyers during earlier stages. Discussion reveals NY is the best place for incorporation and that we’re a Type B (“cultural/literary”) organization. Heidi Tandy of FictionAlley has volunteered to help us with the incorporation: she is both a lawyer and has been through it before.
Resolved: to ask Tushnet to pursue the incorporation with Tandy.
Other notes: fundraising has to go on the agenda soon. While the incorporation might formally require “members” we’ll need another word for the public to reduce controversy.
Agenda Item #4: Revisiting the Name.
While at the last meeting, “Coalition for Transformative Culture” was the clear winner, the Board was more iffy on it this week, feeling that we are not yet truly a “coalition.”
Old suggestions included:
- Organization for Transformative Works
- Center for Transformative Works
- FAIRUSE – Fandom Art Is Really Um Something Else
- Organization for Transformative Fiction
- Fannish Arts Network/Fandom Arts Network
- Centre for Transformative Culture
New suggestions included:
- Coalition for Transformative Works
- Transformative Networks (transformativenetworks.com/net/org)
- Transformative (Net)Works
- Transformative NetWorks
The worry was that “Transformative Networks” could be, say, a cable company; we lost both the “fan” component and the legal argument of “transformative works.” So we went back to the “Organization for Transformative Works”. Query: should the word “fan” appear?
Resolved: To this week see if we still like the unsexy but accurate “Organization for Transformative Works.”
Agenda Item # 5: Next meeting.
Resolved: Next Meeting: 7/5 at 10 PM Eastern / 10 AM Australia.
AGENDA FOR 7/5 at 10 PM
- revisit name, ideally have vote to make final decision
- incorporation progress report
- committees
- starting with, are we happy with our list of committees
- then moving to how we will staff
- then to actual staffing