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July 19 2006

Incorporation: 501 c7 not tax exempt but people give money can’t write off
State vs. Federal. Vs. irs
We are state—corporation not for profit currently in good standing.
Taxation—IRS. What do we do about membership dues? Capital investments vs. membership dues.
Carbondale coop switched non profit to cooperative act. Member dues moved to share system. Investment ruled by investment rules
Franchise tax smaller than income tax.
IllinoisCoop more rules - concept of shares. 500 limit per member investment.
Our bylaws currently in contradiction to Illinois coop rules.
Cyberdrive.com
Agenda
Business Structure
Committee Assignments
Grant
Billy:
HIDEOUT EVENT
1-5 hideout available to us.
Kiddie/bully huff to start at 2. Flexibility? 20-30 minutes of music?
Playlist of recorded fun music.
Madeline’s art project.
Dance contest over the course of dj music
Food table - bake sale, choc. Chip cookies from Rachel, sell juice boxes?
Craft table—Madeline—Richard?
Money boxes- membership- JEN, bake sale- Terri and Josh, door.
Hideout taking 10% of door.
Sell membership in the quiet area outside the door.
MC/speaker.—Jen
ONGOINg best pickle dancer.
Madeline to bring napkins and plates
Bar to supply cups.
Raffle - for art-- additional tickets for $2.00 3 for $5, for Handlebar, Lula - Madeline will ask Lula
Kristin will send things for copying to billy Friday am.
The work to Do
Committees
Outreach - Kristina nd Rachel
Membership- Jen
Bookkeeping/finances/ business - Kristin, josh, gala
Business plan, research, case studies, grant
Fundraising /events - Kristin, Rachel
Pr- website, newsletter - Richard, jon and laraBusiness—
Good pr, different levels of consulting market studies
We’re doing a good job of outreach
Recruit Latino Liason for steering committee.
Homework: everyone review their assignments on Laura’s list
Models research to present - what are we presenting as we do outreach
Cooporative development services willing to help us for free for a little while
They are a cooperative also do agrig and forestry coops. Capacity to build -relationship.
Deadlines: committees, things to do.
Can Kath, Rach, billy, Kristin, be ready by Wednesday to compare models?
Emily and ?Tenney? to write grant.

Meeting May 13 2006
Agenda:
Coop training
Farmers mkt tabling
Membership packets
El cid
New finance officer
Pickle dance 2
Attendance: Billy, Kristin, Jen, madeline
Coop trainingJune once every two weeks after work.
How many people will attend?
Team building need firm info to make it worth time and money
What should we focus on
Want to start it as soon as possible. - want to wait until we are all intown? Or do it sooner?
Everyone commits to come to every session?
One of the most important things we are going to do as a group.
We need to build organization.
If june is too soon, then why rush into it?
Training is not necessarily a how to do consensus building but how to function as a
group collective.
Make sure everyone can come every time -
5 days in a row, most get done.? 2 hours a night. Intesive, bond, move on.
4 days in a row, follow up workshop?
July may be better than June - mid june.
This is important, let's make a big deal of it.
"5 subsidized slots" available. Otherwise money per person.
Look for something intensive in July, email organizers to see what is available. Looking
for 10, may have some subsidized spots.

Farmers MKT Tabling.
Billy: Sunday night - at the Dark Room tabling event 2210 W. Chicago.
Pick any Sunday in June 4 , July 16, august, sept.
Rachel - products for sale?
Membership Packets
Made, ready to be signed out to willing membership sellers.
River West trip
Kristin, Lauri Tannenbaum?
Kristin to Liase with Rachel email message we have space in the car!
Elcid
Paula from True Nature is she coming or not? Wasn't sure if she could make it or not.
Todd market research background will be there. Let's ask him questions!
How to do a feasibility study, technical advisor? How to go about it? General process…

Finance Officer -
Jon has stepped down as finance officer due to personal commitments. He will remain a
very enthusiastic member and grant consultant.
We need to find a pro bono lawyer if we want to file for 501 c 3
We filed as a not for profit…
How to define the term/Money structure.
Gala to take over?
Grant research?- let's go thru training first. To crystallize our vision, what steps need to be
taken and how to proceed. To make certain any uncertainty. 6 month plan, what we need
the money for?

Pickle DANCE 2. at the HIDEOUT!!!
Billy! To do this. A children's set. JULY 22.
Raffle tickets or silent auction

Notes on meeting 4/9/06
Attendance: Jen, Rachel, Gala, Billy, Madeline, Jon, Kath
Agenda Items: streamline operations- easier volunteer participation
Short term plan (6mos)
Pay pal
501 c 3?
Café event 4/23 @ACME
El Cid event 5/20
Brochure
Press Packet
Microvolunteers

Streamlining operations:
We need systems in place. After each fundraising event, the money and membership info must be collected in a timely manner to facilitate efficiency and leave less opportunity for loss.
We have opened a bank acct. at North Community bank, (los caballeros credit union only does personal accounts). Jon, Gala, and Kath will all be able to make deposits.
Jen is in charge of membership database and will make membership packets for others to be able to sell memberships with clear directions.
Jon will look into a free permanent space for meetings, consolidating resources, info, etc.
Overall management issues will be overseen by Madeline. Kath and Madeline will work as co-chairs for now, to keep things moving.
Paypal
Jon has started the process, we should see it up and on line very soon - hopefully this week.

501 c 3/Short term plans
do we or don’t we want to be a not for profit.
Investigate other coops - Rachel and Kath will contact 10 co-ops for their input on this and to see if we can look at their early business plans
We will look at this info comparatively in early June
Pay for time with a consultant this June
By the end of June we will have a revised business plan
Outreach blitz this summer to publicize and promote Dill Pickle
200 memberships by Sept. 1 or bust
Café Event @ACME 4/23/EL CID 5/20
We are inviting people to speak about the business of running a co-op. If they cannot make it to this event, then May 20th el Cid event. El Cid will give 10% of profits from the dill pickle for brunch that day on the back patio. Brochure
Being written and generated. Hopefully we can push to have these done soon so we can pass them out at as many events as possible. Casey Rentz has volunteered to do the tech writing! Press Packet
All articles published about us need to be collected, photocopied, and put into a couple of binders. Kath, Gala, and Madeline will do this work. Binders will go with people on outreach events.
Microvolunteers
We need to organize volunteer labor. Smaller jobs with more people, more opportunities. This summer will be important to be a presence at the local farmers markets and festivals. We will need to build liaisons with groups who already active in similar fields with similar goals.
We will also need a volunteer coordinator and outreach committee and a resource coordinator
We will ask Richard to set up a job board on our website.

General Meeting Notes 10.8.05

Jonathan: Food coop 500 grant overview
∑ Questions- how do we want to incorporate? Non profit? Co-op
∑ Jon needs help about finding out about incorporating as a co-op
∑ How do we write by laws as a membership organization - 501 c/3 usu. Not a membership org.Owner/Membership language
∑ needs to be written explicitly so everyone understands
∑ “owner” very compelling
∑ emphasize that the relationship of all members is the same. If one is a member, one is an owner, and membership is open.2 models:
200 members paying 50$ annual dues= $10,000
working member - 200 4 hours/mo., $25annual dues =$5000 + 200 hours per week.

Clare to present 4 or 5 strong models for us to vote on in January.
Discussion:
? model membership- research is outreach.
Markets and suppliers --? How to get rid of price differenciation for organic foods.
The question goes beyond health - labor, corporate, concentration of power - food is a focus point for all of these things.
Different diets require different products - can our store becokme a distribution point for other stores to get fresh produce.
How to develop a distribution chain - what is the scale we are talking about.
Craig to make a presentation about store placement research - looking for places where a store has public transportation, demographics, community orgs, etc.

Membership Meeting Notes 9.24.05

Roy from the Stone Soup Housing Co-op facilitated this meeting by
introducing us to the
principles of consensus run meetings.  He guided us thru this process
as we conducted
our first consensus run meeting.  He explained that there are four
positions : facilitator,
time keeper, stack , and notekeeper. Roy was facilitator, Leah was
time keeper, Jen was
stack (keeping the list of people who want to speak), and I,
Madeline,  was note keeper.
The meeting began with a check in where everyone was allowed to
introduce her/himself
and say how (mentally, emotionally etc) s/he is coming to the
meeting.  During Check in
everyone takes a turn to speak with no interruptions.  At the end of
the meeting there was
a Check out where everyone speaks about how the meeting went for
her/him.
What follows is a compilation of the discussion that took place.
Roy raised the following questions for our group to think about:
How do we make agendas?
Do we want to take notes during Check in and Check out?
Develop policy on when to close stack and if votes are taken as
unanimous or unanimous
minus one.
THE DISCUSSION:
• Membership should be open to all
• Membership should be encouraged
• Membership may offer a rebate based on purchases
• The price should be $50-100 - to be decided
• At the end of the year when there is a profit, members can
choose to reinvest or cash
out dividend
• Membership fee should be able to be bought on installment
• Membership fee should be fully refundable (perhaps on a
quarterly schedule)
• Work component per household should be decided upon
• Membership and Fundraising are separate: All members have one
vote regardless of how
much cash contributed. 
• Uncomfortable about shares - want this co-op to have a
equitable structure.  Every
member contributes the same for membership fee.  Every member
receives the same
benefits.
• Need to have flexible options so no one is excluded-, make the
work requirement
flexible so no one feels that it is unmanageable.
• Let's recognize how people can contribute!
• This co-op needs to offer something for membership - maybe
educationwise - a class or
something., t-shirt?, certificate?
ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING'S AGENDA:
• Do we want to change the language of membership?  That is, do
the words
"Membership" and "Share" feel bound to an existing
structure which we would like to
avoid?
• How much to be a pickler?
• --Part work/ part cash for membership?
• Refundable membership fee
• Installment plan
• Profit- reinvest or refund?
• Share/no shares?
• Option to work required?
• Purpose of the membership—different from fundraising

General Meeting Notes 9.10.2023

I. Upcoming rummage sale is set for Saturday, 9/24 at Jen's house using the stuff leftover from the last sale. The remaining items after the next sale will be donated.
II. Representatives Isis, Yolanda and Joaquin from Centro San Bonifacio , a local organization promoting health and education were given a presentation in Spanish by Leah .
Yolanda and Isis discussed the different ways they serve the community: educational programs for all age groups on nutrition and natural foods, sustainable gardening, and environmentalism.
they also mentioned that affordabillity and access to quality foods is important to introducing healthy habits.
discussion of future partnership in potlucks, tasting events and classes
III. Upcoming Dinner Fundraiser: October 1st in Logan Square
in an effort to generate less waste we'll be using non-disposable bowls and plates... we are currently in need of a donation of about 40 bowls. we ask that visitors bring their own bowls and spoons. A flyer will be available soon.
IV. our application for The Food Coop 500 "seed fund program" grant has a good chance of being accepted (hooray!)
V. IMPORTANT: the next two meetings will be regarding co-op membership, so come out!!!
they'll be at Jen's house just prior to the rummage sale (9-24) between 10 am and noon, and the following Tuesday (9/27) at Kath's house.
We still need participants trained in consensus decision making.

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