Wings of Hope

April 22, 2006 October 8. 2007 November 27, 2007 January 26, 2008 December  31, 2008 (Annual Meeting)

February 16, 2009 April 1, 2009 April 22, 2009 December 26 – December 31, 2009 (Annual Meeting) January 30, 2010

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April 22, 2006

Wings of Hope, Inc.
www.butterflybreeders.org / www.wingsofhopebutterflies.org
c/o 51 Beebe Road
Wilbraham , MA   01095

Minutes – April 22, 2006

An organizational meeting of the Wings of Hope, Inc. Board of Directors took place April 22, 2006 via internet connection.  Members in attendance:  Alicia Baylor, President, Kathy Marshburn, Vice President, Linda Rogers, Secretary and Melanie McCarthy, Treasurer.

Organizing Board Members voted on several items.  This was the first official meeting of Wings of Hope and was deemed an organizational meeting.

On motions duly made and seconded, it was VOTED:

1. To accept the Bylaws of Wings of Hope, Inc. as presented and dated April 22, 2006;
2. To vote as Officers the following: Alicia Baylor, President, Kathy Marshburn, Vice President, Melanie McCarthy, Treasurer and Linda Rogers, Secretary;
3. To direct the Treasurer to file “Articles of Organization” for the purpose of organizing as a non profit organization in the commonwealth of Massachusetts and to operate exclusively for charitable purposes;
4. To authorize the Treasurer to file for 501 c 3 status with the IRS for purposes of gaining exemption status and recognition as a non profit charitable organization on the federal level.

The organizing Board members discussed the purpose of Wings of Hope as presented in the Bylaws and as stated in the proposed Articles of Organization.  It was noted that the Wings of Hope Committee and program, under the auspices of IBBA, a Trade Organization, itself had been in operation for many years but was not able to seek grants and private donations as the organization was not formally organized as a non profit corporation. It was then VOTED: (see Vote # 1 above)

Officers’ positions were described and it was then VOTED: (see Vote # 2 above).

Melanie McCarthy explained the advantages of organizing as a non profit corporation and gaining recognition from the IRS as a 501 c 3.  Those benefits are:

• exemption from federal income tax and eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions;
• individuals and corporate donors are more likely to support organizations with 501 c 3 status because their donations can be tax deductible.  Recognition of exemption under section 501 c 3 of the IRS assures foundations and other grant-making institutions that they are issuing grants or sponsorships to permitted beneficiaries.
• an IRS determination of 501 c 3 status is recognized and accepted for other purposes.  For example, state officials may grant exemption from state income tax, sales tax and other taxes and the U.S. Postal Service offers reduced postal rates to certain 501 c 3 organizations.

Melanie McCarthy noted that in order to gain this IRS recognition all of our activities must further our exempt purposes as stated in the bylaws and in our Articles of Organization. 

Melanie McCarthy also reported that the Granby Public Library has already offered to send donations to support our program and that Magi Bish and the Molly Bish Foundation have expressed their willingness to support and promote our program.

After discussion, it was then VOTED: (see Votes # 3 and 4 above).

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Rogers

Secretary

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October 8, 2007

Wings of Hope, Inc.
10 Beebe Road
Monson , MA   01057
www.wingsofhopebutterflies.org

Adopted by Vote on 10/23/07

MINUTES

The Annual Meeting of Wings of Hope, Inc. was held during the week of October 8, 2007.

Board Members Present:  Alicia Baylor, President; Linda Rogers, Vice President, Melanie McCarthy, Treasurer and Kathleen Marshburn, Secretary

On motions duly made and seconded it was VOTED:

1. To approve the amended Bylaws of Wings of Hope, Inc. (attached) – unanimous
2. To elect the following as Board Members for the two year term beginning January 1, 2008 (unanimous)

Anne Collins, Butterfly Brillance Queensland , P. O. Box 3416 Loganholme , Australia Qld 4129	Linda Rogers, Timshell Farms P. O. Box 681 Corsicana , TX   75151
Grace Venters, Butterfly Boutique 6, Church Path, Gosport , Hampshire P012 1NR England	Melanie McCarthy, The Monarchy 10 Beebe Road Monson , MA   01057
Nancy Hobart, Flutterby Butterflies 293 Al Harvey Road Stonington , CT   06378	Kathleen Marshburn, Vibrant Wings Butterflies 5912 Kelly Mill Lane Humble, TX  77346
Kathleen  Ziemer, ButterfliZ of Iowa 3816 North Union St . Des Moines , IA   50316	Magi Bish, Lifetime Honorary Member Molly Bish Foundation Warren , MA
Alicia Baylor, Buena Vista Butterfly Farm P. O. Box 107 Burson , CA   95225

The meeting began with a review of the past year’s activities.  Special recognition was given to Jon Timko who worked hard to develop, with some help from Wings of Hope, a beautiful, sleek and informative brochure for Wings of Hope, Inc.  Jon incorporated suggestions from this year’s and prior years’ committees and used photos and collages contributed to the Wings of Hope, Inc. over the past few years.  When Jon reported on the printing prices from Vista.com, little did he know there would be an upcoming special and instead of the original estimate of $300 we were able to order 1,000 brochures for about $150.  Many have been sent to Kathleen Ziemer for distribution at the upcoming Convention and to be used in conjunction with Wings of Hope, Inc’s fundraiser  to be held during the Iowa Convention.

Alicia Baylor reported that we received 35 requests for butterflies during 2007 and that we were able to fill 10 of those requests.  It was felt that this was a good number considering our limited resources.  She reported that there is current request for butterflies for October 12.  Melanie McCarthy indicated she would be able to help with that one.

Alicia Baylor stated that she had been looking at a number of websites to search for grant monies and plans to send the links to the rest of the Board.

A suggestion was made to incorporate the use of PayPal onto the Wings of Hope, Inc. site to make it easier for people to make donations.  Melanie McCarthy said she would work to get that accomplished and would probably seek the assistance of Paul Chesterfield.  The Board emphasized the importance of making sure that the donors know that  contributions to our organization are tax deductible on the respective individual’s tax return.

The Board then considered some suggested changes to the Wings of Hope Bylaws to clarify the issue of confidentiality and to remove the ‘restrictive’ requirement that IBBA members must be on the Board and to change it to “every attempt will be made to recruit members of the IBBA, Inc.  To maintain our strong association with the IBBA, Inc. regular reports will be made to the IBBA Board of Directors no less than once per year.”  It was noted that if we were not able to recruit IBBA members for the majority, we would have been in violation of the former Bylaws through no fault of our own.  The Board acknowledged the importance of strong IBBA representation on our team and that we seek to continue to maintain a solid working relationship with IBBA.  It was also decided to add a focus on creation of butterfly habitat to our mission.   It was then VOTED:  (see Vote # 1 above).

The Board considered a slate of nominees presented to serve on the Board of Wings of Hope, Inc. for the two year term beginning January 1, 2008, it was then VOTED:  (See Vote # 2 above).

Next, the Board listened to ideas about fundraising and talked about the possibility of “Sponsors” for Wings of Hope, Inc.  One idea was that those making contributions of a certain value would become Sponsors.  There would be one graphic for Sponsors and one graphic for Donors.

The concept of an “International Wings” team was discussed so that there could be an international focus and that certain countries could be targeted to have Wings of Hope releases, depending upon who would be available to serve on this team.  The idea of a Wings of Hope world map with little butterflies on each country that has had a Wings of Hope release was introduced.  The importance of press releases was stressed.  A simple, straight-forward goals list or Annual Plan for 2008 will be needed.  It could simply be a bullet list such as

• Sponsors
• Grants
• International Team
• Press Releases
• Task Team to Seek Grants
• Fundraisers

Lastly, the Board members discussed the fundraising idea of a raffle and/or auction to be held at the IBBA Convention.  It was agreed to approach the Convention Committee with this idea.  The Board brainstormed about the process, vendors and others who could contribute items and services for this fundraiser.  There was extensive discussion about how it would all come together.  Board members were very enthusiastic about this and endorsed the idea.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned on the last day of the week,  October 14, 2007.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Rogers, Secretary

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November 27, 2007

Wings of Hope, Inc.

www.wingsofhopebutterflies.org

On November 26, 2007 Wings of Hope, Inc. resolved to further amend its Bylaws to expand its purpose as well as to include a more extensive listing of requisite filings.

Therefore, it was resolved: to amend the Bylaws to reflect our expanded purpose as well as to reflect a more comprehensive listing of agencies we are responsible to and to list the items that need to be filed each year along with contact information.

Date:  November 26, 2007

Accepted unanimously November 27, 2007

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January 26, 2008

Members present:  Anne Collins, Grace Venters, Nancy Hobart, Kathleen Ziemer, Alicia Baylor, Linda Rogers, Melanie McCarthy.

Members absent:  Kathy Marshburn

On motions duly made and seconded it was VOTED:

1. To accept, with regret, the resignation of Kathy Marshburn;
2. To develop a Statement of Principles which will demonstrate the values of Wings of Hope, Inc. in working with the public and within the organization;
3. To elect Linda Rogers as Vice President;
4. To elect Alicia Baylor as President;
5. To elect Melanie McCarthy as Clerk/Treasurer;
6. To elect Grace Venters as Secretary;
7. To organize and run a Wings of Hope, Inc. auction at the IBBA Convention to be held in Costa Rica in November, specific details to be agreed upon with IBBA; 
8. All communication regarding the Wings of Hope auction will be forwarded to Anne Collins and she will be the only contact for the Wings of Hope Auction;
9. To set the Annual Meeting of Wings of Hope, Inc. for March 29 at 5 p.m. EST
10. To accept Dan Staehr’s offer to set up a Yahoo group for Wings of Hope, Inc.
11. Any proposed business or transactions between IBBA, Inc. and Wings of Hope, Inc. will be brought before this Board for discussion and possible vote.  All official communications between the two organizations will be conducted by the then Presidents of IBBA and Wings of Hope, Inc.

Member Resignation

Alicia Baylor called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.  She announced that Kathy Marshburn would not be in attendance tonight and that she is officially submitting her resignation as a Board member.  However, she will remain as a Co-Coordinator for the Wings of Hope, Inc. program.  It was noted that Kathy will be serving on the IBBA Board and is heavily involved in other projects.    She was acknowledged for all her hard work on behalf of the Wings of Hope, Inc. program.  It was VOTED:  (See Vote # 1 Above).

Statement of Principles

The topic of developing a values or principles statement was discussed.  Alicia explained that she had spoken to an organizational specialist  and learned about how important it is to establish values within the organization so that the organization can lead in the most successful way possible.  Without common beliefs and common values, the organization will be rocky at best.  Themes around values such as “first do not harm”, respect, truth, honesty, honor, integrity, stewards of hope were discussed.  Also, ‘hope’ for us too, show respect and honor life and people, lift people up, green things and greater good.  As with most volunteer efforts in this world, one usually gets back more than one gives.  The joy is in the journey, hopefully for us all. The importance of being able to return ourselves back to our core values was emphasized. After no further discussion, it was VOTED:  (See Vote # 2 above).

Officers’ Elections

The election of officers took place.  Nominations were made for each Officer position and after a brief discussion it was VOTED: (See Votes # 3, 4, 5, and 6 above).

Wings of Hope, Inc. Auction

Melanie informed the Board about the proposed details for sponsoring a Wings of Hope, Inc. auction at the upcoming IBBA, Inc. convention to be held in Costa Rica beginning November 3, 2008.  She gave details of conversations she had with Zane Greathouse, President of IBBA.  She explained that Wings of Hope, Inc. would be entirely responsible for the auction, except for having to provide auctioneers.  There will be  approximately 3 volunteers from the IBBA who will serve as auctioneers.  IBBA is intending to receive half of the net proceeds (after any related expenses).  IBBA will invoice Wings of Hope, Inc. for this amount as a “venue or space cost.”  It will be a win-win situation for both organizations.  Donations to Wings of Hope, Inc. will be fully tax deductible on the individual’s tax return which would not be the case if donations flowed through IBBA, Inc. which is not a charitable organization.  This should provide increased activity in the form of donations.  We will be seeking either very small items that IBBA attendees can carry to the Auction or Certificates redeemable for donations.   Anne Collins volunteered to be the Coordinator for the Wings of Hope Auction.  She is free to recruit others to help with this.   Nancy Hobart volunteered to write thank you letters to all those who donate to the Auction.   It was then VOTED:  (See Vote # 7 above)  It was also VOTED:  (See Vote # 8 above)

Donations

Two charitable donations came in this month:  Kathleen Ziemer $75.00 and Melanie McCarthy $75.00. 

Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream – Grant

There was a friendly consensus to authorize Melanie McCarthy to write to Ben and Jerry’s to pursue an under $1,000 grant.  This is a tentative decision, based on some forthcoming information.  The Board acknowledged that we must form a Grants Committee and recruit someone to Chair the Committee.  No one present at the meeting came forward to do this.  We may need to seek outside assistance.

Wings of Hope –  Earth Friendly Logo

Many Board members were able to view a new logo designed by Paul Chesterfield with the photo supplied by Nigel Venters along with assistance from Linda Rogers.  This would not replace our main Wings of Hope logo but would be used to support butterfly releases in general and would demonstrate that “Butterfly Releases Are Earth Friendly.”  Everyone applauded Linda, Paul and Nigel for their contribution to this logo, it is beautiful.  Linda announced one more surprise, in that there will be a slide show associated with the logo . . . soon to be announced and presented on the Website.

Annual Meeting

It was decided to hold (as required by the Secretary of State’s office in Massachusetts ) our Annual Meeting during the first quarter of this year.  It was then VOTED:  (See Vote # 9 above).

Although the Board had consensus about asking Paul Chesterfield to help with setting up a Yahoo site for Wings of Hope, an offer came in from Dan Staehr to do this for us, therefore it was

VOTED:  (See Vote # 10 above).

Communications

The board discussed formal communications between IBBA, Inc. and Wings of Hope, Inc.  It was affirmed that we have a friendly, and solid relationship between the two organizations.  To be sure all 501 C 3 status regulations are conformed to, any proposed official business between the two groups should be brought to this Board initially for discussion and consensus.   However, any communications regarding official business relating to the two organizations will be restricted to  the then two Presidents of each organization.

Additional Agenda Items

Additional Agenda Items will be discussed and continued at future Board meetings.

Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Grace Venters

Secretary

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Wings of Hope, Inc.
10 Beebe Road
Monson , MA   01057
www.wingsofhopebutterflies.org

MINUTES  - ANNUAL MEETING

The Annual Meeting of Wings of Hope, Inc. was held during the period of October 27 – December 28, 2008 via electronic e mail.  

Board Members Present:  Alicia Baylor, President; Linda Rogers, Vice President; Melanie McCarthy, Treasurer and Clerk; Grace Venters, Secretary.

Absent:   Anne Collins, Nancy Hobart

On motions duly made and seconded it was VOTED:

1. To examine our mission and consider, with or without outside help, re-focusing and re-defining our mission to encourage the “greening” of the planet by releasing (to groups meeting our criteria) butterflies and creating more butterfly habitat and initiating conservation efforts.  Wings of Hope, Inc. will donate butterflies to groups facing difficult circumstances and Wings of Hope will assist those groups in facilitating the development of “living memorials” or other habitats to commemorate their occasion or ceremony. In 2009 we will explore the best means to accomplish this goal. 
2. To accept, with regret, the resignation of Kathleen Ziemer as a Board Member.
3. To pay the full airfare (569.97) for Alicia Baylor to travel to the IBBA Convention to coordinate the auction.
4. To allocate half  ($284.98) of Alicia Baylor’s airfare to the Convention as an auction expense.
5. To disburse ½ the net proceeds of the Auction to IBBA, Inc. and record such as an appropriate expense to run the Auction at the Convention.
6. To acknowledge that as of this date, there is one outstanding payment of $291 due from an Auction winning bidder.   When that receipt comes in, ½ of the proceeds will be sent to IBBA, Inc.
7. To approve $5 in shipping charges to mail out the White Monarchs purchased at the Auction in November.
8. To elect as 2009 Officers:  Alicia Baylor, President; Linda Rogers, Vice President; Melanie McCarthy, Clerk-Treasurer. (Secretary’s seat is vacant.)
9. To study the IRS ruling regarding Qualified Sponsorship Payments and abide by such regulations.

Summary of 2008’s activities

The on line meeting began with a review of the past year’s activities.

Grants Writer and Expanded Mission

The Board reviewed information provided by Linda Rogers with respect to hiring a grant writer.

We reviewed our emphasis on continuing our focus on being “green” and considered ways to enhance this image. For example we need our mission to also focus on promoting and creating a positive impact on the environment through butterfly releases and the development of wildlife habitat.  All of our butterfly releases are geared to groups or individuals who are facing very difficult circumstances or promoting an awareness that will benefit a special cause.  In many cases we will ask that a living memorial in the form of a butterfly garden be planted. We prioritize the butterfly ‘green’ release in favor of groups that will meet the objective of creating butterfly habitat, no matter how small or large.   This “green” purpose will peak the interest of granting organizations.  Granting or funding organizations are seeking the grantee to produce a fundamental change on the planet or in our society; donors are unlikely to support us simply for the purpose of releasing butterflies to soothe the feelings of people who are facing difficult situations.   We reviewed our goals, which will showcase our efforts to be green and acknowledged that we should seek grant money to be able to accomplish these goals.  See VOTE #1 above.

·        Educate people about the fragile life cycle of the butterfly, beautiful creatures-- important as pollinators-- who have suffered a decline in their natural habitats.

·        Encourage individuals and groups we service to act in ways which will benefit butterflies and actively assist individuals, schools and other groups to create backyard, school, and community gardens to provide habitat for many species of butterflies;

·        Promote our butterfly flower and host plant seeds program with specific information and personal assistance on how to create a butterfly habitat as a living memorial or to symbolize what is in their hearts.

·        Recipients who participate in the Wings of Hope program will release butterflies and are encouraged and will be guided in planting butterfly gardens as memorials to their loved ones, or as special tributes to groups in the community, nursing homes, hospitals, schools, etc.    Butterfly releases benefit our earth and mankind in many ways.  Releasing butterflies is a way to heal the spirit and the environment!  It connects us to the beauty of nature and it touches our hearts.  It keeps our planet green by allowing those butterflies to pollinate.  The new plants will draw carbon dioxide from the air and create a habitat for butterflies, from egg to larva to chrysalis to butterfly; they can continue their cycle of life.

Nishi Whiteley-Turn Lane Consulting

Linda Rogers communicated with Nishi Whiteley of Turn Lane Consulting. She is a consultant who helps organizations define their mission statements and assists organizations in seeking and applying for grants.   The company’s address is 11402 Hilltop Street , Austin , TX   78753 ; telephone (512) 658-3836 and Cell (512) 351-7590.  www.turnlaneconsulting.com  (Advising leaders, entrepreneurs and companies ready to thrive.)

Nishi Whiteley has proposed:

1.      a 30 minute phone conversation to discuss the needs of our organization at no charge.

2.      Beyond that the rate is $85 per hour which is her rate for non profit organizations for strategic development.

She explained that the requesting organization needs to be very clear about why it is asking for the money, how the money is going to be used, who the grant will benefit and exactly what are the desired results or the impact on the target audience and how it will be tracked – reporting back to the grant giving organization.

In looking at the mission of our organization, i.e., ceremonial releases of butterflies for comfort for individuals facing difficult circumstances, she felt that it was ‘heartwarming’ but it is going to be a tough sell.  She also indicated that there are groups and organizations that will provide some level of assistance for us for free.  She suggested a visit to the Hogg Foundation Library in Austin , or working with a university that offers grant writing classes and find a student that would be willing to work for a percentage.  She suggested classes through The Nonprofit Center of Austin, Website address:

http://www.nonprofitaustin.org

Ms. Whiteley’s background includes 9 years of writing grants that were funded for over $750,000 and for small grants ranging from $20-150K.

Melanie McCarthy stated that after searching the web for granting organizations she did find that with granting organizations, it is clear that they want the grantee to be a kind of grass roots organization that will empower people to make long term changes, whether it be in the environment (a very popular interest), conservation, wildlife habitat, cleaning up rivers, putting an end to poverty in defined areas—all things where there is a definite  need.  She stated that our mission is ‘weak’ in this area and needs change.  We must show that Wings of Hope, Inc. will have a significant impact on the earth or society and over a long period of time.

Ms. Whiteley explained that Strategic development includes all of the work that needs to be done in advance of writing the grant, such as:

·        Re-defning the organizational mission

·        Establishment of the grant project concept

·        Grant research and identification

·        Establishment of success measures and tracking for the grant

·        Other related consultation

Ms. Whiteley estimated that 10 to 20 hours might be needed to cover the strategic development phase of writing the grant.  Her rate for the “strategic development” stage is $85 per hour.  For grant writing, she charges a flat fee plus a percentage of the grant reward.  The fee is based on the requirements of the grant application and the dollar value of the grant request.  She is open to discussing different options of charging for her services.  We agreed that we will plan for a conference call in 2009.

Other grant making organizations mentioned were:  Ben and Jerry’s, Kodak, Gannett Foundations and Women Helping Others’ Foundation.

Resignation

The Board accepted, with regret, the resignation of Kathleen Ziemer. The Board recognized and thanked Kathleen for her contribution to the growth of Wings of Hope.  It was VOTED:  (See Vote Number 2 above).

PayPal

Last year Wings of Hope considered using Paypal on the Wings of Hope website in order to facilitate donations and other payments to our organization.  This year, Melanie McCarthy with the help of Paul Chesterfield set up a Paypal account for Wings of Hope, Inc. and this has been a tremendous help in facilitating transactions.

Fed Ex Account

Alicia Baylor facilitated setting up an account with Fed-Ex so that donors of butterflies can charge the shipping directly to our account.

Wings of Hope Brochures’ Mailing

The Board thanked Linda Rogers for her mailing of letters and brochures to all IBBA Members.  This enabled all IBBA members to familiarize themselves with the mission of Wings of Hope, Inc.           

Requests for Butterflies

Alicia reported that we received  37 requests for butterflies during 2008 and that we were able to fill 10 of those requests.   Wings of Hope’s budget allowed for funding of several shipping costs. The Wings of Hope website currently reflects all donors and all recipients.  Special thanks to all of the breeders who donated butterflies this year: 

Greathouse Butterfly Farm (and Sheri)

Butterfly Boutique (Linda Rogers, Paul Chesterfield, Nigel Venters)

Anonymous Donor

Jodi Hopper – Wish Upon A Wing Butterflies

Mary Bird of Birds’ Butterflies

Melanie McCarthy

Linda Rogers

Fred Gagnon, Magic Wings Conservatory , MA

Alicia Baylor

Swallowtail Farms

Planning Efforts

We reviewed the importance of having a simple Annual Plan for each year.  Our focus this year has been on:

Screening Criteria to be used for applicants seeking donations of butterflies

Establishment of a yearly quota for donations

Recruitment of Sponsors – Called Friends of Wings of Hope

Fundraising through the Annual Convention Auction

Planning for future Development of a Task Team to Learn Grant Writing process

Recruitment of new Board Members for the period beginning January 1, 2009

Review along with possible future refinement-- Wings of Hope, Inc. Bylaws and mission to emphasize our “green” focus.

Re-design of Wings of Hope Website

Wings of Hope was delightfully surprised with a wonderful gift from Paul Chesterfield and Linda Rogers – a  new design of the Wings of Hope Website.  Special thanks to both of them for this dedicated and persevering endeavor.  Of special significance was the development and design of the patchwork quilt (done by Linda Rogers and Paul Chesterfield) in which each Board Member describes their aspirations and motivations for their work.  Alicia Baylor, as President, earlier described the need for an internal values statement.  The Patchwork Quilt reflects the values of the Wings of Hope, Inc. Board as a whole. Thank you to Linda Rogers and Paul Chesterfield and to all the Wings of Hope Board Members who contributed their own values statement.

2008 Auction Tasks and Financial Report
as of Dec 28, 2008

Special acknowledgement and thanks were given to Grace Venters and Alicia Baylor for maintaining a detailed spreadsheet to track auction activities, Nancy Hobart for taking responsibility for all thank you letters, Linda Rogers for inspiration, creative ideas, soliciting donations and Melanie McCarthy for soliciting donations. Special thanks to Linda Rogers for producing all auction item certificates to be used during the auction.  Melanie McCarthy and Alicia Baylor were co-chairs of the Auction Committee.  Tremendous thanks to Alicia Baylor and other IBBA volunteers at the Convention for the on-site coordination and the evening’s success of the auction.

Profit and Loss Statement for the Auction

Gross Sales                        $4,615.00*

Expenses                -                337.80

Net Proceeds                     $4,277.20 divided by 2 = $2,138.60 each for WOH and IBBA.

*$291 is still outstanding but is expected in next week’s mail.

(See VOTES 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

Election of Officers for 2009

The following officers were elected to serve for 2009 as follows:

Alicia Baylor – President

Linda Rogers – Vice President

Melanie McCarthy – Clerk/Treasurer

(See VOTE # 8 above)

Plantable Seed Papers

Jacob Groth has generously donated a massive supply of plantable seed papers.  These will be used when we implement our “green” objectives of Wings of Hope, Inc.  Special thanks to Jacob for this wonderful donation.  Jacob has also sent, to Alicia Baylor, different samples of plantable paper in the shape of a butterfly and various printing and ribbon options.  For future orders he is willing to give us a 10% discount and free shipping. 

Other Fundraising Suggestion – Linda Rogers

Wings of Hope Forever Butterflies Greeting Card”  For sale as a downloadable item – that people can pay a fee via PayPal and then download the file from the Wings of Hope website to print out a beautiful butterfly card.  They could create the card right there on-site, with different choices for butterflies/graphics to be on the front of the card.  This could be a one-time fee, so that they can go into this section with a password and re-create a new card as many times as they want to, forever.  The card could have a short write-up on WOH on the back of the card, about what WOH is, what we do and about the GREEN-ness of WOH and butterfly farming.  A forever card access, with several beautiful butterfly graphics could go for as much as $15.00 per person.

Business

Melanie McCarthy reported on the financial status of the organization and will have year to date financials after December 31, 2008.

She reminded Board members to visit the website www.stayexempt.org to become familiar with our Board responsibilities in a non-profit, exempt organization.

Previously a link was sent to all Board members to take a brief IRS course on non-profits and the roles of Board Members.  She reminded everyone to take this brief course if they have not already. (See VOTE # 9 above)

Butterfly Gardening Materials

We recognized the need to assemble and duplicate materials on butterfly gardening.  This needs to be a priority for 2009-2010.  This will be part of our “green mission” and will aid in educating recipients of butterflies how to change the environment for the long term.

Sponsorships of Wings of Hope, Inc.

Melanie McCarthy reported on the IRS guidelines which we must adhere to in terms of receiving payments from Sponsors and how they can be recognized on our website.

Qualified sponsorship activities  - Soliciting and receiving qualified sponsorship payments is not an unrelated transaction source of income for exempt organizations.  The payments from Sponsorships are not subject to Unrelated Business Income Tax, otherwise known as UBIT.

Definition of Qualified sponsorship payment – This is a payment made by a person engaged in a trade or business for which the person will receive NO SUBSTANTIAL BENEFIT OTHER THAN THE USE OR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE BUSINESS NAME, LOGO AND/OR PRODUCT LINE IN CONNECTION WITH THE ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITIES;  “use or acknowledgement” does not include advertising the sponsor’s products or services.  The organization’s activities include all its activities, whether or not related to its exempt purposes.  (Note, we can only show their Name, Logo and Product Line, not their products.)

For example, if in return for receiving a sponsorship payment, an organization promises to use the sponsor’s name or logo in acknowledging the sponsor’s support for an educational or fundraising event, the payment is a qualified sponsorship payment and is not subject to the unrelated business income tax.

Periodicals, for example, monthly journals or newsletters or regularly used brochures:  a payment is not a qualified sponsorship payment if it entitles the payer to the use or acknowledgement of the business name, logo or product lines in the organization’s periodicals, that is any regularly scheduled and printed material published on behalf of the organization.  It does not include material that is related to and primarily distributed in connection with a specific event conducted by the organization, for example a program or brochure distributed at a sponsored event such as the Convention.   To that end, it appears as though we cannot show sponsors on our brochures, which are regularly distributed.  In this case, they would become advertisers and not sponsors.  Advertising income is subject to Unrelated Business Income Tax and requires a special tax return at the end of the year along with the taxes due on the income from these Advertisers.  (see VOTE # 9 above).

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Melanie J. McCarthy

Clerk/Treasurer

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February 16, 2009

Wings of Hope, Inc.
www.butterflybreeders.org
c/o 51 Beebe Road
Wilbraham , MA   01095

Minutes – Monday, February 16, 2009

A regularly scheduled meeting of Wings of Hope, Inc. was held on Monday, February 16, 2009.

Previous on-line votes include:

1. To compensate Melanie McCarthy $800 for the year for bookkeeping, accounting and tax return services.
   
   
2. To elect the following 3 Board Members for vacancies for the 2 year term ending  December 31, 2011:

Barbara Bosco
21475 Boston Crosscut Road
Hancock , MI   49930

Una McGurk
P. O. Box 302
Ashbury Park , NJ   07712

Helen Johnson
651 Sinex Ave. # 115 D
Pacific Grove , CA   93950

     3.    To accept with regret the resignation of Anne Collins.

February 16 Board Members present:  Alicia Baylor, President; Melanie McCarthy, Treasurer/Clerk;  Barbara Bosco, Una McGurk, Helen Johnson.

February 16 Board Members absent:  Linda Rogers, Vice President; Nancy Hobart

On motions duly made and seconded it was VOTED:

1. To retain the services of Nishi Whiteley – Turn Lane Consulting, 11402 Hilltop Street, Austin, TX  78753 (telephone (512-658-3836) at the rate of $75 per hour  (which is a special non profit rate) to assist Wings of Hope, Inc. in re-defining its mission to incorporate and focus on the “green” aspect of our activities; there was consensus to invite her to two meetings of 1.5 hours each to be held on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Introduction and Welcome to New Board Members

The meeting was called to order by President Alicia Baylor at 9:05 p.m.  New Board Members were welcomed and everyone present introduced themselves.  There was discussion about the current mission of Wings of Hope.  Melanie McCarthy reviewed the mission as stated in the current by-laws.  The mission does incorporate and focus on the “green” aspects of butterfly releases; however the mission statement needs improvement and refining so that we have a primary focus on the partnership between Wings of Hope, Inc. and recipients of the butterflies; a partnership that involves responsibility on not only the part of Wings of Hope, but the recipients as well. The mission statement is lengthy and needs to be revised to be succinct and to clearly indicate what we are primarily about which is this “partnership activity.” It needs to be carefully worded to reflect our primary purpose and worded so no doubt is left in the minds of the recipients.

Consultant Proposal

Discussion then ensued around the idea of hiring a strategic planner to help Wings of Hope, Inc. develop and fine-tune a new mission statement.  It was noted by Melanie McCarthy that after looking at several funding organizations and foundation sites, it was clear that our mission statement had to include something more than just releasing butterflies to help people emotionally.  Grantors appear to be looking for grass roots types of efforts, projects that will have a permanent change and impact, for whatever the cause is.  They often look positively at proposals that empower groups of people to make change on a long term basis, rather than for a single event.  It was also agreed upon that conservation efforts to heal our planet seem to be a positive theme for obtaining grants.  An example for a grant would be to partner with those who have requested butterflies from Wings of Hope.  The ‘partnering’ would include an agreement to plant either a ‘living memorial butterfly garden’ or some other type of wildlife habitat to support many species of butterflies in their locality.  This would include supporting lepidoptera through their whole life cycle.  The responsibility of Wings of Hope, Inc. in this partnership may include educating individuals and groups about the life cycle of the butterly, beautiful creatures—important as pollinators—who have suffered a decline in their natural habitat.  Wings of Hope has provided butterflies to schools, hospital groups, those planting living memorials for the elderly in nursing and rest homes.  A theme could be incorporated such as  “Releasing Butterflies is a Way to Heal the Spirit and the Environment.”  The new mission will allow us to showcase our efforts going forward, to be green.  We can also consider a specific program which will provide seeds for this butterfly flower and host plant program.  It was noted that Jacob Groth of Swallowtail Farms has donated a massive number of “seed cards” which Wings of Hope, Inc. intends to utilize in this program to encourage the ‘greening’ of the planet.  New facts can be incorporated into our brochures and website that explain what the release of butterflies does for the planet

and how the implementation of our program to increase wildlife habitat for butterflies will be a positive force.  We are hoping, with a new mission statement, to increase donors via grants, corporate donations, sponsors and individual donors.  In partnering with these groups, organizations or individuals who meet our criteria for a butterfly release, everyone benefits, not only for the present, but for the long term.  It was then VOTED:  (See Vote # 1 above).

Review of Plans for the Year

The Board Members recognized the fact that we must focus on re-defining our mission statement before we initiate other projects.

 However, the Board listened to different ideas and suggestions for the growth of Wings of Hope.  Una McGurk elaborated on proposed plans for the sale of Trina Paulus’s book Hope for the Flowers –an illustrated parable which celebrates hope.  She explained that the book would be offered to Wings of Hope, Inc. at a deep discount.   Additionally, it would be possible to offer people 2 options for a little extra donation to Wings of Hope, Inc.

1. Autographed by the author (i.e. In Hope, Trina Paulus)
2. A personalized inscription by the author (Dear Alicia, Believe in butterflies always! In Hope, Trina Paulus)

The Soft Cover is $10.95.  The distributor’s discount is 40%, Trina’s is a little more but this would be lost when they ship the box to her but she’s interested in supporting the Wings of Hope mission in this way.  Trina has an agreement with her publisher that they will send her boxes of books out to her during the year up to a certain amount for free (just paying the shipping) and then deduct the book costs from her royalties.   Una stated that she would be pleased to be a part of this effort and looks forward to working with Wings of Hope, Inc. on this project.

Barbara Bosco offered to donate, on a regular basis, some of her jewelry to generate profits for Wings of Hope, Inc.  This was a delightful surprise for the Board and there was consensus to follow through with this at a later date.

Garden Kits

There was a brief discussion on possibly selling Garden Kits, similar to the way Chip Taylor from the Monrch Watch organization sells theirs.  Board members found this an interesting idea and it was tabled for future discussion.

On-Line Auction

Alicia Baylor introduced the idea of holding an on-line auction or lottery.  She explained that while she was in Costa Rica attending the Convention, she purchased several items of interest.  Those items could be used with any other contributed items to hold an on-line auction--- perhaps an item of the month auction.  Everyone agreed that this would be a ‘fun’ way to support Wings of Hope, Inc.

Monarch Tagging

The idea of tagging monarchs released by recipients through Wings of Hope, Inc. was introduced by Helen Johnson.  The Board decided to defer discussion on this topic to a future Board Meeting.  It was the consensus of the Board that our main efforts for the moment need to be on establishing a well-worded and polished Mission Statement.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Melanie McCarthy

Treasurer

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April 1, 2009

Wings of Hope, Inc.
www.wingsofhopebutterflies.org

c/o 10 Beebe Road
Monson , MA   01057

Minutes – Wednesday, April 1, 2009

(Approved April 22, 2009)

A regularly scheduled meeting of Wings of Hope, Inc. was held on Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

April 1, 2009  Board Members present:  Alicia Baylor, President; Melanie McCarthy, Treasurer/Clerk; Una McGurk, Helen Johnson, Nancy Hobart.

April 1, 2009 Board Members absent:  Barbara Bosco.

Others present:  Nishi Whiteley – Turn Lane Consulting, 11402 Hilltop Street , Austin , Texas .

It was noted that Linda Rogers, Vice President, is on approved leave of absence.

On motions duly made and seconded it was VOTED:

1.      To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on February 16, 2009.

President Alicia Baylor called the meeting to order at 9:10 p.m.  She welcomed everyone and reviewed what was discussed at the last meeting.  It was VOTED:  (See Vote # 1 above).

Mission Re-Alignment

Alicia introduced and welcomed back Nishi Whitely from Turn Lane Consulting, Austin , Texas .  Nishi began this session of the meeting by asking Board Members to consider questions that will help us with the process of re-aligning our mission wording into a succinct statement which will help us to become grant worthy.   She suggested we focus on the following questions (which had been sent earlier to Board Members):

1. Why does this project matter to you?
2. What is your great vision of this organization?
3. What are the 3 top priorities of this group?
4. What does the organization do?
5. Who does the organization serve?
6. What is the geographic region of your target population?
7. How will you generate cash flow for operations?

Each Board member talked about the issues in the questions asked.  There was a lengthy discussion and all individuals expressed their visions for Wings of Hope and how they came to be a part of the Wings of Hope Group.  Topics and statements included:

• Wings of Hope’s activities and refined mission will enable us to increase habitat.
• Getting children involved is great because they will educate their parents.
• Our efforts need to involve sustaining and/or adding to the population of butterflies.
• We need to communicate to specific target audiences.
• Our work fits in with the current “eco” trend, we need to become bedrock into this trend.
• Our support in terms of ceremonial releases will still be important.
• Take an environmental and educational approach.
• Align ourselves with other organizations to gain more exposure.
• Know who we are really looking to service.
• The word ‘humanitarian’ should be included as part of our overall mission, on our website, brochures, etc.
• Gain the support of a celebrity who will lend his/her name to our cause.
• The release of ceremonial butterflies represents healing of the heart, spirit and the planet.
• Our work will touch a lot of people who may possibly become donors in the future.
• The Board as a whole or a subcommittee, thereof, needs to decide where donations will go, to the most grievous acts and others that must receive priority.
• Consider selling, at a discount, to other non profit organizations rather than donating (free) to other non profits.
• Wings of Hope is only able to fulfill approximately 1/3 of our requests.  This unmet demand will be a reason to apply for grants.
• Target recipients should involve an entire community or group of people.
• Our green efforts should require recipients’ to agree, up front, that they will plant a tree, shrub, host plants, memorial garden, hope garden, commemorative garden, etc., any of these choices will be left to the Board, as long as it is recyclable, sustaining and takes our gift to a higher level.
• Adding a ‘community’ element to any release makes it so much more powerful.
• The ‘community’ element will dramatically improve our ability to receive grants.
• For each recipient, send a bookmark that explains who we are and where we are on the web; describe our biological importance, have cool butterfly facts on our website.
• Include “rehab” existing gardens as an option for recipients.
• Establish a formal agreement with recipients whereby we are requesting, as ‘part of your ceremony’ you will plant a butterfly garden, help to refurbish an existing one, or add on to an existing garden, plant a host tree, bush, etc.
• We must understand that the ‘agreement’ is worth only the integrity of the organization, it is nothing we can check on or verify.  The agreement must be simple, not complicated.
• We want to raise awareness for our planet as well as bring people together for hope, build strength through trauma.
• Realize we are still a fledgling organization and we need all the exposure we can get.
• This goodwill will trickle down and benefit the entire butterfly breeding industry.
• Choose community events that will have a long lasting benefit for us, we need  help too, we need to realize a ‘benefit’ also.  First priority may be to events of national attention.
• Clarify, also, what types of events we do not donate to.
• Let granting organizations know that we require ceremonial plantings as part of our release efforts.  Granting organizations will also want documentation of what we have done, how many brochures have been distributed, details of events, etc.
• Consider requiring a ‘ceremonial’ report giving us the number of people at the event and if there was media coverage.

Nishi Whiteley Notes

The following is a summary of notes taken by Nishi Whiteley and is included in these minutes as part of our record and as an immediate follow up to our meeting. Special thanks are extended to Nishi for submitting these notes for inclusion in our minutes. 

Our Purpose

Nishi reiterated that our specific purpose needs work.  She stressed the importance of outlining – who the organization serves (communities in pain), how (through the release of butterflies and the planting of habitat), and why (to promote healing of the community and the planet).  The goal is to capture the purpose in one succinct sentence.  She submitted several wonderful draft statements for the Board to consider and those statements have been passed on for further study by this Board.

Nishi stated that by adding the “community” focus and stating that we are an environmental organization that we will greatly increase our chances for getting grants.

Impact

Communities that receive the butterflies for ceremonial release agree to plant butterfly habitat which is intended to be symbolic of healing for the mind, body, soul and planet while also symbolizing planting the seeds for a better day and hope for the future.  The butterfly habitat is a permanent reminder to honor the fallen, and to heal the hearts and spirt of those left behind and to strengthen communities while doing something good for the planet.

Suggestions for Donation Criteria

Currently we receive 30 – 40 requests per year for donations.  The capacity to donate is currently limited to 15 donations per year of 2 – 3 dozen per event.  By limiting our donations to “community” events for healing, we can significantly increase the impact of our donation and increase awareness for the organization.  This also makes it much easier to track the impact of our organization which is important to grant giving organizations.  They want measurable results.

Her suggestions for possible donation criteria:

1. Healing from Tragedy – The butterflies must be for a community-wide event that will help bring people in the community together to heal from a tragedy.  The Board of Wings of Hope will have a committee that will be responsible for deciding what events qualify and what events get priority.  Event examples, any of the 9-11 tragedies, the recent NY immigration center shootings, the coal mine collapse when so many miners died, a memorial garden for area fallen soldiers, something tied to National Aids Day to increase awareness for prevention – maybe it is in a particular person’s name, an event to  honor the astronauts that died in the space shuttle.
2. Butterfly Habitat – Event organizers must agree to plant butterfly habitat in advance of the release or as part of the release.  Habitat may include a combination of planting plants and/or trees, etc. that butterflies use for food and shelter.  Wings of Hope will need to provide guidelines for what we consider to be a minimum.  It will be wise to provide a list of all the plants and trees that can be included.  Keep in mind that this information is also an educational tool for the people we are interacting with.  The information will need to be clear, simple and something that people will want to keep as a reference for the future.
3. Community Ceremony – The release of butterflies must take place as a part of a larger ceremony.
4. Literature – The event organizers agree to provide literature provided by Wings of Hope that educates people about the importance of butterflies to the environment and the symbolic nature of the ceremonial release.
5. Feedback – The event organizers agree to provide attendance and overall feedback after the event.  That is, how many people attended, how many pieces of Wings of Hope literature were handed out.
6. Develop a small butterfly acceptance agreement that outlines our expectations.
7. Getting a Return on Your Investment – Be smart and proactive in the types of events that you want to be associated with.  Work on targeting the most high profile events possible as a way to bring greater awareness for the organization.

Marketing

As we consider which events we will sponsor, it is important to consider how each event will increase awareness for our organization and for our industry as a whole.  Each time someone participates in a WOH event we have a chance to make a HUGE impact on them.  Don’t lose the opportunity to educate them about the importance of butterflies in nature, about the mission of our organization and about how to go about getting butterflies for their own events.  We may consider creating a beautiful book mark or something else of value that they might keep.  Everyone should walk away from a ceremonial release with something in their hand that will generate exposure and possibly donations for the future.

Public Relations

She stressed the importance of having a professionally written press release that will go out to the communities that are the recipients of the butterflies.  This will require that Wings of Hope does a really good job collecting information on the event so we will know where to send the press releases to – t.v., radio and print.  Make sure our website can track increases in web hits after we get media exposure.

Adjournment and Next Meeting Date

All those in attendance agreed to meet again, with Nishi, on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Daylight Time.  Nishi will arrive at approximately 9:15.  It was stressed that it is very important to have a quorum and all those in attendance agreed that this date and time would work for them.

Alicia Baylor thanked Nishi Whiteley for her remarkable insight and suggestions.  There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Melanie J. McCarthy

Treasurer/Clerk

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A regularly scheduled meeting of Wings of Hope, Inc. was held on Wednesday, April 22, 2009.  

Board Members present:  Alicia Baylor, President; Melanie McCarthy, Treasurer/Clerk; Barbara Bosco, Una McGurk, Helen Johnson, Nancy Hobart.

Absent:  Grace Venters

Others present:  Nishi Whiteley – Turn Lane Consulting, 11402 Hilltop Street , Austin , Texas .

It was noted that Linda Rogers, Vice President, is on approved leave of absence.

On motions duly made and seconded it was VOTED:

1. To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on April 1, 2009.
2. To approve as Wings of Hope’s re-defined Mission Statement the following: Wings of Hope, Inc, as an environmental and community preservation organization, donates butterflies for ceremonial release in tandem with the establishment, and/or restoration of permanent butterfly habitats as a way to begin the healing process and bring communities together after tragedy.

President Alicia Baylor called the meeting to order at 9 p.m.  The minutes of the previous meeting held on April 1 were reviewed and it was VOTED:  (See Vote # 1 above).

Mission Statement

Nishi Whiteley led the Board in a discussion surrounding the merits of a variety of proposed mission statements.  She reviewed what we talked about at the last meeting.  After some discussion about the five possible recommendations, it was VOTED:  (See Vote # 2 above).

Everyone in attendance agreed that it was important to have one sentence as a Mission Statement.  This could be followed by some type of graphic on our website and then under the graphic the mission statement could be elaborated upon along with examples of  releases that have fit this purpose.  Nishi spent approximately an hour and 45 minutes conducting a training session for the Board with respect to what our next steps need to be, how to position ourselves to be grantworthy.  We must articulate ‘up front’ not after we apply for a grant.  We must show in concrete measurements what we have done to meet our purpose and that this should be done now, not after we apply for a grant. 

For example, she explained how to set up a spreadsheet that would be simple for us to maintain.  In the spreadsheet we would have a number of columns to delineate and  show measurements of several factors.  We need to track:

• The type of event and when it was held and the type of community impacted;
• How many people were present;
• Was habitat planted and if so, what was done;
• How many people were educated, i.e.,  how many received our brochure with an insert such as a bookmark that would have facts about butterflies and their habitat, perhaps by region, direction to our website that would further educate them with butterfly facts and habitat planning;
• Media Coverage if any and how many and what kinds;
• Feedback provided via a form which we include up front, to make it easy for people to fill out;

By demonstrating this ‘history’ on a spreadsheet and focusing on the community involved will elevate our impact in terms of attracting grants and other donations.  If we can go back through our own archives for a two year period and document the above information as best we can, we will be able to show ‘measurable’ results to potential donors and grantors.   This is real, tangible information.

It was noted that many people feel that applying for a grant is not too difficult.  However, it is becoming more difficult all the time.  The demand and competition has grown.  Another important point, articulate up front with our educational materials.  We may choose to use something as simple as a bookmark or a small guide.  Rather than wasting the hundreds of brochures we have on hand, we can use the bookmark or guide as an insert for the brochure.  She stressed the importance of developing a “template” press release that can be refreshed 3 or 4 times a year.  Put the press release template into the packet that we send to recipients so that they can personalize the press release and send it out to their local media prior to their ‘community’ butterfly release and establishment of habitat, whether it be a living memorial garden,  bush, tree, restoration of a garden, or addition to an existing garden.  We may want to develop an educational video that demonstrates our mission, how the releases as well as working with the earth is ‘restorative’ for people as well as for the earth.  The video can be put on U-tube.

We need to keep in mind that very few grants will give money for administrative costs; however, money can be used to hire people to carry out a specific project.  Administrative costs can be covered by other forms of fundraising such as corporate donations, our auction fundraiser, sales of merchandise intended to benefit our organization.    Nishi gave a number of invaluable pointers on where to find grant-makers and foundations, she shared a link that shows virtually every grant making organization there is.  She said to search for foundations that seem to share the same passion as we do.  She stated that every city has an organization that assists non-profits in seeking funding; however the learning curve is steep.  We may want to find someone with excellent writing skills who may want to write a grant for us based on commission after the grant is awarded.  Never think too small, it is just as much work to apply for a $1,000 grant as it is to apply for a $10,000 grant.    In terms of reporting back, state grants seem to require the most paperwork after a grant is expended.  This can be a tremendous amount of responsibility after a grant is expended.  That is one reason why everything must be tracked and measured using some type of spreadsheet.  We should not overlook getting items done for free, such as the printing of our bookmarks and brochures.  The donor can be featured as a Sponsor on our website.  College seniors, especially those studying graphic arts, are often available to do brochure work as one of their projects.  Some grants can be sought after simply for “seed” or start up monies. 

Group Work

As a group our next step needs to focus on developing a recipient agreement as well as putting together a follow-up sheet that recipients need to send back to us after the event.  This will give us more information to track and measure for insertion into the spreadsheet.

We need to develop a budget and try to determine how much money we would need to hire someone to take care of administrative work such as writing the minutes, sending out the brochures along with inserts, taking care of the recipients agreement, collecting the after-the-event data and incorporating all of this into the spreadsheet.  It was agreed to put the ‘recipient’ agreement on the website so that potential recipients can simply print it off and send it in either by mail or electronically.  The agreement must cover such things as community component, butterfly habitat commitment, expectations to distribute literature, what kind of habitat was established and feedback from those in attendance, including media feedback.  It was noted that it only takes one really good media coverage to make all of this worthwhile.  We will gain tremendous exposure.

A suggestion was made about possibly putting a map of the U.S. on our website with dots to show where releases have taken place.  We may want to include pictures of butterflies or host plants in designated areas on the map. 

Nancy Hobart volunteered to begin work on the spreadsheet and asked that someone send her a sample worksheet with the categories labeled.

Products

Align ourselves with organizations that are willing to donate a % of their proceeds to Wings of Hope.  Feature them as a Sponsor on our website.  Barbara Bosco has already agreed to do this and will work with Paul Chesterfield to get her products on our website and it will specify what proceeds from each sale will benefit Wings of Hope, Inc.  We are already in the planning phase to sell Trina Paulus’s book Hope for the Flowers – an illustrated parable which celebrates hope.  The book will be offered to Wings of Hope, Inc. at a deep discount and the option (at an extra cost) for an autographed book will be available.  The soft cover is $10.95.  The distributor’s discount is 40%.  Una would drop ship the books for Wings of Hope.

In addition, Wings of Hope has purchased 20 Organza Release Boxes which will be for sale on the website.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Daylight Savings Time.

Respectfully submitted,

Melanie McCarthy
Treasurer/Clerk

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December 26-31, 2009

Wings of Hope, Inc.
www.wingsofhopebutterflies.org
c/o 10 Beebe Road
Monson , MA   01057

The Annual Meeting of Wings of Hope, Inc. was held during the week of December 26 – December 31, 2009.

Board Members Present: Alicia Baylor, President, Linda Rogers, Vice President, Melanie McCarthy, Treasurer/Clerk, Nancy Hobart, Barbara Bosco, Una McGurk.

Board Members Absent: Grace Venters, Secretary

On motions duly made and seconded it was VOTED:

1. To elect the following individuals as Board Members for the new two-year term ending 12/31/2011.11:

Alicia Baylor
P. O. Box 107
Burson, CA 95225
(209) 274-2538
lbaylor@linkunet.com

Linda Rogers
P. O. Box 681
Corsicana, TX 75151
(903) 874-6550
timshellfarm@gmail.com

Melanie McCarthy
10 Beebe Road
Monson, MA 01057
(413) 893-9012
monarchs@themonarchy.com

Nancy Hobart
7311 1st Avenue North
St. Petersburg, FL 33710
(860) 460-1086
Nankath58@gmail.com

Grace Venters
Don Bosco 579 Ex Schiafino
Barrio Loza, Rio Ceballos
5111 Pcia de Cordoba, Argentina
graceventers@yahoo.com

Betsey Taft
2902 Hopkins Avenue
Redwood City, CA 94062
(650) 703-9419
betsytaft@gmail.com

Patricia DuPlessis
13 Rainbow’s End
Pawling, NY 12564
(845) 832-6749
Katnip827@aol.com

2. To appoint as Advisor Nick Silverio, A Safe Haven for Newborns and Magical Butterfly Memories

6801 N.W. 77th Ave, Suite 404
Miami, FL 33166
1-888-666-3181

3. To accept the year-end Financial Statements as presented;

4. To accept Auction Report(s) as submitted;

5. To amend Bylaws as proposed, effective December 31, 2009;

6. To accept revised website pages written;

7. To defer discussion on all other agenda items until 2010

The meeting was officially declared in session by Alicia Baylor, President, on December 26, 2009 at 10 a.m.

Agenda Items were presented.

Nominations

Nominees for vacancies on the Board were submitted. Melanie McCarthy and Alicia Baylor described the background of the new nominees and it was felt that the organization would be fortunate to bring these two new people to our association. It was noted that Betsy Taft is an elementary school teacher at St. Gregory’s School in Redwood City, California and specializes in teaching children with special needs. She also is very interested in contributing to the mission of Wings of Hope and has a very special interest in the possibility of a ‘bereavement card’ component to our program and is excited about the tentative forthcoming hospice affiliations. Alicia explained that Patricia Duplessis of Rainbow’s End Butterfly Farm has extensive expertise in organic gardening and butterfly habitats and would be invaluable in that respect and many others. After a brief discussion, it was VOTED: (See Vote # 1 above).

Advisor to the Board

The Board ratified an earlier vote taken but not yet reflected in any minutes. Melanie McCarthy had been in contact with a gentleman, Mr. Nick Silverio, from Florida who had contacted her several months ago with respect to his own foundation and its linkage to the start-up of a butterfly business---- which will give financial support to the new Foundation. Mr. Silverio and Ms. McCarthy established communication on a regular basis and Mr. Silverio offered to help Wings of Hope if he could. Mr. Silverio has valuable knowledge in the area of corporate fund-raising and as stated earlier had already established a charity/foundation in the Miami area called Safe Haven for Newborns. His experience in raising funds is extensive and he has agreed to share that experience with Wings of Hope should we attempt to do corporate fundraising. It was then VOTED: (See Vote # 2 above).

Financial Statements

Board members received copies of the annual Financial Statements including the Balance Sheet and the Profit and Loss Statement (to be posted on website). Ms. McCarthy explained that although there was a small loss for 2009, Wings of Hope is still in the black. She noted that it is common experience for small non profits to experience a surplus in some years and a loss in others. The goal of a non profit is to, over a period of time, raise revenues that essentially match their own expenses. In some years it is acceptable to have a gain, especially if there are long term projects planned that will utilize this cushion. Our perspective should be to look at how the charity is faring over a period of time rather than at an exact point in time. To date, we have had an excess of revenues over expenses. In general, charities are expected to use their resources to fulfill the objectives of their mission statement or purpose. It is not desirable to show a profit for an extended period of time as that indicates we are not raising funds to fulfill the purpose as stated in our bylaws and articles of organization. When individuals or groups donate to a charity, it is expected that the funds will be used appropriately and for the purpose stated. Past discussions have pointed to the need to use this excess to meet the future requirements of our expanded mission which includes our efforts to expand and/or conserve butterfly habitat. It was then VOTED: (See Vote # 3 above).

Auction Reports

Board members previously received copies of a spreadsheet from Alicia Baylor. The spreadsheet delineated all of the requests for butterflies for 2009 (including date, coordinator, event description, contact person, donor and the results of those requests.) All donors have been thanked and recognized on the website. Auctions revenues and expenses have been reflected on the annual financial statements. After expenses, the net profit was $1,000 (taking into consideration the $1,000 being paid to IBBA, Inc.). The income from the auction declined from last year due to low attendance at the Convention. However, almost all items were sold and at a fair price. One item left, will be either auctioned off or a raffle will be held. It was then VOTED: (See Vote # 4 above).

Bylaws

Melanie McCarthy revised the Bylaws as directed: to allow the re-election of Board Members with no restrictions with regard to the number of terms to be served and to incorporate the new mission statement. It was VOTED: (See Vote # 5 above).

Website Changes

Melanie McCarthy submitted changes to the Wings of Hope website to incorporate the new mission statement and this was VOTED: (See Vote # 6 above).

Deferred Agenda Items

Discussion on the following agenda items was deferred to 2010:

To clip and post, as authorized earlier by Dr. Chip Taylor, information from The

Monarch Watch website which pertains to butterfly gardening and conservation efforts;

To authorize Barbara Bosco to work with our webmaster to put her jewelry sales fundraising program into place on the website;

To authorize Una McGurk to do the same with the book “Hope for the Flowers”;

To begin sales of our already purchased Organza Release Boxes and to post this on to the website;

To develop an ‘in memory of’ bereavement card or letter to be used in responding to those who make memorial donations in memory of a loved one.

Other

It was noted that election of Officers would take place in January by the incoming Board.

The meeting closed with a summary of our hopes for next year and with thanks for the incoming new talent to help us with fundraising, our ‘green’ efforts, marketing and public relations and any new initiatives deemed appropriate for the coming years.

There being no further business at hand, the meeting was adjourned by Alicia Baylor on December 31, 2009 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Melanie J. McCarthy

Treasurer/Clerk