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Apr. 17, 2010 at 12:37pm
Minutes from April 10th Board Meeting
TFC Board Meeting
Saturday, April 10, 2010 (at The Greener Bean in Fircrest)
Board members present: Corrinne Henderson, John Toler, Michelle Jones, Amber Englund, David Hanson, Molly Archer
Community members present: Ken Miller, Lisa Tomkins, John Loesch
- Ken Miller introduced himself to the Board and took questions. Ken and John Loesch excused themselves briefly from the meeting. The Board decided to offer the position of Project Manager to Ken Miller.
Updates:
Food on Film
Michelle updated us on the Food On Film event. Most attendees tend to be Co-op members and friends rather than UPS community members. She appreciates the fact that these events provide continuity for Co-op members. Question: do we want to continue the Food On Film events throughout the summer and beyond? What role do these events play in furthering the goals of our business plan?
Board members decided that it is worth the effort to continue the series, given the consistent turnout of 30-60 attendees and the low cost to TFC.
Opening store in Neighborhood Market
John L: organic is the trend. For us to be successful, we need to focus on the ideas of LOCAL and CO-OP rather than simply “organic.” We need to be within the price parameters of our competitors, but we need to offer something different/beyond what they offer. Large supermarkets tend to choose a few organic items to sell while still making most of their profits from regular groceries.
Ken brought up the risk of commoditizing organics. We should keep our margins high and not undercutting the other players in the market. John L. agrees but adds that we need to be aware of the market norms for pricing.
Who is our competition? John L: our initial target audience is our own members. Ken: could we count on 200 members spending $30 a week? Discussion followed as to pricing, marketing, and the logistics of Co-op integration into the existing Neighborhood Market building.
What about farmers markets as competition? If someone lives in the Proctor District and goes to the Saturday market there, how often will they visit the Co-op?
John L: farmers market tends to help businesses like mine rather than being competitors.
Business Plan
Molly has entered projections for general manager, half-time clerk, and project manager, and some consulting. We could have a market analysis done by Co-op 500 or a similar organization, but we are in uncharted waters as far as our hybrid store structure is concerned. Should we hire any sort of consultants right away? Consensus emerged that we should not have a full-blown market analysis done but it would not hurt to have some consulting with someone who has specific co-op expertise. We will have to fine-tune our approach to educating our members and the public regarding “local,” “organic,” etc. We need to remember that we need to balance our social mission with the need to generate business. We can sell rutabagas in the winter, but for those people who still want tomatoes during that season, we will sell them the best tomatoes we can find (etc…)
Leverett, MA has a food co-op integrated into a grocery store similar to our concept (www.leverettcoop.org).
Financial report
Funding sources: member loans, grants
Molly has factored memberships, store revenue, and member loans into the financial projections of the business plan. She has not included grants. Should we pursue grants, given that many grants are earmarked for nonprofits (which we are not)?
We discussed other types of grants that might be available. John T. feels strongly that we should actively pursue grants right now alongside the other potential funding sources. Corrinne will contact Stuart Reid from Coop500 for more information.
Molly presented the current draft of the 5 year proforma. Projections are based on the following:
· a 10% growth in membership monthly
· $33 per square foot per month would be a reasonable operating profit for a co-op. We work up to this amount gradually.
· April, 2012 would be the time at which we take over the rest of the space in the store.
· An additional half-time employee is added at one point.
· A livable wage and employee bonuses are included.
· Member loans are set tentatively at 3.4%--a high amount, but justified given the high-risk nature of the investment.
Next steps
Amber suggested that when we meet on April 30,
What do we need to do on or before April 30?
· Figure out member loan logistics
· General Manager hiring process—Ken has ideas as to how this can be done, and Molly and Amber will work with Ken on this before the next meeting
· Ken should present on GM process and member loans
· Shawn should present survey results
· We need to get the GM hiring process underway soon. Amber will talk to Ken; preliminary description posted on blog by Michelle
Volunteer list of tasks for Corrinne who will reply to people to have emailed us asking how they can help:
· Earth Day (contact Molly or Ariel)
· Farmers Market setup/manage/teardown (contact John T.)
· Help with Food On Film series (contact Michelle)
· Set up space at Neighborhood Market in order to advertise Co-op (contact Ariel)
Moved and approved: three officers (other than Molly) are signers on TFC bank account.
Casandra: send out e-mail to member mailing list about Tacoma Farmers Market fundraiser on May 8. Freighthouse Square, 6-10 p.m. Tickets for sale at BrownPaperBag.com for $25.
NEXT MEETING: Friday, April 30th from 5:00 – 7:00pm at The Greener Bean (all are welcome)
posted by Michelle under board meeting, minutes
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