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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-03-04-BLT-EC-MIND EMO 0 > Car Memorial Librar 1874 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE LEXINGTON ® MASSACHUSETTS ® 02420 ® 781-862-6288 A, k A . 7-- To: Executive Committee Members From: Carol A. Mahone Director Re: Foundation letter The Chairman has asked me to send y ou a cop of a letter that he received from Bill Daile in response to Peter's letter. I am also sendin y ou the minutes of the Executive Committee meetin held in December with the Foundation. As y ou can see b the minutes and Bill's letter there seems to be confusion about what was discussed and a upon at the December 3rd meetin Would y ou please review Bill's letter and the minutes and let Peter know how y ou would like to proceed. Peter's email address is,phmeek@prod.i rank you. . M E Af Cary Memorial Llbrar at Car Hall Y Y 1605 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON * MASSACHUSETTS • 02 420 -� A PHONE: 781 -862 -6288 • WEBSITE: wNvw.carylibrary.org � February 23, 2004 Mr. William J. Dailey, Chairman Cary Memorial Library Foundation 1 Bushnell Drive Lexington, MA 02421 Dear Bill: The Executive Committee of the Board of Library Trustees would like to thank you for your leadership with the successful building campaign. At every turn during this lengthy process you and the other members of the Foundation Board took on and overcame the challenges that were presented to you. It is an extraordinary achievement to have spearheaded the first major fundraising campaign in the community and to have raised $4 million dollars in such a difficult economic climate. The opening of the newly renovated library marks the culmination of this capital campaign and the beginning of the Foundation's focus on strengthening and growing the library's endowment. This transition from a short - term capital to a long -term endowment campaign represents a crossroad for the management and operations the Foundation and a shifting of goals and perhaps priorities. The Board of Library Trustees is committed to Aping the Foundation manage that transition successfully. To that end, the Executive Committee supports some level of funding of the Foundation to move endowment fundraising forward, just as it provided funds from its endowment to establish the Foundation in the. first place. However, the Executive Committee believes that the amount requested for the continued operation of the Foundation Office represents too large a percentage of its endowment funds and too high a percentage of the projected revenues for the first year of the endowment campaign. This new phase of fundraising will require a significantly different approach to operations, one that will require a much closer working relationship between the Foundation and the library. In order to be assured that we are committing funds to a program whose goals and objectives are aligned with those of the library, the Executive Committee asks the Foundation to develop a strategic plan that complements the strategic plan of the library and reflects a pragmatic response to the challenges of developing a long -term endowment campaign that advances the mission and core values of the library. It is the role of the Board of Library Trustees and the library administration to interpret and advance these core values to the community; therefore, to ensure the success of the library and the Foundation it is imperative that Foundation personnel be held accountable to the Library Administration. The Executive Committee would like to meet with you and other members of the Foundation Board to discuss an agreement on the next steps for defining the Foundation and the Foundation Director's role in the future of Cary Memorial Library and its endowment campaign. Sincerely, R . Dr. Peter H. Meek, Chairman Board of Library Trustees ONE BUSHNELL DRIVE LEXINGTON, MA ' 02420 February 27, 2004 Rev. Dr. Peter H. Meek Chairman Board of Library Trustees Cary Memorial Library 1605 Massachusetts Avenue Lexington, MA 02420 Dear Peter: I received and read your letter of February 3 2004 1 somewhat ry � last night. I am surprised and so t confused by the content. No member of the Foundation B • oard, or anyone associated in any way with the Foundation ever felt at cross , u ' on of the Library. To purposes with the mission the contrary, we have one purpose for our existence • and that is to support the Library. In accomplishing this mission, our goal has been to raise money f or • y o the capital campaign and to be advocates for the Library in the community. If we were mi • told us sooner. tY missing our mark, someone should have You will. recall. that I made . numerous schedule erous attem is to sc ' p _ _ _ . meetings during the last year. Everyone is extremely busy" and throu one's fault! ault ih 6 meeti � ,e. ngs did not occur until late last Year. My confusion results from what I thought was a clear direction on that surfaced when _several members of the Foundation met with your Executive Committee. It was my understanding that your Committee had approved our suggestion that the Foundation ' operation. g dation continue as a full time As a result, the Foundation Directors met and developed forward: ped the following plan going 1 • Efforts would be made to pursue the outstanding e g p dges and attempt to realize the money as soon as possible. 2. Discussions would occur with • John Ryan to determine when the money n hand would be transferred to the Town. As y part of the transaction it would be determined what our obligation was with regard to the a ent of inter • p ym interest on the amount remainin .towards the $4,,000,000 goal. - 3 • Attention would be given to the effort to ow the e gr' n owment fund. The list of donors to the capital campaign, totalin more than 2000 � as g be _- r . _ wou w e part of the effo u1 '3 ear- • end ann as rs Y ai ... ni would be _ ;, p �_ . _ pursued. .. _ s Rev. Dr. Peter H. Meek Page 2 February 27, 2004 5. Danny Watt would continue as a full -time Director. 6. The Foundation's budget would be covered by funds derived from the capital p al campaign. This same source had previously funded the Foundation's budget. 7. The Foundation would assist, as requested by the Trustees and/or administration in the opening events for the Library. 8. The Directors would assess the operation on a six month basis to determine if the full -time office should continue. It would be rather grand on our part to call this a strategic Ian. It was a very simple 1 � p i"Y p plan devised, after discussion, by the Directors of the Foundation. Each member of the Board fully understands his or her role. We have nothing to do with the operation of the Library. ary. We are busy with our own lives, have no time for any library activities importantly , and most im have p y great respect for Carol and her staff and the work they perform. I understand from your letter the it may. now be the position of the Trustees that the Foundation should revert to a part -time operation. While Carol, and at least one of our Directors questions whether there is enough to keep a. Director of the Foundation bus full -time it. is . y the belief of the majority of the Directors that a full -time operation is needed in the Foundation anon office in order to accomplish the goals set out above. If you are suggesting that the fund raisin gg g g effort, be brought into the Library operation, as a volunteer or p ".I art -time activi we believe the opportunity to grow the endowment will be limited. The word "Foundation" is impressive. The Library Foundation is anything but. It is a collection of ten or fifteen individuals who are quite passionate about the Library and who have given of their time to attempt - to accomplish the charge of the Trustees. We serve at Y our pleasure. If there is a problem between Carol and Danny, or between Dann and the staff, lease i Y ,p put t on the table. I would have much preferred to receive a telephon cal when ever th P nrnhl P m e a m e P • � 1 _ - _ indicating there were concerns rather than receiving a letter that comes as a g complete shock. I . trust it is obvious that I am bothered. Please advise what the Trustees wish the Foundation -to do with our plans. I would welcome the op portunity to sit down pp ty w with you and Carl, and . some Foundation representatives, as soon as possible. ve ly y s, t William J. Dailey, r. WJD /lh cc: Ms. Carol Mahoney Mr. D anny. Watt Directors, Cary .Memorial Libr . M E Af 4e / 'IT Car me modal Lib rar at y C ar y Hall D Y 1605 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON • MASSACHUSETTS � SETTS 02420 - PHONE: 781 - 862 -6288 • WEBSITE: www.carylibrary.org Executive Committee Meeting Board of Library Trustees December 3, 2003 Minutes Chairman Rev. Dr. Peter H. Meek called the meeting to order at 8:10AM. Present from the Executive Committee were: Scott Burson, Vice- Chairman, and William Kennedy. Present from the Trustees: Selectman Peter Kelley. Present from the staff: Carol Mahoney, Director and Cynthia Johnson, Assistant Director. Present from the Cary Memorial Library Foundation Board: Chairman William J. Dailey, Margery M. Baffin, Kerry Brandin, Norman Cohen, Dan Fenn, Alan Fields, Chris Roth, and Shirley Stolz. Present from the Foundation staff: Danny Watt. Chairman Meek thanked the Foundation Board members for attending the meeting and all of their work on the Capital Campaign. He also stated that once the library was up and running that the Foundation would continue to campaign for the endowment and be an important advocate for the library in the community. General Discussion Bill Dailey, C ' hairman of the Foundation, told the members of the Executive Committee and Trustees that the Foundation oard would hke to update the Trustees on the Capital Campaign and discuss future campaigns jw t hat.the Buildin Campaign is completed. At the current time there is $600,000 outstanding in pledges to 9 e capital campaign. Alan Fields, Treasurer of the Foundation plans to transfer $3,490,000 to the town at the e wi end of December. This ll leave $260,000 owed to the town primarily from pledges that are not due to be paid until 2005. Alan Fields has been speaking to John Ryan, Comptroller, about the amount still owed to the town. The town will go out to bond for $260,000 in February 2004 and the Foundation will assume responsibility for servicing the debt. This will cost the Foundation between $6,00.0- $7,000 a year. The Board does not foresee any pledges not being paid. - With _the close of the building campaign, Alan Fields discussed the current state of the library's endowment funds. As of November 30, 2003, the Trustees account balance was $852,668.. The account has not seen a g g reat deal of g rowth due to the concentration on the building campaign and the general low performance of the , - - - - - - - - - 11- - -- - -i t -- - - - -- - --- �-- - � - w as t�..,, A �4.� T rm oe• ec��+ n•��+♦ h1e+ IAA n oici n n n'1ZlfKGT Over the past yea rs. n�r� was y (di JUI caj..ujbcruaawrI aruvuc a IV I I uQ«VQ IJc.QL rII�w1 y ..IL11 u.�... funds for the endowment. The New Century FL jndvlwas started in the early 90 s and it intent was to raise a million dollars for the endowment fund by the turn of the century. The campaign handled by an outside agency raised $150,000 and was discontinued at the start of the Capital Campaign for the building. There was some discussion about the negative feelings left after the New Century Campaign was discontinued. It was felt that ,..,,,-,,,- this has dissipated. The endowment did grow during the late 80's and early 90's thanks to the oversight of Alan and the favorable financial environment of the 90's. The endowment grew to - million- dollars because of the investments, and this growth allowed the Trustees to contribute $1 million -to the budding campaign. Currently library the libra receives $48,000 a year from. the endowment for the purchase of adult materials. This fig ure was set over 10 years ago and has not increased since then. The Trustees budget for the past three years has remained at $160,665. Funds that support this budget come from the endowment, State Aid, fines and fees, and gifts. Each of these revenue sources has declined over the years. To fund adequately the adult , ollection the endowment should be providing the library with between $80,00- $100,000 a year. In the past, the rustees have had to take more than $48,000 from the endowment to support the budget for the adult ,ollection costs. Executive Committee Board of Library Trustees Minutes (cont.) December 3,:2003 Comments were made that the Trustees endowment could be considered on "life - support" given its current state. Others felt that the Trustees should not take any further funds out of the endowment to support the adult collection. Norman Cohen asked how much is the town supported budget and what is the difference between what we receive and what the need is. Carol responded that the town budget is $1.4 and we need an additional $100,000. Alan Fields asked if the mission of the endowment is to support the adult collection or more. The discussion then turned toward the future of the Foundation and how to maintain the momentum of the Building Campaign and the interest of everyone who has donated. A worksheet prepared by Danny Watt was distributed. The worksheet reviews the Foundation's commitment to the costs of the construction, Building Fund balance, anticipated receipts, and Foundation expenses. The anticipated total receipts are $3,606,000. The anticipated expenses from January 1, 2004 — March 31, 2004 are $116,000. (See attached worksheet). Peter Meek inquired about the $66,000 cost for expenses. Danny Watt explained that this is for a three -month period and $50,000 ($5,000 & $45,000) will be sent to the Town to cover personnel costs. Peter Kelly raised a question about an annual fund. Scott Burson said that it is clear that we have to ask if we are going to continue to use the endowment for the adult collection and what role an annual fund plays in the support of the endowment fund. Peter Meek sees the annual fund as one thing but the endowment is different. Bill Dailey stated that experience has shown him that if you start raising funds to replace tax money you won't be as successful, however if you call it an endowment it will do much better. Question were raised as to where would the money come from to continue the Foundation office after the first quarter in 2004. The Trustees? Should there be an annual fund? What is the climate in Lexington given the other needs in the community, such as LEF and the Historic Society? Alan Fields as -a member of the Public Trusts Committee stated that they continue to grow each year even with the downturn. in the econom •-_:Alan believes that there is a cost if you don't take advantage of saying thanks to .those who have.;alread iven­ You . ready have their future support. Dan Fenn asked about the role of the Friends -of Library_and 'how do" they generate each year. Carol estimated that is was around $10,000. Dan felt that w_ a had to, consider how this'. would be integrated into library fundraising. Danny Watt reported that the Building Campaign had 2,264 donors•. 1,930 0fahese,have,completed their pledges and . have not made a gift since June 2003 and many felt it important to�:ooritactahem immediately in order to keep them interested. Kerry Brandin felt that we must structure the next" few to get the donors to continue their interest in- donating to the library. Chris Roth as the Treasurer of Lexington Education Foundation, wanted to clarify for everyone that there are regulations that require non - profits to be very clear on the division between annual fund and endo*wm* ent. You cannot deposit fund solicited for the annual fund into the endowment and vice -a- versa. Peter Meek proposed that a subcommittee be formed with .Peter, Carol, Bill and other members of the Foundation. Board #o sit down and develop a structure for going forward with_. the. Trustees and =the Found . ion � i�: - t . and report ort back in Janua : Bill - Dailey felt that we -have paid professional sWff and that s a. major difference ; f between the New Century..Furid.arid� the Building Campaign: We should move :ahead .v�th: =: FT Uereiopment ;. i YY} Officer and =the P6dndatidn pan :act .rode ndentl from the =: Trustees :iut;the Foundation`:Board =nnembers :want t r' the Trustees to be comfortable with any action 'the' Foundation take'": - Foundation hasasked Danny:=Watt to f o stay on till :March 2004 and the Foundation rs wafting for the Trustees decrsfon..on fnancrng the Foiridat ions s ay , ;; office. Going forward after- March - 2004. all of the Foundation funds will have been used.- The endowment :funds. J s would have to be - t6°-support the Foundation office.: _ r The Trustees supported . Foundation. Board intent to send the letter and will get back to the Foundation on a decision regarding using endowment funds to support the operating costs for the Foundation office. The meeting adjourned at 9:20AM Respectfully Submitted, Carolyn Beckwith