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OC Conference Call
4/12/10

On call: Rose (Gender Justice), Jamie & Alfredo (ICT), Cindy (Outreach), Walda & Jerome & Alicia (Program), David (Comm), Josue (Lang Acc), Michael (Res Mob), Marian (Poverty), Oya (Culture), Diana (EMEAC), Jen Cox (IST)

Staff: B, Maureen, Sylvia, Mallory, Will, Sha, Heather (Indigenous),

Proposed agenda (and potential topic leaders)
  • Welcome and roll call (Sylvia)
  • ICT update on registration & workshops (Alfredo/Jamie)
  • Comms-Media update on website changes and edits (David/Adele)
  • Update on e-blasts: reminder on process (B)
  • Finance update on working group budgets: numbers and process (Steph)
  • Delta to Detroit march update (Jen/Marian)
  • Logistics/Program design team schedule (Adrienne)
  • Printed program update (Adele/Sha)
  • NPC voting process update and #s of registration (individual/organizational)
  • OC reps and staff scheduled trips to Detroit? email Maureen & Will (Sylvia)


ICT update on registration & workshops (Alfredo/Jamie)

Live this morning with mail-in registrations and PMA, and workshops. working w/ Comm_Media WG on people's media center; working with P&C on workshop room, roadmaps for PMC, org'g to bring more techies onboard.

Civicrm mtg in DC next week--Sha will outreach to find folks to help with the work.

Workshops update: Workshops Deadline is still April 20. - Will is asking for information related to database- what's the process for viewing workshop submissions, registration numbers, who has paid, how to edit registrations. Sha (Res Mob) has been holding down a lot of this- can others have access as we move forward. ICT is discussing these needs wednesday- needs support on navigating these questions.

- Regarding technical support for registration/website, we'll be handling them less through phone calls and referring folks instead toward emailing online-support@ussf2010.org.

240 Workshop submissions, including some PMAs and several 4 hour workshops. Still relatively low- can we extend submission process again?

We're expecting a rush of workshop submissions the days before the 20th, we should not extend the date at least until the 20th.

Maureen: Workshops are not coming in largely we think because of errors with the submission process- glitches, etc. Suggests we keep in our minds that around the 20th, we add an additional 10 days, referring to technical & other barriers as being the reason. We're not working from a place of having too many workshops- we actually need more so can be focused on extending it and allowing more people to register.

Cindy: Keep in mind there will also be more self-organized activities, perhaps we consider what's a good number that we're hoping for- could less workshops mean they are more full and better quality?

What is the point in which we're going to need to cut off submissions, based on our needs of scheduling? We know we need to have most things listed by the 19th of ? so we can list them on the online & print program.

B: We should not announce a Deadline extension until the day of or after the actual Deadline because many people will have planned to submit under pressure during the time crunch. Much agreement on the call.

Alfredo: the nature is many grassroots groups are submitting. Jerome: there will be a bottom-line deadline for getting the program in to the printers so we can have it by June 22. Program is meeting tonight and let the OC know the dropdead deadline for us being able to handle deadlines.

Jamie: Organize.ussf2010.org is going to move to a new server soon. Should alleviate registration technical issues.

Walda: Additional conversation needed about the mechanics of the workshops submissions process. Jerome & Alycia, Maureen, Walda want to talk about it.


Comm-Media Update on Website
(David)

Adele can not make the call today. We have been updating and working on the website. Information flow and process for updating website has been difficult.

We have updated the menu bar. We have added major sections for: logistics, program, fundraising, media. We will be adding an 'In Motion' section (ABCs). We are trying to make certain buttons more prominent (donate, listserv signup, translate). Registration and Calls to Action (workshop, culture, pma submission) should also be front and center and crystal clear. These sections will be cleaned up ASAP.

We need a person on each working group/committee to have a point person to work directly with Comm-Media & David on updating content, rather than everyone doing it and navigating the technical aspects themselves. We feel like we need a shift in process so we can have information up right away and have all groups be represented. Send content questions to david.n.marques(at)gmail.com. So far we've been working closely with Program/Culture/Outreach/Resource Mob/Logistics/Lang Access on getting content right.

Many new logistics additions will be up tonight and tomorrow, as shared by Maureen/Sylvia/Tapeka. As will information on canopies (it will also be announced on the next NPC call)

The Website is DOPE!

Language Access got a list of priorities and it is working on streamlining the translation of the website. (Josue)


E-blasts Update

Procedure from B: Comms/Outreach are collaborating with the goal of putting out weekly email blasts from now till the forum (11 to go).

The blasts are a combination of 1. Logistical updates (housing, submission deadlines, important dates) 2. Organizing Tool (sharing phone info-sessions, local organizing groups, etc.) 3. Creating Hooks Out of Programming (sharing who's going & what's happening to get people excited.)

The IDEAL process would be for people/wg's to submit email content to bloewe@onpointconsortium.org without me having to chase people (ha!).

We'll be compiling messaging for what could go out but please also send me what you need to have go out and we'll do our best to get it together.

examples: Program/Culture - 1 week from Submission Deadline. (Today) content for April 20th announcement Youth WG - Content for April 24th National Fundraising Day NPC members - Feature on Excluded Worker Congress (JwJ/NDLON):

- Feature on Detroit Work Brigades (DLOC)
- Feature on Healing Canopy & Movement Assembly
- Feature on Climate Justice (IEN)
- Feature on Workshops to end Poverty (Poverty WG)
- National PMA (PMA WG)

The general idea is to present a "you don't want to miss this. This joint is historic" messaging by highlighting everything in motion at this point.

I'll do my best to compile it into a cohesive blast.

Schedule:

- Send text by Sunday
- I compile on Monday & get translated
- Blasted on Tues by email
- Resent by NPC & Working Groups Tues/Wed.
- Sent by Facebook, etc. by that Friday.

Update about the working group budgets

- we're getting some of the information later in the week; steph is unable to be on the call today
- she needs final numbers and details, if you know who you are, please send her that information. she's putting together a revision of the core costs, and also mini budgets for working groups
- we do have a contact person for each working group for budgets

DLOC: Will Program and Culture: Oya and Carlton, Program-Alicia and Walda ICT: alfredo and Mallory logistics: maureen and sylvia outreach: Cindy and B comm: --wasn't listed, please check w/ Steph indigenous: heather and tom language access: roberto and josue Gender Justice: rose and mayowa PMA steph and ruben poverty: marian and cheri youth: jardin and corina international: louis documentation and evaluation: ?

...if it's not the right point people, please send them to steph.


Delta to Detroit march update
-april 4 we had a rally in new orleans to start the poverty caravan and march. held in new orleans with local people, and the task was to begin to start getting stories from various
-money being concentrated is for downtown new orleans and richer neighborhoods
-looking at new orleans, it's still devastated. the restaurants that used to exist are all gone, and what you have left are the larger commercial restaurants
-lots of people were killed last night in new orleans; the crime is high, people don't have jobs, lots of folks are still homeless and the situation has gotten worse
-went from there to waveland, mississippi; it's on the Gulf of Mexico. similar in that they want the beach site for condos, and naturally they don't want poor people in the way of building those condos. years ago, there used to be a united methodist retreat center there, now ...
-how many people started off at the march? on and off, about 50 people. people are travelling by truck.
-in waveland mississippi we met with a couple who's father is still in the reserves. they are angry about how they've been treated by this government. came back from Iraq the first time and found their family homeless. house was wiped away by katrina, and didn't get any support from the US government.
-when you left the march, what state had they gotten to? Mississippi. they'd just gotten there. they had to sue to city to be able to get a house. right now they are facing a situation where folks are being pushed out of the beach areas.
-now the march is in Mobile, and the first thing they ran into was homeless people who are camping out in the woods. these folks are being paid by developers to build homes for 3 and 4 dollars an hour.
-the thing that impressed me was that people don't have wireless service in a lot of areas. i brought my computer with me but it stayed in the car because it wasn't able to be used.
-more updates are on the PPEHRC website.
-if there are folks that are interested in participating, check in with marian.
-folks are doing a terrific job of documenting the stories along the route.


NPC voting process and numbers
Cindy
- we will close applications for NPC on April 1. outreach committee has been charged with coming up with proposals, and figuring out how to vet it.
- next nPC call on the 28th; outreach group to do the vetting based on criteria, and come with recommendations
- on May 3rd we'll do phone call with applicants where NPC members can ask their own questions; voting will be open from April 28th to May 5th.
-need ICT to make the applications available again. that's the schedule for the next 4 NPC applications.
- there were several NPC applications that were requested, so we must have handed out about 20 applications. Adrienne followed up and let folks know about the deadline, but we didn't hear from people. we did due process in following up with folks about deadline for applications.

Numbers as of today:

  • 721 Organizations registered
  • 2969 Individuals registered
  • $83,933 raised ($51,747 completed; $32,186 pending)

That includes most of the walk-ins and mail-ins up to the end of March.

We are way short of our goals, by May 1, we had projected 5000 organizations registered. Outreach will reach out to large delegation groups from 2007. and NPC orgs. will be contacted this week to do major blitz to their member orgs and their regions.

- Working with comm to get USSF spokespeople who get followed in their area. Please send your 1 spokesperson to brigid@pushbacknetwork.org asap. (indigenous, youth, gender justice, poverty). Need name, bio, and organization.

Another person called about having problems with the website - that it was hacked. Has website problems played a big role in limiting registration. To ICT's knowledge site has not been hacked. If folks get any messages like this they should get in touch with ICT immediately.

Outreach will send out links so NPC can review applications for NPC.

Logistics/Program Design

Will merge these two calls and try to have calls on a more regular basis. Want to get reps from each WG on these calls.


Printed Program

Team deciding who will lay out which parts of program book. Getting volunteers to do design. Defined timeline to get to printer = 3 weeks prior to USSF. Trying to get all content by end of April, including sponsors. Biggest time crunch will be getting final workshop list. First section is welcome pages. Need folks to work on welcoming statement. Anchors can talk about this tomorrow.

NPC

Conference call this Wednesday. Five weeks out from next face-to-face meeting. Will not be reimbursing folks for travel until post-USSF. Victor looking into renting a small apartment or loft for folks coming early to Detroit. Should let Victor know if you are interested.

Volunteers

Friday in Detroit at 11am there will be a discussion about volunteers and how to plug them into the process. Also need to hire Volunteer Coordinator.