General Board Meeting of the Colorado Native Plant Society
Sunday, June 25, 2023, 4:00-5:00pm
Via Zoom
DRAFT Minutes

Attachment – all files in CoNPS Official Files > Board of Directors > Board Ops and Committee Mtgs > 2023. If you do not have access to these folders, please con

Present: Alex Crochet, Alex Smith, Amy Yarger (OC), Anna Wilson (At Large). Mo Ewing (OC), Pat Butler (Boulder), Shirley Nilsen (Plateau), Rahman Minhas (Denver Metro Chapter)
Also attending: Kelly Ambler, Mason Mizener, Anne Beard, Virginia, Kathy Okon, Maggie Gaddis

1. Welcome – Amy opened the meeting at 4:07 pm.

2. Roll call – 8 voting members present, quorum

3. Approval of April minutes – Alex Smith moved, Pat Butler seconded. Motion approved.

4. Financial report – Mo – 10 minutes

a. Bookkeeping company has had problems downloading information from PayPal, data is only current through April, nothing to report

b. Mo talked to Anne Beard about his reservations about the company. The company has been having issues, but they are trying to resolve them, Anne is seeing progress

c. We were a little under budget for the April report, Mo is still waiting for exact numbers

d. Getting access to US Bank for Anne Beard has also been an issue, took a long time and a lot of effort for Anne and Maggie to see the accounts

e. Mo and Anne will continue pressure for the company to resolve the issues and provide the information we need

5. Strategic Plan Check-in Goal #2 – Alex Smith and Ann – 10 minutes

6. Profit and Loss – Maggie and Anne – 10 minutes

7. Plant Sale Update – Maggie –

a. Harlequin’s was the sole supplier this year, volunteers in partnership with Boulder chapter volunteered to grow plants once a month starting in February, great professional development for members

b. Sold 1800 plants, 199 orders, 4 communities, plant sale open for 20 days

c. Plant pickups on 4 different days, able to process orders on Thursday before

d. Fewer mistakes this year, smooth operation- the ability to process orders at the nursery instead of at the pickup site helped with troubleshooting

e. In the past we’ve paid a staffperson ¼ of their hours to run the plant sale; This year, Maggie worked 80 hours, 116 volunteer hours this year; not having pre-orders can make the sale even more efficient

f. We raised $7500 via plant sale, but half of that is salary and external expenses like a trailer; last year net was closer to $11000 but not including staff time; consider opportunity cost – these activities are very labor intensive vs. fund-raising

i. Partnership with Styles African American Center – example

ii. We can bring plants to events already scheduled, such as the garden tours or plant swaps

iii. The plant sale is aligned with the mission, and therefore, has a value beyond the revenue

iv. Could the Program Assistant take on more of the work associated with the Plant Sale? (David has left the organization)

v. Localized plant sale by chapter to support more cultivation throughout the state

g. We plan to have a shrub sale in the fall – this will be more of a “pop-up” without pre-orders

h. Maggie will provide a succinct proposal document for next year’s plant sale planning to be shared with the board for review and voting

8. Committee and chapter updates

a. Northern Chapter–
b. Plateau chapter –
c. Boulder chapter – field trip planning
d. Metro Denver –
e. SLV –
f. SW –
g. SE –
h. Media – Summer issue of Aquilegia, please get your items to Kelly
i. Education and Outreach – (Kathy Okon) This committee runs adult programs, school programs, and community outreach programs. The committee offered 5 trainings covered topics included turf removal, fire resistant landscaping, gardening with native plants, and Colorado wildflowers. The committee also brainstormed a comprehensive list of other outreach opportunities. The goal is to have a booth in every single chapter in the state. Individuals are also taking action in exciting ways. CoNPS had some exciting school programs in the Southeast Chapters in April, serving over 400 children.

9. Meeting was concluded at 5:02 pm

10. Next CoNPS Board Meeting August 27th from 4-5 pm – please register via the CoNPS website – calendar of events