House Rabbit Network
Minutes of Board Meeting
January 26, 2021
Online via Zoom
In attendance: Suzanne Trayhan, Jenna Beauchesne, Lesley Braga, Palestina Baronas, Dawn Lewis, Rachel Minnie; also in attendance, Jean Player, secretary.
Review of October, 2020 Minutes
There was a correction to the spelling of Palestina’s name.
There was a clarification about the [one and done] foster homes.
Minutes approved.
Quarterly reports
HRN operation updates were reported in the January 2021 quarterly report.
SEC report filed at the end of October 2020.
Financials
The Board reviewed the balance sheet and noted that the balance looks very good.
It was noted that spay and neuter procedures and surgical expenses increased.
There were no further comments or questions on the financials.
Development
The Development Committee update included remarks about fundraisers, spa days, the bingo event, grants, and the HRN ebay store. Dawn invited feedback about the bingo event.
In regards to the Devine Spa Day: marketing needs to boost the visibility that this location is in the South Shore.
The Board discussed whether it was feasible to do a monthly spa day at the shelter and explore the possibilities of serving the South Shore. Scout vet locations or other suitable leads for doing Sunday events.
There was a discussion about merchandise sales for the Plush is Enough campaign. Pre-orders would help determine selling potential. The Board discussed broadening the promotion to non-bunny interest groups, i.e. moms’ groups.
There was a clarification that the COVID appeal was unrelated to Giving Tuesday.
The Board intends to launch and maintain an annual email donation campaign to coincide around Easter.
Shelter Operations
Jenna reported that she will reach out to shelter volunteers about the shelter reopening and work on staffing.
We used to have in-person training sessions and new volunteers shadowed experienced volunteers.
Foster Homes
Currently 75 foster homes.
Virtual Foster Information Session works well as word of mouth; we would only need to promote if sign ups are low. Streamlined process is good. Last one was well attended; 15 people; 2 people are interested to follow up.
Hotline
Updates in the quarterly report.
The Board discussed extending the validity of applications from three months to six months, which is reasonable.
Adoptions
The Board noted a significant increase in adoptions in 2020.
Over 100 adoption applications received a month.
There is a shortage of adoptable rabbits due to a backlog of spays/neuters.
Spay/Neuter Van
There was a potential van but the seller is not responding to messages.
We need to research and budget all of the costs. We need to at least break even.
Budget is $200K-$300K inclusive. If we are looking at this level of cost, we are probably better off buying property for a shelter and vet services. The Board decided to wait for a downturn in the real estate market and get a good price.
Outreach
The Board discussed posting rabbit education videos on HRN YouTube channel and that it would be better to get together to produce the videos after COVID.
Start to think about topics Basic rabbit care, Nail trim. What else?
Administrative Matters
Zoom: The development committee suggested that HRN pay for a Zoom account in order to have features that would make it possible to host virtual events. The basic subscription is a $125 annual fee. It offers a user friendly, professional presence. Facebook also does online events, so it’s an option to consider.
Development Director: Membership growth and stewardship are ⅓ of what a Development Director would do.
Mailchimp: Probably in 6 months, HRN will have to pay for Mailchimp, when we exceed 2,000 subscribers. Cost is $125/ year or $9.99 monthly.
GiveBox: Should HRN consider continuing with this platform? Advantages of consolidating platforms.
Volunteers: There were concerns about one volunteer who is not able to complete tasks in a timely manner and also lives out of state now.
Memberships: Discussion of monthly donors, one-time donors, membership benefits
New website: WixSite Friends of House Rabbit Network
If we can send emails via WixSite, we wouldn’t need MailChimp.
Credit card fees are the same as PayPal fees.
Wix has their own payment processor.
Suzanne asked about how often Wix deposits payments into the bank account.
Suzanne suggests making the Wix site live soon.
Database: Palestine requests a subcommittee to research and discuss database software.
Suzanne is coming up with a list of things we need.