November Meeting of the Leave No Child Inside Central Ohio Collaborative membership

Attendees:

Jenny Morgan, Founder and Co-Chair
Alice Hohl, Co-Chair
Betsy Loeb, Steering Team Member
Dave Orsborn, Whole Kids Project
Judith Levicoff, the Butterfly Lady
Rev. Sue Alexander, Christian Women United and King Arts Complex early education
Paul Lane, City of Pickerington
Christa Hein, Stratford Ecological Center
Colleen Sharkey, The Godman Guild
Sue Hagan, Preservation Parks (park district of Delaware County)
Bernadette Whitworth, Five Rivers MetroParks of Dayton

The meeting began at 7 p.m. in the Spring Hollow Lodge at Sharon Woods. The space was graciously donated by the Metro Parks of Franklin County.
We began with introductions and that we hoped to have a freeflowing discussion about the direction of the Collaborative, its governance, its organization, etc. The following notes are not in the order they were spoken, but organized by topic.

Two Paths for LNCI Central Ohio: A network or a 501c3

The Argument for 501c3
Networking is nice, but action is also needed (Dave Orsborn)
Easier to get funding for a project as a 501c3. No concerns about competing with fiscal agent for funding. (Sue A. and Alice)
The 501c3 status wouldn’t limit the group, but it would give it more credibility. We could still operate it the same way, essentially. (Sue A.)
There is a shrinking pool of grants and corporate funders. Eventually our fiscal agent and ourselves will be looking at the same sources. (Dave)
Our Steering Committee would become the executive committee and this group that comes to meetings would be the board, and the small groups would be committees ‘“ an easy transition. The summit would be the annual meeting. (Alice)
The Argument against:
In a formal structure, those who are not on the board or committees may feel they do not need to do anything. In a looser structure, people can find their place and be involved, if the steering committee facilitates meetings. (Christa and Sue H.)
More of a grassroots feeling. (Betsy and Jenny)
It’s hard for everyone from all these organizations to tune into the same vision. A loose network makes it possible to collaborate without narrowing too much. (Colleen)
Separate projects are easier to pursue in a loose network (Colleen)
We would need insurance. (Jenny)
Other points:
Could the Children and Nature Network be our fiscal agent? (Dave)
We can model our collaborative after the Children and Nature Network, which essentially serves as a clearinghouse for info and resources. (Jenny and Betsy)
There should be a 501c3 as a tax structure, but also a corporation for a legal structure to protect the board from liability (Dave)

Projects/Focus

Are we about unstructured play? What is our focus? (Paul) Yes, we think we are pretty focused on unstructured play, although there are a lot of tentacles coming out of that in different directions. (Alice)
Dirt Piles and gardens together ‘“ this is a good idea to pursue. (Colleen)
OPRA conference will incorporate dirt piles and playscapes, MaryEllen O’Shaughnessy told LNCI we need to educate neighborhoods about the value of passive natural space instead of expensive structures and buildings, our LNCI summit produced a small group that is already meeting on this topic, and United Way’s new funding priorities put vacant property and land squarely at the top. So yes, it’s seems like the right time to pursue this! (Alice)
Invitations were passed around to the Dirt Piles group meeting (Colleen)
A school in Whitehall pulled up its playground and made a natural space. (Betsy)
Goals: Educating the community, Supporting the Actions of Members, Growing Membership (Jenny)
What about having a question to pose? Such as, How have we done playspaces. Who has done what? (Sue H.)
How should the Steering Committee support the small groups? We have posted almost all the notes now, but only one group is meeting. (Alice)
The Steering Committee has to step in and facilitate it even more, because some of the groups don’t have each other’s contact info. (Christa)
Also, the Steering Committee should share with the larger group what the small groups are doing. (Sue H)
Produce printed materials, if funding becomes available. (Colleen)

What does membership mean? Should we charge?

If we charge, then we have to define different benefits for members and nonmembers.
What happens to nonmembers, then? (Christa)
It’s hard to ask people for money and then give them something to do. (Bernadette)

What people value about the Collaborative:

Networking (several)
Contacts (several)
The summit and this group have done so much, and the church and neighborhood group are all waiting anxiously to hear the next bit of news she brings back. (Sue A)

Other:

Have more meetings! (Paul)
Monthly meetings are possible and we will work toward that. We will do it, except for December because it is too busy. (Alice)
Idea: Book club to read books and articles on LNCI and have a chance to discuss deeply. (Jenny)
Ask MetroParks if we can get the space again. (Alice is working on this)