Access to Justice Foundation Meeting

January 28th, 12:00 p.m. via Zoom

Agenda & Materials

  1. Welcome, Introductions, and News About Resignations – Mr. McKinney
    • Abby Brenneman joins the staff as Program Coordinator.
    • Chad Owens and Jonathan Warren have resigned due to other commitments.
    • Deepali Lal of Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon, & Galchus is expected to be appointed by the Arkansas Supreme Court to replace Chad Owens.
    • The Governance Committee will meet after the board meeting to discuss a potential replacement for Jonathan Warren.
  2. Business Items
    • Determination of Quorum-Mr. McKinney
    • Approval of November Minutes-Mr. McKinney
    • Approval of Financial Reports-Ms. Schild
    • Review of Compliance with Financial Policies-Ms. Schild
      • Investment Policy Compliance
        • Low Risk Portfolio
        • Moderate Risk Portfolio
          • Out of compliance. However, the board has waived compliance with this policy until the Bank of America grant cycle concludes in June of this year. The Finance Committee will meet with our Stephens advisor to discuss options for compliance thereafter.
      • Reserve Fund Calculation
        • Finance Committee recommends transfer of $23,000 in excess funds from Operating Account to Reserve Fund.
        • The financial policies also require a transfer of 10% of IOLTA income on a monthly basis until target reserve is met.
    • Account Update Resolutions-Mr. Bates-Rogers
  3. Executive Director’s Report–Mr. Bates-Rogers (for information)
    • Conflict of Interest Statements
      • Please return these to Tameka Parker at tparker@arkansasjustice.org by Monday, January 31st.
    • Campaign for Legal Aid
      • Preliminary Results of the 2021 Campaign for Legal Aid
        • Overall donations were down from 2020
          • Approximately $72,000 compared to $80,000 in 2020
        • Number of donors was up slightly
          • 306 compared to 291 in 2020.
        • Our monthly donor count is 40.
      • We are in the process of implementing a postage paid return envelope permit to make it easier to donate. This is one of the recommendations of our fundraising consultant who helped us transition to a new donor database last year.
      • We will start planning for our fall fundraiser earlier this year, likely next month. If you’re interested in helping, please let me know.
      • Tax statements are in process.
      • Monthly Donor Rebranding
        • Old name was the 6.1 Society, a reference to Arkansas Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1, which encourages pro bono service.
        • Feedback has been that few people, even lawyers, understand the reference.
        • New monthly donor group name is Justice for All Partners.
        • Sherry J. Williamson donated a new logo to help brand the Justice for All Partners program. You can see more of Sherry’s art here.
        • We’ll be introducing the new branding this month.
      • Potential Art Donation by Bill Waddell (for feedback)
        • Bill Waddell has generously offered to cover the commission of the original artwork.
        • Foundation would be responsible for cost of numbered prints to be used for donor recognition.
          • Cost and quantity to be negotiated with artist.
          • I don’t anticipate exceeding our budget for donor recognition, but if needed this would be addressed by the Executive Committee or at the next board meeting.
        • Please review the agreements below and share any input.
    • Investment/Endowment Statements (for information)
  4. AR Free Legal Answers-Ms. Brenneman
  5. IOLTA Report-Ms. Walker (for information)
    • IOLTA Trends Report
  6. Partner Organization Updates (for information)
    • Legal Aid Programs Update – Jean Carter and Lee Richardson
  7. Next Meeting Date: Our next meeting will be June 3, 2022 at 10:am (Joint Board Meeting)-Location to be announced.
  8. Meeting Adjourned