Dark Clouds Follow Flag (Photo: Daniel Mick)

Dark Clouds Follow Flag (Photo: Daniel Mick)

The Board of Directors’ next meeting will be held over Zoom on Monday, October 19 at 7:00pm.

The meeting is open to the public. Please email president@dark-clouds.com to request access to the online meeting.

Dark Clouds Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

9/3/20

6PM

Zoom

Board Members Present:  Nach Karnik, Sam Solberg, Meagan Weber, Andy Wattenhofer, David Zeller, Andrew Bruski, Jack McFarland

Absent: Shaun Sapala, Maggi Heyer

I. Call to Order

Sam Calls to Order 6:03PM

II. Approval of Minutes   

Sam made motion to approve, Andy W. Seconded. Motion approved

III. Reports of Officers and Committees                                    

a. Treasurer’s Report  – Andy Wattenhofer

  1.  Andy R. has gone missing again so not a lot new to report.
  2. Starting to push WW leadership on better processes and looking into accounting firm to help.

b. Committee Updates 

Merch

  1. Andy R is still working to get us his reporting tool
  2. Hoodies are selling well! 22 as of this meeting
    1. This will be last pre-sale of the season
  3. Merch inventory has been moved back to the office!
    1. About once a week shipping is being moved back to the office as well.

Matchday

  1. Maggi absent
  2. Checking on streaming watch parties

Mar/Com/Social

  1. Looking for help on newsletter.
  2. Social scheduling is slowing down a bit, may need to recruit a few new people.
  3. Dialing back on social media posting.

Silver Lining

  1. Meeting next week.
  2. Not a lot of events happening.
  3. Figuring out what events can happen safely.
  4. DCCC is in fact not happening

Membership

  1. Scarf hand out happened at Allianz
    1. 70 scarves handed out
  2. Abe – How many more scarves are needed to “reasonably” fulfill all orders
    1. 50-60 currently left

Partnership

  1. How do we feel about another round of social media “shout outs” to our current partners
    1. Slightly uncomfortable with moving people or telling people to gather anywhere.
    2. Fine with a similar spreadsheet to last round of this with tweets stating what the policies partners are doing.

Tifo

  1. Hold up with WW moving forward with a tifo for final two games/phase 2 of MLS season.
    1. Sam will help to move this forward.
  2. Goals:
    1. Short term: 
      1. assemble committee
        1. One project manager on board
        2. Other people “in the room where it happens”
        3. A few other people are less committed
      2. Make a tifo in 2020
        1. Today finances approved for tifo
        2. From the company that the team has used to cover seats. This will cover one section of the WW
    2. Long Term:
      1. 4 larger tifos per year
        1. The hope would be to have WW tifo. 
      2. Expanding what Tifo committee does
        1. More 2-poles, away day, flags.

IV. Old Business

  1. Update on Action Items from August 2020
    1. Let’s talk about that mission statement….
  1. Original – The mission of the Dark Clouds is to passionately and irreverently support MNUFC and actively build communities around soccer where all are welcome.
  2. Zeller’s Suggestion – The mission of the Dark Clouds is to passionately support MNUFC with total jackassery and actively build communities around soccer where all are welcome
  3. New Suggestion – The mission of the Dark Clouds is to support MNUFC and actively build communities around soccer where all are welcome. Our support is infused with passion, humor, and creativity, cheeky?
  4. The mission of the Dark Clouds is to support MNUFC passionately while not taking ourselves too seriously. We will actively build communities around soccer where all are welcome.
  5. NEW FROM THIS MONTH – 
    1. The mission of the Dark Clouds is to support MNUFC and actively build communities around soccer where all are welcome. Our support is infused with passion and humor with an irreverent bent.
    2. The mission of the Dark Clouds is to support Minnesota United FC and actively build communities around soccer where all are welcome. Our support is infused with passion and lighthearted irreverence.
    3. The mission of the Dark Clouds is to support MNUFC and actively build communities around soccer where all are welcome. Our support is infused with passion and good-natured humor skewed toward the irreverent.
    4. The mission of the Dark Clouds is to support MNUFC and actively build communities around soccer where all are welcome. Our support is infused with passion, self-effacing humor and… satire I don’t freakin kno
  1. Formal Process for getting people on the Virtual Watch Party streams
    1. Already discussed above
  2. Sam, Zeller, Maggi; meeting with 107ist
    1. Two meetings with Drew VP of 107ist and Rachel who created reporting process.
    2. Drew – said they didn’t really have a process. Things were addressed ad-hoc
    3. Rachel – felt it was important to have a process so they could do it anonymously and not to the board members.
    4. Process similar to what we have with WW. A group of people “on call” if a situation comes up.
    5. The problem that we’ll run into, we will get reports of people that are not Dark Clouds. This is going to have to go back up to WW. We really need a WW process but that will have hurdles to jump over.
  3. New Branding group discussions
    1. Group has meet two meetings
    2. Set up the committee, then set up what the brand values should be.
    3. They will prepare something to show the board to vote on.

V. New Business

  1. Merch Garage Sale – Bruski
    1. Would be outside, and no contact at all points of the process.
    2. Where would we be able to do this?
      1. Black Hart – Wes could help
    3. When?
    4. Board is okay with plan moving forward
    5. Membership would also join for another scarf handout
  2. 56 update – Jack
    1. Meeting with 56 last week, with TOO MANY PEOPLE.
    2. Looking to reinstate them as a partner at the beginning of next season giving them a chance to build and show their response and what they have done to change.
  3. End of the year online auction – Bruski
    1. Are we planning to do an end of year auction? Most likely would have to happen online.
  4. Phase 2 and opening to fans – A Discussion.
    1. Board as a whole will still be against having fans in the stadium during all of phase 2 and beyond.
  5. Pumped in crowd noise
    1. Not really much that we can do.

VI. Open to Board

  1. Nach – Close Meeting – MNUFC & Recent Events

VI. Open to Public

  1. No public attended

VII. Set Date for Next Meeting

  1. Will do this on Slack

VIII. Adjournment

Meeting Adjourned @ 8:13

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