Meeting Minutes for 1/26/2009

This meeting was TRULY wonderful! Not only was it on time and didn't need to be rescheduled (haha!) we also were able to get so much done. By sketching out the Organization's structure as well as the website's page layouts - we were able to get a really good idea of what focuses we have. We also prepared some great questions for SCORE, though we only left a message with them about the meeting.

Phoenix and I were both really proud of ourselves for the work we accomplished at this meeting.

~Dani

Dreem Reality Meeting

Date: Monday 1/26/2009 Time Start: 3:06 pm (Atlantic) Time End: 4:30 pm

Location: Pasadena, Maryland

Attending: Phoenix – President; Dani – Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer

I. Welcome! YAY! No rescheduling –may be the first meeting that is ON TIME!

II. Online Presence:

· Emails set up (add logo when get back), start Donate@DreemReality.org

· Calendar is combined with our @DR.org calendars

· Want to add minutes to DR docs when we get home – to be viewable to public

· Updated blog about trash-pick up, need Phoenix' picture from that day

· Create into video sometime this week. Nice background, tagline pics (snow, sand…)

III. SCORE

· Set up meeting (831-621-3735)- left a message, call back

· Questions to ask:

- What can/'t we write off? (utilities, etc)

- Can they help with grants?

- Can they help with filing Tax-exempt?

- What can we start purchasing materials as the DR? (After Articles filed?)

- Is Quicken a good software to use to keep track of finances?

- Over view of Articles and Bylaws –good?

- What do they think about having so many project types and facets?

- How categorize our travel funds?

- How to provide tax write off letters to donors?

- How to break up donations in order to fun Org?

- If we plan to have counseling meetings with Dreemers, how make sure it's legal and safe?

IV. Structure Sketch: See attachment

· Conduct a poll at the mall – What is your Dreem? To get idea of projects.

V. Website

· Sketch layouts: See attachments. (Want to load into google docs for Chris)

· Questions for Chris:

- Can we create a forum?

- Can we link in the blog? (Is the present email/account ok?)

- Can we get a newsletter started?

- Will we be able to have a profile/membership system for volunteers and forum posters? Intricate categorizing of specialties needed.

VI. Finalize Articles and Bylaws for SCORE

· Need to add in Community Awareness section.

· See Attachment for Bylaw's Statement of Purpose including Community.

· Statement of Purpose for Articles: The specific purposes for which this corporation is organized are to educate the general public about personal and community awareness through various topics including but not limited to self-development, goal achievement, motivation, volunteer work, and environmental consciousness. Also, it will be a scholarship and special needs oriented charitable organization.

VII. Ideas for next meeting

· Work on Logo – add website address and make tag line more readable for smaller logo uses.

· Get record book together.

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Bylaw's Statement of Purpose

SECTION 1. OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES

The primary objectives and purposes of this corporation shall be:

1. To provide instruction and guidance to the general public for self-actualization, goal achievement, and motivation pertaining to topics that include but are not limited to travel, culture, music, art, spirituality, and technology.
2. To directly engage the public through activities such as workshops, speaking panels, conferences, counseling, and lectures.
3. To inform and educate by publications such as online forums, newsletters, blogs, and a central information hub.
4. To improve community awareness through volunteer work and environmental consciousness.
5. To enable volunteer work through information exchange, networking systems, and online forums.
6. To develop environmental consciousness through methods that include but are not limited to trash pick-ups and support Go-Green organization and systems.
7. To provide financial assistance to specific individuals and organizations for promotion of goal attainment.
8. To host an annual donation contest as well as to sponsor specific projects through charitable contribution.
   

Meeting Minutes for 1/15/2009

This was probably the most productive meeting we've had so far! We were able to sit down and come up with the Statement of Purpose for the Bylaws, which was a really huge step for us. We also were able to review the Articles of Incorporation and improve upon that. With the accomplishments from this meeting we will be able to start creating some good website content, which should probably be a focus for the next meeting on Monday, 1/19/2009.

Here are the minutes for the meeting:

Dreem Reality Meeting

Date: Thursday 1/15/2009 Time Start: 10:59 pm (Atlantic) Time End: 12:30 am

Location: Gainsville, Virginia

Attending: Phoenix – President; Dani – Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer

I. Welcome! Acro-yoga to warm up and relax (10:34 – 10:59pm).

II. Phoenix book review:

· Confirm that we are non-member structure

· Maybe take on "Scientific" category later which may lead to more funding.

· Unrelated business activities – can do them to raise funds, but can't be a majority of income for the organization (ex: bake sale, youth dance)

· Review donation rules pg. 77ish of book

· 51% rule – salaries in a few years

III. Check list review

IV. Review and Discussion of Articles

· Purpose for articles

· Statement of purpose

· Did some good editing of the statement of purpose: "The specific purposes for which this corporation is organized are to educate the general public about various topics including but not limited to self-development, goal achievement, and motivation. Also, it will be a scholarship and special needs oriented charitable organization."

V. Review and Discussion of Bylaws

· Need to finish mission statement – address major objectives and activities (DID! See attachment)

· Need to have Bylaws read by next meeting: Monday, 1/19

VI. State and Federal Tax Exempt application Review

· Review moved to next meeting: Monday, 1/19

VII. Wrap-up

· Shouldn't have meeting on bed or in bedroom – need to sit up at a table! We got tired quicker.

· Got a LOT done today! Very impressed with the work done on the Articles and Bylaws

· Meetings are excellent, it has helped us gain a better understanding of what needs to happen and how far along we are.

· Fruit and other brain goods are great to eat!

· The acro-yoga at the beginning was a little too distracting.

ATTACHMENT:

Statement of Purpose for Bylaws of Dreem Reality

SECTION 1. OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES

The primary objectives and purposes of this corporation shall be:

A) To provide instruction and guidance to the general public for self-actualization, goal achievement, and motivation pertaining to topics that include but are not limited to travel, culture, music, art, spirituality, and technology.

B) To directly engage the public through activities such as workshops, speaking panels, conferences, counseling, and lectures.

C) To inform and educate by publications such as online forums, newsletters, blogs, and a central information hub.

D) To provide financial assistance to specific individuals and organizations for promotion of goal attainment.

E) To host an annual donation contest as well as to sponsor specific projects through charitable contribution.

To catch up! About Us...

HELLO!

This is the first official blog of Dreem Reality! How exciting! I wish we would have started the blog just a few weeks earlier to catch some of the fun things we have accomplished so far. But, I'm quite sure it's for a reason, and is absolutely perfect the way it is.

So, what is Dreem Reality? Honestly, we're still developing what it is, as every day we think of something NEW that the organization can encompass - what services it can offer, what lessons it can hope to teach, how it can inspire and motivate in another way. But for the sake of our sanity, yours, and of course posterity...here's what we have so far as an "about us":

Dreem Reality is a multi-purpose educational non-profit organization, with major focuses on self-development, goal-achievement, and motivation. Also a scholarship and special needs oriented charitable organization.

Through various methods we hope to provide people with the inspiration and tools to realize and actualize their Dreems. We'll do everything from providing a "Dreemer" moderated forum to network and explore your ideas in a loving and non-judgemental arena, to getting hands on with projects that will help you achieve your Dreem! All the while, we are achieving our OWN Dreems.

(How was that? Of course I know that dream is spelled with an "A" and not two "E"s, but we are changing the concept of what a dream is to dreem, which is in the logo: Dare Reason, Evolve Existence, Manifest Reality.)

Ok, so "What the heck is a 'Dreemer'?" you may be asking yourself or your inquiring neighbor reader. Well, do you have a Dreem? Are you on the path to making that Dreem a Reality? Well then you would be a Dreemer! Officially though, I suppose our Directors and Founders are presently two ladies: Dani and Phoenix. We're the two jumping in front of the cartoony world in our logo, and I am Dani.

A bit about me then...

I consider myself a long time Dreemer through my 24 years of life. Even though some of my Dreems have been a bit "out of the ordinary" to most people in society, I still went for them. That may sound a bit conceded, but to tell you the truth I am really proud of myself for pushing past those criticisms and doubts...and that has led me here! Even now people scoff at the idea of starting a non-profit with this focus, but again I've got to look past those scoffs and just go for it. That's the ONLY way to get what I want.

Anyway, what kind of Dreems have I accomplished?

I've done the college thing, which was always one of my goals (and yes was scoffed at by my more "alternative lifestyle" friends). I graduated from Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, with a Bachelors in Psychology. I love Psychology, it's like learning how to think...healthily. Then later I applied for and got accepted to San Jose State University for my Masters in Industrial Organizational Psychology with a focus in Job Satisfaction and Motivation. But I decided to step out of that program (for now at least) do go for my other Dreems (more on those later).

Probably the series of Dreems I'm most excited about achieving was the acquiring and conversion of a 33 foot long school bus into a veggie powered motor home named LaFonda Olive. This was one that a LOT of people put down - either it was too expensive, too dangerous, too unrealistic, or too much work. But as cliche as it sounds, it didn't stop us (myself and my fiance at the time). We gathered together our closest friends, named ourselves Earth Tribe, and went out into the community to get support for our Dreem. Eventually we got together enough money and motivation to buy the bus from an auction, pull out and rebuild the insides, and convert it to run on Straight Vegetable Oil. Then we traveled around central and eastern US.

As things tend to do, that Dreem spurred the creation of the next Dreem - to create a business that sells alternative energy products. While full time in college my fiance and I began our business called The Organic Mechanic. We ran it together for 3 years until I moved on to other things and he has continued to grow it in the past 2 years of my absence! He's definitely a Dreemer. (Check out his website www.TheOrganicMechanic.org if you'd like)

Some other Dreems I'm proud of are:

• Getting my Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do
• Going sky diving
  
• "Coming out" to friends, family, and the world about being a lesbian
• Continuously scratching my itch for traveling and adventure

Anyway, these are just some things about me...ONE of the Directors of Dreem Reality. I hope to get Phoenix to give a little intro of herself soon. Until then, HELLO! I think I'll probably post another blog or two about the progress we've made so far and what projects we're ALREADY working on!

Namaste!

~Dani