From PortlandAfoot

Notes by User:CarriePederson, board secretary

After board member introductions, Mike asked members to selected their positions. Dean Baker selected the vice-chair position.

Brian Smith selected the chair position.

Jessica Cooper selected the treasurer position.

Chris Smith selected the sergeant-at-arms position.

Carrie Pederson selected the secretary position.

Michael described his 18 plan for revenue:

$8,000 in savings

$2,000 of vacation time

selling car to parents ($3,000?)

Freelance, $300 a month (one day a week)

On food stamps

Off students loans Dean suggested Mike write about Portland Afoot regularly. Mike said he has a connection at Bike Portland and he could get a good word in at the Willamette Week. Michael said he plans to spend no more than 10-12 hours a week in editorial time for Portland Afoot. He added there would be a disproportionate amount on editorial time at first, most time will be spent on editorial and sales. Brian proposed a motion to hire Michael. Chris seconded. It passed 5-0.

Michael described the print news magazine. There will be four to five stories, “only on the bus” stories, four questions with a bus driver or someone in the bus/bike network. Mike said he hopes to partner with TriMet Down. Michael said the first 200 subscriptions are $5. He said he hopes to make them free for the “transportation groups.”

A press in SE Portland will print publications. Michael said the downside of this company is the time it takes to print, four days. He added he has not tested their printing quality for pictures.

Michael said the main impact of the grants will be in the area of marketing. He’s applying for a $25,000 “New Voice Grant.” He said foundations typically give grants in the areas of journalism, environmental and transportation equity. He talked about other open-ended grants he may be able to get from a group in New York. He questioned how much he should ask for. Michael said he doesn’t know much about grant writing. He’s meet with someone from Street Roots to learn more. He talked about buying ads on TriMet. He asked if he can target a bus line one line at a time. Brian said probably not. Mike said the cheapest ad TriMet sells is $150 and he doesn’t know what that buys. His meeting with TriMet was cancelled. Board members asked about payment form. Mike can take cash. To accept cards, he talked about a “square” that plugs into your phone. It cost is about $1 per purchase. Michael said he is not sure how to incorporate that cost. Mike said the bank account not set up yet. Chris said he could recommend a bank. Mike said there is no liability insurance, unless there is a grant. The board talked about 501(c)(3) status. Mike said he needs $5,000. He talked about fundraising with “Kick Start.”

Michael said he is working with a pro bono, online legal media network. He said they will look over his 1023 application.

After Portland Afoot, Mike said he would like to pursue a weekly news magazine for senior citizens. He would make sales to assisted living developments. Mike said the purpose of Portland in the Round is to launch sustainable business models. He said it would be useful for him to get out of his own mind space and to be accountable to the board and those he serves.

By the next meeting, Michael hopes to have 200 subscribers and will know if he will get advertisers. Mike said he can do bulk subscription sales after the first year. The sample run will be 1000 copies. There is no free distribution. Mike plans to make presentations at neighborhood association meetings and street fairs like Last Thursday. Dean suggested he could find readers at Portland Parks and Recreation and Saturday Market.

Brian suggested Mike offer discounts for subscribing to Portland Afoot. Mike talked about a local non-profit where you can team up to share ads and ad revenue, and give a percentage your the profits.

Mike said he is considering taking a course at USC through a fellowship. It’s a boot camp for journalism entrepreneurs.

An 8x 11 piece of paper will be the basic unit of advertising in Portland Afoot. Though there won’t be much advertising at first, Mike would like to prove advertising can exist in first 1,000 copies.

The main difference between written and wiki versions of Portland Afoot is packaging, Mike said. Carrie asked if he’s worried about people only getting the info on the Web. Mike said no because online is for reference and print is a reminder to read something.

Brian suggested the board talk about Mike’s performance goals. Mike said this project is about proving a form of journalism. He’s interesting in continuing to do municipal anti-poverty policy reporting because anti-poverty policy is overlooked. Brian asked if the intersection with (poverty) is that poor people use transit. Mike said yes. He added that transit riders have the most skin in the game in local politics.

Dean said he’s interested in the investigative aspect of Portland Afoot. Mike said it will be more watchdog than investigative.

Mike met said he met with the director of Impact NW. The director is interested in community building and TriMet’s structural problems. Mike is applying for grants on behalf of Impact NW. He gets 95% of the revenue.

Mike said that the director of libertarian think tank and he doesn’t like TriMet because likes cars and suburbs.

Mike said he will write about transit for Bike Portland. He said Bike Portland is happy to accept free reporting in exchange for publicity.

Mike will partner with PortlandWiki to create shared wikis, for example, bus stops and mailboxes. Brian suggested the 2nd Sunday of the month in August as the date for the next meeting. Brian suggested Mike email a monthly summary and as needed. He also said he should ask for things as needed.

Mike said he will seek editorial suggestions, including those from the “Oregon News Incubator” groups. Mike would like to put all his financial information on the Web expect for what’s in his bank account. He hopes that Jess won’t have to spend more than 1 hour a month. He will give status reports on the first of the month. Brian proposed that the group talk about what they perceive to be the biggest challenges for Mike. The group talked about challenges like generating revenue and gaining readership. Mike talked about forming an advisory committee, mainly for editorial purposes. Board members suggested it be a low commitment, “show up if you can” committee. Chris suggested Mike add people when “you have a skill or connection you need to plug into the organization.” Carrie asked if Mike had talked to other transportation reporters. Mike said he plans to and that he finds other reporters to be open competitors. “If we can improve each other’s products that will be a win for policy,” he said.