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2020 Yearbook

Fifth Month 2020 Called Interim Meeting Attachments

Attachment I2020-02A: Supervisory Committee Report
Report on Decisions Made Between Interim Meeting

Supervisory Committee
Report on Decisions made between Interim Meetings
May 11, 2020

The following items were approved by Supervisory Committee on March 30, 2020:

The following items were approved by Supervisory Committee on April 2, 2020:

  • SC 2020 03 30 Reparations Action Group Supervisory concurred with the decision by GDL to form this working group. The committee recognized that this concurrence allows the working group to ask for funds in the next year’s budget. There was some discussion of the second paragraph. It was suggested that the phrase starting with, “Quaker schools by the 1870’s . . .” should instead be, “Indian Boarding Schools by the 1870’s . . .”
  • SC 2020 03 31 Strategic Planning Initiative Proposal The proposal was reviewed and Supervisory approved the concept of strategic planning for the Yearly Meeting. Financial support for this will depend on finding the best source of money, including the possibility of using reserves for this project. Supervisory approved forming an ad hoc committee for Strategic Planning. The people for this committee will be chosen by the Clerks and by the General Secretary and we were reminded that it should be a diverse representational group, as per the Manual of Procedure.

Respectfully submitted,
Ramona Buck and Adrian Bishop
Co-Clerks of Supervisory Committee

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Attachment I2020-02D: Youth Safety Policy Working Group Report

Report to Third Month 2020 Interim Meeting
From Youth Safety Policy Working Group

The Youth Safety Policy Working Group, under the care of Trustees, meets at least once a year to remind ourselves of the Youth Safety Policy (YSP) and how it applies, consider how well the YSP and related processes are working, and identify any improvements to the policy and related processes that might be needed.

At our November 2019 meeting, we agreed that the policy needed no major improvements in its language or related processes. However, we recommend that Interim Meeting approve introductory language that would add to the current purpose statement for the policy. We propose adding the following language to the first paragraph of the policy statement.

“Purpose Statement
The purpose of this document is to establish a policy to keep children and youth in Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) programs safe from abuse, procedures for ensuring that safety, and mechanisms for reporting any instance of suspected abuse.”


The policy was originally approved on October 17, 2009 and was updated on June 15, 2013 and March 17, 2018 at Interim Meeting. It can be found in Appendix D of the Manual of Procedure (www.bym-rsf.org/publications/mop/youthsafety.html).

Members of the working group are as follows: Stephanie “Steph” Bean and Brooke Davis (Co-Clerks of Camping Program Committee); Alexandra “Alex” Bean and Carol Seddon (Co-Clerks of Junior Yearly Meeting); Ellen Arginteanu (Clerk, Religious Education Committee), Adrian Bishop and Ramona Buck (Co-Clerks of Supervisory Committee); Carlotta Joyner and Kathryn “Katy” Schutz (Trustees ); Annalee Flower Horne and Rebecca “Becka” Haines Rosenberg (Co-Clerks of Youth Programs Committee); Kenneth “Ken” Stockbridge (BYM Presiding Clerk); Jane Megginson (Camping Program Manager); Jocelyn “Jossie” Dowling (Youth Programs Manager); and Edward “Ned” Stowe (General Secretary).

Respectfully submitted, Carlotta Joyner, Clerk

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Attachment I2020-02E: Indian Affairs Committee Report
Rasswek Minute and Background Materials

Rasswek Minute and background materials
Indian Affairs Committee

Greeting Friends, The Indian Affairs Committee and the Monacan Indian Nation appreciate your tenderness to their need to protect their historic capital of Rassawek. We, the IAC, would like the Rassawek Minute to move forward towards the approval we hope it will receive from BYM, despite cancellation of Interim Meeting. James River Water Authority (JRWA) is the 1-couty entity insisting on the Rassawek site for a water intake and associated facilities, above all other alternatives.

Attached, please find:

  • The IAC Rassawek Minute
  • The IAC letter that the IAC presented at the Sept. 2019 JRWA meeting
  • The IAC letter that the IAC presented at the March 2020 JRWA meeting
  • Rassawek Timeline from Cultural Heritage Partners
  • Updated Rassawek timeline, Some pre-dating Cultural Heritage Partners, most since January 2019, with focus of Quaker actions

The firm representing the tribe, mostly pro bono, Cultural Heritage Partners, told us that a statement from the whole regional group (BYM) would be useful in the tribe's supporting documentation. As you may know, we have sent the Minute to the P&SC Committee, the Reparations Group, and Midlothian and Charlottesville Meetings. Representatives of Charlottesville P&SC and Richmond Meeting spoke at the JRWA March 11, 2020meeting in support of the tribe, despite having less that 24 hrs notice. Commitment!

All help is needed. At the meeting March11th, everyone who spoke (~66 people) asked the JRWA to select another site. These included local landowners and people who would benefit from the project. The word genocide was frequently mentioned. The JRWA refused to share any information about the other 11 sites that the Army Corps of Engineers required them to identify. They told us they would only release the analyses of other site once the formally requested a permit for the Rassawek site.

Later on the JRWA March 11 agenda was an item innocuously called, "Action--Revised Corps of Engineers Permit Application.” The JRWA asked itself to vote on it, and it passed without dissent in less than a minute with no discussion among their members. Another audience member and I quickly realized they had just voted to select the Rassawek site, voting to proceed to request a permit for that site alone from the ACE. The audience erupted, though the decision stood.

Any action--including words--that Quakers can do to support this tribe is helpful. Rather than blather on here, I will put other background information in another attachment.

Yours in peace, Sue Marcus

Rassawek Minute

Rassawek is a historic place, former capital of the Monacan Indian Nation, and held sacred by them. Baltimore Yearly Meeting supports the Monacan Nation in seeking to protect its sacred heritage, from development or other disturbance. Rassawek has been shown on maps dating to at least 1612, by John Smith, so the location of the place and its significance has been well-documented and should be known to anyone interested in disturbing the site.

The James River Water Authority has invested in infrastructure that requires a water intake, which they prefer to locate on the Rassawek site. Despite known archeological resources, including burials, found there, the Water Authority has sought to proceed with its plans to destroy the site over the protests and pleas by the original inhabitants and by the Virginia tribes that had testified in support of the Monacan Nation.

Baltimore Yearly Meeting supports the Monacan Indian Nation in seeking to protect both their cultural heritage and the final resting place of their ancestors. We the Water Authority has other alternatives and should not develop the Rassawek site. We call on County Supervisors from Fluvana and Louisa and the administrators of the James River Water Authority to discontinue efforts to further disturb Rassawek.

Indian Affairs Committee
Baltimore Yearly Meeting • 17100 Quaker Lane • Sandy Spring, MD 20860 • (301)774-7663

September 8, 2019

The Indian Affairs Committee stands with the Monacan Nation in opposing construction of a proposed water intake and pipeline in an area known as Point of Fork. This James River Water Authority project would destroy an ancestral village which is known through oral traditions, written histories, and confirmed through initial, cursory archeological investigations. Field-studies for the proposed project identified numerous artifacts, some of which date to pre-historic times, and even to 1,200 BEC (before present era).

Damage to physical and intangible values of disadvantaged people, like the Monacan Nation, is environmental injustice. It happens often when the powerful take advantage of others. Increased costs have been cited as reasons for not locating the water facilities in places that do not damage Monacan sites. Monetary cost-savings and anticipated benefits to people who live at some distance from the location of the facilities does not help those most affected by the damage the project brings. What are the costs of unknown history, lost forever?

When we think of the history of Virginia attempting to eliminate our indigenous people through census manipulation, eugenics, and segregation, we need to stand up and say No More. We value Native peoples, their histories, their rich cultures that they generously share with those of us who are not indigenous—and we value the places of their ancestors.

Don’t allow the pumping facility, the pipeline, or other development to disturb the Monacan sites without their support.

Yours in peace,
Susan Marcus
Co-clerk,
Indian Affairs Committee
Baltimore Yearly Meeting

Indian Affairs Committee
Baltimore Yearly Meeting • 17100 Quaker Lane • Sandy Spring, MD 20860 • (301)774-7663

March 18, 2020

My name is Susan Marcus. I am co-clerk, rather like convener, and I represent the Indian Affairs Committee of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting, a regional Quaker organization stretching from Pennsylvania to the North Carolina.

My understanding is that the James River Water Authority was formed just 17 years ago, in 2003. The Baltimore Yearly Meeting Indian Affairs Committee has existed for only 225 years, since 1795. A map by John Smith, clearly showing the Rassawek site as a significant town, was published 396 years ago, in 1624. The Monacan Indian Nation predates all of us. They have been here since time immemorial. Rassawek, their historic capital, is shown on a readily available map made 396 years ago. If Rassawek was Jamestown, if the disturbed graves had been those of colonists, early slaves, or your families, would you choose this site above all others?

As elected officials, you are expected to do your jobs with open minds and transparent actions. By a show of hands, I would like to see how many people in this room would like to see the evaluations the Water Authority conducted of any other sites than the Rassawek site. I believe your constituents, who include people in our Yearly Meeting, are due more than a summary for the taxpayer dollars already spent on this process.

The Water Authority seems prepared to vote without having all the information it needs to make a wise, considered decision. Instead, it seems inclined to make a quick decision without valuing what is best for its constituents. The Water Authority has an alternative, which, to my understanding both the Monacan Indian Nation and the property owners are willing to regard as a viable one. The Water Authority may not have analyzed the costs to taxpayers of the inevitable lengthy legal action by the Monacan Indian Nation and its supporters.

The Water Authority website, which I’ve cited in the written version of this testimony, states that the JRWA will consult with, among others, “Federal- and State-recognized Tribal Consulting Parties, … to identify and minimize potential impacts to any historic resources at the site in with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. … The USACE, … is presently engaging in consultation with VDHR, interested Tribes, and other Consulting Parties.

Given the historical context and sensitive archeological nature of this project site, the JRWA is making every effort to be respectful of and sensitive to everyone’s input during this project.” https://www.fluvannacounty.org/bc-jrwa

I have spoken directly with ACE representatives who told me they have no role in this matter until a request for a permit is issued. Would you explain the language on the Authority’s website? Given the controversy and cultural and legal concerns expressed by the Monacan Indian Nation, can you honestly state that the promises of respect and sensitivity to input have been kept?

I hope that you will postpone this vote and consider other alternatives, particularly a promising one offered to you by diverse parties. I believe we all want an outcome that is mutually acceptable without litigation.

Yours in peace,
Susan Marcus
Co-clerk,
Indian Affairs Committee
Baltimore Yearly Meeting

SAVE RASSAWEK

Timeline
1612: John Smith records the town of Rassawek on his published Map of Virginia.

1880s: Gerard Fowke of the Smithsonian Institute Bureau of Ethnology documents an Indian village at Point of Fork exposed by a flood. He describes 40-50 fireplaces (likely indicating at least as many structures), more than 25 Indian burials, and great density of Indian artifacts.

1930s: Smithsonian researcher David Bushnell studies the five Monacan towns identified on John Smith’s map and concludes that the capital town of Rassawek was likely on Point of Fork.

1980: DHR officially identifies Rassawek (site number 44FV0022) after examining sites on Point of Fork disturbed by construction of a gas pipeline, which uncovered Native burials. The Monacan Indian Nation has never received the human remains excavated at that time.

Fall 2015: DHR, Preservation Virginia, many independent professional archaeologists, and concerned landowners caution the James River Water Authority (JRWA) about Rassawek and the Point’s incredible historical sensitivity, urging consideration of alternative locations for the JRWA project.

November 20, 2015: DEQ issues Individual Virginia Water Permit Number 14-0343 for the entire project, including the pump station, water pipeline, and a water treatment plant at Ferncliff.

July 6, 2016: JRWA purchases land on which to site the pump station from William Hammond. Note that this is a full year before the Corps invites the Monacans to consult, revealing that consultation was an after-thought to the foregone conclusion of the siting on Rassawek.

May 2, 2017: JRWA consultants start archaeological testing on the project area, which continues intermittently until January 2018. The Monacans are never invited to comment on, review, or observe.

May 21, 2017: JRWA first informs the Monacans of their intent to locate the pump station at Point of Fork on an identified archaeological site JRWA describes as the Monacan capital, in response to which the Monacan Indian Nation expresses concern and a desire to be consulted.

June 9, 2017: The Corps sends the Nation an invitation to consult.

November 2, 2017: DHR sends a complaint to the Corps citing multiple violations by JWRA’s archaeological consultants of the requirement of their anticipatory burial permit to have a supervisor on site during investigatory work.

November 2017: Preservation Virginia is recognized as a consulting party and is surprised to learn that archaeological work had been undertaken without participation by consulting parties.

January 28, 2018: The United States recognizes the Monacan Indian Nation as an American Indian tribe (federal recognition).

April 17, 2018: JRWA consultants send the Nation a draft archaeological report.

May 31, 2018: JRWA finally submits a complete Joint Permit Application to the Corps (NAO-2014-00708) for the pump station at Point of Fork.

August 11, 2018: JWRA acquiesces to the Monacans’ request to visit the site to see the proposed location of the construction.

September 5, 2018: The Corps provides the Monacans with a draft archaeological report and asks for comments on the draft Memorandum of Agreement with the aim of declaring consultation concluded.

September 6, 2018: The Monacan Indian Nation engages as legal counsel Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC, to address concerns about seeming failures in the regulatory and consulting process and the reliability of information provided by JRWA.

September 28, 2018: The Monacans demand that JWRA include in its planned mitigation financial resources sufficient for the Monacans to deal appropriately with the archaeological materials produced during salvage archaeology.

October 12, 2018: JRWA applies for a burial permit to relocate Monacan ancestors.

October 31, 2018: At a consulting party meeting held in Richmond, the Army Corps admits that the project’s permitting was segmented (separately permitting the water treatment plant and pipeline from the pump station) because there are multiple alternative locations where JRWA could put the pump station. The Monacans’ legal counsel asks why these alternative locations were not being pursued and was told they were more expensive.

November 27, 2018: The Monacans send a letter to the Corps following on from October 31 meeting and reiterate their concerns about the permitting process, lack of consideration for alternatives, and the poor archaeological processes to date.

December 21, 2018: The Monacans provide comments on the draft MOA, again reiterating their permitting and archaeological quality concerns, and asks for the project to be moved.

January 11, 2019: JRWA submits a revised MOA to the Corps. Their cover letter requests that the agreement document be finalized, mischaracterizes consulting party concerns as being addressed in this document, and asks for Section 106 consultation to be ended.

April 9, 2019: The Corps writes a 3-page letter in response to Monacan concerns from September, November, and December. The Monacans’ concerns are not resolved.

May 6, 2019: The Corps provides a revised MOA, Treatment Plan, and Monitoring Plan to consulting parties for comment.

May 20, 2019: Following the Monacan Indian Nation’s counsel’s thorough review of historical documentation of Rassawek, JWRA project plans, draft agreement documents, and documents the Corps was compelled to produce by FOIA requests, as well as growing tribal concerns regarding the quality of work planned on the site, the Monacans meet with the Corps in government-to-government consultation to ask the Corps to reconsider the project and require submission of an Individual Permit.

June 5, 2019: The Monacans submit comments again expressing concern regarding the flawed agreement documents, inadequate archaeological methods, and poor recovery techniques for human remains.

June 24, 2019: The President's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation provides notice of its intention to consult on the JRWA project due to "procedural problems and issues of concern to Indian tribes."

July 1, 2019: Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and multiple cabinet members travel to Rassawek to meet with Monacan leaders to view the property and discuss concerns with the proposed project.

August 9, 2019: The Corps hosts a meeting of consulting parties. At this meeting, all of the consulting parties (including the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Council of Virginia Archaeologists) state that they are not prepared to sign a draft Memorandum of Agreement allowing the project to be built at Rassawek.

September 6, 2019: The Department of Historic Resources sends letters to the Corps, the JRWA, and Carol Tyrer, the archaeological subconsultant. The letters disclose that DHR held a meeting with Carol Tyrer on August 19th about her Masters degree and coursework, and DHR has discovered that she does not meet the Secretary of Interior Professional Qualifications Standards for Archaeology. As a result, DHR will not approve any permit application that identifies Tyrer as the principal archaeologist.

September 10, 2019: The Corps sends a letter to the JRWA. The Corps states that because the Corps has been unable to reach an agreed-upon Memorandum of Agreement, given the uncertainty regarding archaeological surveys that has been created by Tyrer’s disqualification, and due to consultant party information regarding the extent of adverse effects that would be caused by the project, the Corps has decided to require a Standard Individual Permit for the project.

October 16, 2019: Eric Mai, a former employee of Tyrer and her company Circa~ Cultural Resource Management LLC, submits to DHR an 8-page notarized declaration regarding a series of alleged incompetent and unethical practices conducted by Tyrer’s company at Point of Fork archaeological sites. The whistleblower states that Tyrer employed untrained and unqualified staff, lied to state officials, misrepresented the archaeological findings, and did not follow accepted archaeological standards.

October 21, 2019: The Monacan Indian Nation sends a letter to the Corps discussing the whistleblower’s declaration, pointing out that the practices used on Rassawek and other Point of Fork sites are so inappropriate that they rise to the level of anticipatory demolition – destruction of historic resources explicitly forbidden by the National Historic Preservation Act. Under Section 110(k) of the NHPA, the Corps cannot issue a permit to an applicant who has damaged archaeological sites.

October 23, 2019: JRWA addresses the whistleblower declaration in a press release, stating that the authority “takes those allegations very seriously and is conducting an investigation of the consultant’s work on the project.”

November 4, 2019: The JRWA files a petition for appeal in Fluvanna County Circuit Court, appealing DHR’s statement that they will not approve a permit on the project until there is a qualified archaeologist and appealing various conditions that DHR has deemed necessary for the professional and ethical recovery of human remains on the sites. On the same day, Tyrer files a permit of appeal and complaint in Williamsburg City Circuit Court appealing the qualification decision and requesting the court to order DHR to vacate the disqualification decision and award attorney fees and damages.

November 25, 2019: DHR files motions to dismiss in the JRWA and Tyrer petitions, arguing that the cases were filed before they were timely and that both parties have not exhausted their administrative appeal options. On this date the Monacan Indian Nation also files amicus briefs (friend of the court briefs) in both cases providing more context to the courts and asking the courts to defer to DHR’s expertise regarding the qualifications of archaeological contractors.


Indian Affairs Committee
Baltimore Yearly Meeting · 17100 Quaker Lane · Sandy Spring, MD 20860 · (301) 774-7663

The Indian Affairs Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) thanks you for attending our program and Richmond Friends Meeting for hosting us today. Most especially, we thank Chief Kenneth Branham of the Monacan Indian Nation for joining us to share his perspectives.

THE MONACAN INDIAN NATION URGES YOU TO HELP SAVE RASSAWEK. The James River Water Authority (JRWA), a joint venture of Louisa and Fluvanna Counties, plans to build a water pump station on top of Rassawek, the Monacans’ capital city documented by John Smith in his map of Virginia published in 1612. The Nation’s goal is to save Rassawek for future generations and allow Monacan ancestors interred there to rest in peace. JRWA must move the project to an alternate location that does not disturb Monacan ancestors or erase their history.

You can help by contacting federal state and local authorities. Tell them you share the Monacan Indian Nation’s deep opposition to locating the pump station at Rassawek—or Point of Fork as it is also known.

1. Tell the Army Corps of Engineers not to issue a permit to JWRA. It has been widely reported that JRWA’s archaeological subconsultant employed untrained and unqualified staff and misrepresented archaeological findings about Rassawek. Their actions were so inappropriate that they rise to the level of anticipatory demolition—destruction of historic resources explicitly forbidden by the National Historic Preservation Act. Under the law, JWRA cannot be issued a post-demolition permit.

Contacts: Steven Vanderploeg, steven.a.vanderploeg@usace.army.mil
Tom Walker, william.t.walker@usace.army.mil

2. Sign the letter to Virginia’s Governor and the Army Corps: https://bit.ly/2O41tpl

3. Tell JRWA and Boards of Supervisors of Louisa and Fluvanna Counties the project must be moved.

James River Water Authority
Louisa Board of Supervisors
Fluvanna Board of Supervisors
Eric Dahl
edahl@fluvannacounty.org
Toni Williams LCBS_JD@louisa.org
Mozell H. Booker
mbooker@fluvannacounty.org
Christian Goodwin
cgoodwin@louisa.org
Duane Adams
LCBS_MD@louisa.org
John M. (Mike) Sheridan
mikesheridan@fluvannacounty.org
Robert Babyok LCBS_GSD@louisa.org
Tony O’Brien
tobrien@fluvannacounty.org
Tommy Barlow
LCBS_MRD@louisa.org
Patricia B. Eager
peager@fluvannacounty.org
Fitzgerald A. Barnes LCBS_PHD@louisa.org
Donald W. Weaver
dweaver@fluvannacounty.org
Willie L. Gentry, Jr. LCBS_CD@louisa.org
Troy Wade (NEW: Eric Purcell)
LCBS_LD@louisa.org

HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO LEARN AND GET INVOLVED

The Commonwealth of Virginia recognizes 11 Tribes. Most of these Tribes host a pow-wow at least once a year welcoming guests to visit their lands and communities and join in celebrating their cultures. These events are family friendly and important fundraisers. Learn more about Virginia’s recognized Tribes:

Mattaponi Tribe: www.mattaponination.com
Pamunkey Indian Tribe: www.pamunkey.net
Chickahominy Indian Tribe: www.chickahominytribe.org
Chickahominy Indians Eastern Division: www.cied.org
Rappahannock Tribe: www.rappahannocktribe.org
Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe: www.umitribe.org
Nansemond Indian Nation: www.nansemond.org
Monacan Indian Nation: www.monacannation.com
Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe: www.cheroenhaka-nottoway.org/home.htm
Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia: www.nottowayindians.org
Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia: www.patawomeckindiantribeofvirginia.org

Learn about the history of native lands and how native people continue to struggle for Tribal sovereignty. The podcast series, This Land, hosted by Native rights activist Rebecca Nagle is a deep dive into the history of broken promises that robbed many native people of their land, lives, and liberty: https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/

Help defend tribal sovereignty. Like all sovereign nations, American Indians and Alaska Natives have the right to determine who they include as enrolled members and citizens. If you or a family member believe you belong as an enrolled member of a Tribal Nation, reach out to the Tribe to apply for enrolled membership. Many Tribes post information on their websites about how to apply.

Help dispel myths about native people. According to groundbreaking research conducted by the Reclaiming Native Truth project, there is little mention of native people post-1900 in K-12 education. The void in public awareness leaves space for toxic narratives to take hold. Learn how you can become an ally to native people in reclaiming the truth: https://rnt.firstnations.org/

Get the Native American Legislative Update from the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). There are many issues facing Tribal Nations that would benefit from the engagement of non-native allies, including health and education funding and violence against women. Subscribe for updates at https://act.fcnl.org/signup/nalu-signup/

Be on standby to advocate for Tribes in Virginia when important issues arise. If you would like to help advocate for Virginia Tribes at the state or local level, please reach out to the BYM Indian Affairs Committee at indianaffairs@bym-rsf.org so we know we can reach out to you when there are needs that require citizen action. Also, get to know a member of the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice near you: www.naturalresources.virginia.gov/initiatives/environmental-justice

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Attachment I2020-02F: Minute to Establish BYM Reparations Action Group

MINUTE TO ESTABLISH BYM REPARATIONS ACTION GROUP

Background:
The Reparations Action Group emerged from informal discussions among the Growing Diverse Leadership Committee, Working Group on Racism, and Peace & Social Concerns Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) of the Religious Society of Friends.

In the earliest part of our history, Friends suffered oppressive government actions, including imprisonment, torture, incarceration, and confiscation of property. Yet, upon gaining their own rights, many early Quakers themselves joined in the practice of enslaving by buying and selling enslaved people. From the mid-1600s until as late as 1807 (see biography of Johns Hopkins), BYM and other Friends struggled to reach unity and to act against the practice of chattel slavery. While early Friends built peaceful relations with Indigenous people, Quaker schools by the 1870s were touted to “conquer the Indians by a standing army of school teachers.”

Over time, Friends have joined with other Americans to support Native Americans, to aid in liberation of enslaved people, to stand up for black people, Latino people, Asian-American people, and others who suffered from oppression and discrimination in our country. But, we are called to do more.

The social convention of a “white race” and its assumed superiority has led Americans, even many Quakers, to perpetrate countless injustices across generations. This racism and injustice has taken many forms that built over time; a partial list includes:

  • Massacres of Native Americans, oppressive treaties, and violations of those treaties
  • Slavery
  • KKK and lynching terrorism
  • Jim Crow laws blocking voting, employment, and other civic participation
  • Internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II
  • Redlining and discriminatory application of the GI Bill
  • “New Jim Crow”–discriminatory application of the “War on Drugs” and “War on Crime,” tripling the incarceration and other criminal justice impacts on African-Americans above their proportion of the population
  • Reinstatement of de facto school segregation in many U.S. states
  • De facto “white privilege” demonstrated in employment, housing, and other opportunities
  • Current active oppression and discrimination against Latinos and other immigrants of color

We recognize that grief, shame and anger can be triggered by awareness of these harms — with different traumas to perpetrators, victims and their families. Only with true understanding, can we find the honesty, bravery and clear-sightedness to heal them. We share Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream of a day when the children of formerly enslaved people and the children of former enslavers together will sit at the table of peace.

In light of this history, one way to meet long-standing and continuing hurt with healing is through reparations. The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA) defines reparations as “a process of repairing, healing and restoring a people injured because of their group identity and in violation of their fundamental human rights by governments, corporations, institutions and families. Those groups that have been injured have the right to obtain from the
government, corporation, institution or family responsible for the injuries that which they need to repair and heal themselves. In addition to being a demand for justice, it is a principle of international human rights law.”

Over the years and more recently, Americans have discussed and experimented with alternate means for reparations: 1) Repatriation and colonization efforts to return formerly enslaved people to Africa; 2) “40 acres and a mule"-briefly implemented then rescinded in a few occupied former-Confederate districts after the Civil War; 3) wealthy Americans’ support for African-American schools; 4) Treaties for Indian nations’ reservations, followed by U.S. mismanagement of indigenous assets and rights; 5) Affirmative Action laws and programs; 6) limited government compensation notably used after Japanese-Americans’ internment, but not for formerly enslaved people, Native Americans forced to leave their land, or their descendants.

Past reparations efforts, whether in monetary payments or targeted structural opportunities such as affirmative action, have not yet resolved the inequalities and injustices imposed by U.S. laws and other too-frequent, discriminatory schemes.

Minute: Quakers’ long commitment to equality and to “see that of God” in our neighbors regardless of skin color or national origin calls BYM Friends to lift up the concerns of past and ongoing discrimination and other actions that systemically have harmed and excluded groups, particularly African-Americans and Indigenous people.

In this effort, we realize the importance of examining our collective history, own individual actions, customs of our Meetings, and institutions of our communities and our nation. We recognize that systemic changes are needed, and that the path to these changes may be long in coming, controversial, and difficult to accomplish. One possible form of systemic change may involve reparations.

We must join with these impacted people and their communities as they also find their ways forward. We commit to center their voices and experiences, to respect their leadership, and to work together towards creation of a shared, beloved community. We commit to follow this Light as our understanding grows.
To pursue this effort, BYM now establishes a Working Group: The Reparations Action Group under the care of the Growing Diverse Leadership Committee. This Working Group will assist Quakers and others to explore these injustices, how they occurred, and how they may be healed. At least annually, the Working Group also will review our goals, our progress, and report updates to BYM.

Recommended actions: Within BYM, we hope Friends will pursue and support action to:

1) Participate internally in adult and children’s education programs to learn the “whole story” about oppression and exclusion of African-Americans and other perceived outsiders, particularly in our own local communities. We query: Could a “truth and reconciliation” process be initiated with impacted people and their communities that neighbor ours?

2) Speak truths publicly that we learn about historic and ongoing issues to raise these concerns of oppression and exclusion in the wider community and across our nation. We query: Can Friends elevate this as an issue of conscience?

3) Work pragmatically to find solutions in state and federal legal systems, and in our institutions. We query: If race-based supports aren’t permitted by current U.S. laws and Constitutional-interpretation, can creative practices or Constitutional amendments be crafted that could help win long-denied equal opportunities?

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Attachment I2020-02G: Proposal to Begin BYM Strategic Planning Initiative

Proposal to Begin BYM Strategic Planning Initiative
From the General Secretary, Ned Stowe
3/20/20

What is BYM’s core purpose and mission? What compelling need in the world are we seeking to address as a faith community? What are BYM’s long-range priorities and goals?

These are some of the questions that I have pondered since I first started my service as General Secretary almost four years ago.

It turns out that I have not been alone. Over the past year, I have heard many members ask similar questions. Toward what long-term purpose and priorities are we directing our efforts – developing our budgets, paying our apportionments, managing our camps and properties, communicating with each other, contributing and raising funds, running our programs, and carrying out our day-to-day work?

I brought these questions to Annual Session last August. I was then asked to develop a proposal for a long-range, strategic planning process and bring it to Interim Meeting for discernment.

To help with this, I invited a dozen people to informally advise me in the drafting of this proposal. I had thought perhaps three or four of these busy people would have time and interest to offer guidance and insight. Yet, to my surprise, everyone accepted my invitation, and, to my delight, I found this group to possess a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience with long-range planning – either with their local meetings, with other not-for-profit organizations, or as professional planning consultants. I thank them for being willing to look over my shoulder as I prepared this proposal.

Why should BYM begin a strategic planning process?
Discerning a compelling vision, mission, and priorities is the principal goal of a strategic planning process - to unite as a faith community in an inspiring, common purpose moving forward. If BYM achieves nothing more than this, the process will have been a success. A compelling vision and purpose can inspire greater participation and engagement both locally in Friends meetings and across BYM. When we share this in our local communities, we will inspire new people to join with us in common cause. A clearer sense of vision, mission and priorities will help our committees and staff to develop strategies and programs to advance toward our goals. They will guide our programs, communications, budgets, staffing decisions, fundraising, and process of organizational evolution.

A proposal to begin. . .
To formally start this process, I ask Interim Meeting to embrace this project as its own and to approve formation of a task group to plan, organize, and carry out the work. I will work with Supervisory Committee and the membership to build the task group, which will be comprised of about a dozen people from among our membership.

The ad hoc committee would be responsible for developing the planning process, timeline, and budget. However, key elements would include the following:

  1. We will review and build upon the enduring vision and elements of our past visioning and vision implementation efforts.
  2. We will engage with and seek to reflect the rich diversity that is BYM – age, race, gender, geography.
  3. The process will be designed to be broadly participatory and inclusive of BYM’s diverse and geographically dispersed membership. All local meetings will be encouraged and given opportunity to participate throughout the process.
  4. We will work with an experienced, professional planner/facilitator(s) – someone who understands Friends’ faith and practice, asks good questions, can be an objective observer, and can offer constructive and creative guidance.
  5. The process will be centered in and guided by our time-tested processes of collective spiritual discernment.
  6. The task group will report back to the Yearly Meeting regularly.
  7. This initial phase will be time-limited – two years, at most.

As our vision, mission, and priorities become clearer, we will then need to look more closely at how we are going to get from here to there. What are our key opportunities and challenges? What gifts, strengths, and resources do we have that will help us advance? What new initiatives will we need to undertake, and what new capacities will we need to build? What will we need to set aside? What internal and external obstacles will we will need to overcome, and how can we do this? What changes do we need to consider in our organizational structure and decision-making processes to advance our vision and mission?

Timeframe
Many of us have a growing sense of urgency to advance this process as quickly as possible. BYM (and all of humanity!) is facing many strong headwinds today. We will be facing some extremely difficult choices in the near future given the advance of the pandemic and economic collapse. Trustees, Stewardship and Finance, Development, Supervisory, Camping Program and Property committees, staff, and others, are urgently seeking guidance about BYM’s strategic vision, mission, and priorities. From this perspective, BYM should move as quickly as possible.

However, as stated above, the process necessarily must involve gathering a task group, giving it time to organize its work, finding a professional planner/facilitator, and developing a planning process and a budget. This will take time. And then implementing the planning process will take still more time – as we create opportunities for spiritual discernment, broad participation, and seasoning of ideas. Spiritual discernment is not a process that can be rushed – especially in an organization like BYM.

I recommend that we plan, as a time-limited goal, to give substantial time and attention to consideration of a draft strategic plan at Annual Session 2021. From there, let’s see what we can get done by fall Interim Meeting 2021. What better way to welcome BYM’s 350th anniversary in 2022 than with a vision and mission to guide us into our next century.

Budget
This will cost money. The true cost will vary depending on the specific needs identified by the task group. The more that we do for ourselves, the less it will cost. However, the value of hiring and working with an outside facilitator and consultant should not be underestimated. The task group will develop a budget based on its assessment of what is needed. This will be brought to the Yearly Meeting for approval.

This is the kind of urgent, singular, time-limited special initiative and opportunity for which BYM maintains its unrestricted reserves. That said, if successful, this initiative offers the hope of replenishing BYM’s reserves many times over in the years ahead.


Conclusion
Initiating a strategic planning process will be a first big step in what will become an ongoing process. Once we have a clearer sense of our vision, mission and priorities, the strategic plan will guide our work together moving forward. This initial start-up phase will require more effort and engagement at the front end. However, once we are up and running with a plan, it will become a normal part of our organizational practice to use it as our guide moving forward.

We are seeking to discern God’s vision for us as a gathered community and to discover together greater clarity about our purpose and intentions moving forward. The outcome of this initial process will set our course for the future. We hope and trust that the vision, mission, and priorities we discern will provide an enduring source of inspiration and guidance. We will want to incorporate them into our governance and oversight practices – for guidance, to measure our progress, and to hold ourselves accountable to our vision. However, they will not be immutable. Rather, they will serve as our guide for the next leg of our journey together and only as long as they remain relevant and true for us as a gathered community.

Decisions required at Interim Meeting
1) Do we approve undertaking this strategic planning initiative?
2) Do we approve the General Secretary organizing a strategic planning task group to organize and carry out this project?

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Attachment I2020-03: Search Committee Report

Report to Interim Meeting from the Search Committee

Joshua Riley, Hopewell Centre, resigned from Supervisory Committee in December, 2019. Search Committee recommends Gulielma (Guli) Fager, Baltimore, Stony Run, to serve on Supervisory Committee, filling this vacancy. If approved whenever Interim Meeting has the opportunity to consider the nomination, her term of service would begin immediately.

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Attachment I2020-04A: General Secretary's Report to Called Inteirm Meeting
Document 1

Document 1: General Secretary’s Report to Called Interim Meeting 5/16/20
Ned Stowe, General Secretary

These have been difficult times for all of us in so many ways. This has been no less true for our staff and committees at BYM. Work routines, hopes, plans, personal connections, ways of being and working together, the camps, and budgets have all been thrown up in the air by the pandemic and associated social and economic disruption these past two months. We are now having to learn how to surf toward shore together on a much more turbulent sea with unpredictable currents and rip tides.

In this and accompanying documents I will report on some of the ways the pandemic has affected BYM’s operations, with particular focus on the 2020 budget. I will try to bring you up to date with the financial and budgetary impacts of the pandemic and how we staff and committees have responded thus far. And I will make recommendations for how we might find our financial balance together, coordinate our actions, and swim toward land – a place with more solid financial footing.

A brief chronology of events.

  • After consultation with Supervisory Committee, and under orders from the Governor of Maryland, the BYM office was closed due to the pandemic on 3/16/20. Staff who were able shifted to telecommuting from their homes, and we have continued to meet weekly by Zoom. Some, but not all of our jobs can be done via telecommuting and with social distancing. All staff had to adjust their program plans and activities to the new emerging reality and new ways of working and being together across BYM.
  • Many BYM programs and activities had to be canceled or shifted to Zoom. All staff had to begin adjusting their work plans quickly and dramatically to advance BYM’s priorities and programs under the conditions of social distancing and shut down. Annual session, Interim Meeting, Youth programs, STRIDE program, Camping Program, Property management, Spiritual Formation.
  • I asked staff to curb all spending that was not absolutely necessary in order to conserve cash flow. This particularly affected the Camp Property Management, which at this time of year is normally focused on repairing and replacing capital equipment and facilities in preparation for the next camp season. The Camp Property Manager put on hold approximately $100,000 of repairs and replacements for camp capital equipment and property that had been planned for 2020 in order to conserve BYM’s cash.
  • The biggest and most immediate financial impact of the pandemic was on our cash flow. We had to sequester $317,000 in camp fees for possible refund in the event that camps are not able to operate this summer. Normally, BYM would be able to use this large influx of cash to finance its operations in the first months of the year when the flow of contributions and apportionments is low. However, under the shadow of the pandemic and the possibility that camps would be closed, we halted further enrollment and payments, and sequestered the fees we had received. This meant we would have to rely upon our remaining unrestricted funds to continue operations and meet payroll. • That is where the second big financial impact of the pandemic and associated economic disruption affected us. The value of our unrestricted reserves plunged in March and April, leaving BYM with little left to help us with our cash flow crisis. What had been more than three-months-worth of operating expenses in our unrestricted reserves as of 12/31/19 had been substantially reduced by the stock market crash. By 4/15/20, we had sufficient funds to cover only one more payroll.
  • The Stewardship and Finance Committee then sent an appeal to local meetings to accelerate payment of their 2020 apportionments as they were able to help ease the BYM cash flow crisis. Many responded, and apportionment payments are still coming in. To date, we have received about $271,000 in apportionments – more than half of the $500,000 budgeted to be received in 2020. This helped ease our short-term cash flow crisis. Thank you to all!
  • In addition, at the beginning of April, Congress enacted the CARES Act to provide economic relief to businesses and non-profits impacted by the pandemic. BYM staff immediately began researching and applying for a loan/grant under the Payroll Protection Provisions. Trustees subsequently approved BYM proceeding with the application. On 4/17/20, BYM was notified that its application was approved for a $178,000 loan/grant to support BYM’s payroll and expenses for eight weeks. The loan becomes a grant if it is used primarily to cover payroll and benefits. The funds were transferred the following week. This, too, will ease BYM’s cash flow crunch considerably over the next few months.
  • Further, staff applied for an emergency grant from Montgomery County, MD, under the Public Health Emergency Grant program. On 4/21/20, BYM was notified that we had been approved for a $10,000 grant and the funds were transferred 5/1/20. The grant is to be used to support payroll and expenses. This, too, will ease BYM’s cash flow crunch considerably over the next few months.
  • On 4/15/20, in consultation with the Stewardship and Finance Committee and Trustees, Supervisory Committee approved recommending almost $83,000 of non-personnel cost reductions for 2020 to this Interim Meeting. See separate report: “Proposed 2020 Non-Personnel Cost Reductions.”
  • On 4/15/20, Supervisory Committee also approved $166K of personnel cost reductions. However, Supervisory Committee suspended implementation of these personnel cost reductions when BYM received notice of the federal CARES Act PPP loan/grant approval. The PPP loan will become a grant if BYM maintains its current payroll for eight weeks. The grant will provide BYM with some much needed breathing room to consider its financial situation and next steps, and it provides staff with two more months of much-needed pay and benefits.
  • The receipt of accelerated apportionments and government relief have bought BYM some time to consider its way forward and to make more adjustments as needed. It will allow time for Interim Meeting to gather and discern our way forward together.

Budget-related work in progress.
The Development Director and Committee are sustaining communications and relationships with the BYM community and donors, continuing focused appeals for the camping program fixed costs, and pivoting to give more emphasis to planned giving and grant writing. The Development Director notes that, across the non-profit sector, this has been an especially difficult time for non-profit fundraising for organizations that are not involved in direct relief efforts. Understandably, donors are focusing their resources on providing humanitarian relief at home and abroad. Nonetheless, many members and local meetings have stepped forward and made significant and unexpected contributions to BYM, including many new donors and returning donors who had not contributed for a long time. Thank you, all!

The 2020 budget view ahead
Before the pandemic, BYM was already facing a significant budget challenge for 2020. BYM ended 2019 with an operating deficit of $89,000. The deficit was off-set by receipt of unexpected additional apportionment of $69,000 due to a bequest received by a local meeting at the end of the year, and by significant realized gains on investments. However, the 2020 operating budget, approved in August 2019, set revenue and expenses $262,000 higher than the amount BYM actually received in operating revenue in 2019 (from program fees, apportionment, and contributions, but not including the unexpected bequest). The approved 2020 budget calls for almost doubling the amount of contributions we actually raised in 2019 – from $221,307 to $421,150. Under the cloud of the pandemic and its economic consequences, this significantly higher revenue goal and level of expenditures will be especially difficult to achieve.

Now, with the Camping Program Committee’s (CPC) decision to not open camps this summer (see “Document 2: BYM Camp Closure Decision”), BYM’s financial challenges will be much greater (see “Document 3: 2020 Budget Scenarios”). Unless we take action now, without the fee income generated by camps, BYM may be facing an end-of-year deficit in the range of $200,000 to $300,000.

At this Interim Meeting, I hope we will approve a number of steps that will help avoid that. Then, following IM, I will be working with Supervisory Committee and other committees to identify additional cost reductions to reduce the 2020 deficit. This will likely include significant reductions in personnel expenses and may include temporary furloughs and lay-offs. We will begin implementing these plans and report to you about these plans at June IM.

Finally, in addition, the Comptroller and I will be working with the Treasurer and Trustees to manage BYM’s cash flow month-to-month, and, as needed, to develop and identify various sources of funds and financing to help get BYM through to the end of the year, and we will be working with Stewardship and Finance and Development committees to develop a sustainable budget for 2021.

Recommendations
To set BYM on a course toward a more balanced budget in 2020, I recommend the following:

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Attachment I2020-04B: General Secretary's Report to Called Interim Meeting
Document 2 BYM Camp Closure Decision with Implications and Elements for Way Forward

Document 2: BYM Camp Closure Decision with Implications and Elements for Way Forward
Called Interim Meeting, 5/16/20
Ned Stowe, General Secretary

The Camping Program Committee (CPC) met 5/9/20 to discern whether BYM camps should open this summer. Based on a review of draft guidance from the Centers for Disease Control concerning the way forward for day camps, schools, child care providers and religious institutions in light of the ongoing pandemic, the committee concluded that BYM would not be able to assure a safe, healthy, and enjoyable camp experience for campers, volunteers and staff this summer. This decision was made with heavy hearts, but clear unity. Camp Program Manager Jane Megginson has sent a communication to all camp families notifying them of this decision.

The greatest impact of this decision will be on our campers, camp families, volunteers, and staff for whom the summer camping program is a peak annual experience – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. For many, it is where BYM’s faith and practice comes together intensively and sublimely each year, for young and old - living, playing, and working in community - outdoors in nature. This will be sorely missed.

The CPC has now shifted to making plans for ways to sustain the spirit of our camps and our camping community through this time of pandemic, and the Camp Property Management Committee will be exploring how BYM might make its camp facilities available to families and small groups – safely and in a manner consistent with public health guidelines - during this time of closure.

The other big impact of this decision will be on BYM’s operating budget. In normal years, the camping program and camp property management program operating expenses are largely self-funded through the BYM operating budget by camper fees (including the salaries of year-round staff). (The major exception to this is the capital budget for the repair and replacement of capital equipment and property, which is supported outside of the operating budget by contributions that donors designate for the camp capital fund.) The Camp Program Manager and Camp Directors work hard to adjust spending and staffing levels each summer to come into balance with actual enrollment and fee revenue. As such, the camp budget has not been a major contributing factor to the overall operating budget imbalances that BYM has experienced recently and now faces.

However, with camps canceled this summer as a result of the pandemic, BYM will not receive the budgeted $868,000 in fee revenue which normally would be used to cover the year-round fixed operating expenses of the camping program and property management. Further, other sources of revenue associated with the camps (e.g. sales of camp T-shirts, camp rentals, etc.) are also likely to be much lower than budgeted due to the pandemic.

Year-round camp personnel expenses for the Camp Program Manager, Camp Property Manager and two Camp Caretakers are currently about $266,000. There are also additional fixed non-personnel costs to owning and maintaining the camps throughout the year that will need to be covered, such as utilities, grounds maintenance, and ongoing facilities repair and maintenance. And, the five camp directors will need to be compensated for the several months of part time work they have already put into recruiting counselors and staff and preparing for the summer season that is now canceled. The total estimated cost of sustaining year-round camp staff at current levels of effort and maintaining the camps while they are closed is about $463,000.

Staff and committees will be working to increase camping revenue and reduce camping costs to minimize the impact of the camp closure on the BYM operating budget. However, nonetheless, in this pandemic year, BYM will need to cover much of this cost from other operating revenue or other financial resources. Here are some steps we are planning and implementing.

Increasing camping revenue:

  • In the process of refunding camp deposits and fees to campers, BYM will invite camp families to donate some or all of their deposits and fees to support the camps. Some have already indicated they will do so.
  • BYM will invite local meetings that provide camperships to campers each year to consider donating these funds this year to support the ongoing needs of the camps. A number of local meetings have already indicated that they intend to do this.
  • Re-purpose the Fund for Friendly Loan Repayment (see “Document 4: Recommendation to Re-Purpose. . . “). This could help reduce this unbudgeted revenue shortfall by almost $81,000.
  • CPMC will be exploring how BYM might generate additional revenue from our vacant camps through rentals to families and small groups – safely and in a manner consistent with public health guidelines - during this time of closure and in the fall.

Decreasing camping and other costs:

  • BYM staff will strive to reduce expenses even further – below the $463,000 estimated above. This includes reducing our insurance costs, deferring vehicle maintenance, and cutting utilities expenses.
  • As part of the effort to reduce expenses, BYM will need to consider making some lay-offs, leave some positions vacant, reduce levels of effort in some positions, and/or furlough part time a number of BYM staff. I will be recommending a plan to Supervisory Committee on 5/21 that will reduce total BYM personnel expenses by $110,000 - $120,000 between now and the end of the year.

Through these and other steps to increase revenue and reduce expenses, I believe BYM will be in a much better position to weather this pandemic financially.

Note: Each BYM staff person affected by this proposal is currently playing an important role in advancing BYM’s priorities today. There is a reason why BYM created these positions and hired these dedicated individuals; there was work that needed to be done and priorities that BYM wanted to advance. Painful staffing changes will be made more difficult when recognizing the deep dedication and commitment that each staff person has brought to their work and to BYM. We owe each our gratitude and support.

Further, it is important for the Yearly Meeting to recognize that if staff hours and salaries are reduced or positions are left unfilled, less work will be accomplished by staff on behalf of BYM. More will need to be done by volunteers. We will seek volunteers to fill critical gaps as appropriate to the task. However, the fact remains that staff and committees will need to decide what priorities are most important and which will need to be set aside.

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Attachment I2020-04D: General Secretary's Report to Called Interim Meeting
Document 4Recommendation to Re-Purpose Camper Fee Surcharge Balance to Cover 2020 Combined Camp and Property Expenses

Document 4: Recommendation to Re-Purpose Camper Fee Surcharge Balance to Cover
2020 Combined Camp and Property Expenses
Called Interim Meeting 5/16/20
Ned Stowe, General Secretary

As described in other reports for this Interim Meeting, BYM is facing an extremely difficult budget year in 2020. With BYM camps closed this summer and not generating fee revenue, BYM is facing the possibility of a significant budget deficit at the end of the year. To reduce the deficit, we need to cut costs, raise revenue, and utilize all of the financial resources that we can put our hands on.

One possible source of funds that could help us in our time of need is the Fund for Friendly Loan Repayment. As of 2/29/20, BYM has set aside about $80,766 for payment of principal on the Friendly Loans for the Catoctin bathhouse.

This recommendation is to re-purpose these funds to pay a significant portion of the operating expenses of the camping program and camp property management during this pandemic year in which we will not be able to operate our camps, but in which we will still have to pay many of the costs of our year-round camp operations. Using these funds will allow BYM to avoid the expense of borrowing the funds from elsewhere. The Camping Program Committee, Trustees and Stewardship and Finance Committee have endorsed this proposal.

Background: In October 2016, at the suggestion of the Camping Program Committee, Interim Meeting approved establishing this designated fund as part of the financing plan for the Catoctin bathhouse. The camping program added the surcharge to camper fees starting in 2017. Over the past three years, the Camping Program raised $125,000 from the fee surcharge, and this camper fee surcharge has paid 100 percent of the principal and interest on the Friendly loans thus far. In addition, four of the ten Friendly lenders forgave loans totaling $125,000.

BYM has an outstanding Friendly loan balance for the Catoctin bathhouse of $215,000 on six remaining loans. Two Friendly loans come due in 2020, totaling $40,000. BYM Trustees and Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting Trustees recently agreed to refinance these two loans over a ten year period, helping BYM conserve scarce cash during this financial crisis. In 2020, BYM will pay $1644.95 for principal and $791.05 for interest to Sandy Spring Meeting for this loan. In addition, in 2020, BYM will pay $4225.00 for interest on the remaining Friendly loans. Combined, BYM will pay a total of $6661.00 for interest and principal in 2020.

In 2021, $50,000 in Friendly loans will come due, and, in 2022, the remaining $125,000 in Friendly loans will come due. BYM Trustees plan to refinance these loans with other Friendly lenders over a longer period of time as the loans come due. Assuming similar terms in future refinancing agreements, by 2023, BYM will be paying approximately $26,000 in interest and principal annually to retire the debt of $215,000 over ten years. BYM will need to budget for this accordingly in future years.

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Attachment I2020-04E: General Secretary's Report to Called Interim Meeting
Document 5
Proposed 2020 Non-Personnel Cost Reductions

Document 5: Proposed 2020 Non-Personnel Cost Reductions
Called Interim Meeting 5/16/20
Ned Stowe, General Secretary

The following proposed $83,000 in non-personnel cost reductions for 2020 have been reviewed and approved by Supervisory Committee, in consultation with Stewardship and Finance Committee, Trustees and relevant program staff. For discernment and approval at Interim Meeting.

Administration and Development

  1. Accounting and audit: Cancel the annual audit for 2019. Continue to retain the services of our auditor BBD for some accounting services such as completing the annual IRS Form 990. The Trustees have agreed to forego the audit for 2019, but will plan to have an audit conducted for this year in 2021. BYM will need to budget an additional $3,000-$4,000 for the 2020 audit in 2021, because of the cost of auditing for the skipped year. Save $12,000 in 2020.
  2. Office supplies, printing and postage (Office): This expense would be cut 50%. Due to changes in office operations and program plans under the shadow of Covid-19, these expenses likely will be lower. Save $11,000.
  3. Staff travel: Most staff travel plans have been on hold since March and in-person meetings canceled. This is likely to remain so through the summer due to the pandemic. Cut 50%. Save $3,000.
  4. Employee development: Staff will cancel plans to attend professional conferences, trainings, and other employee development activities. Cut 100%. Save $3,000.
  5. Computer equipment, supplies, maintenance: Staff will defer these expenses to 2021 as we are able without disrupting business continuity. Cut 40%. Save $4,000.
  6. Equipment purchase and maintenance (Admin): Staff will defer as many of these expenses to 2021 as they are able without disrupting business continuity. Cut 50%. Save $2,000.
  7. Development program expenses: Due to changes in Development program operations and plans under the shadow of Covid-19, these expenses likely will be lower. Cut 20%. Save $10,000.

Contributions to organizations

  1. Contributions to Organizations (FUM, FGC, FWCC): Pay $1000 to each organization, timed according to their fiscal year end. Withhold the remaining budgeted balance until the end of the year. Make additional contributions at the end of the year if funds are available. Friends are encouraged to support these organizations directly. Potential savings: $24,000.
  2. Contributions to other organizations: This includes organizations with which BYM is affiliated or sends representatives, church councils, and other organizations. Cut 100%. Friends are encouraged to support these organizations directly. Save $1,825.

Committees and travel

  1. Intervisitation: This line item supports travel and intervisitation among yearly meetings. Physical travel among yearly meetings is not likely to be safe during the time of Covid-19. Cut budget 100%. Save $4,000.
  2. Committee overage contingency: This pool of funds was established in 2020 by Stewardship and Finance Committee to support additional funding for committees for unanticipated projects or activities over and above their budgets. Cut 100%. Save $4,000.
  3. Representative travel: Most travel plans have been on hold since March and all in-person meetings and Quaker gatherings have been canceled. This is likely to remain so through the summer due to the pandemic. Cut 100%. Save $4,000.

Total non-personnel cost reductions = $82,825

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Attachment I2020-05: Stewardship and Finance Committee Report

Notice to Friends of Baltimore Yearly Meeting

Because of the uncertainties surrounding BYM’s expenses and income for 2020, the Stewardship has modified the budget development and approval process for the 2021 budget.

The planned schedule is:

  • June Interim Meeting Present review of options for expense reductions for the 2021 budget with attention to tradeoffs that may be necessary
  • August Annual Session: Seek information from Monthly Meetings on their financial status and , in cooperation with the treasurer provide update on Yearly Meeting financial situation. Stewardship and Finance Committee be looking at how apportionment payments are doing and how contributions to monthly meetings are going to anticipate 2021 apportionment amounts.
  • September: electronic distribution of proposed Yearly Meeting budget for consideration by Monthly Meetings
  • October: S&F to host discussions, likely by Zoom, with interested Friends
  • November Interim Meeting : Final approval of budget

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