Cooperative Energy Futures

Board meeting 6/11

rubylevine — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:32:54 +0000

Cooperative Energy Futures’ next board meeting will be on June 11, 2013, at 5:30pm at the Midtown Global Market conference room. Please contact info@cooperativeenergyfutures.com if you need help finding the conference room.

The agenda for the meeting is:

Opening: recap meeting minutes from last meeting and briefly introduce new board members if there are non-board members in attendance (10 minutes)
Update on Xcel solar rebates and hiring process (15 minutes)
Insulation bulk buy update (15 minutes)
Discuss ‘Conflict of Interest’ policy drafts sent out, develop a appropriate CEF policy applicable to all staff, board members, and partners, and pass (20-25 minutes)
Present the purpose and needs of ‘Capacity for co-op accounting and tax management’ policy; board discuss and pass (20 minutes)
Outline the solar sales commission agreement as is for the board; board clarify language and pass a final draft (15 minutes)
Explain to all in attendance the state of data monitoring for CEF (where we are compared to goals, challenges, upcoming decisions that will need to be made) (15-20 minutes)

All are welcome at Cooperative Energy Futures board meetings.

Board meeting May 10

rubylevine — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:19:57 +0000

Cooperative Energy Futures will be having its first meeting with its newly elected board members — Megan Hoye, Jake Rounds, and Mark Preston are joining! You are welcome to join us at 5-7pm on Friday, May 10 at 3100 Longfellow Avenue. The agenda is:

5PM: Deeper introductions and check-ins from Board members
5:15PM Call meeting to order
5:16PM Approve March and April minutes
5:19PM Approve agenda
5:20PM Discuss role of the Board
5:45PM Electing Officers (Chair, Treasurer, Secretary)
Decisions/ Proposals:
- 5:55PM Extending office space with Do It Green
- 6PM: Approving a proposal to modify the compensation package for our pending hire.
- 6:10PM: Review and approve the MOU for our Phase II Solar bulk buy program
6:25PM General discussion
6:50PM Schedule future meetings and review action items/ tasks
7PM Adjourn

Join us for our Annual Members Meeting!

rubylevine — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:12:36 +0000

Each April, our members come together to review the progress of the co-op, make a number of key decisions about its structure and programs, and elect its new Board members. We’re providing dinner from Holy Land for this 6-8pm meeting: You’re invited!

CEF Annual Meeting
Wednesday April 24th, 6-8PM
Community Room (basement)*,
Midtown Global Market
920 E. Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55407

Annual Meeting Agenda:

Introductions of members attending
2012 highlights + staff updates
The future of CEF
How to engage as a member
New ideas from members
Member vote on the member solar sales commission proposal
Member election of the new Board
Member discussion on focus
Open meeting of the new Board

The members meeting is open to the public, but only members are able to vote. If you’re not a member yet, please consider joining the growing base of Twin Cities residents working together to create a cooperative energy future. To join as a member before ourannual meeting, please visit: http://cooperativeenergyfutures.com/services/coop-membership/

CEF is Seeking New Board Members in Advance of the Member Meeting:
Are you looking to get more involved in setting CEF’s direction going forward? Please consider running for the CEF Board. Several current members of the CEF Board are completing their terms. CEF is seeking 3-5 new Board members to run for this Annualmembers meeting. Only CEF members can join the Board, but we invite any individual to become a member by purchasing a $25 one-time membership share, or dedicating 10 hours of volunteer work to the cooperative. You can learn more about the responsibilities of joining the CEF Board by downloading this document (hit download on the upper right - http://www.box.com/s/ohxae6ihk3t0p6c1yvcc).

If you would like to nominate yourself for the CEF Board, please complete this for m(http://bit.ly/woMNuy) or email timothy@cooperativeenergyfutures.com by Sunday 4/14. If you have someone else in mind for the Board, we strongly encourage you to share this nomination form with them and invite them to apply.

* Detailed directions to the Midtown Global Market Community Room: From the Security Desk on the main floor of the Global Market, take a wide flight of stairs (or an elevator) down to the basement. From the foot of the stairs, continue walking straight, passing the DMV office on your right, and immediately afterward, turn right through a set of double doors (we’ll have signs posted here). Go through the doors and down a very long hallway through another set of doors – then keep going straight (angle slightly left around corners). The meeting room is on the left immediately before a third set of double doors.

Board meeting 3/29

rubylevine — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:33:42 +0000

The Cooperative Energy Futures board will be meeting on Friday, 3/29, from 4pm to 6pm. You can feel free to join us at 3100 Longfellow Avenue, Minneapolis, for this discussion, or to wait a month and join us for the big annual members’ meeting on April 24th.

Here’s the agenda for the March meeting:

4PM: Intros and check-ins
4:15PM: Approve minutes and agenda
4:20PM: General Updates
- Solar rebates on bulk solar and community solar in – 5 min
- Bulk Insulation update – 5 min
- General membership recruitment – 5 min
- MREA solar training update – 5 min
- Community Solar updates – 5 min
4:45PM: Special Order
- Approving 2013 solar bulk buying plan – 15 min
- Approving New Members – 5 min
5:05PM: Discussion
- Hiring Process + Timothy’s role as COO (if needed) – 10 min
- Board Recruitment – 10 min
- Annual Member’s Meeting – 30 min
  - Member Outreach
  - Logistics (food, decorations)
  - Agenda
5:55PM: Next steps and Adjourning

Board meeting 2/22

rubylevine — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:37:44 +0000

Cooperative Energy Futures will have a board meeting at the Midtown Global Market basement conference room from 4-6pm on Friday, 2/22. All CEF members are welcome to attend. Please contact Ruby Levine (ruby.levine@gmail.com) if you would like to attend to coordinate entry — the room is a little hard to find.

The agenda for the meeting will be:

4PM: Check-ins on personal and work progress
4:15PM – approve agenda and minutes
4:20PM General Updates
- Bulk Solar program participation – 5 min
- Bulk Solar metering updates – 5 min
- Bulk insulation progress and new volunteer – 5 min
- Community investment solar progress – 5 min
- Do It green product sales update – 5 min
- Status on MREA rural solar program – 5 min
- Fund idea and process - 5 min
4:50PM: Special order
- Reviewing, finalizing and offering/ discussing solar sales contract provisions – 15 min
- Legal documents and process of expanding community ownership of Midtown Solar LLC – 15 min
- Rural Solar program design – 15 min
- Formalizing new members and annual members meeting – 15 min
5:55PM: Next meeting time and closing

CEF in the running for Green America Award

rubylevine — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 03:48:43 +0000

Cooperative Energy Futures is currently in the running for a $5000 online voting grant from Green America. Read our page and then vote for us once during the month of November! The top three vote-getters win.

If this is the first time you’re hearing about CEF, we’re an energy efficiency cooperative helping Minneapolis neighbors work together to make energy efficiency and clean energy accessible, easy, social, and fun. We help communities make the biggest positive environmental impact possible by working together to lower energy bills, generate energy revenue, improve home comfort, and create a healthier community and planet.

Our primary services are our bulk buying programs for solar and insulation, home energy workshops, and community owned renewables. If you are interested in getting involved with our services in Minneapolis, please check out the links to the relevant pages.

If CEF wins this award, we will combine this funding with the revenue from our bulk buying projects and neighborhood workshops to create a green job, employing a community member from South Minneapolis to organize more local energy projects in the community. This would be a huge step in expanding our capacity and getting CEF working on fast-moving, consistent basis.

Don’t forget to check out our page, vote for us, and then please tell a friend!

Since you get three votes in the competition we also encourage you to vote for Solar Mosaic, a group we’ve worked with in the past that is doing great things to advance community participation in the clean energy economy. For your third vote, check out the other Green America finalists.

October Board Meeting

rubylevine — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 23:38:32 +0000

Members of CEF should feel free to join us on Friday, October 26th from 3:30-5:30PM. We’ll be in the conference room at the Midtown Global Market at 920 E. Lake Street. To find us, go down the stairs behind the security desk form the main level, past the Driver’s license center, and then turn right down the long hall where the signs for the Global market are.

Here is an agenda for our meeting:

3:30PM Check-ins
3:45PM – Approve minutes and agenda
3:50PM – General Updates
- Introduction to Brenden Pierce and discussion of his experience – 10 min
- Progress on bulk buying project and next steps – 10 min
  - AEI/ Solar relationship and progress
  - Memo to Falcon Heights on project expansion – see second attached
  - Interest in insulation on the rise
  - Progress in video development
- Progress on cooperative solar model – 5 min
- Tour of Do It Green Office/ storage facilities – 5 min
4:20PM – Special Order
- Task Management going forward – 10 min
- Responsibilities around promotion of Green America campaign – 10 min
- Ramping up insulation and solar capacity – 10 min
- Strategy on cooperative solar – 10 min
- Other immediate financial/ revenue opportunities – 10 min
- Hiring a full-time staff person/ outreach coordinator? - 10 min
- General capacity/ growing CEF power – 10 min
5:30PM – adjourn

Board meeting May 10

rubylevine — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:25:44 +0000

Cooperative Energy Futures’ monthly board meeting for May 2012 will be held at 3100 Longfellow Avenue in South Minneapolis 9am-11am on May 10. All members are welcome to join us. The agenda is:

Check Ins – 15 min
Approve the Minutes – 5 min
Approve the agenda – 5 min
General Reports – 50 min
Special Order: Midtown Global Market Solar – 40 min
- Midtown Global Market updates
- Legal updates
- Discussing LLCs as a class of members
Closing – 5 min

You can see the minutes from the annual members’ meeting here.

Board elections and the annual members meeting are coming up

rubylevine — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:31:35 +0000

Check out these updates on our board from the quarterly members’ newsletter!

Board Elections:

CEF is building our Board. We’re inviting members or supporters who want to become members to run for our Board. Board terms are two years, and we expect Board members to contribute about 5 hours/month to advancing the development of the cooperative.

Please join us by learning more and nominating yourself or someone else as a Board member! To do so, respond to this request for nominations by April 6^th, 2012 via the online form (http://bit.ly/woMNuy) or by downloading this document (hit download on the upper right – http://www.box.com/s/ohxae6ihk3t0p6c1yvcc). All members may vote for the Board of directors either by absentee online ballots or in-person at the annual members meeting.

Annual Members Meeting:
We’re approaching our most important annual event – the annual members meeting. This meeting allows members to get together, build community, learn more about the co-op, elect the Board, and contribute to key decisions for its future. The annual members meeting will be held on Tuesday April 17^th at Powderhorn Park, from 6-8pm. We invite the general public to attend this meeting as observers if you want to invite friends – members contribute and help make decisions.

Now is a great time to invite someone you know to join in as a member of Cooperative Energy Futures. Contact Brianna at briannabesch@gmail.com to sign on new member.

Welcome to the new Cooperative Energy Futures website

rubylevine — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:22:23 +0000

Please explore our newly updated website! If you have any feedback or see any errors or broken links, please email ruby@cooperativeenergyfutures.com to get it updated.