2016-05-19 HC2016 Host Committee Meeting notes

HydraConnect Host Committee Meeting Minutes

Attendees

Budget link

Budget spreadsheet

Discussion

Eventbrite

The Eventbrite site https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hydra-connect-2016-tickets-25488441615 has been set up, with the majority of the text copied from last year’s site. Steven will email last year’s connect2015 address and cc: Richard Greene to see about setting up an email address for this year. The account for receiving the money from Eventbrite has also been set up. We need to finalize the ticket price and settle on an on-sale date – June 1 was suggested.

BPL catering

Duraspace may be able to provide a letter indicating that they are the financial proxy for Hydra, so we can get the non-profit discount from BPL catering. We haven’t heard back from Duraspace yet. Steven will follow up this week.

Otherwise, BPL catering provided a new quote that came in at over $28,000, or $98 per person, with 2 food stations and 3 options: a cheese, fruit, and crackers selection; Middle Eastern selection; or bruschetta. Steven will ask for a quote with a cash bar and investigate increased prices over the last quote. Overall, feeling was that the increased cost was worth it because it gave people a chance to socialize.

Sponsorships

DPLA has committed to contributing $1000
DCE said they would be interested in contributing but cannot commit to an amount until after Open Repositories
Tufts won’t be able to be a sponsor if we send the message that the sponsors are paying for the alcohol for the reception. Tufts might be able to contribute if there is no stated connection that the sponsors are footing the bill for alcohol. Tufts will be asked if there’s a ballpark figure that might be contributed if there is no suggestion that the contribution is going towards the bar (possibly if we do a cash bar).
Nothing further from WGBH or Northeastern. Steven will follow up with them.

Other budgetary considerations

With the new catering costs, budgeting for 275 people and a ticket price of $215, we’re still about $2,500 in the red.
T-shirts are $15 each according to a quote from the vendor previously used by Princeton. BPL events staff were able to get much lower quotes elsewhere. If we could use another vendor we could save about $1,000. Steven will check with Stanford and see if they are amenable to that.

Other items

The next call has been rescheduled to May 26 so we can finalize a ticket price before the 1^st. Any updates re: the budget or sponsorships will be sent over email in the meantime.