Meraki Meeting took place on Zoom Monday May, 18, 2026, 7-9pm
Attendees: Deb (Facilitator), Kari (Ingathering), Marion (Notes), Todd (Timekeeper), Kiara (Vibe Checker), Nate, Elise, John, Felicia, Tasja, Andrew, Shelagh, Devin, Eva, Brian
Meeting format
- Choose roles (Ingatherer, Facilitator, Notetaker, Timekeeper, Vibe Checker)
- Ingathering
- Briefly review How We Roll
- Summarize previous meeting notes
- Gather new agenda items
- Set order and time for items
- Attend to agenda items
- Schedule future meeting(s)
- Evaluate
- Outgathering
Published agenda
- Discussion about raising price for dance - Tasja
- Retreat Proposals - Elise
- Create a PCD Retreat Account
- Provide financial support for a fall retreat at Medomak
- Where Can We Dance update - Devin
- Survey Proposal - Devin - tabled
- Code of Conduct - Emily - tabled for now
Added
- Meraki Meetings to be held after Dance - Nate
- Fundraising event pre-planning - Deb
Meeting Notes
Meraki Meetings - to be held exclusively after Dance? - Nate
Note: The last Meraki meeting decided to ask for feedback from participants in all three modes of meeting.
Discussion:
Felicia: Zoom is accessible, after dance is longer transition, meeting in person is challenging for her to attend
Andrew: Yes to Zoom, meetings in person on M/T adds considerable travel time
Kiara: Likes all three modes. Would be sorry to lose the intimacy of in-person gatherings
Tasja, Marion, agree with keeping all three modes
Kari: prefers meeting after dance
Outcome:
This Meraki agreed to maintain all three modes of meeting. Felicia will make a proposal at the next Meraki (June 14, after dance)
Discussion about raising price for dance - Tasja
Tasja reviewed her presentation from last meeting outlining the expenses/income for NYA which costs $600 per dance, rather than the $150 we currently pay. The "sweet spot" is to charge between $12 and $15 and have three dances a month.
Note: The current price of $10 is now fixed rather than suggested. The average PCD income is $8 a dancer given those Wiz members, regular tech helpers, and greeters who do not pay.
Felicia: Suggested a sliding scale of $10 - $20 with a suggested amount of $15 accompanied by thoughtful language to help people determine their appropriate price category.
Elise, Marion: link the change of price to a change in venue
Deb - notes she has a fund raiser proposal to offer later
Shelagh - open to raising the price
Nate: Don’t link price change to a venue change but just do it. It is reasonable to make the change; it wouldn't hurt to have more money.
Kari - we can focus on letting dancers know PCD needs money
Eva - Could there be an option to pay in advance? People might then pay twice, as she often does.
John - Let's raise the price when we need to.
Deb’s (facilitator) synopsis: Overall we are open to raising prices while keeping dances accessible. This will require good language around people’s means. The timing of the change could be linked to a reason as organizations sometimes need funds.
Retreat Proposals - Nate/Elise
Proposal #1: Create a partition in the general PCD account for all retreat related expenses and revenues . . . The retreat committee will be responsible for maintaining a positive balance in this partition, but reserve the right to ask PCD for grants to the PCD Retreat Account to support the goals listed in the Motivation section.
Proposal #2: ALSO, requesting funds for the upcoming retreat at Medomack which is a far more expensive (and nicer) venue
Discussion:
Deb - Current retreat committee has done excellent job at managing and tracking expenses. How to ensure the same financial accountability is passed on to the next iteration of this committee?
Kiara - NOTE: Caveat from retreat committee - Meraki will still have oversight of this account
Devin - What would Meraki have oversight over? For example, if retreat committee writes checks for venue deposits, does Meraki have a say in where the retreat will be held?
Nate: Currently retreat committee starts each cycle with zero funds. While the goal is to break even, the committee asks Meraki for an over budget amount (to maintain accessibility) and for an amount we can offer as scholarships.
John: makes a Proposal: PCD to grant $2K for the Medomack retreat and $2K as seed money for retreat committee's separate fund
Group poll taken: We are not ready to vote on that proposal (#1) - continue discussion at next Meraki.
Kiara: Does PCD want to give a grant so that this retreat can be priced accessibly or does the retreat need to be self-sustaining?
John: good retreats are a solid member benefit and so of value to PCD to support
Devin asks for a breakdown of the costs with and without the grant. She notes that we do not want to set up expectations that all retreats are priced as they were at Ferry Beach, approx. $190/person.
Nate: At Medomack, $330 is the actual cost per person with 60 attendees. People will pay more than at previous retreats. Getting the number of retreatants to 60, even at a sliding scale, will generate more income than a smaller retreat with everyone paying the $330.
John: The retreat committee has done a good job of weaving sustainability with support
Revised Proposal approved: Give the retreat committee 3K toward the Medomack retreat.
Where Can We Dance update -
Devin -
Lincoln and Lyman Moore venues are possible. We have spoken with the custodial staff, who will need to be on board if we are to use the spaces. The conversations went well. The next step is working through the school department bureaucracy The plan is to submit forms before we involve the community in sound checks and visits.
Lincoln Middle School- 6400 sq ft, some natural light, no HVAC and it gets hot
Lyman Moore - also ?? 6400 sq ft? May have HVAC, is on an extensive campus so open doors for fresh air is possible, there is storage on site, custodians staff seem happy to work with us
Note: Working with Portland Public School is a long slow process.
Tasja -
South Portland Middle School: a no-go. No HVAC, no storage, no custodians and only a commitment through August
NYA (North Yarmouth Academy) is expensive at $300 a dance (twice the price of Public school) but a lovely space.
Fundraising event pre-planning - Deb
The proposal: Create a blueprint for a fundraising event that we can then implement quickly when a specific need is identified. One example: if we move our venue to the more expensive NYA.
The fundraising would include silent auction items - our community is filled with creative people, artists, and service providers. The pricing would be kept accessible so success would not depend on deep pockets
Discussion:
Felicia: We might also need to financially support members of our community, given the current political situation (fundraiser for this).
Kiara - love it, The events would feed the community and build community
Eva - love it, love Deb’s enthusiasm
Elise - Love the community engagement. As a professional fundraiser, I know silent auctions are hard to do and rarely raise a lot of money unless auctions are geared to high rollers who come to the event committed to spending a large sum.
Todd - love it for the community aspect. It’s an event where we can talk to each other unlike on the dance floor.
Nate - There are certainly people in the community who know what might sell successfully
John’s note: donations to PCD cannot be claimed as tax deductions
Felicia: Reflects that this is a proposal that puts together a committee to work on the plan and then stand by, ready to move into action, when a fundraiser is needed.
Next Meetings:
Sunday, June 14 after Dance at 12:30 - 2:30pm
Tuesday, July 14, in person at Eva's 7-9pm
