[sudo-discuss] [omni-discuss] [CCLmembers] [URGENT] Omni Commons Response to Current Climate (was re: "Omni as a distribution point")

Mon Mar 16 20:29:07 PDT 2020

Hi everyone,

1. Ok, I will set up a zoom meeting for Thursday and respond with that to
this thread. (Sorry about replying from the wrong email before not sure how
that happened)

2. I’m not sure if we have the same policies as I originally set up, but
has anyone looked into whether omni still has business interruption (aka
business continuity aka business expense) insurance as part of our package.
I’ve been on the phone to Traci and Teresa at B&G about this a lot for
other projects. If someone can point me to our current policies I can
follow up with an agent on behalf of omni too.

If we have this coverage, the way this generally works is we reproduce
monthly statements (gross revenue) from this time last year ~ March through
June 2019. We then report a loss based on March > June 2020 gross revenue.

We couldn’t claim this until the loss was actual, ie in a month or so but
whomever is handling insurance now I’m happy to talk with them and work on
this?

3. Re food distro specifically, as Niki mentioned Tamarack has also
informally started this and we just had a conference call about bulk distro
and possibly meal kits. We had pickups today.. Idk if FNB/PB also have
access to distributors (presumably) who will continue to operate, but fwiw
Tam was able to get large quantities of several items often out at stores
like flour etc at wholesale rates. For food (but not other items) it might
be worth centralizing and merging that effort? - Tam is small, but it is
health-certified commercial kitchen adhering to strict food preservation
procedures.. idk, but I’d like to be put in touch with anyone on the food
distro tip

4. I would like to work with someone at omni about a ‘family fund’ sort of
like we had after ghost ship that could assist with a wide range of basic
necessities like rent for low-income ppl and nonprofits including omni.
Other, bigger nonprofits are starting on this and if past experience
serves, unfortunately it may be mismanaged with like, Red Cross getting $3M
to hand out blankets or not recognizing the undocumented which does not pay
rent, preserve housing / community space or feed mouths which imo is much
of what vulnerable populations and spaces really need.

Would omni be willing to start such a fund with diy together with other
community spaces?

An alternative is to do a separate fundraiser just for omni but I like the
idea of throwing down in a communal, mutual-aid like fashion. If we attempt
such a thing it should be soon but it’s also something we can do in
self-iso so I wanted to bring it up.

Someone get back to me on the insurance..?

<3
David

On Mon, Mar 16, 2020 at 19:05 Roberto Martinez <rcm00189 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you all for replying and sharing your suggestions and concerns.
>
> Cici, submitted a formal request and I will follow up with her listing out
> all the suggestions in this thread as requirements. Due to the fact that my
> partner is in the "high risk" pool during this pandemic, I will try to
> limit contact with people to a minimum, which means I will not be able to
> be at the Omni for long or at all. I can continue the conversation with
> Cici and write up a contract, but may need someone else to take the lead on
> being at the Omni physically for this. Perhaps Sierk?
>
> I agree with Jenny in needing to focus and talk more about next steps as a
> community place-based organization. Thank you Jenny for reviving the slack
> channel, it will be a useful way to communicate during these odd times. I
> think should be a priority to try to figure out how to pay our mortgage,
> wether it be requesting belayed payments or crafting a
> fundraising strategy, we have a large and tight network that we can reach
> out to, that mat be able to help. Unfortunately, half of our income comes
> from event rentals, which as noted, have for the most part been cancelled,
> the other of course if office rental from collectives, perhaps this could
> be a place where we as collectives can be more proactive in.
>
> For our reoccurring meetings such as Delegate assemblies, and working
> groups, we should try to meet online via zoom or whatnot. "Safer DIY" it
> would be great if you can set something up - Thanks.
>
> I am inspired by the strength and love of our omni family. Rag-tag and
> all, we hold so much collective passion, knowledge, skills, expertise, and
> more importantly we hold a great care for our communities. I am certain
> that collectively we can rise up to the occasion and surmount the
> challenges ahead.
>
> Let's continue the conversation on slack =].
>
> Caminando,
> Roberto Martinez
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 16, 2020 at 1:01 PM Patrik D'haeseleer <patrikd at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> FYI - CCL does not have a big stash of N95 masks. We may have a couple
>> lying around from the fires last year, but that is probably single digits.
>> We tried to order a pack of surgical masks to be used in cases like this
>> where we may need to deal with infected people in the community, but even
>> the lab supplier was back ordered and had to cancel the order.
>>
>> IF YOU HAVE N95 MASKS IN ORIGINAL PACKAGING, UNOPENED, DO NOT OPEN THEM!
>> I think the local hospitals will be desperate to get them in about 2-3
>> weeks from now, when all the new cases from St. Paddy's day hit (sigh).
>> They are currently not yet accepting such donations from the public, but
>> they may need to in the future...
>>
>> You should only be using an N95 mask if you are a healthy individual
>> nursing somebody who is sick, and if you know how to properly put them on,
>> test for fit, and take them off without infecting yourself. They are far
>> too valuable to squander them to just walk around the street.
>>
>> "Surgical" masks (typically just a pleated rectangle with ear loops) are
>> most useful on an *infected* person, to keep them from infecting the people
>> around them.
>>
>> For some really useful info on DIY masks (get out those sewing machines!)
>> and even cleaning and reusing masks, check out this resource:
>> https://smartairfilters.com/en/knowledge-base/
>>
>> Patrik
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 16, 2020 at 11:47 AM Jenny Ryan <jenny at jennyryan.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Hey all!
>>>
>>> While I'm replying to Roberto's message, I'm also cc'ing various Omni
>>> mailing lists (including member collectives):
>>>
>>> Yes, I think we should be a dropoff point - but only if the organizers
>>> will staff it *fully* and abide by *extremely high hygiene/sanitization
>>> standards*.
>>>
>>> We all need to be talking more about next steps as a community
>>> place-based organization. I've revived our Slack channel here so we can
>>> have real-time conversations:
>>> *Click Here To Join Chat!
>>> <https://join.slack.com/t/omnicommons/shared_invite/zt-coe108tt-rd~SdFHo_DN_l6l51ANPdQ>*
>>>
>>> *Questions for the community:*
>>>
>>>    - *Should we send a request to our mortgage lender to belay payments
>>>    for a month or two?* We have $30K as bare-minimum operating reserves
>>>    (which I'd rather not touch), and an additional $15K in the kitchen fund.
>>>    Our checking account is currently at a little over $3K, with March mortgage
>>>    and utilities paid, but we are not receiving ~$1K in member collective
>>>    payments, and half our necessary monthly income (~$5K of ~$11K) comes from
>>>    event rentals... that have all been cancelled...
>>>    - *Builders/handypeoplez: *I have put out a call/request for someone
>>>    to install the touchless soap dispenser i bought last year - it is powered
>>>    by rechargeable C batteries and needs to be mounted onto tile with masonry
>>>    drill bits - all materials (dispenser, batteries, charger, masonry bits and
>>>    drill) are in the secure storage; foaming unscented hand soap is in massive
>>>    quantities in the cleaning closet (please lock! but share combo lock code
>>>    liberally with trusted folks who won't steal all the TP ;) - it could also
>>>    be wired to existing electrical. I personally can't do it as I'm currently
>>>    a probable asymptomatic vector of covid-19. At my home in W Oakland, we
>>>    have a box of N95 masks (I believe CCL ordered more?) and lots of food as
>>>    well as herbs and some meds, so ping me if you need and I will leave it
>>>    outside our door for you <3 Can also order things online if anyone needs
>>>    and doesn't have the resources right now.
>>>    - Per requests from Robb, I have purchased 4 bottles of 70%
>>>    Isopropyl alcohol with spritz bottles, as well as a dozen air filters. Who
>>>    is currently regularly at Omni (Robb? Sierk? AB? anyone else?) that can be
>>>    my point of contact for delivery updates? If you think of other things we
>>>    need you can make a purchase request here:
>>>    https://omnicommons.org/budgetrequest
>>>
>>> *Some relevant announcements:*
>>>
>>>    - CCL has recently purchased various supplies for decontamination
>>>    and cleanliness. Also a good resource for people with questions about the
>>>    virus. Patrik, lmk if you need to go halfsies with Omni on the sanitizer
>>>    dispensing station - if CCL is strapped, that is - cuz Omni will be in
>>>    coming months.
>>>    - *Please donate* to Omni <https://omnicommons.org/donate> and/or
>>>    Sudo <https://sudoroom.org/donate> right now! Also, consider making
>>>    a donation to CCL member (and my former beloved housemate!) Craig, who is
>>>    working on a vaccine - he is currently trying to raise $1500: You can send
>>>    PayPal donations to: finance at renegadex.bio - or Venmo: Craig-Rouskey
>>>    <https://venmo.com/Craig-Rouskey>
>>>    - I'll be sending out a financial report with coming-month
>>>    prospectives by the end of March. This is one of my priorities right now,
>>>    and I'm downshifting my full-time job and other gigs to do it and will not
>>>    be charging my $25 bookkeeper contract rate for those hours. I am concerned
>>>    about the lack of financial support from events (most all of which have
>>>    been cancelled or postponed), as well as from Phat Beets (4 months unpaid
>>>    rent, $2,518) and FYE (1.5 months unpaid rent, $525) - PB & FYE - please
>>>    let us know how your orgs are doing and what we can do to best support you
>>>    and in turn, Omni Commons as a whole!
>>>    - Current costs and recurring income sources have been regularly
>>>    updated on the Finance Wiki Page: https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Finances
>>>
>>>
>>> *Additional Resources:*
>>>
>>>    - COVID-19 Mutual Aid Resources- Huichin/Oakland
>>>    <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1q8gPladEOi0vI8oU7Z37AYJQsy22SKdwNhVUDMJc3mQ/edit#gid=0>
>>>    - https://bayrising.org/organizingduringcoronavirus/
>>>    - https://covid19freelanceartistresource.wordpress.com/
>>>    -
>>>    https://www.needhelppayingbills.com/html/alameda_county_food_banks.html
>>>    - Alameda County Public Health Deptartment's COVID-19 resource hub
>>>    <http://www.nikki4oakland.com/r?u=Qw7BN9spnH2-QGQihzneFoQv17feW3ezjwg15mnJvsuC3XV2h3gusKLTeMGHN1OG&e=d47a11b8ed371f26a8957974a847a9c1&utm_source=nikki4oakland&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=covid_19_evictions_moratorium&n=15>
>>>    - http://www.alamedacounty.info/content/housing-and-renting-aid
>>>    - Bay Area Financial Solidarity <http://Tiny.cc/covidmutualaid>
>>>
>>> Mad love & solidarity - and hope to see you on the chat! (link above)
>>> <3 jnny
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Mar 16, 2020 at 10:07 AM Roberto Martinez via commons <
>>> commons at lists.omnicommons.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello all,
>>>>
>>>> I got a request about using the Omni as a location for dropping off
>>>> donating goods. Are we doing something already? If not are we open to have
>>>> the Omni as a drop of place?
>>>>
>>>> I’ll ask them to submit a formal request and take it from there.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> RM
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>>
>>>> *From:* Cc Raye <viviraye at gmail.com>
>>>> *Date:* March 15, 2020 at 8:16:01 PM PDT
>>>> *To:* Margot Brennan <margot at seedsandstones.org>
>>>> *Cc:* Roberto Martinez <rcm00189 at gmail.com>
>>>> *Subject:* *Re:  Omni as a distribution point*
>>>>
>>>> 
>>>> Hi Roberto,
>>>> Thanks Margot for connecting us.
>>>> Some of us are trying to coordinate some mutual aid and wanted to
>>>> suggest a centralized location for dropping off donated goods that could
>>>> then be redistributed.
>>>> Do you think Omni might be open to this for some period of time?
>>>> Would we need to have designated times?
>>>> Looking forward to being in touch if y'all are open to this.
>>>> Thanks!
>>>> Cici
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Mar 15, 2020, 8:07 PM Margot Brennan <margot at seedsandstones.org>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Roberto,
>>>>>
>>>>> Cc'd on this email is Cici who has a question for you all about
>>>>> possibly using the space for something.  Cici, this is Roberto my contact
>>>>> for the Omni.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>> Margot
>>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> commons mailing list
>>>> commons at lists.omnicommons.org
>>>> https://omnicommons.org/lists/listinfo/commons
>>>>
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>>>
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