NOVASEN General Body Meeting

1. Check-ins / Updates / Events

Homework:

• Organizing contacts, establishing network

• Rachel, kei, and Eleanor with facilitating tech-related coordination items

• Sahnun to provide proposal for membership

• Johanna to create proposal for retreat

1. Proposals

   1. Pamphlet about who we are, what is solidarity economy, and how to get involved (6 page fold)

   2. Pop-up talks – Getting out into to the community and discussing the solidarity economy.  

      1. "What does it mean to be undocumented and working?"

         1. Consciousness raising and facilitation

      2. "What are Cooperatives and How Can they Democratize NoVA's Economy?" 

      3. "What is the Solidarity Economy?"

2. Finance 

   1. Fiscal Sponsorship – how can we set this up? How can we then access funds?

   2. 2026 Budget 

      1. Income (2025): 

         1. $500 from VASEN

         2. $300 from CED – Outcome: Thanksgiving potluck teach in, supporting local solidarity economy initiatives (Mariflor, Everyday Canvassing, etc.) + many other outcomes/activities. 

      2. Expenses

         1. Retreat

         2. Pamphlet printing

         3. Organizing Costs (Transportation, compensation, etc. )

         4. Food for potlucks

         5. Bilingual translation - Use interpreter's cooperative 

3. Develop proposals to VASEN and CED

Johanna's Proposal:

• Daylong retreat to work on bylaws, to determine direction of our “hub.”  Define ideologies, actions, structures

• Set up shop for writing, drawing, ideating

• Expand network: may want to invite folks from our neighborhood, broader communities

We ought to choose a date?

(Secosol is planning a retreat for April)

What Exists?

1. News / Blogs (Place where we can publish information). It has to be transparent but also reliable/ Trustworthy.

2. Citizen's Hub (A place for Ideas/ Informal Conversation/ Interest to propose something / A place to connect ideas with existing Orgs in the region

3. Participatory Processes - Processes of proposals for the Solidarity economy Network. Proposals/projects can be voted but since we are operating as a volunteer organization, our votes are a signature of accountability to that proposal. Once money is involved, we can develop another way of using votes

4. Meetings - A place to plug in all meetings in the NOVA SEN

5. About us page/ Introduce yourself page - INFO pages

6. Solidarity Economy Reports - A place where members of the network report to the community or network of their individual projects, this can be positive results, setback, or a call to action from the whole network.

Questions:

1. Can we set up Notifications? 

2. How can different organisations introduce themselves? Advertise? 

3. Translate the website 

Proposal for Decidim

Creation of a offers and needs page, people will initially be anonymous and if people match we can set up comms with them (with supervision of course)

Homework for Decidim Organizers (RABT)

1. Tech Session for Group leaders and information organizers