<div dir="ltr">With the benefit of a few days thought, I have some more comments on this discussion.<div><br></div><div>First, it is not disputed, I think, that we're largely seeing this spike as the result of events not of our own making:  a libertarian feeling in the air, horrible R and D candidates, a loss of faith in many institutions including the major parties,  etc.  Part of it is actions the party took that worked well with those conditions, such as running the most credible, experienced ticket we have ever run, and doing so in a year where one major candidate is not trusted and the other is not credible.  </div><div><br></div><div>So, the question naturally arises - is this long-term growth, or a one-time spike?  Furthermore, will the proposed changes make a difference in maintaining the growth long-term?</div><div><br></div><div>Suppose you ran, let's say, a private school, and enrollment fluctuated year to year.  One year, you had a major spike, so you were awash in money.  What would you do with it?  Some things would be dictated to you - you'd need more teachers, for instance.  We cannot get away from having more staff to get items out and to process the administrative details, whether we do that with more people, more hours, or some combination.  I leave it to the ED to determine that - from a board perspective, it seems obvious to me that compensation needs to increase, and the amount requested is reasonable.</div><div><br></div><div>What else would you do?  Well, you'd want to keep enrollment high the following year, too, so maybe you'd use the extra cash to fund more admissions/recruitment staff and events, even if that meant socking it away for future events.  You'd try to convert the crest of the wave to a permanent situation.  </div><div><br></div><div>You might also invest in infrastructure that will save you money in the future.  For example, if you have many small buildings, you might consider covering them with solar panels while you're flush with cash, in order to decrease future electrical payouts.  </div><div><br></div><div>Finally, you'd know you want to maintain a new high, but you'd deal with the possibility of not doing so by saving some money.  </div><div><br></div><div>What are the equivalents here?  Well, that's the million dollar question.  We need to take actions that convert, as I put it, the new roof we've got, into strong, sturdy walls.  One answer, I think the wrong answer, is to say "Presidential spike, won't be maintained, sock away all the money, plan for a lean four years."  You might call that the Joseph answer.  Joseph is wrong.  Boards should not be premised on long-term pessimism, or the belief that good things won't last but bad things will.  </div><div><br></div><div>However, it is equally wrong - the Potifar answer - to just assume that current conditions are the new reality.  </div><div><br></div><div>Rather, our use of this money is the decisive question.  We can let everyone who has come in blow away, or we can take actions to stop that.  The only actions we can take, really, have to do with allocation.  So this is actually a crucial question before us.  I largely tend towards the answers the ED gives, but I'd caution the board not to be swayed by the belief that a vote for these particular changes is a vote for continued growth, and vice-versa.  The way we allocate money will decide which reality takes hold, and we will be held responsible for the outcome either way.  </div><div><br></div><div>So, are the proposed changes the best ways to allow staff to take actions that will maintain our growth?  I'm not sure.  Let me put out a few ideas.</div><div><br></div><div>I asked about both the compensation lines and the fundraising lines.  Suggestion:  determine what it would cost to hire a full-time, dedicated fundraising director.  Yes, we have staff with expertise in fundraising, and we have contractors with expertise in fundraising.  If any of them were interested, they could seek this position, but the point is to have someone working just on this, not several people pitching in on it in addition to their main jobs.  Just as Wes is capable of putting things in boxes, but that is not what his time is best spent doing, the same can be said for several people.  Additionally, one person having full-time responsibility for this would mean a more coherent fundraising program, stretching across several functional areas, yet having one message.  Instead of this board fighting about urgent-grams or commenting on our favorite fonts, let's build the type of structure that gets the best results.  Whatever it costs, I would suggest we'd need to fund two years (of base pay) because it will take time to see results, especially when results this year will be hard to judge.  </div><div><br></div><div>What about maintaining membership?  Well, I personally am not a membership hawk.  Last term, we did not adopt a membership goal.  I don't know if we will this term.  It's hard to justify, given that, too much effort and expense on maintaining membership.  If we chose to, however, what would make it happen?  I should point out that I'm actually more of a membership hawk at the moment than I was last term, because it is really bad to see membership drop in large numbers, and it's worse to see new people wash out.  If the people who are joining now are not retained, I will see that as a failure on our part.  I'll see that as them now having license, for the rest of their lives, to say "yep, totally tried that third-party thing, even paid membership dues, and nada."  So what do our new members want?  I don't know, and I suspect none of us really do.  Firms can find that out, though, for some money.  A survey of a sample of new members would be beneficial, I think.  </div><div><br></div><div>Here's something else - engage and involve them.  We say people aren't joiners anymore, but what we really mean is that they aren't just joiners.  They don't want to write a check once a year and be ignored.  They want to be a part of the organization, they want things to do.  Yes, they want communication, but more than a newsletter, they want tasks.  They don't want to be thanked - nothing wrong with saying thank you, but saying it in the wrong way implies "we appreciate you helping out, but you're still on the outside."  People want to be integral.  We can strengthen, beginning at the end of November, the work we do helping people make contact in their affiliates.  Last term, we considered the question of a 'functional affiliate' and how to get all of our affiliates to be functional.  This is important.  In the meantime, what can we do, on a national scale, to get new people involved, other than dropping messages about it to the state party?  How can we follow-up with the volunteer who signed up on <a href="http://lp.org">lp.org</a> without running the risk of saying "oh, they didn't?  I'll remind them again?"  One way is to have more happening nationally.  I think the "let national be national" plan means more national-level activity - not competing with states for volunteers, but filling the gaps so that people always have the chance to volunteer, are always involved in a project, and are always engaged.  </div><div><br></div><div>At the same time, people join parties, for the most part, to be engaged in political activity.  That doesn't exclude the administrative work, of course - so long as the payoff is visible.  But it does mean that the less-committed-but-eager new volunteer needs more of the things they expect if they're going to build a long-term relationship.  Sure, people will stuff envelopes, but I think they'll build a relationship faster by campaigning.  So we need more campaign activities with visible payoff - i.e. more people in office, more focus on recruiting new volunteers into local, winnable races.  The best way to keep a volunteer is to have them knock on doors for a winning candidate the very month they join.  </div><div><br></div><div>The money is a sign of a new energy, a new life, and a new supply of members.  Let's turn them into a strong party, not a party left scratching its head and wondering where everyone went after all the great energy last year.</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Joshua A. Katz<div>Westbrook CT Planning Commission (L in R seat)</div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 12:55 PM, Wes Benedict <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
  
    
  
  <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
    <p>Caryn, will do.</p>
    <p>I'm going downstairs to run the postage machine for a while now.
      Apparently Robert is too busy to do it for now.</p>
    <p>And if the postman fails to show up again today, I'll be loading
      my truck and delivering packages to the post office myself so they
      don't have to wait till Tuesday to get to the post office.</p>
    <p>It's not that I'm too good for this work, but I'd rather assign a
      lower paid person to do it most of the time.</p>
    <p>Casey Hansen has been out sick for a few days as has our newest
      intern. <br>
    </p>
    <p>We have used this Labor Ready company a bit
      <a href="http://www.laborready.com/" target="_blank">http://www.laborready.com/</a> but the down side is you aren't
      guaranteed the same person each time and so you do a lot of
      retraining. I think that was booked to "Branding" because they
      were packing the branding materials. My time packing materials is
      booked to compensation.</p>
    <p>We're burnt out every volunteer willing to show up.<br>
    </p><span class="">
    <p><br>
    </p>
    <pre cols="72">Wes Benedict, Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
<a href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008%20ext.%20232" value="+12023330008" target="_blank">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>
<a href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a> @LPNational
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></pre>
    </span><div><div class="h5"><div>On 9/2/2016 1:39 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos
      wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite">
      <div dir="ltr">If Nick does request you to Wes, I would like to be
        included on that private distribution list.  And not to beat a
        dead horse to the committee here, but THIS is a perfect thing to
        bring up at my still suggested September LNC meeting.  I am
        certainly not comfortable with this firehose of information via
        email and making a decision.
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>-- <br>
          <div data-smartmail="gmail_signature">
            <div dir="ltr">
              <div dir="ltr">
                <div dir="ltr">
                  <div dir="ltr">
                    <div dir="ltr">
                      <div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#666666" size="4"><b>In Liberty,</b></font></div>
                      <div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#666666" size="4"><b>Caryn Ann Harlos</b></font></div>
                      <div><font size="1">Region 1 Representative,
                          Libertarian National Committee </font><span style="font-size:x-small">(Alaska, Arizona,
                          Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah,
                          Wyoming, Washington) - <a>Caryn.Ann.
                            Harlos@LP.org</a></span></div>
                      <div><span style="font-size:x-small">Communications
                          Director, <a href="http://www.lpcolorado.org/" target="_blank">Libertarian Party of
                            Colorado</a></span></div>
                      <div><span style="font-size:x-small">Colorado
                          State Coordinator, <a href="http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org/" target="_blank">Libertarian Party Radical
                            Caucus</a></span></div>
                      <div><br>
                      </div>
                    </div>
                  </div>
                </div>
              </div>
            </div>
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="gmail_extra"><br>
        <div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 11:37 AM, Wes
          Benedict <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>></span>
          wrote:<br>
          <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
            <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
              <p>Alicia, I made a mistake when I brought up Andy Burns.
                None of his costs have been booked to the compensation
                line this year (If I heard Robert Kraus correctly). I
                had erroneously been thinking that the time that Mr.
                Burns worked on ballot access was booked to
                compensation, but it was actually booked to the Ballot
                Access line. In contrast, I think the time that Nick
                Dunbar spent on ballot access was booked to Compensation
                (because he's an employee-not a contractor). <br>
              </p>
              <p>Alicia asked, "Which individuals are included in the
                Compensation budget category?  "</p>
              <p> </p>
              <blockquote type="cite">
                <table style="border-collapse:collapse;width:182pt" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="243">
                  <colgroup><col style="width:182pt" width="243"> </colgroup><tbody>
                    <tr style="height:15.0pt" height="20">
                      <td style="height:15.0pt;width:182pt" height="20" width="243">Hansen, Casey T</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr style="height:15.0pt" height="20">
                      <td style="height:15.0pt" height="20">Howell,
                        Carla A.</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr style="height:15.0pt" height="20">
                      <td style="height:15.0pt" height="20">Kraus,
                        Robert S</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr style="height:15.0pt" height="20">
                      <td style="height:15.0pt" height="20">Benedict,
                        Robert C</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr style="height:15.0pt" height="20">
                      <td style="height:15.0pt" height="20">Dunbar,
                        Dominick J</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr style="height:15.0pt" height="20">
                      <td style="height:15.0pt" height="20">Thexton,
                        Matthew A</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr style="height:15.0pt" height="20">
                      <td style="height:15.0pt" height="20">Daugherty,
                        Lauren</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr style="height:15.0pt" height="20">
                      <td style="height:15.0pt" height="20">Luckey,
                        Denise</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr style="height:15.0pt" height="20">
                      <td style="height:15.0pt" height="20">Johnston,
                        Robert</td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr style="height:15.0pt" height="20">
                      <td style="height:15.0pt" height="20">Brierly,
                        Elizabeth</td>
                    </tr>
                  </tbody>
                </table>
              </blockquote>
              <p>Alicia asked "So for the increase in Compensation are
                we just talking about increased hours for Nick Dunbar
                and Casey Hansen because the rest are salaried?"</p>
              <blockquote>
                <p>    No, that is not all. I'm not going to disclose
                  every bonus, pay-raise, or hour increase on this list,
                  but if Nick Sarwark asks me to, I'll have Robert Kraus
                  compile a list and send it to whomever on the LNC
                  requests it. <br>
                </p>
              </blockquote>
              <p>Alicia asked "The new people being brought in to help
                with the presumed-temporary surge, how are they treated,
                as employees or contractors?"</p>
              <blockquote>
                <p>    There's been a combination, depending on the
                  circumstances. <br>
                </p>
              </blockquote>
              <p>Alicia asked: "Don't contractors show up in other
                budget categories?  For instance, Andy Burns was
                budgeted in Affiliate Support, and his extra hours would
                not affect the Compensation budget category."</p>
              <blockquote>
                <p>Many contractors do show up in other budget
                  categories, but some contractors also show up in the
                  compensation category. Andy Burn's extra hours have
                  not been booked to the compensation budget category at
                  least so far.<br>
                </p>
              </blockquote>
              <p>Alicia asked: "Where do the other contractors fall in
                the budget categories?"</p>
              <blockquote>
                <p> I'm not going to list every contractor here - we
                  have dozens, but some are booked to Admin, at least
                  one to Affiliate Support, dozens in Ballot Access, at
                  least two to Brand Development/Political Materials, at
                  least one in Media, probably a few in Member
                  Communications.<br>
                </p>
              </blockquote>
              <span>
                <p><br>
                </p>
                <pre cols="72">Wes Benedict, Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee, Inc.
1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314
<a href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008%20ext.%20232" value="+12023330008" target="_blank">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>
<a href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a> @LPNational
Join the Libertarian Party at: <a href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></pre>
              </span>
              <div>
                <div>
                  <div>On 9/2/2016 3:31 AM, Alicia Mattson wrote:<br>
                  </div>
                  <blockquote type="cite">
                    <div dir="ltr">
                      <div>Which individuals are included in the
                        Compensation budget category?  All employees, I
                        would think, whether hourly or salaried.  So for
                        the increase in Compensation are we just talking
                        about increased hours for Nick Dunbar and Casey
                        Hansen because the rest are salaried?<br>
                        <br>
                      </div>
                      <div>The new people being brought in to help with
                        the presumed-temporary surge, how are they
                        treated, as employees or contractors?<br>
                      </div>
                      <div><br>
                        Don't contractors show up in other budget
                        categories?  For instance, Andy Burns was
                        budgeted in Affiliate Support, and his extra
                        hours would not affect the Compensation budget
                        category.<br>
                        <br>
                        Where do the other contractors fall in the
                        budget categories?<br>
                        <br>
                      </div>
                      -Alicia<br>
                      <br>
                      <div>
                        <div><br>
                        </div>
                      </div>
                    </div>
                    <div class="gmail_extra"><br>
                      <div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Sep 1, 2016 at
                        11:48 PM, Aaron Starr <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:starrcpa@gmail.com" target="_blank">starrcpa@gmail.com</a>></span>
                        wrote:<br>
                        <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                          <div bgcolor="white" link="blue" vlink="purple" lang="EN-US">
                            <div>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Wes,</span></p>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">I’m
                                  still missing something here.</span></p>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">The
                                  original budget for compensation was
                                  based on a particular staffing level
                                  at specific amounts of compensation.</span></p>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">It
                                  looks like the activity of the first
                                  eight months is already running at a
                                  rate that will exceed the budget for
                                  compensation for the year. (If
                                  $314,155 is eight months of expense, a
                                  simple extrapolation would bring us to
                                  $471,233 for twelve months, which is
                                  well above the budget of $388,800.)  I
                                  seem to recall that most of our
                                  compensation cost is based on fixed
                                  salaries, not hourly rates.</span></p>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">During
                                  the first eight months we were
                                  spending just under $40K per month.
                                  For the last four months of the year
                                  you anticipate spending only $34K per
                                  month, so I’m not seeing how the need
                                  for a $60K increase in the budget is
                                  due to a need to cover increased
                                  people costs between now and the end
                                  of the year. It appears that we were
                                  spending well over our budget earlier
                                  during the year. </span></p>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
                              <div>
                                <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Aaron
                                    Starr</span></p>
                                <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="tel:%28805%29%20583-3308" value="+18055833308" target="_blank">(805) 583-3308</a>
                                    Home</span></p>
                                <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="tel:%28805%29%20404-8693" value="+18054048693" target="_blank">(805) 404-8693</a>
                                    Mobile</span></p>
                                <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="mailto:starrcpa@gmail.com" target="_blank">starrcpa@gmail.com</a></span></p>
                              </div>
                              <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
                              <div>
                                <div style="border:none;border-top:solid #b5c4df 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
                                  <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:windowtext">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:windowtext">
                                      Lnc-business [mailto:<a href="mailto:lnc-business-bounces@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">lnc-business-bounces@h<wbr>q.lp.org</a>]
                                      <b>On Behalf Of </b>Wes Benedict<br>
                                      <b>Sent:</b> Thursday, September
                                      01, 2016 4:25 PM<br>
                                      <b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:lnc-business@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a><br>
                                      <b>Subject:</b> Re: [Lnc-business]
                                      Upcoming budget increase requests</span></p>
                                </div>
                              </div>
                              <div>
                                <div>
                                  <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                  <p>I can't disclose exact pay rates
                                    and hours worked publicly on this
                                    email list, as you know. In any
                                    case, the increase in the budget is
                                    to cover more hours and more people
                                    than were originally budgeted for. </p>
                                  <p class="MsoNormal">Some contractors
                                    and staff have been working more
                                    hours, and I'd like to continue
                                    working more hours, than were in the
                                    original budget.<br>
                                    <br>
                                    I've got more contractors than in
                                    the original budget.<br>
                                    <br>
                                    I'd like to spend more on additional
                                    staff, including interns, as
                                    advertised here:<br>
                                    <a href="http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/hiring-libertarian-packaging-interns" target="_blank">http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/<wbr>hiring-libertarian-packaging-i<wbr>nterns</a><br>
                                    <br>
                                    <br>
                                    With Robert's help, the numbers
                                    below show:<br>
                                    <br>
                                  </p>
                                  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:navy">FYI
                                      – Compensation:</span></p>
                                  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:navy"> </span></p>
                                  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:navy">Compensation
                                      YTD *      
                                                                    <wbr>    
                                       $314,155 </span></p>
                                  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:navy">Est
                                      Amount for Sept-Oct (based on
                                      July/Aug)         $69,000 </span></p>
                                  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:navy">Est
                                      Amount for Nov-Dec 
                                                                    <wbr>    
                                       $65,000 </span></p>
                                  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:navy">TOTAL
                                      EST 2016: 
                                                                    <wbr>             
                                       $448,155 </span></p>
                                  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:navy">*
                                      Includes 09/07 payroll  </span></p>
                                  <p class="MsoNormal"><br>
                                    I'm prepared to scale back
                                    everywhere if needed as needed,
                                    including cutting people, hours, pay
                                    rates, etc., if activity drops post
                                    Election Day or whenever regardless
                                    of how far it drops.  Of course we
                                    hope to win lots of elections and
                                    see activity skyrocket even higher
                                    after Election Day, but I'm
                                    prudently prepared for the alternate
                                    scenario as well.<br>
                                    <br>
                                    <br>
                                  </p>
                                  <pre>Wes Benedict, Executive Director</pre>
                                  <pre>Libertarian National Committee, Inc.</pre>
                                  <pre>1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314</pre>
                                  <pre><a href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008%20ext.%20232" value="+12023330008" target="_blank">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a></pre>
                                  <pre><a href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a> @LPNational</pre>
                                  <pre>Join the Libertarian Party at: <a href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></pre>
                                  <div>
                                    <p class="MsoNormal">On 9/1/2016
                                      6:25 PM, <a href="mailto:starrcpa@gmail.com" target="_blank">starrcpa@gmail.com</a>
                                      wrote:</p>
                                  </div>
                                  <blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt">
                                    <div>
                                      <p class="MsoNormal">Thanks for
                                        the good news!</p>
                                    </div>
                                    <div>
                                      <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                    </div>
                                    <div>
                                      <p class="MsoNormal">I would like
                                        to understand in greater detail
                                        the need for a $60,000 increase
                                        in compensation. </p>
                                    </div>
                                    <div>
                                      <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
                                    </div>
                                    <div>
                                      <p class="MsoNormal">Aaron Starr<br>
                                        <br>
                                        Sent from my iPhone</p>
                                    </div>
                                    <div>
                                      <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><br>
                                        On Sep 1, 2016, at 12:46 PM, Wes
                                        Benedict <<a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a>>
                                        wrote:</p>
                                    </div>
                                    <blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt">
                                      <div>
                                        <p class="MsoNormal">Dear LNC:<br>
                                          <br>
                                          I'd like to start a discussion
                                          about several budget increase
                                          requests before a formal
                                          motion is considered. I
                                          mentioned to the chair that I
                                          thought it would be good for
                                          me to put this before the LNC
                                          soon, and he agreed it was
                                          okay for me to get this
                                          discussion started on this
                                          list.<br>
                                          <br>
                                          To me, all of these budget
                                          increase requests are the
                                          result of good news -- our
                                          revenue, membership, and
                                          interest is very high, far
                                          higher than budgeted, and as a
                                          result, many of our expenses
                                          are higher as well. <br>
                                          <br>
                                          More revenue and members means
                                          more membership cards and LP
                                          News to mail out, and bigger
                                          lists to send fundraising
                                          letter to.<br>
                                          <br>
                                          The original 2016 Budget
                                          adopted for the entire year of
                                          2016  was <b>$1,474,561</b>.
                                          My preliminary estimate for
                                          August 31, 2016 YTD revenue is
                                          $1,679,938 (July 2016 YTD)
                                          plus $412,425 (August 2016) =
                                          <b>$2,092,363</b>. It's
                                          possible we could double the
                                          original revenue budgeted for
                                          the entire year (although I'm
                                          not ready to predict that). <br>
                                          <br>
                                          Dues-paying membership has
                                          increased from <b>11,693</b>
                                          at the start of January to
                                          approximately <b>19,300</b>
                                          at the end of August. <br>
                                          <br>
                                          The original budget for
                                          branding revenue was <b>$35,000</b>.
                                          We've already brought in <b>$205,862</b>
                                          in branding revenue (that's
                                          mostly the stuff we sell at <a href="http://lpstore.org" target="_blank">LPStore.org</a>).<br>
                                          <br>
                                          Again, all of these increases
                                          in donations, memberships, and
                                          store orders, means higher
                                          postage, credit card
                                          processing fees, purchases of
                                          items offered at <a href="http://lpstore.org" target="_blank">LPStore.org</a>,
                                          office supplies, and some
                                          labor to help process all that
                                          stuff.<br>
                                          <br>
                                          Robert Kraus and I have looked
                                          over the results of this year
                                          to date, considered what
                                          things could look like going
                                          forward, and are recommending
                                          that the LNC proposed and
                                          passes the following budget
                                          increases. <br>
                                          <br>
                                          <br>
                                          26-Brand Political Materials
                                          Revenue increase by $150,000
                                          to $400,000<br>
                                          32-Fundraising Costs increase
                                          by $60,000 to $201,364<br>
                                          33-Membership Fundraising
                                          Costs increase by $35,000 to
                                          $127,200<br>
                                          40-Adminstrative Costs
                                          increase by $50,000 to
                                          $310,050<br>
                                          45-Compensation increase by
                                          $60,000 to $448,800<br>
                                          55-Brand Political Materials
                                          Expense increase by $150,000
                                          to $400,000<br>
                                          85-Member Communication
                                          increase by $17,500 to $62,500<br>
                                          <br>
                                          We have the revenue to pay for
                                          all of these budget increases.
                                          I'm pretty certain we have
                                          more money in the bank for the
                                          September of a Presidential
                                          election year than ever before
                                          in the history of the
                                          Libertarian Party, and that's
                                          in spite of paying what it has
                                          taken to achieve 50 state
                                          ballot access for the first
                                          time since 2000.<br>
                                          <br>
                                          While we are not technically
                                          over budget in most areas, we
                                          are trending in that direction
                                          and certainly will go way over
                                          budget by the end of the year
                                          unless I proactively cut back
                                          on fundraising letters, LP
                                          News, shipping <a href="http://lpstore.org" target="_blank">LPStore.org</a>
                                          materials, staff levels, and
                                          other areas. That could be
                                          done, but I don't think it's
                                          the right thing to do. For
                                          example, instead of focusing
                                          my time on trying to continue
                                          the growth of membership and
                                          fundraising by hiring another
                                          intern to fill boxes with
                                          campaign materials, I could
                                          spend my own time stuffing
                                          envelopes and filling boxes
                                          with yard signs--something I
                                          do actually enjoy and find to
                                          be therapeutic. <br>
                                          <br>
                                          I'd be happy to try to respond
                                          to any questions you have on
                                          these items. <br>
                                          <br>
                                          Thanks for your consideration.
                                          I'm hoping we have a
                                          productive discussion on this,
                                          and then the chair or
                                          treasurer can propose a motion
                                          that fits a consensus for you
                                          to consider of the Labor Day
                                          Weekend. <br>
                                          <br>
                                          <br>
                                        </p>
                                        <pre>-- </pre>
                                        <pre>Wes Benedict, Executive Director</pre>
                                        <pre>Libertarian National Committee, Inc.</pre>
                                        <pre>1444 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314</pre>
                                        <pre><a href="tel:%28202%29%20333-0008%20ext.%20232" value="+12023330008" target="_blank">(202) 333-0008 ext. 232</a>, <a href="mailto:wes.benedict@lp.org" target="_blank">wes.benedict@lp.org</a></pre>
                                        <pre><a href="http://facebook.com/libertarians" target="_blank">facebook.com/libertarians</a> @LPNational</pre>
                                        <pre>Join the Libertarian Party at: <a href="http://lp.org/membership" target="_blank">http://lp.org/membership</a></pre>
                                      </div>
                                    </blockquote>
                                    <blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt">
                                      <div>
                                        <p class="MsoNormal">______________________________<wbr>_________________<br>
                                          Lnc-business mailing list<br>
                                          <a href="mailto:Lnc-business@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">Lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a><br>
                                          <a href="http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org" target="_blank">http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listi<wbr>nfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org</a></p>
                                      </div>
                                    </blockquote>
                                    <p class="MsoNormal"><br>
                                      <br>
                                      <br>
                                    </p>
                                    <pre>______________________________<wbr>_________________</pre><pre>Lnc-business mailing list</pre><pre><a href="mailto:Lnc-business@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">Lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a></pre><pre><a href="http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org" target="_blank">http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listi<wbr>nfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org</a></pre></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></div></div></div>
______________________________<wbr>_________________

Lnc-business mailing list

<a href="mailto:Lnc-business@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">Lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a>

<a href="http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listi<wbr>nfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org</a>


</blockquote></div>
</div>


<fieldset></fieldset>
<pre>______________________________<wbr>_________________
Lnc-business mailing list
<a href="mailto:Lnc-business@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">Lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a>
<a href="http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org" target="_blank">http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listi<wbr>nfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org</a>
</pre>

</blockquote>
</div></div></div>
______________________________<wbr>_________________

Lnc-business mailing list

<a href="mailto:Lnc-business@hq.lp.org" target="_blank">Lnc-business@hq.lp.org</a>

<a href="http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listi<wbr>nfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org</a>


</blockquote></div>

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<div data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#666666" size="4"><b>In Liberty,</b></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#666666" size="4"><b>Caryn Ann Harlos</b></font></div><div><font size="1">Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee </font><span style="font-size:x-small">(Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - <a href="mailto:Caryn.Ann.Harlos@LP.org" target="_blank">Caryn.Ann. Harlos@LP.org</a></span></div><div><span style="font-size:x-small">Communications Director, <a href="http://www.lpcolorado.org" target="_blank">Libertarian Party of Colorado</a></span></div><div><span style="font-size:x-small">Colorado State Coordinator, <a href="http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org" target="_blank">Libertarian Party Radical Caucus</a></span></div><div>
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