We Are On A Roll

 

LET'S KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

More than 100 DNF Member-Owners showed up at the January 24 State of the Co-op Meeting, and the Board listened and heard the messages: Durango Natural Foods is a community treasure. The community wants DNF to thrive. The Member-Ownership wants to retain the current Board of Directors.

 

We appreciate your vote of confidence as we juggle all the balls of governance during these invigorating times for the Co-op. The Board and staff truly appreciate the outpouring of thoughts, actions, concerns, ideas, and financial support from the community. DNF needs your support and energy – bring it on!

 

As we move through this time of challenge and change, the Board wants to harness Member-Owners’ ideas and energy, and we need coordinated input and assistance from our community. Several committees have been formed to make this happen. Committees are advisory to the Board, and do not relieve the Board of its responsibilities in the oversight of the Co-op. We are looking for coordination and leadership from Member-Owners, so that committees can be relatively independent. Each committee will include a Board Member, who will be responsible for interacting with the GM around committee business, so as not to swamp our busy staff team.

COMMITTEE SIGN UP INFORMATION

 

If you are interested in serving on one of the following committees, please contact the Chair or Board Rep directly OR  if you choose to use the Contact Us form on the website please put the name of the committee you want to join in the subject line.  Also, you can sign up the old fashioned way in the store.

Currently, the following committees are in emergence. Some are just forming and some are already incredibly productive.

 

DNF Thrives Committee: A lively group that envisions a thriving future for DNF, and brainstorms how to make that happen. Advises the Board on potential future options, and with Board support has polled Member-Ownership in order to determine priorities.

 

Chair: Cody Reinheimer, codestar.durango@gmail.com , 970-903-1176

Board Representative: Kelly Rogers, wellness@gmail.com, 970-769-0071

 

Fundraising/ Member Engagement Committee: With Board support and approval, raises money for vendor debt relief, marketing, and other projects. Works with the Board to support and enhance staff efforts to engage Member-Owners and community members and promote positive communication about DNF.

 

Chair: Ellen Stein, ellenrobinstein@msn.com

Board Representative: Cathy Cowles, cathycowles@gmail.com

 

Facilities & Tech Committee: Organizes community volunteers to support DNF staff in repairing and maintaining DNF’s building, grounds, and technological systems including Point of Sales, internet, etc.

 

Chair: Kelly Rogers, wellness@gmail.com, 970-769-0071

Board Rep: Jim Bolton, 970-749-5090, jimbolton@mydurango.net

 

Finance Committee: An emerging committee that will work with the Board to monitor DNF’s financial health and processes.

Chair: To Be Determined

Board Rep: Jamie Matthews, jamiematthewscpa@gmail.com

Contact Us Form

STORE AND STAFF

 

In keeping with her contract, Jules Masterjohn will step down from her role as Interim General Manager in mid-March. The Board expresses our deep appreciation to Jules for taking the helm of the store in the midst of a storm, and managing it with love, talent and courage. Jules has made some difficult yet crucial decisions during her months as IGM, cutting operating costs in order to keep the doors open. With Board support, Jules has shortened store hours and reduced staff hours while remaining a THRIVE Living Wage Employer.

 

The store’s staff team is going strong, working smarter and going the extra mile to cover all duties with reduced staff. Next time you are shopping at the store (and filling up that basket!) please take a moment to thank Jules and Brian Gaddy, interim operations manager, and all of the DNF staff, who have weathered the brunt of this storm and continue to serve us so we can purchase all that healthy, local, organic food that we value so dearly.

 

The Board is fully engaged in the process of hiring our next General Manager. We are working with National Co-op Grocers to make sure we have a GM with the skills and experience to navigate our Co-op through this time of recovery and re-focusing. Stay tuned!

FINANCING AND FUNDRAISING

 

The Board, staff, and community of Member-Owners are working hard to raise the funds needed to get our beloved co-op back in good financial standing. We are still in a very difficult financial place, but the groundswell of local effort is starting to make a dent. Our goals are to keep the doors open, pay down our vendor debt, generate a cash reserve fund, and move DNF forward.

 

We started our fundraising efforts at home, by asking you, our Member-Owners to give what you can. The results have been amazing, with over $1000 raised from your Round-Ups at the Register, to an astoundingly generous $75,000 loan from a Member-Owner.

 

We still have a long way to go in order to cover operational costs and chip away at our debt. If you are willing and able, please consider making a donation of any size to the Vendor Debt Relief Fund via the Go Fund Me site or by donating at the store. If you are considering making a large donation or loan, please contact IGM Jules Masterjohn or Board Treasurer Jamie Matthews. We all own this co-op, and we all need to invest.

Go Fund Me

A talented and hardworking volunteer grants team, led by Ellen Stein, chair of the Fundraising/Member Engagement Committee, recently submitted a proposal for a $172,000 grant from the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. If we are awarded, the exciting projects in this proposal will enable DNF to work towards our Ends Statement goals by increasing healthy food accessibility for our low-income community members, deepening DNF involvement in local food systems, and improving the DNF shopping experience by replacing some ancient equipment. Many, many thanks to the incredible network of hands, brains and hearts that rallied to submit this proposal. The grants team is on a roll, and has another funding opportunity in mind. Go, team!

 

Also, the Board and Fundraising/ Member Engagement Committee are in the process of seeking loans from several additional sources. We have been working on this since July, and (finally!) have some promising leads.

The Board has appointed Jim Bolton as an interim Board Member, filling the vacancy created when Jules Masterjohn resigned to serve as Interim General Manager. As a former DNF Board Member and retired successful business owner, Jim’s wealth of experience and skill set is exactly what the Board needs right now. We are sad to share that Tom Reising has resigned from the Board due to health reasons. The Board is actively working to appoint another interim Member to fill his spot.

 

April’s Annual Meeting will include a Board election. We anticipate several openings, as a few Board Members have shared that they will not be seeking re-election, including our badass President Kate Husted, and our thorough and lovely treasurer Jamie Matthews. If you have time, tenacity, talent and the ability to compromise and cooperate, please consider running for a position on the Board. A great way to prepare is to serve on a Committee. Contact any Board member for more information.

 

Phew, we have a lot going on - thank you for reading all that!

 

Remember, the most important way you can support your Co-op is by shopping at the store, and spreading the word. Together, we can make this happen.

Cooperatively yours,

The DNF Board of Directors: Kate Husted, Jamie Matthews, Dan Randolph,

Kelly Rogers, Cathy Cowles, and Jim Bolton

575 East 8th Ave, Durango, CO
970.247.8129

Check out our website  
This email was created with Wix.‌ Discover More