I contacted DHS today to ask them about the possibility of an Establishment Grant for beds/mattresses etc for Romana. They usually only deliver this grant to properties that are DHS owned. However, I was told that I could expect an answer within a few days. Even a few thousand $$$ would be of great benefit.
Category Archives: Finances
20,000,000 bathroom tiles
Ok, there may not be quite 20,000,000 tiles @ Romana in the bathrooms – but there are a lot! It has come to our attention of late that the majority of the bathroom tiles are in poor condition – they have, after all, been doing their job for the past 30 years or so. A finance sub committee decision was taken that Servants should pay for the tiling repairs to be carried out. Quotes have been obtained and a tiler will be engaged immediately to start this body of work.
Can’t get enough …………
The interest in our work from Carey continues to grow. Having been chosen by 2 of their 10 houses as the charity of choice for 2014 I was approached by a 3rd house a couple of days ago to talk at their upcoming chapel service. And why not?! Seems the Carey theme this year of ‘making a difference’ means that we are loved! I speak there again a week on Tuesday. I have been informed that on average each house raises $6000 per annum for their chosen charity. This should put us somewhere in the 18k minimum bracket over the course of the year – and probably significantly more.
Harvard Club of Victoria
Monday evening I attended an info session hosted by HCoV for scholarships to Harvard for the course I want to study later this year – Strategic Perspectives for Not For Profits. It was a terrific session with a couple of former scholarship recipients sharing their experiences. I am very keen to study this course – but feel quite doubtful in regards to being offered a scholarship. Warren and I now need to establish whether I should invest time into applying for a scholarship. The key criteria that would probably work against me successfully applying would be 1) my distinct lack of involvement in the broader framework of housing within Victoria and 2) the operational budget of Servants is significantly less than what they are looking for. Warren and I will discuss and let you know of our decision in due course.
General Lease and Dept
On Friday Amanda and I met with Jo Holl from DHS Leasing to commence talks re Servants and the General Lease. It was a particularly beneficial meeting as we were able to express our specific concerns in regards to the General Lease, update the Dept in terms of our progress to date (having a full condition report completed/talking with St Kilda Community Housing and Yarra Community Housing re maintenance options) discuss the future of our CCB funds as well as arrangements for our ongoing presence at Hamer post the culmination of the current lease on 30/6/15.
A meeting of the Servants Risk Committee will be held in early March to progress thinking/actions in regards to the General Lease.
Romana builder appointed
A builder has been appointed for the Romana renovations. Steve Skurnik has recommended that Project One Builders be appointed to undertake the work. Their quote of $68,951 (excl GST) is significantly below the Servants budget for the alterations which was $100,000. At this stage Steve remains confident that we will be housing our first resos there in the last week of April or very early May. Project One will be using their own employees for the job – not contractors.
Carey. Morning #1
This morning Amanda and I visited Carey to speak at the Chapel service of one of their 10 houses. It was an excellent morning. What I had to say was very well received. One of the Chaplains has already asked me to speak to some of his younger students at a later date. An offering was held – raising over $1000 for Servants.
We visit another of the houses this coming Sunday morning for a repeat performance.
Both of these houses have chosen Servants as their charity of choice for 2014. There will be several house events throughout the year that will raise funds for Servants.
Romana quotes
I heard from architect Steve that the tendering process/quotes are now in for Romana. Two builders quoted – one coming in just under $90,000 and the other over $20,000 cheaper. Steve will advise us of his preference later this week. All very exciting stuff and we continue to draw nearer to that day in April when our first reso will be able to call Romana ‘home.’
Speaking at Carey
In the week ahead I have 2 speaking engagements at Carey chapel services. On both Tuesday and Sunday mornings I will be introducing the work of Servants to Carey. I have been given the theme of ‘making a difference’ to talk to. Nice!! These speaking engagements are significant as I see a very important Servants/Carey relationship about to commence.
Hawthorn Community Chest
At their request I met with HCC earlier this week. They quickly fell in love with Servants and are already talking of helping us with significant sponsorship $$$ for the Narrative book. Exciting times!
Romana Property Report Update
Following the committee meeting on Monday night I talked with our architect, Steve Skurnik, re getting a complete condition report done on Romana. His email response, detailed below, was very encouraging and will doubtless save us a few thousand dollars:
Matt
Just confirming our conversation and advising that, as part of their works, the contractor will be required to undertake an inspection and prepare a dilapidation report of the building and surrounding sites and structures.
I propose to do this as a joint inspection with the Builder.
That way Servant’s will be aware of all building defects evident before works commence
No need to undertake a separate inspection then!.
Cheers
Steve Skurnik
De Jong Architects
Thoughts sought ………
Our initial print run of Anthology was 5300. We then has another 5000 copies printed. There are about 3000 copies currently remaining.
I am looking for input into how many copies of Narrative we should look to produce when the time comes. I am thinking a minimum of 10,000 copies – possibly stretching to 15,000 – remembering that the price per unit decreases significantly with the more copies we print.
Your input would be appreciated!
Bart
Bart Majoor, brother of Conrad and reasonably long-term Canterbury and Carrical reso moved out on Tuesday of this week. His intended replacement made a last minute decision not to move in. A new reso replaces Bart next Monday. A rarity occurs here with several empty room nights being accumulated.
Narrative
I have been in touch with Southern Colour – the mob who printed both editions of Anthology – and that have provided me with various quotes for various quantities of the new book. My initial idea is that we should print between 10,000 and 20,000 copies.
I had a very productive meeting with Balwyn Rotary yesterday morning and they will explore within their Club the idea of sponsoring all costs associated with the publishing of the book. Watch this space …………………
Interviews galore!
The demand for Servants’ housing remains as high as ever. The really excellent news is that as Carrical and Hamer remain full with very few vacancies that people are starting to line up to be housed by us at Romana.
I am quietly confident that we are going to get Romana off to a terrific start when the time comes.
Flowers
Servants received many wonderful gifts over the Christmas period. One of the best were bunches of magnifique flowers. Now, don’t even think about asking me what they were as I have not the slightest idea, but they are beautiful and have made a fantastic contribution to helping Carrical look and smell amazing. I suggest we keep all of our houses in fresh flowers 100% of the time. If anyone would like to suggest how we might fund such a venture please let me know!