From the President
As President of Lilium Initiative since in 2022, my goal was to help Lilium Initiative move ahead and become its own entity as a nonprofit. This was accomplished by applying for Articles of Incorporation and 501(c)3 nonprofit status, which we received in April of that year. I invited a group of individuals aligned with the LI mission to form a Board of Directors to oversee the direction of Lilium and act as key daily volunteers. These individuals met during our Open House Presentation, which brought everyone interested in LI together. Lilium Initiative formed with a focus on education – helping to educate all on the growing of medicinal herbs in North America.
Member categories have been developed for farmers, practitioners, students and community so that all can participate. Membership has grown and there are now even members in Canada, France, Sweden and Ireland.
We implemented an Education Committee to invite speakers to present on topics of interest and offered these free for Lilium Initiative members. I have served as Chair on this committee, inviting speakers, scheduling events, and moderating the presentations. Recordings of all presentations are available to members upon request.
We started a Growers Support Group where all members can join our conversations and discussions on propagating, growing, harvesting and preparing medicinal herbs for sale. David Melly, owner of Shen Farmacy (farm), is facilitator of this group which has Zoom meetings every other month.
Many other committees and groups were formed to accomplish all the organizational administrative tasks necessary for Lilium Initiative; Operations, Governance, Communications, Strategy & Development – with Board members playing key roles in the day-to-day management of Lilium.
We have a lot we are looking ahead to. There is hope to create a seed bank and offer programs to help facilitate knowledge and understanding for LI members and our communities.
Continuing as President for 2024, I am honored to help orchestrate the many changes that are taking place to grow Lilium Initiative as an organization.
Amanda Fisk, President
FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT
Hello Lilium Members! I am happy to serve as the new VP of Lilium. One of our goals this year is to get ourselves organized and to create processes that will help us move forward and GROW. Growing a nonprofit is a part of what we are here for - not growth for growth’s sake, but to grow because what we are doing is important and relevant and we want to get the message out to our community of like-minded folks to move forward together. The year of the dragon is a perfect time, and we look forward to working with each other - AND - our members.
Our mission says it all:
“Our mission is to create a platform to educate and connect Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbalists and ecologically-based North American farmers to ensure access to strong, sustainable, locally grown Asian medicinal herbs and to support the conservation of these venerated Asian botanicals.”
Here is to a great 2024.
Denise Cusack, Vice President
FROM THE SECRETARY
Our Board of Directors
The year 2023 was the year our Board of Directors became more organized. We wrote three new policies: a Code of Conduct, a Non-Harassment, and a Conflict of Interest policy. These board policies supplement the articles of incorporation, bylaws, mission, and vision of the Organization.
Small nonprofit boards like ours are made up of volunteers. Serving on a board not only benefits the organization and its members but provides training in leadership and governance skills for the board members themselves.
Board members help steer and maintain the organization to make sure that our nonprofit has adequate resources to advance its mission.
Board members also contribute to the board’s culture, strategic focus, effectiveness, and financial sustainability, as well as serving as ambassadors and advocates.
All board members serve on at least one committee and put in many hours reading meeting minutes, researching topics, and attending committee meetings. Contributing to the advances of an organization can be very rewarding. The training in governance and leadership are valuable experiences that can be an important part of one’s career and networking with other Nonprofits.
Board members and the executive board positions serve one year terms and are elected at the beginning of February of each year. Our bylaws allow for 15 board members, though right now we have 10 members. We have board meetings once a month. If you are interested in joining our board, let us know!
Robyn Klein, Secretary