ZA Letter to the Community,
January 2010

Greetings,

The Zimfest Association Board of Directors has been meeting on a monthly basis and would like to update the community on our work towards promoting the annual festival and giving back to Zimbabwe.

Zimfest 2009 was not only an awesome festival, but was a financial success as well. This has allowed the Zimfest Association (ZA) to award grants to MBIRA, Tariro, Ancient Ways, and Kutsinhira Community Development Project. Each organization received $2000 in December of 2009. MBIRA, Tariro and Ancient Ways applied for funds to continue their work in Zimbabwe with their respective causes and communities. The Kutsinhira Community Development Project received funds in regards to a grant application from Patience Chaitezvi for school supplies for all the students at the high school where she teaches. More than 400 students will benefit from this grant. For more information about the grant distributions or to apply for a grant in the future, please see: ZA Grant and Donation Guidelines.

The board has been updating the ZA By-Laws to allow the ZA to become a membership organization. We are hoping to generate funds for the ZA by membership dues and create a community of members with a vested interest in the future of Zimfest. We hope you join us as members! More information will be coming soon.

As part of our work to move the festival forward, the ZA has decided to hire a part-time administrative assistant. We are looking for someone to organize the festival archives, create a database, set up a system for a membership organization and work with the board in support of the festival. For more information and a complete job description please see: Job Posting: Zimfest Association Administrative Assistant. Letters of interest and resumes will be taken until February 20th, 2010.

We are also looking for a site for Zimfest 2011. If your community is interested in hosting the festival, please contact us at: board [at] zimfest {dot} org. It’s not too early to start thinking about Zimfest 2011!

We look forward to seeing you all in Corvallis, OR at Zimfest 2010, August 20-22.

Warm regards,

The Zimfest Association Board of Directors:
Nathan Beck — Portland, Oregon
John Hatten — Bellingham, Washington
Marylin Kolodziejczyk — Eugene, Oregon
Julie Ishihara — Bellingham, Washington
Larry Israel — Santa Cruz, California
Angela Marie — Santa Cruz, California
Forest Shomer — Port Townsend, Washington

See also: Zimfest Association