Unwritten Policy

VoteCalls

On votecalls issued on the Internet, via e-mail, to the membership, any ballot not returned within the specified time is considered an abstention. The specified time should never be less than a two week period, and a maximum of a month. Bouncing e-mail is likewise considered an abstention.

 

Any member not keeping the Secretary current on e-mail address changes is considered to be expressing a desire not to receive e-mail related to the corporation, including ballots, unless such failure to notify the Secretary is an oversight or such notice is given to another Officer or a member of the Board. Members who have expressed a desire to no longer receive e-mail from the corporation may nontheless receive a ballot if the matter being determined affects their rights as a member.

 

Votecalls are issued to the Board, as an alternative to calling a special Board Meeting, if the matter being determined is:

1. clear, not an item requiring further discussion, which cannot wait until the next monthly Board Meeting;

2. an emergency, requiring resolution without delay, such that a votecall can be issues before any Board Meeting could be arranged;

3. a trivial cleanup matter where a votecall is needed to technically register the Board's approval of a matter.

Privacy

On Board Logs, only the first name of each Officer or Board Member is used when placing the log for public view. Where the full name of each Officer and Board Member will be known to the membership, other identifying information such as address, phone number, or place of employment are considered priviledged. The Secretary is required to keep the full name, address, phone number, and any other information helpful in contacting an Officer or Board member, but this information is to be accessible only to the officers running the corporation on an operational basis. Where a governing or oversight body requires that such information be divulged, it will be provided.

 

Screen names, where the an individual uses an alternative name on the Internet to avoid harrassment in their personal lives, or the use of nicknames, is acceptable as long as the Secretary and other officers are aware of the proper name of the individual. In all cases the proper first name of the individual should be used on the Board Logs made available to the public, to avoid confusion at a later date.

 

Disbursement

If a receipt has been lost or could not be secured, a signed statement by a trustworthy person or persons standing in witness to the expenditure, can be attached as a substitute receipt to the Purchase Order or Voucher. An example is travel approved after-the-fact, when the traveler was not aware they might be compensated for gas or milage and failed to retain receipts. Such signed statements should explain the nature of the expenditure, state the means by which witness to the expenditure occurred, and state how the value of the expenditure was accertained. Such statement should be signed and dated and delivered to the Treasurer.

 

Funding

The corporation can approved expenditures and reserved funds when the cash is not at hand. Such situations can occur when a donor designates a purpose for their donation, and this is accepted by the Board, but the funds are needed temporarily for another matter. Funds so used are still designated and are replaced in the reserve account when additional funding is received. Such situations can also occur when a designated donation cannot be actualized in the short term, as a situation where a site or principal for a project has not yet been secured, and the funds would otherwise sit idle. In all cases where an overfunding has occurred, funds in hand not available to cover what the Board has approved, this shall be so stated in clear terms at the Board Meetings where disbursement issues are brought before the Board.

 

Projects being funded for the first time will have a discretionary spending account established, in addition to approval of major items to be purchased or known expenditures to be pre-approved. Such a discretionary spending account will be 20% of the estimated project expenses where a one-time expense on a short-term project is involved. An example is assembly of servers, where the project is completed in the short term and hardware and software costs are estimated. Such a discretionary spending account will be a stated yearly allowance where annual maintenance is involved. An example is seed gardens which require fertilizer and packaging material, yearly. The discretionary account can be spent by the Principal as needed, but in all cases expenses should clearly be in support of the project. If the discretaionary account is exhuasted, the Principal must come before the Board, list all expenditures which expended the account, and explain the need for an increase before an increase can be approved.