To join the email list:  

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AthensAreaPagans/

To register with AAP and become a General Member (who can vote):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGdrS0s4ellIaGlSUFdBeFZfOFRXVXc6MQ#gid=0

Athens Area Pagans Bylaws in Plain English

Article I                Name and Principle Office

The organization is called Athens Area Pagans.  In this document, it is abbreviated “the AAP”.  A group of people, defined below, called the Council of Elders, get to decide where the office is.  Currently, the office is at 269 Wakefield Trace Athens GA 30605.

Article II        Purpose

This part is pretty easy:

The purpose of the AAP is:

• To provide the followers of Pagan faiths and philosophy in Athens and northeast Georgia a social network;
• To provide a network to support the development of the Pagan community;
• To promote the image of Paganism to the general public;
• To organize events for the Pagan community;
• To assist individuals, groups and businesses within and relevant to the Pagan community.
• To assist the larger community in times of crisis.
• To raise funds by any method consistent with law and regulations governing non-profit religious.

Political activity prohibited

To keep tax-exempt status, we have to be sure there is no political activity.  This part says so.  In particular, we say that we will not:

• advocate for or against the election of any political candidate
• advocate for or against the enactment or repeal of any particular law or legislation
• contribute funds to or raise funds for such political activities.

However, individuals can do as they please so long as they don’t say they’re doing it in the name of AAP.

Article III        Membership

• The email list:

• Being on the email list doesn’t make you a member.
• You need to be a real person to be on the email list.

• Meetings (including the online lists and forums)

• Anyone can attend non-voting meetings
• Only members and other invited people can attend voting meetings.
• We can kick people out of meetings if they behave badly

• AAP claims no authority over any person or group outside of official AAP business
• Members:

• All members, of any type, must give a real name and address to the AAP.

• They must keep this information current.  
• They must provide the Secretary with any pseudonyms or alternate email addresses they might want to use.

• The AAP will do its best to keep this information private, unless the individual requests otherwise, except:

• In the case of Officers, strict privacy might be difficult to maintain.  The AAP will try, but can’t promise.
• If there is no other way to enforce AAP rules, minimal amounts of information might be shared with only those who need to know it.
• Of course, if the law requires it, the AAP has to share.
• Officers, and those to whom they delegate tasks, might need to view the information.

• Members are not compensated for activities directly related to membership in the AAP.  The only exception is officers, and that is described below.  Of course, if a member has a business that performs work or provides a service that otherwise might have been provided by a non-member’s business, the member can be compensated, but not in any special way.
• There are five types of members:

• General Member:  The only requirement is to provide a real name and address to the secretary.  The name and address must be kept current.
• Core Member:  A general Member who has given at least two hours of work, or the monetary equivalent, to AAP in any given year.  Must be renewed on a year-to-year basis.

• The monetary equivalent of one hours’ work is 1.25 times the current hourly minimum wage.  At this time, the current minimum hourly wage is $7.25.  So, for two hours’ work, the amount would be 2*1.25*$7.25 = $18.12.

• Group Affiliate:  Local groups can be affiliates, but at least one member has to be a general Member. As with any other member, we will keep the group’s information private to the extent that the group wants it to be.
• Officers:  All members, including Officers, must be General Members.  Of course, it seems unlikely an officer would be elected if not also a Core Member, but the rules don’t require that.  There are three types of officers, and their titles and duties correspond to State of Georgia requirements for corporations.  They are discussed in more detail below.  Officers can be paid for their duties if, averaged over a year, they spend more than five hours a week working for the AAP.  Even then, they can choose to be unpaid.  If they are paid, their payment should be no more than what people in similar positions for similar organizations get paid.
• Elders:  These people are tasked with ensuring that the group doesn’t do anything illegal or otherwise self-detrimental.  They keep this status for life or until they resign or, in rare circumstances, until the status is removed.  There should be at least three and at most nine.  They have some extra administrative duties.  They can’t be paid for their services.  The only perk is that they can block things more than anyone else.  The official bylaws give recommendations for their selection, but the only requirements are:

• They must have been:

• General Member of AAP for three years.
• Core Member for two.

• They must consent to being an Elder.

• That is, no voting someone in without their approval.

• Must be approved by all existing Elders.

Article IV        Meetings

Most voting will be conducted online, in association with the email list.  However, in some circumstances, there will be formal meetings in real space.  At these meetings, only the votes of those in attendance will be counted.  Members may participate via some form of remote conferencing (teleconferencing, Skype, etc.) so long as the remote attender provides the means and so long as that means is of a form that all others in attendance will be convinced of the remote attender’s identity.

        The formal meetings will be conducted according to whatever rules are decided at the annual meeting.  The rules adopted should be appropriate to consensus-based decision making.  

One annual meeting must be held each year in January.  It should generally be held in Athens-Clarke County, but there are mechanisms for changing that.  At the annual meeting: Officers are elected, the financial report and yearly budget are submitted for approval.  Nominees for officers, as well as the financial report and the yearly budget should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the first meeting.

Other formal meetings can be called, but need to be announced at least two weeks prior to the proposed date.  Calls for these other meetings, like everything else, can be blocked.  The annual meeting has to happen.

Regular weekly meetings are not formal meetings unless declared, at least two weeks in advance, as being formal.

Most decisions, except for those that must occur at formal meetings, can take place completely online.  See also “Decision Making” for meetings that must be formal.

Article V         Decision making

We make decisions by consensus.  Only Members can be involved in decision making (i.e., being on the email list isn’t enough).  

There are three levels of consensus:

• Active Explicit Consensus:  This level requires ⅔ of the core members, and any interested general members, to participate.  For this type of decision to pass, all of them have to consent or consent with reservation.  If any abstain or block, the proposal does not pass.  This is the highest level.
• Active Implicit Consensus:  This level requires ½ of the core members, and any interested general members, to participate.  In this case, explicit abstentions are allowed.  That is, the entire quorum must vote, but votes of “abstain” will not stop the proposal from passing.  Only votes of “block” will stop it.  This is the middle level.
• Passive Consensus:  There is no quorum.  If no members object, the proposal passes.  This is the lowest level.

Really big decisions, like changing Bylaws or removing Elder status, must be made by Active Explicit Consensus.  Moderately big decisions, like adopting a budget or changing rules that affect everyone, must be made by Active Implicit Consensus.  All other decisions can be made via any of the three methods.  The individual who initiates a proposal can require a higher level of consensus for the proposal to pass, but not a lower one.

If a proposal requires the expenditure of funds that are already provided for in the budget, then the proposal must be initiated by a Core Member.  If the proposal requires the allocation of new funds, it must be endorsed by an Elder, must be accompanied by a proposal to amend the budget and must be approved at a formal meeting.  Any member may propose to raise funds for a project of the AAP (but see below about ownership).

Whatever else happens, if we just don’t have the money, the Treasure can (and should) refuse to disburse funds.

All funds or other donations accepted on behalf of or in the name of the AAP or any project of the AAP become the property of the AAP.  If we spend money or give away other assets, we have to do so lawfully.  If funds or other donations are solicited for a particular purpose, they will only be used for that purpose.  If the purpose should become invalid (for example, an intended charitable recipient no longer requires or can receive assistance), then a proposal to repurpose the fund must be submitted and approved at the next Annual Meeting.

All members entrusted with funds or property of the AAP must keep an accounting of them, must report this accounting to the Treasurer, and will return unused funds or property to the Treasurer when the relevant project is ended.

Group Affiliates can attend meetings, make proposals and comment on proposals.  They can not vote.  All interactions between Group Affiliates and the AAP must occur via an Ordinary Member of the AAP.  The Ordinary Members who act as spokespersons for the Group Affiliates are not treated specially in any other way.  That is, they each still have the voting status, number of blocks, etc., that they would otherwise have.

Blocking -- A single member may block any proposal made by announcing his or her intention to do so on the list, provided, however:

• A General Member gets one block a year.
• A Core Member gets three.
• An Elder has no limit on the number of blocks.

Block counts reset at midnight on 31 December each year.

Blocks can be overturned.  To do that, a formal meeting must be held.  At that meeting, both the proposer and the blocker are allowed to state their cases.  After all the discussions, everyone present, except for the proposer and the blocker, will vote on the proposal.  The decision made there will stand.  General Members may not request a formal meeting.  Only an Elder can request a formal meeting for a block by an Elder.

Article VI        Duties of Officers

This section says what the three officers should do.  None of it is surprising, and there are even examples given for some circumstances.  All officers can delegate duties to others.   The three types of officer are:

• Chief Elected Officer
• Secretary
• Chief Financial Officer (also called “Treasurer”)

Article VII        Other matters

1. Whatever we’ve written in the bylaws, even if we wrote it badly, should not be taken to mean that any activity of the AAP will violate any laws, particularly those laws governing non-profit, religious organizations.
2. If any portion of the bylaws is found illegal or unenforceable, then the rest of the bylaws still stand.
3. If AAP is dissolved, all assets remaining, after any debts are paid, have to go to another religious non-profit or back to the State.  We have designated Pagan Pride Project, Inc., as our initially designated recipient.  If it is necessary to change the recipient, the Elders have the authority to do so.