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<p>I am sympathetic to the needs of chapters that for whatever
reason can't viably work within their own registered formal entity
locally. <br>
</p>
<p>ISOC London was informal as it became ISOC England which did
formalise in 1999 before it became a chartered chapter (there was
already a formal ISOC Scotland organisation since defunct). ISOC
England again became "informal" in the mid2000s and stayed
informal as the core of the current team refreshed it from 2011
until a couple of years ago.</p>
<p>A sufficient stable revenue that would at least meet our
regularised costs for at least 3 years beyond the current
financial year was for us an essential pre condition before we
formalised. <br>
</p>
<p>So far that has happened according to plan.</p>
<p>One thought I've had that might help with chartered but
informally structured chapters. <br>
</p>
<p>ISOC regional offices could set up a regional secretariat entity
that was managed by ISOC staff with chapter leadership engagement
to handle the financial formalities for informal chapters.<br>
</p>
<p>With grants managed from that with chapter and ISOC trustee
oversight. It should satisfy concerns for accountability and
getting the money doing useful things?</p>
<p>If an informal chapter starts to get viable longer term support
locally that will allow it to sustain its own structure and
governance then it can always do that at a later date. <br>
</p>
<p>?<br>
</p>
<p>C<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 03/07/2020 12:46, sivasubramanian
muthusamy via Chapter-delegates wrote:<br>
</div>
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<div>In the case of the Chennai Chapter, we
have opted NOT to incorporate, because
incorporation / formation as an NGO / Trust
requires systematic paperwork, filing of
monthly / quarterly reports or what we call
"returns" and might involve visits to one or
more Government offices, additional
procedures for receiving / sending money
from / to accounts outside the country.
That makes it difficult for a Chapter of
volunteers to commit to such processes that
might require a Chapter Accountant, and in
addition would require the Chapter to engage
the services of a Chartered Accountant and
in some cases a Lawyer. Professionals with
a sense of responsibility, commitment and
thoroughness, who also have a sense of
Accountability are expensive in terms of the
fee payable. As a Chapter, who have handled
a sum total of about $ 6000 in 12 years, it
was unwise to seek to commit to these
processes, which would have required us to
spend about $5000 a year in professional
fees alone merely to meet the compliance
requirements. The $ 5000 / year indicated
here is arbitrary, one could argue that
there are professionals of lesser standards
who can be engaged at about $500 a year or
even less (not denying that the fee charged
is not always a measure of the standards of
service extended, but it is often true that
reliable services require a good outlay for
professional fees); It can also be argued
that much more than $ 5000 a year is to be
set aside towards professional fees, and
even additional provisions may be required
for legal services; With this rationale,
though not conclusively decided not to
incorporate in some form, we have been
hesitating; We do have a bank account,
though I am not saying this to ask for admin
funding right now.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Sivasubramanian M</div>
<div>Internet Society India Chennai </div>
</div>
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<br>
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<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Jul 3, 2020 at 3:35 PM
Winthrop Yu via Chapter-delegates <<a
href="mailto:chapter-delegates@elists.isoc.org"
moz-do-not-send="true">chapter-delegates@elists.isoc.org</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px
0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<p>Thank you for your comprehensive reply Christine. <br>
</p>
<p>During the campaign for signing by all Chapters of the
Chapter Letter, correct me if i misheard or do not
remember correctly, but i distinctly recall your
mentioning that alternative procedures would be made
available for those Chapters in countries where a bank
account requires full incorporation. I mention this again
as in some developing countries such a registration,
particularly for non-profit entities, is extremely
onerous. This is does not just entail red-tape and the
usual mandatory regulatory requirements, but the surrender
of personal privacy; for example a requirement that all
officers of such an entity sign waivers allowing scrutiny
of all personal bank accounts. In a country where there is
reasonable rule of law, this may perhaps be barely
reasonable. In a country where the government can and does
"weaponize" the law, this represents a significant risk
and threat against the officers of such an entity. <br>
</p>
<p>In this vein, i am also seeking clarification of your
second bullet point below -- "<i>For Chapters in a country
where legal registration is <b>not</b> necessary to
open a bank account in the official name of the Chapter
...</i>" -- is this worded correctly (with the "not); or
should that instead read -- "<i>For Chapters in a country
where legal registration <b>is</b> necessary to open a
bank account in the official name of the Chapter ...</i>".
<br>
</p>
<p>Kindly advise, thank you! <br>
</p>
<p>WYn<i><br>
</i></p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div>On 3 Jul 2020 5:20 pm, Christine Saegesser via
Chapter-delegates wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid2"><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Dear
Chapter Leaders,</span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid3"><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid508"><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Thanks
a lot for sharing your thoughts around </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">the </span><span>Chapter
Admin Funding </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Programme </span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">(and
other funding programs), please know that all your
feedback is noted and taken into consideration for
future improvements.</span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid5"><br>
</div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid532"><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">We
will </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">be
in touch with</span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> the
Chapter Advisory Council Steering Committee</span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"> </span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">later
this year to </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">agree
on</span><span style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> a
timeline that works </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">better
for everyone for 2021. </span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid29"><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid69"><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Based
on the comments on the list, we also</span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> wish
to share some clarifications that are hopefully to
everyone’s benefit:</span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid9"><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid10"><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Bank
Accounts and Funding Eligibility</span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">The
requirement to have a bank account in the name of
the Chapter/SIG is not a new requirement. This was
introduced in 2018 as reflected in the updated
Charter Letters, and required for the Internet
Society and the Internet Society Foundation to
comply with their own accounting and liability
requirements (see point 3.1.V </span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a
href="https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2018-2020-ISOC_Chapter_Charter_Agreement-Apr2020.pdf"
rel="noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2018-2020-ISOC_Chapter_Charter_Agreement-Apr2020.pdf</a></span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">For
Chapters in a country where legal registration is
not necessary to open a bank account in the official
name of the Chapter, please reach out to Stine
Philipsen (<a href="mailto:philipsen@isoc.org"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">philipsen@isoc.org</a>)
with some background on the local setting your
Chapter is operating in. We evaluate these
circumstances on a case-by-case basis.</span></li>
<li><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Concerning the
2019 round of evaluations: </span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Please</span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"> </span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">keep
in mind that </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">additional time
was needed to evaluate the applications last year
since we were missing </span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">documentation
(legal registration and matching bank account) </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">from
a number of Chapters. We needed to have these
documents on file for being</span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> able
to disburse funds. </span></li>
</ul>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid14"><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid130"><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Internet
Society & Internet Society Foundation </span><span>Funding
Programs:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">The
Foundation handles project-related funding for
Chapters as well as additional funding programs open
to a wider audience</span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">. T</span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">his
includes Beyond the Net, SCILLS,</span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"> IGF and COVID19
Emergency Response, </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><a
href="https://www.isocfoundation.org/funding-areas/"
rel="noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">please refer to 'Funding
Areas' on the Foundation website</a></span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">The
Internet Society manages the </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Chapter </span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)">Admin
Funding (for the day to day running of
Chapters/SIGs) and the Chapterthon. </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">For Chapter Admin
Funding, </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><a
href="https://www.internetsociety.org/grants/chapter-admin-funding/"
rel="noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true">please refer to 'Chapter
Admin Funding' on the Internet Society website.</a></span></li>
</ul>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid18"><br>
</div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid19"><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Deadline
for Chapter Admin Funding:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">The</span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"> 30 June deadline
(including funding requirements) has been
communicated via numerous Chapter Updates, regional
calls and updates, and is listed on the website
under the Chapter Admin Funding section. If you
consider there to be gaps in our communication
around important deadlines, we welcome your
suggestions on how you wish to receive this
information. Please share this feedback directly
with your </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Regional Community
Engagement</span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"> Managers.</span></li>
<li><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">From a systems
perspective, the 'Valid until July 01, 2020' is to
ensure the program remains open and all applications
submitted within the 30 June 2020 deadline are
well-received </span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><u>across
all time zones</u></span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">.</span></li>
</ul>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid22"><br>
</div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid403"><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">General
comment: </span></div>
<ul>
<li><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">As Stine mentioned
in her e-mail to the list on 1 July, we kindly ask
those Chapters facing issues linked to the unusual
circumstances the world is facing this year to
contact her (Stine Philipsen) directly at <</span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a
href="mailto:philipsen@isoc.org" rel="noreferrer
nofollow" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">philipsen@isoc.org</a></span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">>
by 15 July, so we can evaluate potential solutions
for their Admin Funding requests.</span></li>
</ul>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid389"><br>
</div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid23"><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Thanks
again for your collaboration. As mentioned, </span><span>your
fe</span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">edback
and suggestions are</span><span
style="font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> noted
and taken into consideration for future improvements </span><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">of
our Chapter Admin Funding program.</span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid451"><br>
</div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid456"><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Best, </span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid456"><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><br>
</span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid456"><span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Lato,"Helvetica
Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Christine </span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261magicdomid456"><br>
</div>
<br>
<br>
<div>
<div dir="auto"
style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
<div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">
<div
style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;text-decoration:none">
<b>Christine Saegesser Baethge</b><span
style="font-weight:normal">, Sr. Director
Chapters and Individual Members<br>
<a href="mailto:saegesser@isoc.org"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true">saegesser@isoc.org</a> | Twitter:
ch_saebae<br>
</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<span
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<br>
</blockquote>
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<fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">_______________________________________________
As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS):
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login">https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login</a>
View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/">https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/</a>
</pre>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Christian de Larrinaga
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