<div dir="ltr"><br clear="all"><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><br></div><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></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><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">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">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">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">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">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">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">saegesser@isoc.org</a> | Twitter:
ch_saebae<br>
</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);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"></span><br>
<span><img id="gmail-m_4431613232573144261C0ED5F2E-7A96-413A-8D9F-2C187106B16E" src="cid:173147492754cff311"></span><span 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)"><br>
</span><a href="http://internetsociety.org" 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" target="_blank">internetsociety.org</a><span 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)"> | @internetsociety</span>
</div>
<br>
</blockquote>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed<br>
to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS):<br>
<a href="https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login</a><br>
View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: <a href="https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/</a><br>
</blockquote></div>