[Chapter-delegates] Notification: Individual Donation campaign

Tue Nov 14 09:18:50 PST 2017

+1, John.

There's no need to attack the staff. We have been interacting with the
ISOC staff on several projects, involving ISOC Bulgaria board, and
external organizations that we work with, and they are actually pretty
decent people. We can't generalize for all staff, in any case.
Having said that, there's always an argument about giving money to a
foreign-based organization vs a local based. In some countries this may
be considered strange, in others if you give money to local
organizations, you may deduct it from your taxes (that's the case in the
USA). Of course, Susannah's concerns are also to be taken into account
and consideration.

Evan said it's an unforced error, which could be fixed, and I see that
Todd has already reacted that way.

Let's try to stay focused and build bridges, even... especially when we
are under time pressure.

Thanks!

On 11/14/17 10:55, John More wrote:
> Brandt
>
> I find you email incredibly offensive and misinformed. Linking this
> initiative to raise funds to the scandals in Ireland is pure trolling.
>  You might want to get Trump to help you.
>
> Yes, this could have and should have been rolled out with early input
> from Chapters, but it not having been is no basis for the position you
> have taken or your attacks.
>
> John More
>
>> On Nov 14, 2017, at 9:28 AM, Brandt Dainow <brandt.dainow at gmail.com
>> <mailto:brandt.dainow at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> This is another example of why we need better control of staff.  This
>> is almost certainly contrary to the new ISOC data protection
>> initiative.  
>>  
>> Ireland has had several charity scandals which have resulted in very
>> strict rules regarding non-profit organisations after several
>> charities misused donations.  I am in the processing of going through
>> very strict examinations to form ISOC Ireland.  A key part of getting
>> government permission to form has been ISOC Ireland’s written
>> commitment we will not seek donations in Ireland.  That makes a huge
>> difference to getting permission because it means the government
>> doesn’t have to worry about us misusing Irish donations or doing
>> money laundering, and means we can avoid many regulatory
>> requirements.  I can try explaining to the government that ISOC
>> Ireland is separate from the Internet Society, but it’s a distinction
>> they are unlikely to understand, and probably won’t accept.  And I
>> don’t need the extra work.  There is even a possibility I could be
>> deemed to be Ireland’s ISOC representative and held responsible by
>> the government for a) making false claims about our activities b) not
>> complying with charity regulations c) not complying with tax
>> reporting regulations d) violating Irish regulations which forbid
>> donation campaigns by unregistered charities.  
>>  
>> I am not sure at this stage what impact this will have on me, but I
>> don’t need any further complications in an environment which is now
>> actively hostile to not-for-profit agencies.  I would imagine the
>> same problem is now going to arise for chapters in countries such as
>> Russia and India.
>>  
>> I am, to be frank, tired of an out-of-touch staff and central office
>> doing things which mess everyone else around – Catalonia, the recent
>> mess with the amended chapter’s agreement, etc.  I have come to the
>> conclusion no one is managing the staff.  It looks like total chaos
>> in which staff members do whatever they feel like, tell no one what
>> they are doing, don’t really understand either the internet or the
>> Internet Society, barely recognise the existence of the chapters, and
>> have no management control.
>>  
>> Let me speak plainly – NOTHING should be worked on by staff without
>> prior knowledge of the policy groups, the chapter leaders, and the
>> members.  The original idea for this donation drive should have been
>> announced on the website, with opportunity for comment and input,
>> then designed in an open fashion through a suitable public forum.
>>  
>> Staff need to change their understanding of who they are.  They do
>> not run the Internet Society.  They work for the members.  They
>> shouldn’t be allowed to do anything without the knowledge of the
>> members and, where members wish it, their permission.
>>  
>> I have to say, at this stage, I am not sure the Internet Society is
>> fit for purpose anymore.  It really needs to undertake a major
>> reform, or simply close.
>>  
>> Regards,
>> Brandt Dainow
>> brandt.dainow at gmail.com <mailto:brandt.dainow at gmail.com>
>>  
>> https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brandt_Dainow
>> http://www.imediaconnection.com/profiles/brandt.dainow
>>  
>> *From:* Chapter-delegates
>> [mailto:chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org] *On Behalf
>> Of *Eduardo Diaz
>> *Sent:* 14 November 2017 12:59
>> *To:* Todd M. Tolbert
>> *Cc:* chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
>> <mailto:chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org>; isocpr-board-group-list at googlegroups.com
>> <mailto:isocpr-board-group-list at googlegroups.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Chapter-delegates] Notification: Individual Donation
>> campaign
>>  
>> Todd:
>>  
>> ISOC should start to apply to itself the same multi-stakeholder
>> mechanisms that it so much promotes around the world. The Chapter
>> Advisory Council is one of those mechanisms. Use it.
>>  
>> My recommendation going forward is to send a request for advice to
>> the ChAC Steering Committee and let the ball roll there. This will
>> give ISOC the chapter's insights and ideas on how to move ahead with
>> this program. Even if the final ChAC advice is not 100% acceptable,
>> at least all chapters will be aware of the program and consulted
>> previous to launching it.  
>>  
>> Reactions like you got from ISOC San Francisco and others (like ours)
>> are an indication of how ISOC is still disconnected from its chapters.
>>  
>> -ed
>>  
>> ISOC-PR
>>  
>> On Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 4:47 AM Evan Leibovitch <evan at telly.org
>> <mailto:evan at telly.org>> wrote:
>>> Hi Todd,
>>>> T
>>>> his campaign is the first in a long while from the Internet
>>>> Society, it used to be a common practice and ISOC has raised money
>>>> from individuals before. We haven’t done so in the last few years
>>>> for several reasons, but mostly because we felt that our processes
>>>> and mechanisms were not professional enough.
>>>  
>>> No, it wasn't all about processes. The creation of a chapter in
>>> Canada was originally started after the 1997 INET meeting in
>>> Montreal, but was cancelled because of an inability to reach
>>> agreement on revenue/solicitation sharing between HQ and Chapters
>>> (this was before the PIR windfall). As a result, there was no Canada
>>> chapter until a reboot effort started a few years ago. Some of the
>>> people involved in that original effort are on the Canada Chapter
>>> board now so they know the history.
>>>  
>>> Broadly, the concept of ISOC fundraising from members independently
>>> from Chapters is not new, and has been controversial when it
>>> occurred in the past. Perhaps the plan's designers might have
>>> encountered more of this information and institutional memory, had
>>> Chapters been consulted in the planning stages rather than after
>>> everything was finalized.
>>>  
>>>>
>>>> Our reasons for doing this now are in line with our position as a
>>>> global non-profit organization including diversity of our funding
>>>> sources, which has been a stated goal of ISOC for years; to
>>>> strengthen the mid and long term financial sustainability of the
>>>> organization. And secondly, to maintain and strengthen the status
>>>> as a non-profit organization that needs to meet certain rules of
>>>> revenue sources.
>>>>
>>>  
>>> Section 2 of the ISOC bylaws state that its two advisory committees
>>> exist "/for the purpose of providing information and advice to the
>>> Board of Trustees and the President of the Internet Society on
>>> matters of strategic importance/". The whole reason some of us
>>> worked so hard to create a Chapters Advisory Council was to
>>> establish an appropriate bi-directional channel that would inform HQ
>>> about local sensibilities while then working together in
>>> international initiatives.
>>>  Think global, act local.
>>>  
>>>  
>>> Surely a tax-status-related crisis of income diversity qualifies as
>>> 'strategic importance'. Why was the Chapters Advisory Council not
>>> asked for advice on this as the Bylaws explicitly indicate? Who made
>>> the call that this issue was not sufficiently strategic to consult
>>> Chapters in advance?
>>>  
>>> Had the ChAC been approached by staff and told "we need to diversify
>>> revenue sources from our community", you may have discovered a
>>> breadth of innovative approaches. The discussion of whether it is
>>> reasonable to have a nominal fee for ISOC membership may have proven
>>> useful. Or you may have come to the exact same conclusion as you
>>> have now, but this time with Chapters as enthusiastic allies rather
>>> than potential competitors for the same sustaining funding.
>>>  
>>> Consider the fundraising model used by American public broadcasting.
>>> Consider that PBS doesn't do any membership or individual
>>> fundraising campaigns without the close collaboration of WETA, its
>>> local partner in Washington. Having parallel national and local
>>> campaigns could be a disaster.
>>>>
>>>> It is not the intent of this campaign to divert attention from the
>>>> chapters or try to confuse the recipient at all.
>>>>
>>> As you know -- or at least know by now -- there are Chapters that
>>> charge for membership, and some that do their own 
>>> financial 
>>> solicitations of members based on 
>>> local
>>>  initiatives. 
>>> Starting
>>>  a 
>>> solicitation 
>>> program now will catch them off
>>> -
>>> guard and with very little time to determine how to work (or cope)
>>> with it. How can 
>>> anyone
>>>  state definitively that these initiatives will not be confusing or
>>> competitive without having reached out to these Chapters -- either
>>> individually or through the Council?
>>>>
>>>> I believe the message will touch on the breadth and depth of what
>>>> the community does in the world and that obviously includes the
>>>> work in the chapters. Both messages will go out on our standard
>>>> mailer format which has been used to this list for the entirety of
>>>> 2017.
>>>>
>>> At worst, this is a potential for direct conflict with some Chapters.
>>>  
>>> At best, this is a missed opportunity to let the Chapters Advisory
>>> Council fulfill its Bylaw role as an integral part of the ISOC
>>> decision-making process. ISOC can't be a trusted advocate for
>>> multi-stakeholder approaches to Internet governance when it ignores
>>> its own internal multi-stakeholder structures. There is a further
>>> missed opportunity in that shutting Chapters out of the campaign
>>> architecture reduces the potential for a network of local champions
>>> once the donation campaigns are launched.
>>>  
>>> To use a tennis metaphor, this is an unforced error. Not too late to
>>> fix.
>>>  
>>> -- 
>>> Evan Leibovitch
>>> Toronto, Canada
>>>> Em: evan at telly dot org
>>>> Sk: evanleibovitch
>>>> Tw: el56
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org <https://portal.isoc.org/>
>> _______________________________________________
>> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
>> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
>> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org <https://portal.isoc.org/>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society
> Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org

-- 

Best regards, 
Veni
http://www.veni.com
pgp:5BA1366E veni at veni.com

The opinions expressed above are those of the 
author, not of any organizations, associated 
with or related to him in any given way. 

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