[Chapter-delegates] Bank Accounts was - deadline for admin funding

[Winthrop Yu]

Thank you for your comprehensive reply Christine.

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.

In this vein, i am also seeking clarification of your second bullet point below 
-- "/For Chapters in a country where legal registration is *not* necessary to 
open a bank account in the official name of the Chapter .../" -- is this worded 
correctly (with the "not); or should that instead read -- "/For Chapters in a 
country where legal registration *is* necessary to open a bank account in the 
official name of the Chapter .../".

Kindly advise, thank you!

WYn/
/


On 3 Jul 2020 5:20 pm, Christine Saegesser via Chapter-delegates wrote:
> Dear Chapter Leaders,
> Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts around the Chapter Admin Funding 
> Programme (and other funding programs), please know that all your feedback is 
> noted and taken into consideration for future improvements.
>
> We will be in touch with the Chapter Advisory Council Steering Committeelater 
> this year to agree on a timeline that works better for everyone for 2021.
> Based on the comments on the list, we also wish to share some clarifications 
> that are hopefully to everyone’s benefit:
> Bank Accounts and Funding Eligibility:
>
>   * 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
>     https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2018-2020-ISOC_Chapter_Charter_Agreement-Apr2020.pdf).
>   * 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  (philipsen at isoc.org <mailto:philipsen at isoc.org>) with
>     some background on the local setting your Chapter is operating in. We
>     evaluate these circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
>   * Concerning the 2019 round of evaluations: Pleasekeep in mind that
>     additional time was needed to evaluate the applications last year since we
>     were missing documentation (legal registration and matching bank account)
>     from a number of Chapters. We needed to have these documents on file for
>     being able to disburse funds.
>
> Internet Society & Internet Society Foundation Funding Programs:
>
>   * The Foundation handles project-related funding for Chapters as well as
>     additional funding programs open to a wider audience. This includes Beyond
>     the Net, SCILLS, IGF and COVID19 Emergency Response, please refer to
>     'Funding Areas' on the Foundation website
>     <https://www.isocfoundation.org/funding-areas/>.
>   * The Internet Society manages the Chapter Admin Funding  (for the day to
>     day running of Chapters/SIGs) and the Chapterthon. For Chapter Admin
>     Funding, please refer to 'Chapter Admin Funding' on the Internet Society
>     website. <https://www.internetsociety.org/grants/chapter-admin-funding/>
>
>
> Deadline for Chapter Admin Funding:
>
>   * The 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 Regional Community
>     Engagement Managers.
>   * 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 _across all time zones_.
>
>
> General comment:
>
>   * 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
>     <philipsen at isoc.org <mailto:philipsen at isoc.org>> by 15 July, so we can
>     evaluate potential solutions for their Admin Funding requests.
>
>
> Thanks again for your collaboration. As mentioned, your feedback and 
> suggestions are noted and taken into consideration for future improvements of 
> our Chapter Admin Funding program.
>
> Best,
>
> Christine
>
>
>
> *Christine Saegesser Baethge*, Sr. Director Chapters and Individual Members
> saegesser at isoc.org <mailto:saegesser at isoc.org> | Twitter: ch_saebae
>
>
> internetsociety.org <http://internetsociety.org> | @internetsociety
>
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