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

Sat Jul 4 08:38:41 PDT 2020

Chrristine,

The sum total of Chapter funding for a year is less than 2% of Internet
Society's budget.  Even if the Chapter funding budget varies by 25% of what
you have anticipated at the beginning of the year (in scenarios where five
of ten Chapters apply for admin funding in August, September or December,
that 25% variance wouldn't hurt the overall Internet Society budget.  Also,
if you decide to keep the Admin funding open throughout the year,  you
would naturally provide for a variance in your budget phase itself, so this
"unexpected" overrun wouldn't hurt at all.

Sivasubramanian M <https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasubramanianmuthusamy/>
6.Internet at gmail.com
twitter.com/shivaindia

On Fri, Jul 3, 2020 at 8:53 PM Christine Saegesser via Chapter-delegates <
chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> The Chapter Admin Funding programme is there to support the Chapter’s day
> to day running of the Chapter itself.
>
> While the Admin funding programme was launched in Oct 2016 with an
> application deadline in Dec 2016, the programme always closed in either May
> or June in the following years.
>
> The main reasons for closing it in June are:
> • feedback we have received from Chapters is that they would like to
> receive their Admin Funding in the first part of the year to be able to
> carry out their plans throughout the year.
> • budget management and visibility (it’s is a large total amount of money
> to allocate without knowing how many Chapters will apply)
> • end of year accounting volume – there is a tendency for Chapters to
> apply at deadline. Over the past years, we typically received 70% of the
> Chapter applications within the last 3 days before the deadline, and this
> across the various Chapter funding programmes. If the programme closes
> towards the end of the year, this means a considerable number of
> invoices that need to be paid on top of normal end of year closing.
>
> Last year, we opened a 2nd round of Chapter Admin Funding to accommodate
> particular circumstances faced by the Chapters. Based on the feedback here,
> we will look into opening a second round later in the year for 2020 too.
> And, as mentioned in my earlier message, we will have a look at the overall
> funding schedule for next year.
>
> In the meantime, 73% of Chapters have successfully submitted their
> applications for 2020 by the 30 June deadline and we will work with the
> Chapters who faced challenges to submit their applications on time due to
> the very difficult global circumstances to identify solutions. Please reach
> out to Stine Philipsen <philipsen at isoc.org> over the next two weeks if
> this is your Chapter’s case.
>
> Also, concerning the need for a bank account on the name of the Chapter:
> What the Chapter Charter Letter says is that the Chapter agrees to
> “Establish a bank account or other equivalent financial account in the name
> of the Chapter to receive and disburse funds, including funding provided by
> the Internet Society.” (see point 3.1.V
> https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2018-2020-ISOC_Chapter_Charter_Agreement-Apr2020.pdf
> )
> Any "equivalent financial account" would have to be legal and secure (and
> auditable), and the Chapter would need to make and receive payments to and
> from it in the name of the Chapter as a legal organization.
>
> Wyn, to your question:
>
> 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 ...".
>
>
> This is not a typo. In most cases, a local legal registration is needed
> for the bank to be able to open a bank account in the name of the Chapter.
> However, in some countries it is possible to constitute a group that
> doesn’t need a legal registration in order to be able to open a Chapter
> bank account. In South Africa for example, it is possible to
> create "Voluntary Associations" that can open bank accounts in the name of
> their entity without any formal legal registration. Chapters who operate in
> a similar legal context are invited to reach out to us by contacting Stine
> Philipsen (philipsen at isoc.org) to discuss their particular case.
>
> I hope this helps clarify some of the points raised.
>
> Best,
>
> Christine
>
>
> On 3. Jul 2020, at 14:57, Christian via Chapter-delegates <
> chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>
> I am sympathetic to the needs of chapters that for whatever reason can't
> viably work within their own registered formal entity locally.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> So far that has happened according to plan.
>
> One thought I've had that might help with chartered but informally
> structured chapters.
>
> 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.
>
> With grants managed from that  with chapter and ISOC trustee oversight. It
> should satisfy concerns for accountability and getting  the money doing
> useful things?
>
> 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.
>
> ?
>
> C
>
>
>
> On 03/07/2020 12:46, sivasubramanian muthusamy via Chapter-delegates wrote:
>
>
>
> 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.
>
> Sivasubramanian M
> Internet Society India Chennai
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 3, 2020 at 3:35 PM Winthrop Yu via Chapter-delegates <
> chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>
>> 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 Committee later
>> 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) 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: Please keep 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> 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 | Twitter: ch_saebae
>>
>> <image001.png>
>> internetsociety.org | @internetsociety
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login
>> View the Internet Society Code of Conduct:
>> https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login
> View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/
>
> --
> Christian de Larrinaga
> ----------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login
> View the Internet Society Code of Conduct:
> https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login
> View the Internet Society Code of Conduct:
> https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/private/chapter-delegates/attachments/20200704/6aed9324/attachment.htm>