Theos-Talk Archives (July 1995 Message tl00031)

Since there's been some mention of the Theosophical Network,
I thought that it might be interesting to write a few notes
about it. I don't have time today to write anything, but
here's the revised bylaws for the project. It's original
committee consisted of Jerry Ekins, Rick Nurrie, Ken Small,
Virginia Ross, and myself. I can't find the original
bylaws, but here's the revised version, as modified to
soften its initial statement at Virginia's request.

-- Eldon Tucker

INTRODUCTION

Following is the January 28, 1985 version of the Bylaws of the
Theosophical Network.

ARTICLE I - NAME

A. The name of this organization shall be the Theosophical
 Network.

B. The Theosophical Network is a non-profit organization. It
 is currently a voluntary association. The possibility of
 incorporation at some future time has been left open, but
 there are no current plans to incorporate.

C. As a non-profit organization, the Theosophical Network
 does not exist for the personal benefit of any
 individual.

 1. The assets of the Theosophical Network must be used
 strictly for the purposes of the Network, and never
 solely for the personal benefit of any individual.

 2. Should the Theosophical Network disband (or
 disincorporate if it is a corporation), its assets
 are to be donated to one-or-more theosophical
 organizations, as determined at that time by the
 Managing Committee.

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVES

A. The purpose of the Theosophical Network is to disseminate
 information about theosophical activities and to
 facilitate intercommunication between people who share a
 common interest in Theosophy. Secondly, to present
 Theosophical Teachings in the light of, and in relation
 to the source writings of the founders of the modern
 Theosophical Movement.

B. The goals of the Theosophical Network are:

 1. to enhance communication and encourage interrelating
 of ideas within the Theosophical Movement, and

 2. to encourage initiative and cooperation in similar
 projects and research.

C. To further these goals, the Theosophical Network will:

 1. publish a quarterly newsletter,

 2. publish an annual directory, and

 3. provide a computer information service.

D. While working cooperatively within the Movement, the
 Theosophical Network is independent and unaffiliated with
 any Theosophical or other organization.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

A. The Theosophical Network has no membership.

ARTICLE IV - GENERAL PROVISIONS

A. Definitions

 1. "Network" shall be taken to mean "Theosophical
 Network".

 2. "Managing Committee" shall be taken to mean "the
 Board of Directors of the Theosophical Network".

B. Although the Network is not to soon become a corporation,
 it will remain open to receiving grants from any non-
 profit corporation, as long as there are no conditions
 applied to those grants.

C. There shall be no public activities in the name of the
 Network, no new articles nor publicity, other than
 reprints of the objectives of the Network.

ARTICLE V - MANAGING COMMITTEE

A. The Managing Committee shall consist of five members.

B. No Managing Committee member shall use his/her title
 publicly; no one will sign letters nor contact the public
 as a member of the Managing Committee. There is no
 attempt, though, to make a secret of the existence of the
 Managing Committee.

C. The Managing Committee is an administrative body, not an
 authoritative body, and it is the intention of the
 Managing Committee to not act in a way that represents
 the Network as an society or organization, with the
 Managing Committee as its head. The Network is a public
 information service, not a society, and it is important
 to not do anything that may be misleading.

D. The Managing Committee has the responsibility to insure
 that the officers perform their functions in accord with
 the objectives of the Network.

E. The Managing Committee can provide additional instruction
 to an officer, in the form of either recommendations or
 directives that must be followed, should the Managing
 Committee determine that an officer needs additional
 instruction in performing the duties of his/her office.
 This additional clarification need not be an amendment to
 the bylaws.

F. Committee meetings:

 1. require a quorum of four of the five members present
 in order to conduct business,

 2. are closed to the general public, except by
 invitation by a Committee Member, and

 3. require a one-month advance notice, once the date of
 a meeting has been determined, in order to give
 members time to make travel arrangements to attend
 the meeting.

ARTICLE VI - OFFICERS

A. All officers must be current members of the Managing
 Committee.

B. The officers of the Network shall be Secretary/Treasurer,
 Directory Editor, and Newsletter Editor.

C. Officers shall be elected by the Managing Committee from
 among its members.

D. Officers shall serve until they resign or until the
 Managing Committee replaces them.

E. An officer has final responsibility for his/her work
 function, although he/she may delegate some of the work
 to other helpers that he/she may bring into the work of
 the Network.

F. Officers of the Network may use their titles in dealing
 with the public, because that is the work function that
 they are performing. It is recommended, though, that they
 stay low key in using those titles, so as to not mislead
 the public into thinking that the Network is a society.

G. Any officer may be replaced if the Managing Committee
 feels that it is in the best interest of the Network to
 do so.

H. All officers shall turn over all official current files
 normally pertaining to their office, as well as office
 equipment and property of the Network, to either their
 successors or to another Committee Member, no later than
 four weeks after leaving office.

I. The duties of the Secretary/Treasurer shall be to:

 1. (Treasurer) be responsible for the collection,
 custody, and accounting of all of the Network's
 funds,

 2. (Treasurer) receive and solicit contributions,

 3. (Treasurer) disburse funds for expenditures
 authorized in the budget, as directed by the
 Managing Committee, and for reasonable Network-
 related expenses when not in excess of $20,

 4. (Treasurer) present a financial statement to each
 Committee meeting, on an annual basis, and when
 otherwise directed to do so by the Committee,

 5. (Treasurer) maintain an up-to-date subscription
 list,

 6. (Secretary) maintain the minutes of all Committee
 meetings,

 7. (Secretary) maintain all records of the Network
 except those specifically assigned to another
 officer by the bylaws,

 8. (Secretary) make available to any Committee member
 upon request, any official record, including the
 bylaws and budget, and

 9. (Secretary) facilitate the committee-by-mail
 decision process, as outlined in the Article on the
 Decision Process.

J. The duties of the Directory Editor shall be to:

 1. solicit and receive copy for directory entries,

 2. edit and insure that directory-entry copy is
 consistent with the Network objectives,

 3. set up final copy for the directory publication,

 4. insure that the directory is printed,

 5. insure that the directory is mailed to subscribers,
 and

 6. take and make referrals to people, groups, and
 magazines.

K. The duties of the Newsletter Editor shall be to:

 1. solicit and receive news copy for the newsletter,

 2. edit and insure that the newsletter copy is
 consistent with the Network objectives,

 3. set up final copy for the newsletter publication,

 4. insure that the newsletter is printed,

 5. insure that the newsletter is mailed to subscribers,
 and

 6. take and make referrals to events and happenings.

ARTICLE VII - PUBLICATIONS

A. All publications of the Network must be maintained in
 accord with the objectives of the Network. It is the
 responsibility of the editor of a publication to use
 his/her best judgment to achieve that goal.

B. Submissions to a publication (including entries for the
 directory and material for the newsletter) must be
 reviewed, edited, and perhaps rejected by the editor of
 a publication, if such is necessary to maintain the
 Network objectives.

C. There will be no advertisements in the publications, paid
 or otherwise.

D. The contents of the directory shall consist of the
 "nouns", information about the "who" and "what" in the
 current theosophical movement. The directory:

 1. will not contain articles nor information about
 projects nor classes,

 2. will only contain a copy of the objectives of the
 Network in addition to its listings,

 3. will contain optional entries for people, entries
 for groups, and entries for magazines,

 4. will not contain a section on birth data,

 5. will maintain descriptive information about people,
 groups, and magazines, and their special interests,
 and

 6. will maintain information on how one can come in
 contact with those people, groups, and magazines.

E. The contents of the newsletter shall consist of the
 "verbs", information about the "how" and "when" of the
 current theosophical movement. The newsletter:

 1. will not contain name, address, nor descriptive
 information on people, groups, nor magazines, except
 to the extent to which such is needed in event
 announcements,

 2. will contain announcements of classes, seminars,
 workshops, on-going projects, and other timely
 information,

 3. will have an editorial page, representing the views
 of the Network (written by Managing Committee
 members and others as invited on a case-by-case
 basis),

 4. will have a letters-to-the-editor page, representing
 the views of others who choose to write in,

 5. will contain articles and/or reprints with material
 of current interest to the theosophical movement.

ARTICLE VIII - BUDGET

A. Any proposed expenditure in excess of $20 not included in
 the approved budget shall be presented for approval to
 the Managing Committee.

B. Retroactive expenses (those not approved in advance nor
 included in the budged) cannot be reimbursed, without
 special vote by the Managing Committee.

C. The following types of items have been approved for
 expenditure by officers of the Network:

 1. postage on the mailings of the newsletters and
 directories,

 2. printing costs for the newsletters and the
 directories, but not costs for art work, layouts nor
 setting up the camera-ready copy,

 3. printing the combination directory-entry
 subscription-application form,

 4. printing and copying costs for the Secretary, for
 providing records and other materials to the members
 of the Managing Committee and the public,

 5. the annual fee for a bulk-mailing permit,

 6. postage costs for the Treasurer, for mailing to the
 subscribers receipts for their payments, and,

 7. postage costs for the Directory Editor, for mailing
 to the subscribers a proof copy of their newly-
 entered (onto the computer) proof copy of their
 directory entries.

D. The following types of items have been specifically
 mentioned as not getting approval:

 1. paid advertisements on behalf of the Network, nor
 any other publicity costs, and

 2. long-distance phone calls made by people working for
 the Network.

E. An annual budget will be prepared by the Treasurer, in
 consultation with the other Managing Committee members,
 and submitted for amendment and final approval by the
 Managing Committee.

ARTICLE IX - THE DECISION PROCESS

A. All decisions are made by the Managing Committee,
 including decisions about membership in the Managing
 Committee, the size of the Managing Committee,
 appointments to office, and amendments to the bylaws.

B. A decision in made by a vote representing three of the
 five Managing Committee members.

C. There are two ways in which decisions can be made:

 1. Decisions can be made at an Managing Committee
 meeting. A Managing Committee member must be
 present, or can be represented by either written
 statement or proxy.

 2. A committee-by-mail decision can be initiated by any
 Managing Committee member by:

 a. communicating the request (verbally or in
 writing) to the Secretary,

 b. the Secretary then prepares the request in a
 written form suitable for a vote,

 c. the Secretary then mails to all Committee
 Members the newly-prepared written request,

 d. the Committee Members then read and consider
 the written request, marking it "accepted" or
 "rejected",

 e. if a Committee Member wishes to accept most,
 but not all of the request, he/she can mark it
 as "accepted" and then cross out some of the
 sections marking them "not this part",

 f. the Committee Members then return mail the
 marked-up written requests to the Secretary,

 g. when all written requests have been received by
 the Secretary, the Secretary will tally the
 votes and announce the results to the Committee
 Members.