Interweave: Governance

• Fulfill the charge from the body which created it. (e.g. Board, Member Meeting, etc.)
• Report as charged, or to the body which created it.

• The Interweave Continental Board or the body which created the committee, task force, etc. can change its charge or dissolve it.

• Run the affairs for which they hold the portfolio between Board meetings.
• Report on their portfolio at each Board meeting.

• The Interweave Continental Board defines the portfolio descriptions in the Standard Operating Procedures.
• At a Member Meeting:
  • Elect new Officers.
  • Elect new Board members.
  • Change the Bylaws.

• Runs Interweave Continental between Member Meetings.
• Maintains the Standard Operating Procedures.
• Meets:
  • In person February/March the day after Convocation, June during UUA General Assembly (UUA GA), Fall for the Board Retreat.
  • By phone the afternoon/evening of the first Sunday of each month, any other time that a telephone meeting is called.
  • By email throughout the year.

At a Member Meeting:

• Elect new board members.
• Approve the next year's budget.
• Change the Bylaws.
• Pass a motion establishing direction for the Board and/or organization.

• Succinctly lists responsibilities of each Portfolio including responsibilities that the Board has defined but are not in the Bylaws, empowering the holder of each portfolio to carry on that part of Interweave Continental's business between meetings of the Board.
• Succinctly lists information about events from documents such as the Bylaws and Articles of Organization.

• Suggest changes to members of the Board.
• At a Member Meeting, propose changes to the Bylaws.

• Authorizes expenditures and sets limits (by line item and overall) for the Interweave Continental Board for the next year.

• The Board presents a proposed budget to the Member Meeting, which passes a final budget.

• Can change the Bylaws.
• Can set direction for the organization, which the Board then implements.
• Elects members of the Board, including the Officers.
• By approving the annual budget, sets parameters for the Board.

• The Board schedules at least one Member Meeting a year, usually at Convocation.

• Empowers the Member Meeting to modify the Bylaws and run the organization.
• Empowers the Board to run the organization between meetings of the membership.
• Empowers the President to run the organization between meetings of the Board.
• Empowers the Vice-President to run the organization in the absence or inability of the President.

• Either the Board or Member Meeting can initiate changes to the Bylaws.
• The next Member Meeting can ratify changes to the Bylaws by a 2/3 vote.

Interweave Continental, Inc. is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation chartered in Massachusetts. The Articles of Organization are the basic set of rules defined when Interweave Continental was incorporated, including that Interweave Continental is a non-profit, tax-exempt religious and educational organization supporting and educating about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

• II 4. (u) requires an annual accounting of all corporate transactions, which we do by filing US IRS Form 990.
• II 4. (q) supports the Bylaws requirement that changes to the Bylaws be made by the [[Interweave Continental Member Meeting|Member Meeting.]

• Changes may be made by the Board or its officers filing ammendments with the office of the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

UUA

• Principles and Purposes
• UUA Governance

CUC

• Principles and Sources / Les principes et les sources de notre tradition religieuse
• Vision Statement
• By-Laws & Business

• Establish overarching principles and purposes of each denomination, and detailed rules by which the denomination is governed. Of particular interest to Interweave Continental are:
• UUA Bylaws Rule III, Section C-3.8. Independent Affiliate Organizations

• Established and changed by
  • Annual UUA General Assembly (GA)
  • CUC Annual Conference and Meeting (ACM).

• These laws govern all corporations that operate in Massachusetts, whether they were formed there or not.
• These laws specify that the corporation must have the equivalent of the following officers: President, Treasurer, Clerk (also known as Secretary).
• The Clerk must be a Massachusetts resident.

• Changes may be made by the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• If the Legislature makes any changes to the parts of these laws that apply to non-profit, tax-exempt corporations, those changes apply to Interweave Continental.

• Canadian laws govern all people and corporations in Canada.
• US laws govern all people and corporations in the US.
• The US Internal Revenue Code of 1954 governs all non-profit organizations in the US.

The US IRS Determination Letter:

• Confirms that Interweave Continental is classified as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization under US law, and that donations to Interweave Continental are tax deductible by people filing taxes in the US.
• The IRS evaluated the Articles of Organization, Bylaws, and the first 5 years of Interweave Continental's US IRS Form 990.
• "You are required to make your annual information return, Form 990 or Form 990-EZ, available for public inspection for three years after the later of the due date of the return or the date the return is filed."

• US laws are changed by the US Congress passing new laws.
• Canadian laws are changed by the Canadian Parliament passing new laws.
• If the US IRS determines that Interweave Continental has engaged in activities (e.g. endorsing specific candidates for public office in the US) that disqualify it as a 501(c)(3), Interweave Continental will cease to be a tax-exempt corporation and have to pay taxes as a for-profit corporation.