Financial Rules of Procedure

§ 1 Purpose
These Financial Rules of Procedure shall govern financial matters pertaining to income and expenses of the Association and also establish guidelines for purposes of proper bookkeeping as prescribed by law.

§ 2 Income and Deposits
(1) The financial means of the Association shall stem from member dues, donations and gifts, the sale of souvenirs as well as from overages resulting from Association activities and events serving purposes of the Association.
(2) The Executive Committee may resolve to conduct further business activities for purposes of increasing Association income. Such activities must have a clear correlation to the Association’s stated purpose.
(3) No monies or contributions shall be accepted from governmental or political bodies or entities. Tax gifts or reductions which are connected to political conditions or limitations shall not be accepted as well. This rule is designed to ensure the independence of the Association and protect it from demands for return of financial means.
(4) A part of the Association’s income shall be placed in deposit in order to fund future larger purchases or projects.

§ 3 Membership Dues
(1) Membership dues shall be levied.
(2) Members may determine the amount of their individual dues themselves. The minimum due is EUR 6 for natural persons for each commenced half-year period.
(3) The minimum dues for corporative members shall be contractually agreed upon based upon the financial capability of such corporative member.
(4) Patronage members shall determine the amount of their dues themselves. A one-time contribution of EUR 20 at the time of induction shall count as sufficient.
(5) Semi-annual membership fees shall be due and payable on the 15th of every February and August of every calendar year. Members may also pay dues for an entire year in advance, if they so choose.
(6) Membership fees are non-refundable.
(7) Dues paid by candidates whose membership application has been denied by the Association shall be refunded in full.

§ 4 Gifts and Donations
(1) Donations and gifts with a stated purpose or condition of use shall be used in accordance with the purpose specified by the donor, as far as possible. If a longer fundraising period is required to achieve a specified goal, the Executive Committee shall be empowered to pool similar gifts and donations on a separate savings account.
(2) Donations and gifts of EUR 250 or more carrying a stated purpose or condition of use which is not practicable or achievable in a good-faith effort shall be “parked” in a separate account for a period of 6 weeks. The Executive Committee shall contact the giver and ask him/her to determine an alternative purpose. Should no new instructions for further disposition of the gift or donation be forthcoming during said six-week period, the gift or donation shall then be deemed available for use as a general gift or donation with no stated purpose or conditions of use.
(3) Donations and gifts of less than EUR 250 carrying a stated purpose or condition of use which is not practicable or achievable in a good-faith effort shall be deemed available for use as a general gift or donation with no stated purpose or conditions of use.
(4) General gifts or donations which do not carry a specified purpose or condition of use may be used for any purpose in accordance with Association Statutes.

§ 5 Bank Accounts, Petty Cash and Payments
(1) The principal account of the Association shall be established as a current account in the Association’s business seat. This account shall be used primarily for the principal transactions of the Association.
(2) The Executive Committee may resolve to establish further accounts for individual projects insofar as such projects shall perform business on their own responsibility.
(3) For purpose of efficient management of smaller amounts of income, an account shall be opened in the Association’s name at PayPal (Europe) Ltd. (UK). For all such PayPal transactions, only the e-mail address of paypal@gayhomeland.org shall be used. Whenever said account balance exceeds € 20.00, it shall immediately be transferred to the Association’s principal account.
(4) The Association’s petty cash account is the sole responsibility of the Association Treasurer. The Petty Cash account shall not exceed € 50.00 at any time.
(5) For financial deposits, earmarked savings accounts may be established at the principal bank in the Association’s seat. Furthermore, escrow accounts may be established. The Executive Committee shall be bound to notify the membership of the existence of such accounts immediately upon their establishment.
(6) Deposit accounts with limited access of the Executive Committee, when established, are subject to § 11 (6) of these Financial Rules of Procedure. The Treasurer shall be allowed to transfer general financial means of the Association to such accounts only with the preceding permission of the Executive Committee.

§ 6 Treasurer
(1) The Treasurer administers the Association’s finances. It is his/her task to establish the orderly conduct of all financial matters of the Association, fulfill all tax matters and to ensure that no expenditures contrary to the Association’s purpose take place.
(2) The Treasurer shall report to the Executive Committee about the financial state of the Association in a meeting at the close of each quarter. The Treasurer is further obligated, on demand of the presiding member of the Executive Committee, to provide him/her with specific details of the state of the Association’s finances at any time and also to grant him/her access to the Association’s books.

§ 7 Budget
(1) At the beginning of every fiscal year, the Executive Committee shall establish a budget. This proposed budget shall reflect the Association’s anticipated income and expenses.
(2) The budget is to be arranged in a clear and detailed fashion according to material criteria. Individual projects may be accorded individual budgets on their own responsibility.
(3) Budgetary provisions and all calculations and necessary estimations are to be formulated with due care. Larger or unusual positions are to be described in detail in writing.
(4) Before establishing the budget for any given fiscal period, the Treasurer shall make written inquiries of the Executive Committee and individual Project Coordinators as to their projected expenses and needs. The Treasurer, in understanding with the presiding member of the Executive Committee, shall present the budget to the Executive Committee for purposes of discussion and approval. Subsequently, the approved budget shall be presented to the membership at large.

§ 8 Annual financial report
(1) At the end of every business year, the Association’s books are to be closed. The actual incomes and expenditures are to be compared to the original budget positions. The assets and indebtednesses are to be determined and documented.
(2) The Treasurer shall present the proposed annual financial report to the Executive Committee for discussion and approval. Upon approval, the annual financial report for the past business year shall be presented to the membership at large by March 31 of the current year.

§ 9 Accounting
(1) The Treasurer shall be responsible for all accounting procedures and practices.
(2) Keeping separate books, accounts and financial instruments on behalf of the Association exterior to own accountancy is not permissible.
(3) All receipts are to be conveyed in their original form to the Treasurer and must be made available to the Financial Controller upon demand.
(4) The Executive Committee is empowered to transfer accounting authority to individual project managers and/or individual members, should this become necessary for the fulfillment of their individual duties. Each such transfer of authority is to be duly recorded. When such authority is no longer required, it shall be revoked briskly.

§ 10 Bookkeeping
(1) The Association’s books must be kept in accordance with the established guidelines and regulations for associations in Germany.
(2) The respective office holder is responsible for the material and computational exactitude of receipts and subsequent transactions within the authority delegated or transferred to him/her.
(3) The Treasurer is to assist Project Coordinators and individuals members with accounting authorities in a consulting capacity in matters of fiscal documentation.
(4) The Executive Committee is obligated to inspect the books in order to ascertain their condition on a regular basis. This shall be achieved through a quarterly report by the Treasurer to the Executive Committee. In the case of projects with their own accountability, an annual report is sufficient.

§ 11 Use of financial means
(1) Financial means of the Association shall be used only for purposes of the Association in accordance with § 2 (6) of Association Statutes. No part of the earnings of the Association shall inure to the benefit of its members. In accordance with § 2 (7) of Association Statutes, no person may be favored by inappropriately high payments or by expenditures not related to the purposes of the Association.
(2) All individuals who are planning expenditures or are responsible for any part of the Association’s assets are duty-bound to be cost-efficient and thrifty. Members who violate this principal may see their reimbursement requests denied.
(3) Individuals with responsibility for financial investments and tax-paying are duty-bound to use conservative investment strategy and to renounce any adventurously fiscal instruments.
(4) The Executive Committee, Project Coordinators and all those who have been granted individual authorities in accordance with § 9 (4) are duty-bound to stay within the Association’s budgetary guidelines in all fiscal matters.
(5) Necessary extra-budgetary expenditures must be approved by the Executive Committee in advance insofar as the necessary financial means for them exists.
(6) The Executive Committee may resolve to retrench expenditures or to delete individual budgetary positions, if it should become necessary to do so in order to preserve fiscal liquidity. Teams concerned by the retrenchments must be notified immediately. Project Coordinators may appeal such decisions to the internal Court of Arbitration in writing within 14 days from the date of announcement of the decision. Until the Court of Arbitration has made an adjudication, the Executive Committee is empowered to reduce the budget of the project in question by up to 20 percent of the originally budgeted sum.
(7) In accordance with § 10 (2) of the Association Statutes, the general membership of the Association may limit the fiduciary and budgetary powers of the Executive Committee through a resolution passed by a two-thirds majority at any General Assembly. In particular, the membership may decide that certain deposit accounts may be released for use only in accordance with restrictions placed upon them by the membership at any General Assembly or by an Association subcommittee. Such restrictions require a formal notification at the responsible district court (Amtsgericht) to become valid for third parties. Additionally, the responsible financial institution must be made aware of the existence of any such limitations.

§ 12 Reimbursement of Expenses
(1) Necessary expenses are reimbursed upon approval by the Executive Committee or through a Project Coordinator who has been granted fiscal authority.
(2) Travel expenses shall only be reimbursed if these were approved in advance by the Executive Committee.
(3) Expenditures and travel expenses shall only be reimbursed when submitted with detailed itemization and supportive receipts in their original form within six weeks of the date of incurrence.
(4) If a member’s reimbursement request has been denied, he/she may appeal this decision to the internal Court of Arbitration within six weeks of the original denial of reimbursement. The internal Court of Arbitration shall be empowered to override the original denial of reimbursement and order a partial or full restitution. The Court may prescribe imposts to comply with before the restitution can be actually paid.
§ 13 Representational allowances
(1) The Executive Committee is empowered to decide to pay an appropriate representational allowance for activities which it deems appropriate to Association members and third parties.
(2) Such allowances must be easily recognized as such in the budget.
(3) Executive Committee members and judges at the internal Court of Arbitration may receive no representational allowance for their activities.
§ 14 Cash Audit
(1) Records for every business year are to be examined by a Financial Controller, chosen by Association membership at General Assembly. The audit shall occur after the close of the business year.
(2) The Financial Controller shall publish a report on his/her findings, detailing all missing receipts as well as any unusual or non-statutory expenses.
(3) In addition to the individual findings, the Financial Controller’s report shall contain a summary of general information relating to the regularity of the cash audit and the financial position of the Association. The report shall conclude with the Financial Controller’s statement recommending acceptance or detailing faults with the preceding year’s budget and its handling by the Executive Committee.
(4) The Examiner’s Report shall be published in its entirety for review by the general membership.
(5) Upon petition by the Financial Controller, General Assembly shall vote to accept or refuse the budgetary performance of the Executive Committee. The General Assembly may prescribe imposts to comply with before the acceptance of Executive Committee's budgetary performance can actually become valid.

§ 15 Additional Clauses
(1) The budget shall not be used to justify or waive claims or debts against the Association by third parties.
(2) The presiding member of the Executive Committee and the Treasurer shall be responsible for the Association’s registration with the responsible tax office for corporate tax purposes.
(3) In case one or multiple provisions included in these Financial Rules of Procedure shall be declared not valid by a legal court, the remaining provisions maintain their unimpaired validity. The invalid provisions shall be rewritten to conform with the requirements of the law while reflecting the initial sense of those provisions.


September 29, 2005