[PC-NCSG] on another topic
Sam Lanfranco
lanfran
Sat Oct 10 22:17:03 EEST 2015
/Avri Doria wrote: "are there downsides to NCSG declaring itself an
unincorporated association unilaterally"/
Avri & PC Colleagues
I have had to deal with this elsewhere, and while I may be off with
regard to what is meant by the question, I will offer these brief
comments. While any group can call itself a group, and decide how it
wants to govern itself, take stands on things, and even undertake
projects there are always several complications. The first has to do
with finances. The group cannot, as a group, be the recipient of
financing from most sources. It could sell lemonade and cupcakes
but..that is a slow road to finances, and in some countries it cannot
even have a bank account. If it has project aspirations it has to work
with a registered group that has a similar mandate and can receive
funding. Another issue is liability. Groups I know have recently
terminated their not-for-profit charters because liability insurance and
growing financial accountability costs were bigger than their modest
annual budgets. In Canada if a group (incorporated or not) runs afoul of
tax laws the revenue agency will target the deeper pocketed individuals
[I am safe there :-) ] in the governance structures, so it needs
liability insurance.
Additionally, there are emerging clauses in multilateral agreements like
the TTP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), that are making volunteer groups
harder to sustain. I would not be surprised if down the road those
agreements pose problems for ICANN's multistakeholder model. There are a
number of issues around what is the association, what constitutes
membership, and the relationship between membership and organizational
governance.
There are some very good not-for-profit lawyers coming to Dublin, at
ICANN's expense. Might want to corner them over a beer and pepper them
with questions around this.
Sam
Avri Doria wrote:
>
> are there downsides to NCSG declaring itself an unincorporated
> association unilaterally.
>
> upsides?
>
> if upsides are greater than downsides, should we try to do it?
>
> It might require change to our charter which would need to be approved
> by the Board, but it might be worth the effort.
> The discuss list discussion could be interesting as well.
>
> just a thought i had while walking back from the street market.
>
> cheers
>
> avri
>
>
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--
------------------------------------------------
"It is a disgrace to be rich and honoured
in an unjust state" -Confucius
------------------------------------------------
Dr Sam Lanfranco (Prof Emeritus & Senior Scholar)
Econ, York U., Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - M3J 1P3
email: Lanfran at Yorku.ca Skype: slanfranco
blog: http://samlanfranco.blogspot.com
Phone: +1 613-476-0429 cell: +1 416-816-2852
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