Preface

This introduction may appear harsh. Its intention is to make things very clear, right from the start, what we are and what we are not. This is fair to all and fairness is more important than growing our membership.

The people who work to improve and maintain the society's projects are ALL volunteers.

READ MY LIPS! IF YOU NEED TO BE PAID THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU!

Why? Because as soon as we have even one staff working and getting paid, the thin end of the wedge has been inserted and we're on the slippery slope. Before we know it, we will be wasting money on a bloated board of spoilt directors with political agendas to impose and mansions to buy themselves. We've all seen it happen; one by one, well-intentioned initiatives become sickened and weakened by inappropriate corporate structures which spread like a virulent disease and cripple the ability to prioritize the intended beneficiaries.

There's no trough here, by design. 100 percent of money gained across all of our network is going to our recipients and there are absolutely no paid positions and there never will be. If you're getting paid then it's not charity. The volunteers working here want to work for the benefit of the recipients, and this society's ONLY purpose is to support that.

OK, great, now for everyone still reading, welcome to the Direct Sponsor Society. Below you will see our Articles Of Association.

Articles Of Association

Introduction

Direct Charity Society is a Society under Irish common law. It exists to provide online tools which people can use to make charitable contributions to their chosen recipients directly. You do not have to be a Member of the Society to join and use the websites. These articles do not apply to the Beneficiaries of the Society’s work. Users of the facilities provided by the Society are neither affected nor bound by any of these items.

1. Description

Direct Charity Society provides online communication and interaction tools to be used by anyone freely. In order to be completely free of financial burdens into the future, the tools must be provided at zero cost, so that no money goes into or through the Society, and the Society has no expenses. Thus the Society has no paid officers, no expenses and the only accounting necessary is the provision of records to each individual user of that user’s transactions.

1.a. Beneficiaries

1. The Beneficiaries of the Society’s work are the people around the world receiving charitable donations directly from other users of the system.
2. All such transactions are direct and do not use any middleman provided by the Society or otherwise.

1.b. Members

1. The Members of the Society are those providing assistance, both material and practical, in the provision of the Society’s services.
2. It is not necessary to be a Member in order to contribute.
3. Membership of an Irish Common Law Society need not be 100% Irish, thus Membership is open to all.
4. Members apply to join the Society by stating to existing Members that they wish to join and offering their skills and/or sharing of assets as a contribution.
5. Membership is completed when they make their first contribution and that contribution is appreciated and accepted by other Members.
6. Members can leave at any time, by stating that they are leaving to the other Members.
7. Members may not be recipients of any income from the initiatives outlined in (3.2.) below.
8. Beneficiaries may also be Members, and contribute their time and energy to the development of the tools.
9. Members may represent the Society in all matters pertaining to the procuration of technical assistance, assets for the use (but not ownership) of the Society, and for the recruitment of new Members.
10. Members may not under any circumstances represent the Society in any political matter of any kind. The Society has no political, religious nor philosophical stance and cannot be used by Members to enhance their status in any argument or presentation which is not within the scope of (1b9).

2. Funding

1. All contributions to the efforts of the Society are given freely and without financial reimbursement.
2. Individuals may provide their time or the resources they have access to without fees or expectation of financial reward.
3. The Society does not accept financial contributions of any kind.
4. Other enitites may elect to earn funds in order to pay for goods or services to be provided for the use or benefit of the society. Such goods or services will be acceptable to the society provided the accounts for such enterprises are fully open to the public and no profit is made beyond what is needed to provide the goods or services.
5. There is no way to donate money to the Society but individuals may pay others to provide goods or services for the benefit of the society. Any goods provided in this way remain the property of the provider.

3. Accounting

1. The Society has no financial income whatsoever, thus there is no need for Society accounts.
2. Facilities provided by the Society may assist in providing income to any of its Beneficiaries who are not also Members (see 1b7). For example, a website provided by the Society may carry advertisements from a network or an individual business.
3. Such income shall be set up in a way that ensures the income goes directly to the Beneficiaries involved, and not through the Society.
4. Funds may be temporarily held in the system in a “kitty” provided for the benficiaries, but the funds themselves belong to the Beneficiaries from the time they are received and are never the property of the Society.
5. Full Accounts of any such income shall be published on the relevant website, along with proofs.
6. Beneficiaries must agree to (3.5) as a condition of being eligible to receive such funds.
7. The decisions as to who shall receive funds from any such venture are to be made by consensus among Members and Beneficiaries. No consensus – no venture – no funds.

4. Responsibilities

1. Society Members are always responsible for their own actions, and for the results of those actions.
2. One Member is not responsible for the actions, nor for the consequences of the actions of another Member. This is not a rule, but a simple observation of the mind- numbingly obvious, and the fact that we need to include it here speaks volumes about the state of our world.

5. Rights

1. Membership of the Society infers no special rights beyond those a Member had before becoming a Member.
2. With the exception of (1b7) above, Members do not relinquish any rights by becoming a Member.

6. Officers

1. The Society is a peer-to-peer network of free individuals collaborating.
2. There are no Officers. Specialization is taken on voluntarily by those with the skills and inclination.

7. Disputes

1. Disputes between Members, between Beneficiaries, and between Members and Beneficiaries shall be resolved by adult consensus.
2. Failure to achieve consensus means failure of whatever part of the project is being disputed.
3. One side winning by force of authority does not produce a solution, thus the Society provides no mechanism for a rule to be imposed. The dispute must be resolved without coercion or not at all.
4. Disruptive individuals shall be removed by default due to the lack of cooperation from other Members. Disruptive Beneficiaries will be removed by the action of their own sponsors, by ceasing sponsorship. Ultimately it is the sponsors who control where their money goes, not the Society. This is our key differentiation from Charities.

Direct Charity Society
4 The Cove
Achadh Tiobraid
Cuan Dor
An Sciobairín
Co. Chorcaí
P81 AD77
Eireann
(+353) 2833956
https://directsponsor.org/