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This policy outlines how the yunity project uses money. In short, this policy states that the yunity project strongly avoids the use of money as an organization. If money is to be used, there is a clear Protocol for how to use the money based on the record of Explicit decisions that have been previously made and a less concrete but more general set of Guidelines.

Herein,

  • 'money' refers to any currency, whether bank notes, coins, bullion, BitCoins, electronic bank balance, etc.
  • 'resource' refers to non-monetary resource (i.e. property, pens, food, vehicles, etc).
  • 'treasurer' refers to a contributor elected to deal with money and with access to yunity's financial resource.

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1. Protocol
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1.
1.


This is a set of actions for acquiring the necessary resources for yunity. Each action should be considered more preferable than the one following it.

1.1. Expenditure

1.1.1. Avoidance
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1.1.1.
1.1.1.

Avoiding the use of money on behalf of yunity should always be the starting consideration when acquiring resources.

  1. Assess necessity. Take a moment to consider whether we need this resource.
  2. Acquisition without the use of money. The following sub-list of options is not exclusive;
    1. Reclamation. Rescue the resource from being wasted, abandoned or unused.
    2. Construction. Make the resource from other available resources.
    3. Borrowing. Individual or organization who already has the resource lends it.
    4. Donation. Individual or organization who already has the resource donates it - this is different to actively purchasing a resource explicitly to donate it, see Donation by proxy transaction below.

1.1.2. Donation by proxy transaction
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1.1.2.
1.1.2.

No one is expected to use money on behalf of yunity. If an individual or organization wishes to purchase a resource to donate to help yunity achieve it's Vision and Mission, they can.

  1. Assess necessity. Consider whether this resource can be acquired with the Avoidance of money use. If not, consult 5. Collaborate with yunity or check with an active yunity contributor to see whether yunity actually needs the resource.
  2. Donor makes transaction.
    1. Donation. Individual or organization who purchased the resource donates it.
    2. Record details. For anything that is explicitly purchased for donation to yunity, it is highly recommended to record the name of donor, date of transaction and a copy of receipt - if the donor consents. Recording these details is not to glorify the donor but to identify where yunity is still indirectly reliant on money - this knowledge will direct efforts into finding ways to avoid the use of money for acquiring the resource in future.

1.1.3. Donation by proxy transaction with refund request
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1.1.3.
1.1.3.

No one is expected to use money on behalf of yunity. If an individual or organization wishes to purchase a resource to donate to help yunity achieve it's Vision and Mission, they can. If for whatever reason they wish to have their expenditure refunded, they may make a request for this.

  1. Assess necessity. Consider whether this resource can be acquired with the Avoidance of money use. If not, consult 5. Collaborate with yunity or check with an active yunity contributor to see whether yunity actually needs the resource. Consider whether whether a simple Donation by proxy transaction is actually desired.
  2. Assess likelihood of refund. Refunding is never guaranteed, but an indication of refund likelihood can be made;
    1. Consult Explicit decisions. If the resource lies within the 'acceptable' section of Explicit decisions for Expenditure and has been refunded in the past, this will provide the most reliable indication of whether similar transactions are likely to be refunded in the future.
    2. Consult Guidelines. If the resource lies within the 'acceptable' section of Guidelines for Expenditure, this provides some indication or whether a transaction will be refunded in future
  3. Donor makes transaction.
    1. Donation. Individual or organization who purchased the resource donates it.
    2. Record details. If refund requested, donor must provide;
      1. full use name
      2. date of purchase
      3. electronic copy of receipt
      4. consent that
        1. no transaction is guaranteed to be refunded
        2. if refunding of the transaction is accepted, there is no guarantee or indication when the refund will occur (i.e. might never happen).
        3. if refunding of the transaction is accepted, only the value that was spent at the time will be refunded (i.e. not adjusted for inflation).

 

Warning

Sections 1.1.4. to 3.2. (inclusive) which are italicized come into action only if/when the following conditions are met;

  •  

    yunity is legally registered as an organization and

  •  

    yunity has an organizational bank account, BitCoin wallet or similar and

  •  yunity has one or more treasurers

As such, sections 1.1.4. to 3.2. are not applicable as of 2016-04-08

1.1.4. Organizational transaction
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1.1.4.
1.1.4.

Refunding of Donation by proxy transaction with refund request: Transactions which ie within the accepted section of Explicit decisions for Expenditure or lie within the accepted section of the Guidelines for Expenditure can be refunded if a Treasurer and two others consent. If there is dissent, the individual or organization who made the transaction should be contacted and notified of the relevant reasons why refunding was not consented upon and asked whether they want to pursue the refunding process or if they no longer wish to be refunded. If refunding is still sought, the decision goes to full Online systemic consensus to determine whether refunding should occur and the result is recorded in Explicit decisions.

Active organizational transaction: Transactions for resources amounting to less than 100.00 and which lie within the accepted section of Explicit decisions for Expenditure or lie within the accepted section of the Guidelines for Expenditure can be purchased by the yunity organization if a Treasurer and two others consent. If there is dissent, or if the transaction exceeds 100.00, the decision goes to full Online systemic consensus to determine whether the purchase can be made and the result is recorded in Explicit decisions.

1.2. Income

All yunity organization income is held in the organizational bank account: money held by individuals is an individual matter.

1.2.1. Avoidance

Individuals or organizations wishing to donate money to yunity are first invited to assess our requirements - currently outlined in 5. Collaborate with yunity - then purchase and donate things that we actually need, see Donation by proxy transaction.

1.2.2. Unconditional acceptance

Truly anonymous financial donations are automatically accepted. This is only achievable by unconventional routes such as the use of BitCoin or anonymous donation boxes. Donations from individuals or organization are accepted without the promise of recognition or attribution.

1.2.3. Conditional acceptance

Donations from individuals and organizations desiring recognition or attribution are brought forward for full Online systemic consensus on a case-by-case basis to determine whether the donation is acceptable with the outcome being the result recorded in Explicit decisions.

1.2.4. Unaccepted

Donations of money with any kind of requirements aside from attribution or recognition on yunity are not accepted: whether it is for any kind of advertisment, or if there are restrictions for use, etc.

2. Explicit decisions
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This is a record of previous decisions made by full Online systemic consensus on whether transactions were acceptable or unacceptable regarding yunity. This is the most reliable indication on whether a Donation by proxy transaction with refund request will be refunded or not, though refunding is never guaranteed.This record is also the first consideration if making an Organization transaction.

2.1. Expenditure
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2.1.

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ResourceDecided on
  
  
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ResourceDecided on
  
  


2.2. Income

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titleAcceptable
SourceDecided on
  
  
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titleUnacceptable
SourceDecided on
  
  


3. Guidelines
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3.
3.


These are guidelines and as such individual cases are subject to interpretation.They may provide some indication on whether a Donation by proxy transaction with refund request will be refunded or not, though the Explicit decisions supercede these guidelines and refunding is never guaranteed. These guidelines also provide some indication on whether and Organization transaction is acceptable or not, though the Explicit decisions supercede these guidelines.

3.1. Expenditure
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3.1.

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titleAcceptable
  • Vegan food. 
  • Accommodation
    • Outright purchase or rental of a property 
    • Associated bills (i.e. water, rates, electricity, gas, internet, fuel)
    • Repair costs
  •  Legal costs;
    • Registration
    • Obligatory running costs
  •  Miscellaneous
    • e.g. toilet-paper, light-bulbs, cutting keys, etc.
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titleUnacceptable
  •  Food that is
    • Non-vegan (e.g. meat, dairy, eggs, etc)
    • Vegan but 'extravagant' (e.g. matcha, spirulina, amaranth, quinoa, etc)
    • Alcohol
  • Tobacco
  • Wages for individuals


Column
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titleUndecided
  • Personal medical insurance

3.2. Income

Section
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titleAcceptable
  • Individuals
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titleUnacceptable
  • Organizations involved in
    • Weapons manufacture
    • Animal-products-for-food
    • Irresponsible extraction (e.g. tar sands, conflict minerals, timber from ancient forest, etc)
    • etc
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titleUndecided
  • Bodhi's pocket
  • Donation button in the footer of yunity.org 
  • Individuals
    • Donations from yunity contributors
    • Donations from any person just by providing bank details in the "support" button (i.e. anonymous)
  • Crowd-funding campaign (e.g. advertised through facebook, footer, newsletter, yunity.org, etc)

4. Changes to policy


Changes to this policy are to be made using the result of Online systemic consensus where;

  • At least one week is given for the proposal forming phase and
  • At least one week is given for the voting phase and
  • The #core-team Slack channel has been suitably notified.