Standard Operating Procedures – Ár nDraíocht Féin

Last amended March 28, 2015

Archdruid

The Archdruid (AD) shall not hold any other leadership position in ADF except Clergy Council Chairperson.
The AD shall receive free ADF membership while in office.
The AD shall receive a Lifetime ADF membership upon completion of one full term (three years).

Archdruid Emeritus

A past AD who served at least one full term shall have the title of Archdruid Emeritus.
An Archdruid Emeritus may participate in any ADF subgroup meeting.
An Archdruid Emeritus may have their articles included in any ADF publication.

Board Decision Making

The following definitions will be used in conducting and resolving BOD voting:

Voting strength: The number of Directors casting a vote on a motion, whether in person or by proxy.
1. Voting strength does not include Directors who abstain from a vote, or who are absent from a meeting.
Majority vote: A vote requiring greater than one-half of the voting strength to pass; also known as a simple majority.
Two-thirds vote: A vote requiring greater than two-thirds of the voting strength to pass; also known as a super-majority.
Conflict of interest: Occurs when a Director or their immediate family shall benefit from a motion above and beyond the ADF membership as a whole.
1. A Director shall abstain from a vote in which they has a conflict of interest.

Bylaws Distribution

Any ADF member may receive a copy of the Bylaws for the cost of printing and mailing by contacting the ADF Office.
1. A notice of this policy shall be included in an ADF publication at least yearly.

Complaints

General
1. Complaints shall be submitted electronically to the MA with the following information:
  1. Name of complainant(s), name of subject(s) of complaint, description of complaint, desired outcome of complaint.
  2. Complaints regarding the MA shall be submitted electronically to the AD.
    1. The AD shall handle such complaints as the MA handles other complaints under this policy.
Process
1. The MA shall attempt to resolve complaints with the parties by mediation.
2. If mediation fails, the MA shall bring complaints to the BOD.
  1. BOD members who are the subject of complaints or who have conflicts of interest shall be recused from discussion of such complaints.
  2. The MA shall periodically inform all parties to a complaint of its status.
  3. The MA shall gather any further information required by the BOD to decide on a complaint.
3. Subjects of a complaint shall receive a summary of the complaint and may make a response to it.
  1. The BOD may vote to make the full complaint text available to all parties.
4. No part of a complaint may be shared outside the BOD and parties directly involved in the complaint.
  1. Violation of this shall result in the BOD automatically finding against the violator(s).
Resolutions
1. The BOD shall make a decision on each complaint brought before it, which may include, but is not limited to, the following actions for any party to the complaint:
  1. No action (complaint dismissed).
  2. Suspension from ADF electronic forums and/or leadership positions per ADF Standard Operating Procedures.
  3. Suspension or expulsion of ADF membership per ADF Bylaws.
  4. Banning from ADF events per ADF Bylaws.
2. The above actions may also be taken by the BOD if a party fails to abide by a complaint decision.
3. The MA shall record complaint information, summations, and resolutions in an archive available only to current Directors.

Electronic Forums

Moderation
1. General
  1. ADF Guild, Kin, SIG, and Regional electronic forums, and other forums as determined by the ADF Administrator, shall be hosted by ADF.
  2. ADF-hosted forums (“forums”) shall be moderated by the ADF Listmaster and their delegates.
2. Behavior – The following categories apply to contributions sent to any ADF-hosted forum:
  1. Poor behavior includes but is not limited to: excessive quoting, off-topic content, and poorly chosen subject lines.
  2. Unacceptable behavior includes but is not limited to: insults, threats, name-calling, harsh sarcasm, personal accusations, defamation of character, and chronic poor behavior.
  3. Excessively disruptive behavior is determined at the moderators’ discretion.
3. Actions – Moderators may:
  1. Screen, and reject, contributions at their discretion.
  2. Suspend participants for unacceptable behavior after three public or private warnings.
  3. The Administrator shall be copied on all warnings and suspensions.
  4. Suspend participants for excessively disruptive behavior immediately.
4. Suspensions
  1. Suspensions apply to one or more ADF-hosted forums at the Listmaster’s discretion.
  2. A participant’s first suspension period shall be determined by the Listmaster but shall not exceed three months.
  3. A participant’s second suspension period shall be determined by the Listmaster.
5. Appeals
  1. Moderator actions may be appealed to the Administrator.
Charters
1. The ADF Listmaster may define a charter for each forum defining its members/subscribers.
2. The ADF-Leadership forum shall consist of the following current leaders:
  1. The BOD
  2. The Administration Committee
  3. Senior Druids and Grove Organizers
  4. Regional Druids
  5. ADF Clergy
  6. Guild Officers (Chiefs, Preceptors, Pursewardens, Registrars, Archivists)
  7. Kin Leaders
  8. SIG Organizers
  9. Leaders of any other BOD-chartered subgroup
  10. Any additional guest(s) invited by the AD

Events

ADF subgroups shall not enter into legal or financial agreements with other parties without a written contract.
1. A copy of each contract shall be sent to the ADF office promptly upon ratification.
ADF events are not required to be advertised as fundraisers, and monies received may be used by the organizers as they wish, in accordance with ADF Bylaws and the aims and policies of any sponsoring ADF subgroups.

Financial Controls

Budget
1. ADF shall operate with a yearly budget for each area of operations.
2. Approval
  1. The Administrator and Treasurer shall prepare the budget.
  2. The Treasurer shall present the budget to the BOD for approval.
3. Changes
  1. The BOD may amend the budget at any time.
  2. The Administrator may shift 15% or $1000, whichever is less, into or out of any account with Treasurer approval.
  3. More substantial changes require prior BOD approval.
Signatories
1. The AD shall be a signatory on all ADF accounts.
2. The Administrator shall be a signatory on all ADF accounts.
3. The Office Manager (OM) shall be a signatory on the ADF Office account only.
4. The Treasurer shall not be a signatory on any ADF account.
Expenditures
1. The Treasurer shall approve in advance all expenditures not under $200 from pre-approved budgets.
2. The Administrator shall make expenditures by check and/or debit card.
3. Expenditures greater than $5000 shall require signature by the AD and Administrator.
  1. Such expenditures may only be made with prior approval of the Treasurer.

Leader Conduct

ADF leaders at all levels are held to a higher standard than the general membership and are expected to refrain from poor conduct.
1. This applies to both public and private ADF communications.
Poor conduct shall be evaluated by the BOD on a case-by-case basis.
1. Examples include, but are not limited to, failure to perform duties of office, profanity, threat, insult, excessive sarcasm, unfounded accusation, and other forms of hostile communication.
2. Examples do not include respectful expression of dissent or dissatisfaction with the organization, its policies or leadership.
The BOD may, with a majority vote, take the following actions in response to poor conduct by an ADF leader:
1. Issue a public or private warning to the leader.
2. Suspend or remove the leader from any or all ADF leadership positions.

Membership Information

Certain membership information shall have restricted access based on the following categories:

Confidential: Available to the BOD and Regional Druids only.
Sharable: Available to current ADF members only.
Publishable: Available to current ADF members, and non-members upon request.

Office staff shall have access to all membership information required to perform their duties.

Membership Categories

The following are the categories of ADF membership:

Regular
1. All Regular memberships cost $30 per year.
2. New Regular memberships include a membership card.
3. Renewing Regular memberships include a membership card only.
4. Rejoining Regular memberships include a membership card only.
5. The membership guide and Dedicant Program manual will be available electronically and through the ADF Store.
Prisoner
1. Prisoner memberships cost $10 per year.
2. New Prisoner memberships include a membership guide, membership card, and Dedicant Program manual.
3. Renewing and rejoining Prisoner memberships include a membership card only.
4. Members who are incarcerated shall have their membership category changed to Prisoner.
  1. Upon release, Prisoner members shall have their membership category changed to Regular.
5. Prisoners shall not have access to ADF membership data.
Lifetime
1. New Lifetime memberships are not available.
2. Existing Lifetime memberships are treated as Regular memberships with an Oak Leaves subscription.
Compassionate
1. Scope and Limitations
  1. Individuals with hardship may apply to be granted one year of a New or Renewal membership.
  2. Compassionate memberships are limited to three consecutive years per person.
  3. Compassionate memberships shall be treated as Regular memberships.Application and Approval
2. Applications for Compassionate memberships may be sent to the Members Advocate via the ADF Office.
  1. A written request detailing the hardship shall be included.
  2. The Members Advocate may request additional documentation on the hardship.
  3. When Compassionate membership funds are available, the Members Advocate shall present applications in order received to the Executive Committee for a vote.
  4. All subsequent Compassionate Membership requests must be accompanied by documentation of a minimum of four hours pre-approved community service.
    1. The requirements for this process shall be given to Compassionate Membership recipients upon initial award notification, including instructions, a list of suggested activities and a Service Log for recording volunteer work.
    2. Community service activities must be pre-approved by the ADF Members Advocate and/or the Mother Grove.
    3. The Service Log shall be mailed to the ADF Office before the member may apply for a subsequent Compassionate Membership award.
3. Treatment
  1. Compassionate memberships shall be treated as Regular memberships in all respects save their funding.
  2. Application details and membership category for Compassionate memberships shall be Confidential to the BOD and Office staff.
Minors
1. All minors are eligible for a paperless ADF membership with parental consent, regardless of age, at the cost of $10 per year.
  1. Minors may do the Dedicant Path and other study programs with the written permission of their parents, including the recognition and acceptance that all work will be reviewed at the same standards as submissions from all ADF members.
    1. After the submission of their DP work, all future membership fees will be at full adult membership rates.
  2. No minors may vote in an election. At the age of eighteen (18), when a minor is considered an adult in ADF, voting privileges will be activated and begin with 1 vote, regardless of tenure.
  3. Participation by minors in all ADF events, local, national, or international, is at the discretion of the parent/legal guardian, who shall be responsible or assign responsibility to another adult for the minor at all times.
Lapsed & Expired Members:
1. All members shall be considered lapsed after 1 month of non-renewal, and the member shall be listed as expired after 3 months of non-renewal and all accumulative votes will be forfeited. Members can petition the Mother Grove to be reinstated with their original renewal date and votes up to 6 months after non-renewal.

Officer Reports

Officer reports shall contain the following:

General
1. Officer reports shall be submitted quarterly to the BOD and ADF Office.
Archdruid
1. The spiritual state, activities, and growth of ADF in the previous quarter.
2. ADF’s progress toward its long-term Vision.
3. Any other past and planned activities.
Vice Archdruid
1. Any past and planned activities.
Secretary
1. BOD voting results from meetings during the quarter.
2. Significant communications ADF has sent/received in the quarter.
3. BOD agenda items for upcoming meetings.
4. Any other past and planned activities.
Treasurer
1. Financial activity in the previous quarter including:
  1. Income and expenses for the previous quarter.
  2. Assets and liabilities at the end of the quarter.
Members Advocate
1. Member issues in the previous quarter, confidential information removed.
Administrator
1. The administrative state of ADF.
2. Financial activity in the previous quarter including:
  1. Income/expenditures deviating from the budget.
  2. Any changes which have occurred in the budget.
3. Anticipated financial activity deviating from the budget the next quarter.
4. Administrative Committee changes in the previous quarter.
5. Number of new, expiring, and renewed members in the previous quarter.
6. Any other past and planned activities.

Publications

Oak Leaves:
1. Shall be published quarterly.
2. Shall cost $20 per year for ADF members, $25 for non-members.

Background Checks

Members subject to checks
1. Members subject to criminal background checks
  1. Board of Directors
  2. Administrator
  3. Office Manager
  4. Store Manager
  5. Clergy
2. Members subject to financial history and credit checks
  1. ArchDruid
  2. Administrator
  3. Office Manager
  4. Store Manager
3. At no time will criminal or financial checks be run on anyone that is not in the above lists.
Scope of checks
1. Criminal Background Checks:
  1. These checks will be checking for felonies or equivalent.
2. Financial Background Checks:
  1. These checks will be checking for a prolonged history of poor financial health
  2. The entire history will be used for determination of qualification to hold office.
Frequency of checks
1. The checks will result in qualifications for 9 years.
  1. Checks will not need to be run again during this time unless the position the member is entering requires a check that has not been run.
For elected positions
1. A signed consent form must be received by the ADF Office prior to the publishing of the ballot.
  1. If no consent form is received, the member will be removed from the ballot.
2. The check will be run only on the winner of the election.
  1. If the elected member is determined to be disqualified after any appeal filed:
    1. The member with the next highest number of votes will be declared the winner, provided they received over 10% of the vote.
  2. If no such candidate exists, the MG will appoint someone to the position until the next election.
3. A candidate may request that a check to be run prior to election to pre-qualify them if they feel there is something in their past that may disqualify them.
Procedure
1. For non-elected positions, any required votes to approve the person for the position requiring the check must be complete before the check is run.
  1. A member may request that a check to be run prior to applying for a position to pre-qualify them if they feel there is something in their past that may disqualify them. This will be done at the members expense.
2. A signed consent form must be received by the ADF Office prior to any checks being run.
3. Once the form is received, the AD or designee will notify the Executive Committee, administrator, and treasurer of the request to run a check and then run the appropriate checks
4. The member being checked will be mailed a copy of all reports obtained by ADF.
5. The AD will distribute, following all privacy policies, the checks to the Executive Committee for consideration using the following criteria:
  1. Criminal Background Checks:
    1. All felony or equivalent convictions will be an automatic disqualification.
    2. Other convictions will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
  2. Financial Background Checks:
    1. Frequent and habitual missed or late payments
    2. Multiple bankruptcies
  3. A single bankruptcy will not be an automatic disqualification
6. If the committee determines the candidate is not qualified:
  1. The member will be contacted with why they are being disqualified
  2. The member will be given a chance to appeal
    1. If the member desires to appeal, the appeals procedure will be followed.
    2. If the member is unable to be reached or doesn’t appeal, they will be classified as disqualified and a note made in their background check record as to why.
7. If the committee determines the candidate is qualified, a note will be made in their background check record.
8. At the end of the check process, the committee will only publish that the candidate was determined to be qualified or disqualified for the position.
Appeals
1. If a candidate is found to not be qualified they have a right to appeal
2. The candidate must provide to the Executive Committee an explanation and proof as to why they should be qualified, specifically:
  1. Nature of the offense
  2. Age the time of the offense
  3. Restitution
  4. Any other facts.
3. The following is incompatible with leadership in ADF:
  1. Homicide, voluntary manslaughter
  2. Trafficking controlled substances
  3. Kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, or aggravated battery
  4. Rape, criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact, incest, indecent exposure or other related sexual offenses
  5. Crimes involving adult sexual abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation
  6. Crimes involving child abuse, neglect, or exploitation
  7. Robbery, larceny, extortion, forgery, embezzlement, credit card fraud, or receiving stolen property
  8. Arson