But What If There’s an Emergency?

In case you’re just joining us, we’ve been studying what’s been going on with the National Board, raising membership dues, modifying the Credentials, and looking at the Lifetime Membership Proposal for the upcoming 2017 National Convention.

Before proceeding, it’s a requirement that you read these two posts first in this order if you haven’t already:

1. Back to the Future: About 2008 and Membership Dues
2. The Lifetime Membership Dues Amendment Contradiction

In my first blog post, I state the only way the National Board can have the same powers as the National Council is if an emergency arises.  This has been brought up as a possible way the National Board could rationalize how it had the authority to modify the Credentials by raising membership dues in January of 2016 and creating another level of dues this past April (did you know about that?).  Let’s review how this could come about:

The Congressional Charter (pg. 34 of latest edition of the Blue Book) under 80303. GOVERNING BODY/(b) Board of directors states (emphasis added in all excerpts):

So what does the Constitution and Bylaws say when it comes to how the National Board can act on behalf of the Council?

From the Constitution in ARTICLE X/NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS (pg. 11 & 12):

Aha, you say!  There’s the loophole!  The National Board could just declare an emergency and voilà, it’s got the same powers as the National Council and therefore, it could modify the Credentials where the registration dues amounts are located.  Past national delegates say this was even discussed at the 2014 Session and there was concern about this loophole.

Not so fast my friend!  Is it really a loophole?  Nope – because contrary to what people are assuming, the Constitution actually is specific about the type of emergency.  Let’s go back and look at it again:

What kind of emergency?  One “which makes it impossible for the National Council to meet.”  The word which is an identifier and therefore distinguishes what type of emergency it is.  It has to be one that prevents the Council from getting together for a meeting.  If it stated, “In the event of an emergency, all the powers of the National Council….” then yes, it would be a loophole.  But the emergency has to be one that would make travel impossible like a major national catastrophe or (and I’m reaching here) MAYBE a decision that has to be made in less than a month because it takes at least 30 days to call a special session, because otherwise, a disaster would threaten the stability of the organization if something wasn’t done immediately.  I don’t know what could have been so catastrophic that it had to be taken care of in less than 30 days.  If we were at risk to fall apart that violently, then the National Board would have failed in its fiduciary responsibilities.*  Even if a situation like that arose, I don’t see how raising dues almost two years from that point would have avoided an imminent disaster.  Not to mention I’ve never seen any proof that an emergency was declared in the first place.  So scratch that off the list as a possible explanation.

I have attempted to study this controversy as objectively as possible.  As I stated before, I’ve never been a national delegate, I’m not one this year, and I’ve never attended any Conventions or National Council Sessions.  I have asked many questions though, and what I’m seeing at least from my end is confusion and assumption.  I have been guilty of this myself.  And no offense to previous national delegates, but based on what I’ve read, there seems to be a lot of conflicting opinions, interpretations, and fuzzy memories.  I have read many sentences that begin with “I heard” and “I think” and “I remember.”  The only thing you can go back to is what’s in black and white and in print.  You can’t refer to what anyone discussed or what you remember or what the National Board explained in whatever year.  You HAVE to go by what’s in the Blue Book.  Period.  Anything less, and you’re setting yourself up to be taken advantage of.

If you don’t think this is a big deal because you’re fine with dues being $25 a year, what if a few years from now the National Board decides to raise dues to $30?  Or $50?  Or $100?  At what point does it become a big deal to you?  Would you be okay with President Trump or Obama just deciding to raise taxes without going through Congress?

If you are not a national delegate and the issues I have raised concern you, please make all attempts to get these three blog posts to them.  If you don’t know who your national delegates are and how to contact them, ask your local council.  If they won’t answer you, ask again.  Don’t be afraid to nag.  YOUR national delegates represent YOU.

Need the direct links to copy & paste?  Here you go:

• http://girlscoutwithacause.dawgtoons.com/2017/06/back-to-the-future-about-2008-and-membership-dues/
• http://girlscoutwithacause.dawgtoons.com/2017/07/the-lifetime-membership-dues-amendment-contradiction/
• http://girlscoutwithacause.dawgtoons.com/2017/07/but-what-if-theres-an-emergency/

So what do we do now?  Confronting the National Board about its unauthorized actions and demanding an explanation about its contradiction with the lifetime membership proposal HAS to be taken up by the members of the National Council.   THEY have the clout, and THEY are the ones with the power.  As the Constitution states in ARTICLE IV/THE NATIONAL COUNCIL/Powers (pg. 8), the National Council is “the coordinating head of the Girl Scout Movement in the United States.”  I’m just a blog writing volunteer who is waving around the track baton hoping someone will take it to the next level.

This is just my non-national delegate opinion, but something should be said or done BEFORE the National Session and it has to be ON RECORD.  A white paper?  A strongly worded letter?  Singing telegram?  Waiting until the Session to do something may be too late because it’ll be easy for everyone to concentrate on the passing of the Lifetime Membership Proposal (because who wants to pay $625?) and this will all turn into yet another fuzzy memory down the road, setting us up for the next overstep of which I guarantee you will be an even bigger one all in the name of “a streamlined governance structure that is agile and decisive.”

*What is meant by fiduciary responsibilities?  Guidestar.com’s blog has a very good explanation:

“A fiduciary is someone acting on the behalf of another based on an expectation of trust. A nonprofit’s board is the central decision making body for the organization. It has ultimate responsibility and accountability for the organization’s actions.

According to the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership, a nonprofit board and its members individually have three fundamental fiduciary duties: a duty of care, a duty of loyalty, and a duty of obedience.

The duty of care means that the board member actively participates, attends board meetings, is educated on the industry, provides strategic direction, and oversees management.

The duty of loyalty requires the board member to operate in the interest of the nonprofit and not to use the position to further personal agenda.

The duty of obedience requires the board to know the state and federal laws and regulations that apply. This includes the regulations and guidance issued by the IRS. Obedience to governing documents requires a deep understanding of the operating documents (by-laws, rules, board manuals) and a clear understanding of the difference between the terms ‘may’ and ‘must’ contained in those documents. Finally, obedience requires that the board not act outside the scope of the organization’s legal documents.“

Well whaddya know….

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t include this: