Frigga's Web Association By-Laws

Approved June 22, 1996 Last Amended November 30, 2003

Trustees: Joe Mandato Dirk Mahling Maintainer Manny Olds Dave Haxton

Life Members & Honorary Trustees (non-voting) Susanna Garrison Winifred Hodge-Rose

Article I--Name

This organization shall be known as Frigga's Web Association. It shall be incorporated under the laws of the State of Oklahoma as a non-profit, membership organization to carry on religious and educational programs related to the religion of Asatru, or Germanic Heathenry.

Article II--Membership

Section 1.  To be eligible for membership in the Association a person must follow the religion of Asatru, or Germanic Heathenry, and agree to the objectives of the Association as set forth in Frigga's Web Policies, Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws.

Section 2. For membership purposes, "religion of Asatru" and/or "Germanic Heathenry" is defined broadly to encompass all individuals who worship, follow, or otherwise devote themselves to the groups of gods and goddesses known as the Aesir or Vanir.

Section 3. To be a member, the annual dues must be paid as provided by the By-Laws: interest must be expressed in writing, and a completed membership form must be submitted and on file with Frigga’s Web.

Section 4. Termination of membership may be resignation, failing to pay annual dues, or expulsion. If by expulsion, for whatever reason, the matter shall be reviewed by the membership, and upon their recommendation, the trustees shall make final disposition.

Section 5. The annual dues of all classes of members of the Association shall be a $20 household membership, and payable on such terms as are provided by the trustees. From time to time, annual dues may be adjusted to reflect increased costs of Association activities, including mailing and printing cost increases, by approval of the trustees. Members' dues are payable at the beginning of the membership year. (Current policy has the membership dues payable at Ostara, and pro-rated thereafter.)

Section 6. The title Honorary or Life Member may be voted only at the Annual Meeting by unanimous vote, and only upon the unanimous recommendation of the trustees, adopted at a regular meeting at least thirty days previous to the Annual Meeting.

Article III--Affiliation

Frigga's Web is a non-partisan, apolitical association, and as such is unaffiliated with any other organization.

Article IV--Trustees

Section 1. The entire legal responsibility for and management of the affairs of Frigga's Web Association is vested in its trustees, subject to the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation, the By-Laws, and the Frigga's Web Policies.

Section 2. The role of the trustees is to maintain the integrity and vision of the Association, as outlined in the Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, and Frigga’s Web Policies.

Section 3. The trustees shall meet regularly at least annually. Notice of time and place of the meetings must be given in writing, or in the official publications of the Association, at least five days prior to the meeting. These meetings may take place in conjunction with the annual meeting of membership.

Section 4. The trustees may, without meeting together, transact business by mail, telephone, or electronic mail by voting upon proposed measures.

Section 5. Three trustees shall constitute a quorum and the votes of two-thirds majority of those present shall constitute a binding act of the Association.

Section 6. The trustees as such, shall not receive any salaries for their services.

Section 7. The Webmaster, the Editor and the Maintainer shall be trustees for the duration of their service. There shall be not more than seven trustees, at least four of whom who shall be nominated or volunteered by the membership on the basis of their activities within the Association, or by unanimous approval of the standing trustees.

Section 8. Honorary trustees may be named from Honorary or Life Members only, and must be approved by majority vote of the membership at the Annual Meeting, and only upon the unanimous recommendation of the trustees, adopted at a regular meeting at least thirty days previous to the Annual Meeting. An Honorary Trustee serves as an advisor to the elected Board of Trustees. Honorary Trustees are included in Trustee discussions, are consulted about issues confronting the organization, and may make recommendations for action;, only elected Trustees may vote on Trustee business.

Section 9. The term of office for all trustees shall be one (1) year, with the exception of honorary trustees, which is perpetual. After the each term, trustees must be reelected to office by majority vote of members in good standing at the Annual Meeting. Any standing trustee may nominate him/herself to reelection.

Section 10. Any trustee of the association, including honorary trustees, may be removed from position by majority vote of the membership only for cause.
Valid reasons for removal shall be:
a) The trustee has been declared of unsound mind by a final order of court or has been convicted of a felony:
b) The trustee has failed to uphold the Bylaws and Policies;
c) The trustee has failed to perform his/her duties of office.

The following procedure is to be used for removal of the trustee in question:
1) A proposal to remove a trustee may be brought before the Trustees by no less than three members in good standing. The proposal shall be considered by the Trustees at a meeting announced at least five days in advance and, if approved, shall be presented to the membership at the next annual business meeting or at a special business meeting called for the purpose. If the trustee in question is not present at the meeting of Trustees, he/she shall be notified immediately of the charges and impending motion for removal. If for any reason he/she cannot be notified, the following steps shall be delayed until he/she is so notified. Notification shall be considered to have occurred if either (1) the trustee in question has been told of the charges by email or telephone at least five days before the business meeting, or if (2) a letter detailing the charges has been mailed to the last known address of the trustee at leas ten days before the business meeting.

(2) At the business meeting, the proposed motion to remove the trustee in question shall be announced to the membeship, with a specific list of incidents alleging cause for removal. If present, the trustee in question shall be allowed to bring evidence to refute allegations of dereliction. No vote or discussion of the motion shall be made at this meeting, but an announcement shall be made that a discussion and vote on the motion shall be conducted at a business meeting thirty days hence.

3) At the next business meeting, the motion shall be presented and debated according to Robert's Rules of Order, Revised. The motion and its specific list of incidents must not be changed from that presented to the membership at the previous meeting or the process of removal must begin again at Step 1. Voting shall be conducted by secret ballot, and shall require a three-fourths vote of the members in good standing who submit a ballot.

If the Trustees refuse to consider a proposal of removal for a trustee, or if the Trustees decide not to present the motion to the membership, a petition containing the names of fifty percent of the total membership in good standing presented at a business meeting shall require that the Trustees immediately continue the procedure for removal of the trustee.

Article VI--Maintainer

Section 1. The maintainer of the corporation shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of a financial director. It shall be her duty to determine that adequate records of receipts and expenditures are kept in the Association office, and that finance reports are made to the trustees.

Section 2. The maintainer shall disburse the funds of the Association only by check, or as otherwise directed by the trustees. Should the Maintainer be unable to perform any of her duties, the trustees may appoint a new maintainer.

Section 3. The maintainer shall attend all meetings of the Association and the trustees, and minutes or records of same are under her supervision. She shall be ex-officio a member of all guilds and halls.

Section4. The maintainer shall be responsible for the administration and management responsibilities of the corporation, such as maintaining membership records, corporate documents, and accounts payable and receivable, under direction of the trustees.

Article VII--Meetings

Section 1. The Association may hold such meetings as may be determined by the trustees for the consideration of such business as may be presented.

Section 2. There shall be an Annual Meeting of the members of the Association to be held on the date, time and place determined by the trustees. The order of business, program and all other matters shall be as adopted at a regular meeting of the trustees at least fifteen days previous to the Annual Meeting.

Section 3. The Meetings of the Association and the trustees shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order Revised when not otherwise expressly provided for in the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws.

Article VIII--Ethics

Section 1. The Frigga's Web Code of Ethics as expressed in Frigga's Web Policies shall be adopted by the trustees.

Article IX--Indebtedness

Section 1. No trustee or member of the Association, nor other person, shall contact or incur any debt or obligation on behalf of the Association or in any way render it liable, unless authorized by the trustees.

Article X--Year

The fiscal year shall begin the first day of January.

Article XI--Amendments

Section 1. These By-Laws may be altered, amended, or added to in any manner by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the Association voting on such proposed alterations, amendments, or additions or by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the trustees voting on all matters pertaining to the administration of the Association and its normal operations and procedures. Amendments may be proposed and approved through electronic communication, including phone and email, as well as standard mail.

Section 2. Notice of the proposed alteration of the By-Laws must be contained in the notice of the meeting, and further, consideration of alteration or amendment shall have been discussed at a previous meeting of the trustees. Notice of upcoming decisions may be communicated through electronic communication, including phone and email, as well as through standard mail.

Article XII--Clergy Accreditation Program

This article establishes the Frigga's Web Clergy Accreditation program.

Section 1. As a service to heathen kindreds, FWA will register their acknowledged clergy.
1. FWA will provide registered clergy with a certificate of accreditation from the Frigga's Web Association.
2. FWA will produce and distribute a directory of clergy and the kindreds they serve.

Section 2. The Clergy Accreditation Program (CAP) will be administered by a Clergy Accreditation Officer appointed by the Maintainer and the Trustees and operating under their authority.

Section 3.
1. The program is designed to accommodate active gothis/gythias who serve a well-defined kindred with regular meetings, although others may be eligible as well.
2. Each applicant is nominated by three members of the kindred he/she serves.
3. Each kindred may nominate as many gothis/gythias as they have.

Section 4. This program does not establish a formal definition of "clergy", "gothi", "gythia", or "kindred".

Section 5. To be eligible for accreditation, a gothi/gythia must swear to:
1. represent only the religion of Asatru (as defined in the bylaws of the of the FWA) as clergy during the term of accreditation;
2. keep holy frith within Frigga's frithstead;
3. refrain from bringing any dishonor, by word or deed, on Frigga and Frigga's Web;
4. strengthen our way, serve the heathen community, and uphold and transmit our lore and culture;
5. know and honor all applicable provisions of the FWA bylaws, policies, and objectives;
6. discover and obey all applicable laws and procedures in his or her own jurisdiction;

Section 6. Accreditation will expire after 3 years and may be renewed by reapplication.

Section 7. There is an application fee of US $5.

Section 8. There are no additional requirements for eligibility.

Section 9. FWA has the right to suspend or revoke the accreditation if the gothi/gythia is no longer eligible for any reason, including (but not limited to) conduct or publicly expressed views that repeatedly or egregiously are inconsistent with the bylaws, policies, and objectives of FWA.
1. The Trustees shall establish and publish a suspension and revocation procedure that maintains discretion and confidentiality consistent with a responsible inquiry.
2. Any gothi/gythia whose accreditation has been revoked may reapply when eligibility has been restored.

Section 10. The program will be run according to regulations and procedures approved by the membership.
1. The Clergy Accreditation Officer will publish the most current version of the regulations and procedures.
2. Small changes to the program may be approved by the Maintainer or Trustees, subject to review at the next FWA annual meeting.