CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 1
ACTION 12001 7/10/2012 Vote Committee
Facilitator Name
Subject Quorum Count
Item: Quorum count: 40 voters. 2/3
is 27 and needs to be minimum in room to conduct business.
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12002 7/10/2012 Vote UNANIMOUS Committee Facilitator Name
Subject Approval of agenda
Item: Amend and approve agenda
Intent
Remarks Ad Hoc extended by 10
minutes, CoRe extended 10 minutes and election explanation reduced to 5
minutes.
MOTION 12003 7/10/2012 Vote UNANIMOUS Committee Board Name Evie
Subject Give committee chairs voice
and alternate committee member when chair is out of room
Item: Committee chairs will have
voice for duration of conference. Alternate member will speak when chair is out
of room.
Intent
Remarks Amendment to include vice
chairs
ACTION 12004 7/10/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee Facilitator Name Allison
Subject Quorum Count
Item: Quorum Available.
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12005 7/10/2012 Vote Committee
Board Name Evie & board
Subject Report
Item: Explanation of Board
activities, goals and motions, assignment of VEIs.
Intent Transparency
Remarks
MOTION 12006 7/10/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee Board
motion #6 Name Evie S
Subject Process changes to filing
motions by committees
Item: A. To make the following
changes to approved Motion #10105 and then modify accordingly FSM Section 10,
CoDA Service Conference
Procedures; Guidelines for Board,
Committee and VE Reports, Issues and Motions
presented at CoDA Service
Conference (CSC):.
Intent To make changes to motion
#10105 to clarify and correct that motion and what falls into which category.
This
motion supersedes motions
10105, 10078 and 11093
Remarks Minor motion amendments made
to correct language.
33 for
2 opposed
4 abstentions
ACTION 12007 7/10/2012 Vote Committee
Facilitator Name Allison
Subject Quorum Count
Item: Quorum Available.
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12008 7/10/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee facilitator Name Allison
Subject Extend time
Item: Allow board to continue
until 2:20
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12009 7/10/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee Board Name Dagmar
Subject Motion #5
Item: Motion:
Motion to add a new section
to the By Laws under Article VII, labeled Section 3 Qualifications of Trustees
and to
modify the Qualifications
section under CoDA Board of Trustees Position Description in the FSM to contain
the
same wording :
Section 3. Qualifications of
Trustees.
Trustees are elected by the
Voting Members with consideration of the candidates’ capabilities and
experience in the
following:
1. Working knowledge of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions
and Twelve Service Concepts of Co-Dependents
Anonymous
2. Willingness and availability to serve the Fellowship
through major service projects.
3. Demonstration of skills and abilities while doing CoDA
Service for two or more years.
4. Understanding and experience of the group conscience process.
5. Courage to express oneself and the ability to listen and
communicate effectively with others.
6. Dedication and commitment to the health of CoDA.
7. Desire to carry the message to the still suffering
codependent.
8. Skills and experience necessary for the Board of Trustees
to fulfill its legal and fiscal responsibilities to the
Corporation.
9. Attendance at a previous CSC.
Intent Suggested by corporate
attorney
Remarks Amended to include 12
Service Concepts in qualification #1.
41 for
o against
1abst
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 4
MOTION 12010 7/10/2012 Vote UNANIMOUS Committee Board Name Mercedes
Subject motion #3
Item: Move to add the 12 Service
Concepts to the By Laws under the section Guidelines, and add the words “Service
Concepts” and “Concepts” in
the second paragraph of this section (additions highlighted).
“Accordingly, the Trustees
in their deliberations and decision making process shall be guided in spirit by
these
CoDA Twelve (12) Steps,
Traditions and Service Concepts and shall use their best efforts to insure that
these Steps,
Traditions, and Concepts are upheld. On behalf
of the Fellowship, the Trustees shall act to prevent, within their
power, any modifications,
alterations or extensions of these Traditions or Concepts.
Intent As the Steps and Traditions
are intended to guide the Board, we believe the Service Conepts
are equally important
and need to be added to the
By Laws as guidelines.
Remarks For: 35
Against:0
Abstentions: 3
MOTION 12011 7/10/2012 Vote UNANIMOUS Committee Board Name Florence
Subject Motion #2
Item: Original wording:
Move to add the following
wording to the By Laws under the section Corporation, Item 1-a:
". . . And generally
monitor and support the work of the committees as directed by the CoDA Service
Conference."
Amended wording:
Move to add the following
wording to the By Laws under the section Corporation, Item 1-a:
“. . . and observe and support
the work of the committees as directed by the CoDA Service Conference.”
Intent to clarify the relationship
between the committees and the Board.
Remarks For: 37
Against: 0
abst.: 4
ACTION 12012 7/10/2012 Vote Committee
Ad
Hoc Name Deborah
Subject report
Item: Gave report.
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12013 7/10/2012 Vote Committee
Finance Name Judi T
Subject report - budget process
explanation
Item: Judi explained the process
of collecting and combining all budgets and forming a prudent reserve.
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12014 7/10/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee Events Name David
Subject Elections process change
Item: Motion: Events Committee moves that CSC adopt the
following procedures for conducting elections, and that these
procedures be included in the Fellowship
Service Manual.
Conference Election
Procedures
Election Committee Guide
Members of the Events
committee who are not delegates will serve as the Conference Election
Committee. Election
Committee Actions:
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 5
A. Establish location or
contact person/s to receive Trustee applications.
B. The Election Committee:
1. will encourage
applications for the CoDA, Inc. and CoRE boards prior
to the CSC, and forms will be included in
delegate packet;
2. have copies of Board and CoRE applications available on the first day of the Service
Conference. As applications
are submitted the Election
Committee will make copies of them to distribute to delegates, taking care that
each
voting delegate gets a copy;
3. announce and facilitate a candidates form the
evening before the election;
4. have the Facilitator
announce to CSC when additional applications have been received and are
available.
C. The Voting Process is
handled by the Election Committee. Facilitator
turns time over to Election Committee.
1. The names of the
applicants should be displayed in some fashion for all at CSC to view.
2. Blank pieces of paper
(typically ˝ sheet or Ľ sheet will suffice) are distributed to voting delegates
only.
3. Voting Delegates must
have a Conference ID badge that identifies them as a Delegate.
4. The facilitator or the
current Board chairs can advise how many openings are to be filled by this
conference vote.
Delegates should be
instructed to write down that number of names from the list of applicants. After sufficient time
for Delegates to vote the
ballots should be collected, again taking care to only accept from voting
delegates with
Conference ID badge.
5. Election committee should
move to a secure area and count the votes.
At least 2 members of the election
committee should view each
ballot and agree on the applicants voted for on each ballot. If possible two people
should also be involved in
recording the votes. Alternatively each
member of the election committee may view each
ballot and record their own tally.
6. When all votes are
counted and there is agreement on the vote totals for each applicant; the
committee should
order the applicant names
from those getting the most votes to the least votes. The votes and tally sheets should be
secured until after the announcement and then
destroyed.
7. The applicant receiving
the most votes over a majority, fill the vacant Trustee positions.
8. If there are vacant
position/s remaining and remaining applicants that didn’t receive a majority of
votes, it will be
necessary to have a run-off
election to fill the vacant position/s.
Those not receiving a majority may be elected as
alternates.
9. Return to the Conference
floor and get permission from the facilitator to announce the election
results. Do not
announce the vote
totals. Announce the election
results. Destroy the votes and tally
sheets.
Intent Since the first CSC there have
been procedures followed for elections, but they have never been written down
or made
into a policy.
This motion intends to correct that, so that going forward everyone
attending CSC can know how
elections will be handled.
Remarks for: 26
against: 1
abstain: 7
ACTION 12015 7/10/2012 Vote Committee
Board
Treasurer Name Barbara D
Subject treasury report
Item: Submitted reports; P&L,
2011 went over budget by
$12k
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12016 7/10/2012 Vote Committee
CoRe Name Mary I
Subject CoRe report
Item: members: Teri S
Della
Brandy
Loretta
Intent
Remarks
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 6
MOTION 12017 7/10/2012 Vote TABLED Committee Facilitator Name Allison
Subject Approve motions from today
Item: Move to accept motions
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12018 7/11/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee IMC Name Leslie
Subject motion #1
Item: To change some simple
wording in the FSM’s Disagreement, Mediation and Resolution in Our Group
Conscience
Process. See remarks for new version.
Amendments:
Remove page number
reference.
Clarify how link in FSM
should be written
Intent change wording to clarify
Remarks for: 34
against:0
abstain: 3
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 8
MOTION 12019 7/11/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee IMC Name Loretta
Subject motion #3
Item: (1) To update Section 5, Voting Entity Structure: Insert
highlighted sentences as noted in the second paragraph
under section 5, Page 22,
FSM - Voting Entity Service Structure.
(Yellow highlighted = ADD)
A Voting Entity may also
choose to divide into two or more Voting entities according to CoDA’s By-laws.
Please review FSM section 7,
under the Issues Mediation Committee description -“Voting Entity Division
Process”
for IMC guidance regarding the process. Each
separate Voting Entity may then…..
(2) To update Section 7 in FSM’s “Board Overseen Service
Functions and Coda Standing Committees” Issues
Mediation Committee’s (IMC)
description as indicated in the attached document. See attachment with requested
new additions in yellow
highlights.
Intent To update Section 5 (Voting
Entity Structure) & Section 7 (the description of IMC’s duties) as outlined
in Section 2
of the By-Laws in the FSM regarding splitting
of Voting Entities. IMC has created a
registration, application &
approval process for
splitting of VE’s.
Remarks Original wording:
2. Consider Geographical boundaries.
3. Consider division by Language.
4. Consider city, county, parish, state boundaries.
Amended wording:
2. Any geographical, political, language and cultural boundary
or area as defined by the VE.
Or: 30
against: 0
Abstain: 2
MOTION 12020 7/11/2012 Vote MAJORITY Committee IMC Name Cathy
Subject motion #2
Item: : (1)To replace the existing
eligibility section in the FSM’s very first paragraph under Section 7 - Issues Mediation
Committee (IMC) to read as
follows (add in yellow highlights; delete in blue):
The CoDA Service Conference
elects members of the Issues Mediation Committee (IMC) according to guidelines
established by the
Conference. Therefore, the IMC is responsible to the CSC. Voting Entity Delegates and
alternates are eligible to
serve on the IMC. To be eligible to
serve on the IMC, a candidate shall be a current or past
Voting Entity Delegate or Alternate,
• New applicants shall be present at CSC to be elected,
• A Current IMC member may be re-elected even if they are
not attending the Conference by expressing an interest to
continue service by written
communication to the Conference, submitted by another IMC member and/or other
trusted servant.
All eligible members should
either have an in-depth knowledge of, or share a strong willingness to learn,
CoDA’s
FSM principles, guidelines
and Bylaws.
Intent
Remarks for: 24
against: 8
abstain: 6
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 9
ACTION 12021 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
IMC Name Natasha
Subject report
Item: Report truncated for time.
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12022 7/11/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee SSC Name Eric
Subject motion #1
Item: Replace Section I C of the
Meeting Starter Packet so it reads as follows:
Can our group use the CoDA
Tax ID Number?
No. The CoDA Tax ID Number, also
known as the Employer Identification Number (EIN) is not for use by any
other level of CoDA except
the corporate level.
Why?
The Co-Dependents Anonymous,
Inc. EIN is specific to the corporation of CoDA, a US corporation.
Having an “umbrella” tax
status would require that each group submit all the identifying information of
their
officers, to CoDA for the
official record. In addition, CoDA would be responsible for the groups’
financial reporting
and financial activity. We
would have to establish a system of controls over the finances of each CoDA
group,
intergroup/community, and
Voting Entity or regional service board. We would somehow have to ensure the
use of
all income solely for CoDA
purposes and require regular reports to some central CoDA organization which
would
account to tax authorities
for the activities of Co-Dependents Anonymous, Inc.
All of this conflicts with
our Traditions of anonymity, group autonomy and our service structure.
For this reason we recommend
that each meeting group, intergroup/community, or Voting Entity organization
assess its own need for a
Tax ID # /EIN and if necessary, apply for its own.
Intent To streamline and simplify
information about bank accounts, EINs, etc.
Remarks for: 34
against: 0
Abstain: 4
ACTION 12023 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
SSC Name Eric
Subject report
Item: SSC considered AZ VEI #1 Sending
back to AZ for clarification.
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12024 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
H&I Name Yumi
Subject report
Item: Report on website
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12025 7/11/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee H&I Name Lou
Subject motion #1
Item: Original motion:
Move that the Finance
Committee communicate to the committee chairs at least quarterly how each
budgeting area
is doing indicating Expenses
against Budget and Income against expenses YTD as a whole.
Amended motion:
Move that Board be tasked to
create and implement a process whereby the committee chairs, at least
quarterly,
receive reports of YTD
Expenses and Income against Budget.
Intent In the spirit of full
financial disclosure and accountability, it is the desire of this committee to
know on a regular
basis how we are doing
against our budget as a committee and how CoDA is doing as a whole.
Remarks for: 33
against: 2
abstain: 3
MOTION 12026 7/11/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee Literature Name Judi T
Subject motion
Item: Modification to CoDA booklet
"Making Choices":
Change the text under the
"Sexuality and Spirituality" section, item number 7 which states
"My sexual orientation
is my own choice. No one can define who I am,
but me" to the following:
"The expression of my sexual orientation is my own choice. No one
but me can define who I am."
Amended to:"The
identification of and expression of my gender and my sexual orientation are my
right. No one else
has a right to define who I
am."
Intent Intent: The CoDA Literature Committee finds that the notion that gay, lesbian, bisexual
or transgender individuals
"choose" their sexual orientation is
a very outdated idea which has led to
many years of persecution, disrespect and
discrimination against such individuals. We believe it was or should
be the intent of the Fellowship that the
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 11
manner in which any person
chooses to express their sexual orientation
is their choice, not the orientation itself.
The intent of this change
is to ensure that CoDA Literature
supports the principle of Tradition
Three which
welcomes all individuals who
seek healthy and loving relationships,
and does not contain material which is or could
be
perceived to be offensive or disrespectful to any member of the
fellowship on the basis of his/her sexual
orientation.
Remarks for: 35
opposed: 1
abstain: 4
ACTION 12027 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
Literature Name Judi T
Subject report
Item: Current chair is leaving
service.
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12028 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
Finance Name
Subject report
Item: Gave report.
Improved ERR policy &
procedure.
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12029 7/11/2012 Vote MAJORITY Committee Finance Name Judi T
Subject motion 1
Item: Motion:
That the description of the
Finance Committee in the Fellowship Service Manual be updated so it reads:
Finance Committee
The CoDA Finance Committee works
with the CoDA Treasurer and Board to provide financial oversight, analysis,
and advice to the Fellowship
of CoDA with respect to:
Prudent budgeting and investing
Financial stability
Monetary resources of the CoDA
Fellowship.
Finance Committee
Responsibilities:
Calculate and report our
prudent reserve to the Fellowship at the annual Service Conference. We may
report it at
other times of year if
needed.
Annually review proposed
budgets submitted by committees, boards, & Fellowship Services.
The committee considers
whether or not CoDA’s income supports the budget requests and allows for our
prudent
reserve* while integrating
the requests into one overall budget.
Provide input to the CSC
related to the financial implications of proposals under discussion and suggest
options, as
prudence requires.
The Finance Committee makes
the motion to approve the overall budget to voting members at CSC.
Apprise the CoDA Board and
Fellowship of changing financial circumstances, which might require budgetary
adjustments between CoDA
Service Conferences.
Review expense reports
submitted by committee & board members for adherence to CoDA’s Expense
Reimbursement Policy.
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 12
Review CoDA's investments
for adherence to Conference approved policy.
Review the Expense
Reimbursement Policies and Procedures, and propose amendments when needed.
* Prudent reserve equals 3
years of actual expenses.
Intent To more accurately reflect
the work of the Finance Committee.
Remarks For: 27
Opposed: 1
Abstain: 6
MOTION 12030 7/11/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee Finance Name Judi T
Subject motion 2
Item: Move to replace CoDA’s
current Expense Reimbursement Policy(ies) with the following
Expense Reimbursement
Policy:
Co-Dependents Anonymous Inc
Expense Reimbursement Policy
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Travel
3. Reimbursable Expenses:
3.a. Transportation
3.b. Lodging
3.c. Per diem Allowance
3.d. Other
4. Non-reimbursable Expenses
5. Travel Advances
6. Receipts
7. Timeliness
8. Policy Exceptions
Appendix A - Current CSC
Approved Per diem and Mileage rate; Currency Conversion; Service Conference
Registration Fees
Appendix B - What is Not Reimbursable
Appendix C –
Responsibilities of Chairs
Co-Dependents Anonymous
Expense Reimbursement Policy
1. Introduction:
Our travel policies,
procedures & processes are in place to ensure the fair, consistent and
transparent reimbursement
of legitimate expenses
incurred by members of Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA). All trips must be planned to
accomplish CoDA business.
CoDA funds are derived from
7th Tradition donations and from royalties on the sale of our volunteer-written
literature. It is the
responsibility of each trusted servant to ensure that our funds are responsibly
spent in the most
cost-effective way.
This policy aims to cover
most eventualities, but cannot be fully comprehensive. If your situation is not covered in
this policy contact the CoDA
Board ([email protected]) and Finance Committee ([email protected]).
We appreciate that
volunteers give their time, skills and energies in service for CoDA; we want to
reimburse your
expenses in a timely manner.
Our goal is to reimburse within 30 days of your submitting an Expense Report to
the
CoDA bookkeeper.
2. Travel:
Committee and board travel
is budgeted for and approved by the CSC.
In the rare circumstance where additional
travel expenses are needed,
they must be approved by the CoDA Board ([email protected]) and Finance Committee
CoDA
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([email protected]) before
expenses are incurred.
Chairs are responsible for fully
understanding the travel policy and expense reimbursement procedure, for
planning
their committee meetings and
for reviewing and approving expense reimbursement submissions. See Appendix C
for
Responsibilities of Chairs.
Members are responsible for
organizing and paying for their own lodging and transportation as well as
timely
submission of their expense
reimbursement requests. Members cannot be reimbursed for another member’s
expenses.
See Expense Reimbursement Procedure.
Special provision in terms
of extra nights lodging and per diem has been approved by the Board for members
who
travel across 4 times zones
or more.
3. Reimbursable expenses
CoDA business events for which some members
may incur reimbursable expenses include:
• CoDA Service Conference
• Committee & Board Face to Face (F2F) meetings
(These meetings cannot be held on the same days as the CSC.)
• CoDA Convention (Some expenses for members who are the
main speakers with the prior agreement of the Events
Committee may be reimbusable.)
3.a. Transportation
Airlines: Tickets should be
purchased in advance. All air travel must be economy or coach class. Special,
low-cost
rates should be used when
possible. The use of frequent flier miles will not be reimbursed.
Trains & Buses: Travel
by train and bus should be by coach and cannot exceed the lowest cost of the
most
reasonable form of other
public transportation such as air.
Private Automobile: CoDA
business use of a privately owned automobile is reimbursed at the CSC approved
rate
per mile (see Appendix A).
The mileage reimbursement rate covers all automobile related expenses including
insurance.
Reimbursement for the total cost
to drive to and from a meeting may not exceed the cost of an economy
airfare. Per
Diem is reimbursable only
for the amount of time it would have taken to fly.
Automobile Rental:
Preapproval by the CoDA Board is required before contracting for a rental car.
Supply the
purpose of travel, start and
finish dates, destinations and estimated mileage when applying for rental car
authorization. Only compact or intermediate automobiles may
be rented. Gas used in the rental car is a reimbursable
expense, with receipts.
Shuttle Bus, Courtesy Cars,
Taxis and Parking: Use shuttle bus and courtesy cars to and from airports and
hotels.
Where taxis are necessary,
members are encouraged to share taxis whenever possible.
3.b. Lodging
Lodging should be of a
reasonable, not luxurious, standard, generally 2-3 stars. See Appendix A for
further
information.
When making hotel
reservations to attend attending a CoDA Service Conference, you must request
the Conference's
special lodging rate. If an
individual chooses to stay elsewhere, reimbursement is made at an amount no
higher than
the rate negotiated by CoDA;
no reimbursement is provided for transport between the alternate location and
the
CSC.
3.c. Per Diem
Allowance
CoDA members on business are
given a per diem allowance for meals and incidentals. This allowance is
approved at
CSC (see Appendix A.) Per diem will be paid in full on all days
except the travel days, which will be paid at 75%
unless travel began before 7:30am or completed
after 6pm in which case the full amount will be paid
3.d. Other
Business telephone expenses
are reimbursable only when no free alternative is available
4. Non-Reimbursable expenses (see Appendix B)
5. Travel Advance
Members may apply for an
advance of up to 80 % of your estimated out-of-pocket expenses for by using the
Expense
Reimbursement Request (ERR)
form. The minimum amount of an advance is $200.
The Advance claim can be made
up to 45 days prior to the departure. Payment is usually made up to 30 days
maximum before departure.
However, if there is a
significant price advantage by purchasing further in advance for travel outside
the US, the
member seeking reimbursement
may submit details to the Treasurer and Finance Chair for an exception.
CoDA
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Advances must be refunded to
CoDA immediately when a trip is cancelled or postponed. No advances will be made
if a member has an outstanding advance.
6. Receipts
All items claimed on the
form must be substantiated with a detailed receipt, except for meals, mileage,
and
parking/toll/rapid transit
charges less than $10.
In cases where receipts have
been lost, attach a signed statement to the ERR, explaining the missing
receipt. Attach
a copy of the credit card
statement and any other available proof of purchase. If reasonable, the
substituted
documentation may be
accepted as a receipt.
7. Timeliness
Our goal is to reimburse
within 30 days of receipt of a correct Expense Reimbursement Request (ERR). Any
errors
in information submitted or
procedure will cause a delay.
ERRs submitted more than 60
days after the end of the event that necessitated the expense will be reimbursed
but
will be considered income to
the person receiving the reimbursement and a 1099 will be sent documenting the
income.
8. Policy Exceptions
A policy cannot foresee
every possibility and/or expense. A CoDA member who wants to file for an
exception needs
to submit relevant
documentation and obtain written approval from the CoDA Board and Finance
committee.
Expense Reimbursement Policy
Appendix A
Per Diem rates and mileage
rate changes are approved at the CoDA Service Conference,
• Mileage rate is 50c per mile (CSC Approved 2011)
• Per Diem is $40 per day(CSC Approved 2011)
Per diem will be paid in
full on all days except the travel days, which will be paid at 75% unless
travel began before
7:30am, or completed after 6pm, in which case
the full amount will be paid.
The actual currency
conversion rate should be used in submitting ERRs when there is documentation
available to
support it. Otherwise, CoDA
will use the currency exchange rate from the date of the transaction.
All trustees and chairs must
register for the Service Conference, even though registration fees are waived
for Board
members and standing
Committee Chairs.
Expense Reimbursement Policy
Appendix B
What is not reimbursable
This list can never be fully
comprehensive. If in doubt, please check
with the Finance committee or your board
liaison before incurring the
expense.
1. Expenses incurred in attending the annual Convention. The
Convention is a personal recovery event, and not an
extension of the Conference.
2. Any extra costs in terms of airfare or other transport
where a vacation is added before or after a business event. A
statement giving comparison
details of costs of extended flight dates should be provided
3. Reimbursement of the cost of a comparable ticket, if you
choose to use your frequent flyer benefits..
4. The cost of travel for spouses, family members or friends
5. Costs incurred for personal reasons or in extending a
trip for personal reasons
6. Parking fines or fees for traffic violations
7. Damage to personal vehicles
8. Lost or stolen articles
9. Travel Insurance
10. Medical and/or personal accident insurance (May be approved
for foreign nationals travelling to US on CoDA
business, whose coverage
doesn’t cover US emergency medical costs.)
11. Visas, passport charges
12. Air-Phone Usage
13. Personal phone calls
14. ATM or bank charges
15. Credit card costs, including finance charges and usage fees
16. Alcoholic beverages
17. Room service charges
18. Entertainment (e.g. movies, video games, concerts)
19. Laundry, dry cleaning services, valet services
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 15
Expense Reimbursement Policy
Appendix C
Responsibilities of Chairs
Committee chairs will review
and understand CoDA’s expense reimbursement policies and procedures.
Committee chairs are
responsible for reviewing ERRs submitted by committee members according to
CoDA’s
Expense Reimbursement
policies. Chairs will approve ERRs if they are within CoDA’s policies and
procedures.
Committee chairs are
responsible to ensure that expenses fall within their committee budget.
Committee chairs are
responsible for submitting an agenda for Face to Face meetings to document the
purpose of the
meeting.
Committee chairs should use
the following guidelines when planning committees or conference calls:
• Location
o Plan a meeting in a city where one or more of the
members live, to save at least one airfare.
O Hold the meeting in a city where members can get direct
flights.
O Plan ahead so members can watch for good airfares. Often,
it is difficult to get reasonably priced airfares around
holidays and school
vacations.
• Hotel
o People should always share rooms unless the number
and/or gender of attendees makes that impossible.
O Plan to spend approximately $99 - $109 per room whenever
possible. If rooms are unavailable in that price
range, in a higher cost
area, $139 - $149 is acceptable. These prices do not include taxes.
O Book a hotel that includes breakfast, provides free
Internet service, and has a free shuttle to and from the airport.
O If you need a room in which to work try to find a hotel
that can provide a free or very low cost meeting room.
• Conference Calls
o Face to Face meetings should only be scheduled when
there is work that cannot be done effectively via
teleconference or
email. For free service, search for
“free conference calls” on the Internet, or ask the Finance
Committee ([email protected])
• Bring expense reports with you to distribute to meeting
attendees and review the Expense Reimbursement Policy
and Procedure with your
committee during your meeting.
Intent
Remarks For: 35
Opposed: 2
Abstain: 1
MOTION 12031 7/11/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee Finance Name Judi T
Subject motion #3
Item: To replace the current
Expense Reimbursement Procedure and replace it with the following:
Expense Reimbursement
Procedure
Complete the Expense
Reimbursement Request (ERR) Form, available from your chair or from the Finance
section
of the Committee Work Area
(CWA) on the website.
ERRs submitted more than 60
days after the end of the event that necessitated the expense will be
reimbursed, but
will be considered income to
the person receiving the reimbursement and a 1099 will be sent documenting the
income.
If an Advance was received,
indicate the amount of the Advance on the ERR and subtract the amount from the
subtotal.
If the Advance exceeds the
expense incurred, the person will submit a check or money order, within 10
days, made
out to CoDA Inc. to repay
the difference. Foreign nationals should return the money via bank wire
transfer directly
into CoDA’s bank account
(contact the Treasurer for instructions.)
Attach an explanation of the
purpose if Other is checked on the ERR.
Committee chairs are
responsible for submitting an agenda for Face- to- Face meetings to document
the purpose of
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 16
the meeting.
Attach all receipts. In
cases where receipts have been lost, attach a signed statement to the ERR,
explaining the
missing receipt. Attach a
copy of the credit card statement and any other available proof of purchase. If
reasonable,
the substituted
documentation may be accepted as a receipt.
Attach Additional
Info/Detail as may be required (for example, documentation of currency
conversion rate used and
currency conversion fees.)
Foreign nationals only: Due
to the new (2012) banking policies of CoDA's financial institution, wiring
foreign
currency is more complex.
Please contact the Treasurer early in your travel planning process. Include a
typed Wire
Transfer Form to enable the
Treasurer to transfer funds directly into your account (Contact the Treasurer
for a copy.)
Submit all Expense Reports
as described below:
• Email submission is preferred. (Scan documents and
insert in email.) Any other form of submission may result in
delays.
• Submit ERRs to the bookkeeper with a CC to both
“Approvers” (see chart below.)
Ms Lauren Alston
14419 W. Trading Post Dr.
Sun City West, AZ 85375
FAX (320) 451-0017
ERR From Approved By 1 Approved By 2
Member Committee Chair Finance Liaison
Committee Chair Board Liaison
Finance liaison
Finance Liaisons Committee Chair Board Finance
Liaison
Finance Chair Board
Chair Board Finance Liaison
Board Member Board
Chair Finance Liaison
Board Chair Board Vice-Chair Finance Chair
CoDA’s bookkeeper will:
• Check ERRs to be sure all receipts are included.
• Send ERRs & receipts to appropriate Chairs and
Finance Liaisons.
• Upon receipt of approvals, bookkeeper forwards the ERR
to the Treasurer for payment.
• Treasurer processes payment and notifies submitter that
payment has been processed.
If there are corrections
needed on an ERR, discrepancies will be handled between an approver and
member. One of
the approvers (chair or
finance liaison) will contact the member for resolution.
Our goal is to send reimbursement
checks within 30 days of submission to the bookkeeper.
Intent
Remarks For: 35
Opposed: 2
Abstain: 0
MOTION 12032 7/11/2012 Vote TABLED Committee Finance Name Judi T
Subject motion #4
Item: Add to the new Expense
Policy:
A Delegate's Voting Entity
(VE) is the primary payer responsible for reimbursing the Delegate's
expenses. If a
Delegate is also a committee
chair and their VE is unable to pay the entire expenses for attending the CoDA
Service
Conference, the Delegate may submit the balance of their unpaid
expenses to CoDA World for reimbursement.
CoDA World will reimburse up
to 50% of their CSC expenses, according
to CoDA World’s Expense
Reimbursement Policies.
Intent A Delegate's Voting Entity
(VE) is the primary payer responsible for reimbursing the Delegate's
expenses. If a
Delegate is also a committee
chair and their VE is unable to pay the entire expenses for attending the CoDA
Service
Conference, the
Delegate may submit the balance of their
unpaid expenses to CoDA World for reimbursement.
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 17
CoDA World will reimburse up
to 50% of their CSC expenses, according
to CoDA World’s Expense
Reimbursement Policies.
Remarks
ACTION 12033 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
TMC Name Fernando
Subject report
Item: Gave report including goals
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12034 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
Facilitator Name Allison
Subject IMC Elections
Item: Nominees:
John R. PA
Natasha K. AZ
Addie M. SoCal
Jim D. CT
Terri S. TX - declined
Allison F. SC - declined
Dianne B. Canada - declined
Julie B. NorCal
- declined
Yumi M. NorCal
- declined
Judi T. MA - declined
Luc B Canada - declined
Fernando C. NorCal - declined
Carlos R Mexico - declined
Jamie W AZ
Intent To elect members of IMC for
the next year. All members of IMC must
be elected at CSC.
Remarks Elected:
John R.
Natasha K.
Addie M.
Jim D.
Jamie W.
ACTION 12035 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
Webmaster Name Leo
Subject Report
Item: Gave report including goals
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12036 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
Connections Name Chuck J
Subject
Item: Report given, with goals and
accomplishments
Intent
Remarks
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 18
MOTION 12037 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
Board Name Evie S
Subject Ratify Board motions done
through year
Item: Motion by Dave M - TX to
ratify all Board motions as presented.
Intent
Remarks Approved: 34
Opposed: 0
Abstained: 3
ACTION 12038 7/11/2012 Vote Committee
Events Name Facilitator
Subject CSC Motions
Item: Some corrections were made
but no approval will be made until the end of CSC.
Intent
Remarks The database update process
needs to be documented and we need to make more of an effort to have an
individual
to enter CSC items into the
database during CSC who does not have any other responsibilities at CSC.
ACTION 12039 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
Facilitator Name Alison
Subject Quorum count
Item: Quorum achieved 9:15am
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12040 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
Outreach Name Annie
Subject report
Item:
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12041 7/12/2012 Vote TABLED Committee Outreach Name Annie
Subject motion #1
Item: Move that a Public
Information Committee (PI) be formed and committee information is added to CoDA
literature
upon the next reprinting
(FSM, etc.).
Intent PI would serve to educate
the general public about CoDA through the development of public information
procedures
and fellowship wide public
relations activities.
Remarks Small group will remodel
motion to incorporate suggestions from floor
ACTION 12042 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
Spanish
Outreach Name Mercedes
Subject report
Item: Gave report including goals
and accomplishments and action plans.
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12043 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
Communication Name Leo C
Subject Report
Item: Gave report including goals
and accomplishments and action plans.
Intent
Remarks
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 19
ACTION 12044 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
Voting
Entities Name Julie B
Subject reports from various voting
entities
Item: Leslie - NorCal
Luc , Deborah, Patrick,
Dianne for Canda
Tiffany - VA
Carlos - Mexico
Hal - SoCal
Dave - PA
Lorraine - WA
Lisa - NV
Florence - online CoDA
Message from Russia, read by
Julie
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12045 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
candidates
for boards Name
Subject short talk
Item: One minute talk by each of three
candidates for boards, Anita - CoRe, Dave Mc - CoDA board, Hal H - CoDA board.
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12046 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
facilitator Name Alison
Subject Quorum count
Item: Quorum achieved.
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12047 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
Israel
VE Name Gabriel
Subject report
Item: Gave report for the new
Israel VE
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12048 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
Events Name David L
Subject report
Item: Gave report including goals
and accomplishments.
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12049 7/12/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee elections Name
Subject
Item: to cast unanimous ballot for
CoDA board
Approved and Hal H from SoCal and David M from Texas are both elected to the CoDA
board.
Intent
Remarks
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 20
MOTION 12050 7/12/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee elections Name
Subject
Item: Voice vote for CoRe board.
Approved - Anita F from
Utah is elected
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12051 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
Board Name Evie
Subject motion #1
Item: To change FSM Section 12,
sub-section titled Communication from the Board: CoDA Quarterly Service Report
(QSR) Guidelines to the
following: (Changes and additions are highlighted.)
• The QSR board liaison will send out a reminder email no
later than the last day of the quarter (March 31, June 30,
Sept 30, Dec 31) The report
is due the 15th of the following month.
• All QSR submissions are made through the appropriate
board liaison, i.e.: The Finance committee report is
submitted through the
Finance Committee Board liaison. The QSR
liaison is also copied on all submissions to
ensure receipt in case the
committee liaison is unavailable at the time.
• All submissions to the QSR editor are made through the
QSR Board liaison.
• There are no additions, deletions or content changes to
a committee’s report by the editor without discussion and
agreement with the committee
first.
• The final draft of the QSR is made available for review
by all Board members, and must be reviewed by at least two
members.
• No content changes will be made after final approval by
the Board. Punctuation, grammar, and spelling corrections
may be made when needed
without approval.
• No changes may be made to a committee’s QSR submission
without discussion with the committee.
• No content changes may be made without mutual agreement
unless there is a legal issue involved.
Intent Changes were made to
committee reports without any discussion with those committees in the past.
QSR’s are
created through the group
conscience process. Any changes to them need to be addressed using the same
process.
Remarks amended to remove page no
amended to add "The
report is due the 15th of the following month."
Approved: 35
Opposed: 0
Abstain: 3
.
ACTION 12052 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
QSR
Coordinator Name Lisa B
Subject Report
Item: Report given
Intent
Remarks
ACTION 12053 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
Finance Name Judi T.
Subject Presentation of Budget
Item: Prudent Reserve for CSC 2012
Assets Dec. 31, 2011 $390,908 (last year, 414K)
2011 expenses $140,867
2010 expenses $110,000
2009 expenses $107,800
Total 3 yrs expenses $358,667 Prudent Reserve
(last year, 4301K)
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 21
Assets less the 2013 Budget
Requests of $140,856
would leave $250,052 in assets. Our prudent reserve would
be underfunded by $108,615
(Last year’s prudent reserve
was 301K)
This year, there is a substantial
tension between the requests for budgets and maintenance of a prudent reserve.
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12054 7/12/2012 Vote Committee
Finance Name Judi T
Subject Budget Approval
Item: Move that our 2013 budget
total be $129,486.75.
Board: $20,900.00
Fellowship Services:
$20,255.00
General Expenses: $34,038.00
Connections: $1,260.00
Events: $13,483.75
H&I: $8,070.00
Finance: $1,950.00
IMC: $5,640.00
Literature: $5,500.00
Outreach: $6,025.00
Spanish Outreach: $3,615.00
SSC: $3,000.00
TMC: $4,700.00
Communication: $1,050.00
Total: $ $129,486.75
Intent
Remarks For: 35
Against: 1
Abstain: 4
MOTION 12055 7/12/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee board Name Evie
Subject motion #4
Item: Move to replace the 2006 By
Laws with the submitted draft 2012 By Laws.
Co-Dependents Anonymous, Inc
By Laws
Table of Contents
Purpose
Corporation
Guidelines
Article I – Offices
Article II – Accounting
Period, Audit and records
Article III – Dues and
Contributions
Article IV – Membership and
Voting
Section 1, Membership Terminology
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 22
Section 2, Definition of “Voting Entities” (Entities)
that can send Delegates
Section 3, Voting Member selection/election explained:
Section 4, Others
Section 5, Assignment of Voting Rights at Conference
Article V - Meetings of
Voting Members
Section 1, CoDA Service Conference
Section 2, Notice of CoDA Service Conference or
Special Meeting
Section 3, Conference and Special Meeting Procedures
Section 4, Quorum and Resolution
Section 5, Special Meetings
Article VI – Committees
Article VII – Board of
Trustees
Section 1, Authority
Section 2, Number of Trustees
Section 3, Qualifications of Trustees
Section 4, Election and Term of Office
Section 5, Vacancies
Section 6, Removal of Trustee
Section 7, Liability of Trustees
Section 8, Regular and Special Board Meetings
Section 9, Quorum and Resolution
Section 10, Compensation
Article VIII – Officers of
the Corporation
Section 1, Election and Term of Office
Section 2, Chairperson
Section 3, Vice Chairperson
Section 4, Secretary
Section 5, Treasurer
Section 6, Removal of Officers
Article IX – Amendment of By
Laws
This copy includes
amendments made at the CoDA Service Conference, September 2006.
Purpose
Co-Dependents Anonymous,
Inc. is a not-for-profit tax exempt corporation (hereinafter the Corporation)
which serves
the Fellowship of Co-Dependents Anonymous
(Fellowship or CoDA), a recovery program for men and women
seeking to improve
relationships with themselves and others. CoDA is based on the Twelve Steps and
Twelve
Traditions, (Steps and
Traditions), listed below. These Steps and Traditions constitute the program
upon which
CoDA is established and
provide the basis for other materials approved by the Membership at the CoDA
Service
Conference.
This program of recovery
endorsed by the Fellowship is spiritual in nature, and maintains membership
services for
those who are seeking,
through CoDA, spiritual and emotional assistance in personal and professional
relationships.
The power of CoDA and its
program rests with the Members of the Fellowship who elect/select Delegates to
represent them at the CoDA
Service Conference (Conference) through the group conscience process.
Corporation
The Corporation, through the
Board of Trustees (Board of Trustees), is responsible for the legal and
business needs
of the Fellowship. Each
Trustee shall comply with and be bound by all terms and provisions of these
By-laws of
Co-Dependents Anonymous,
Inc., and all public laws, such as those of the State of Arizona or the United
States
Internal Revenue Service,
which affect CoDA’s corporate, nonprofit and tax-exempt status. Trustees are
expected to
exercise the powers vested in
them by the State of Arizona in a manner consistent with the faith that guides
the
Fellowship of CoDA, guided
and inspired by the Twelve Steps and in keeping with the Twelve Traditions. The
Board has but one spiritual
purpose: that of serving the Fellowship. The Trustees are elected by the will
and
through the consent of the
Fellowship as expressed through the group conscience of the voting members of
the
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 23
corporation at the
Conference, to perform specific functions and to hold specific
responsibilities, including but not
limited to the following:
1. Conduct the daily business affairs and operations of the
Corporation:
a. Manage, hire, and fire employees and observe and support
the work of the committees as directed by the CoDA
Service Conference. .
b. Receive and deposit Seventh (7th) Tradition and other
income.
c. Update Contacts and Meeting Directories of CoDA groups.
d. Support the Fellowship by sending out a Quarterly Bulletin
in which committees can report their activities.
e. Receive initial telephone contacts and answer incoming
mail.
2. Supervise and oversee all financial matters of the
Corporation, including receipts, corporate assets and debts,
obligations and liabilities,
and give a financial report to the Conference.
3. Exercise any and all legal rights of the Corporation,
whether expressed or implied under Arizona statutes or
federal law.
4. Advise the Fellowship of the legal, practical and
financial realities of the Corporation.
5. Rent, lease, purchase, hold and manage the minimum amount
of real and personal property and equipment
necessary to perform CoDA
business. The Board is reminded that the Fellowship believes that owning,
leasing or
renting property may divert
CoDA from its primary spiritual aim.
6. Obtain and protect CoDA copyrights, trademarks, trade
names, and all intellectual property of CoDA.
7. To be directly responsible to the CoDA Fellowship, being
guided and directed by the group conscience as
expressed at their annual
Conference. A majority vote by the Conference is considered guidance and two
thirds (2/3)
majority vote is a binding
directive, except to the extent such directive if implemented, would cause the
Trustees to
be in violation of the Board
of Trustees’ legal responsibilities to the Corporation and its members or would
put the
fiscal integrity of the
Corporation at risk.
Guidelines
The Trustees claim no
property rights for the CoDA Twelve (12) Steps and Traditions in a recovery
program, as all
spiritual truths may now be
regarded as available to all humankind. On behalf of the Fellowship, the
Trustees shall
act to prevent, within their
power, any modifications, alterations or extensions of these Steps.
The Twelve Steps
1. We admitted we were powerless over others – that our
lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could
restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to
the care of God as we understood God.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of
ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being
the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defect of
character.
7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became
willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible,
except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were
wrong, promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our
conscious contact with God as we understood God,
praying only for knowledge
of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these
steps, we tried to carry this message to other
codependents, and to
practice these principles in all our affairs.
(The Twelve Steps reprinted
for adaptation with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.)
Accordingly, the Trustees in
their deliberations and decision making process shall be guided in spirit by
these
CoDA Twelve (12) Steps,
Traditions and Service Concepts and shall
use their best efforts to insure that these
Steps, Traditions, and
Concepts are upheld. On behalf of the Fellowship, the Trustees shall act to
prevent, within
their power, any
modifications, alterations or extensions of these Traditions or Concepts.
The Twelve Traditions are as
follows:
1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery
depends upon CoDA unity.
2. For our group purpose there is but on ultimate authority
– a loving higher power as expressed to our group
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 24
conscience. Our leaders are
but trusted servants – they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for membership in CoDA is a desire
for healthy and loving relationships.
4. Each group should remain autonomous except in matters affecting
other groups or CoDA as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its
message to other codependents who still suffer.
6. A CoDA group ought never endorse, finance or lend the
CoDA name to any related facility or outside enterprise,
lest problems of money, property and prestige
divert us from our primary spiritual aim.
7. Every CoDA group ought to be fully self supporting,
declining outside contributions.
8. Co-Dependents Anonymous should remain forever
nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special
workers.
9. CoDA, as such, ought never be organized, but we may
create service boards or committees directly responsible
to those they serve.
10. CoDA has no opinion on outside issues; hence the CoDA name
ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather
than promotion; we need always maintain personal
anonymity at the level of
press, radio and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our
traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before
personalities.
(The Twelve Steps reprinted
for adaptation with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.)
Twelve Service Concepts of
Co-Dependents Anonymous
1. The members of the Fellowship of Co-Dependents Anonymous,
in carrying out the will of a loving Higher
Power, advance their
individual recoveries, work to insure the continuance of their groups and their
program, and
carry the message to
codependents who still suffer. They may also collectively authorize and
establish service boards
or committees and empower trusted servants to
perform service work.
2. The Fellowship of CoDA has the responsibility of
determining, through its group conscience, the service work
to be performed, and the
best manner to perform such work. This authority is expressed through our group
conscience. Authority
carries responsibility; thus, CoDA groups conscientiously provide adequate funding
and
support for the service work
they authorize.
3. Decisions about service work in the Fellowship and all
CoDA affairs are made through the group conscience
decision making process. For
this spiritual democratic process to work, every member of the group is
encouraged to
participate, consider all
the facts and options concerning the issue, listen respectfully to all opinions
expressed, then
reflect and meditate to find
a loving Higher Power's will. Finally, we deliberate honestly and respectfully
to
determine the proper course
of action. Unanimity in the group is the desired outcome; a majority vote is a
group
conscience.
4. All those who volunteer to do service work for CoDA by
serving on committees, boards, or corporations are
trusted servants, not
authority figures. Ideally, trusted servants volunteer out of a desire to
follow their Higher
Power's will, out of
gratitude for the gifts they have received from CoDA, out of a desire to grow
in their ability to
create and keep healthy
relationships, and to contribute what they can of themselves to CoDA. The
Fellowship
recognizes the need to
select the most qualified people willing to serve as trusted servants. At
times, trusted servants
may hire individuals outside of the Fellowship
for commercial services.
5. Trusted servants are directly responsible to those they
serve and are bound to honor the group conscience
decision making process and
uphold those decisions concerning their service work. The Fellowship also
recognizes
the need and right for
members to honor their own experience, strength, and hope and their Higher
Power's will as
expressed to them. When the
group conscience violates an individual's own truth and makes participation
impossible, the individual may
relinquish the service position.
6. The Fellowship guarantees trusted servants the right and
authority to freely make decisions commensurate with
their responsibilities and
the right to participate in group conscience decisions affecting their responsibilities.
Each
CoDA member is also
guaranteed the right to respectfully dissent during the group conscience
decision making
process. A member may freely
and safely express any personal grievances as long as no particular person or
group is
unexpectedly singled out as
the subject of the grievance. Members are encouraged to honor their own
integrity as
well as the integrity of
others.
7. Trusted servants do practice the Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions in their service work and in all of their
affairs. Trusted servants do
not seek power, prestige, wealth, status, or acclaim; do not govern, coerce, or
attempt to
control others; and do not
push a personal agenda, promote controversy, or advance outside issues at
CoDA's
expense. Since issues over
authority, will, money, property, and prestige can and do arise in service
work, trusted
servants need to practice
emotional sobriety, including anonymity, humility, tolerance, gratitude, making
amends,
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 25
and forgiveness.
8. The CoDA Service Conference (Conference), through its
group conscience decision making process, guides the
Fellowship in making policy
decisions and in following the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. The Conference,
though providing guidelines,
holds no authority over the decision making process of individual groups. The
group
conscience process is our
decision making process. Failure to honor this process may violate Traditions
One and
Four and a sanction may be
imposed. The harshest sanction Conference can impose on an individual or group
is to
no longer recognize it as
belonging to CoDA; this sanction may only be imposed on those who consistently
violate
the Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions, as determined by guidelines accepted by Conference.
9. By tradition, the CoDA Service Conference gives
responsibilities to working committees composed of
Conference Delegates and
other CoDA volunteers or to separate service boards or corporations. All are
directly
responsible to the
Conference. The scope of the work a committee does is determined by the
Conference group
conscience. The chairperson
of each committee assumes the responsibility to ensure the work assigned to the
committee is completed in a timely
manner.
10. When the CoDA Service Conference is in session, the CoDA
Board of Trustees is directly responsible to the
Conference. When not in
session, the Conference assigns its decision-making authority on material
matters to the
Trustees. The Board of
Trustees is authorized to monitor the work of Conference-appointed service
committees and
may provide assistance or
guidelines when necessary. The Trustees serve as the board of directors of
CoDA, Inc., the
non-profit corporation, are assigned custodial
control of all money and property held in trust for the Fellowship, and
are responsible for prudent management of its
finances.
11. The powers of the CoDA Service Conference derive from the
pre-eminent authority of the group conscience
decision-making process.
Arizona State law gives the Board of Trustees legal rights and responsibilities
to act for
the Fellowship in certain
situations. CoDA, Inc.'s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws are legal
documents
enumerating these Board
rights and responsibilities.
12. The Fellowship strives to practice and encourage spiritual
principles in all its material, financial, and business
affairs, including fairness,
equality, and respect for individual rights. Every member within CoDA has a
voice and is
encouraged to use it. Every
member has the right to know what is happening within our organization. To
honor this
right, and in the spirit of CoDA unity, our
CoDA, Inc. organization publishes and distributes group conscience
decisions, such as minutes
of our service boards and motions from our CoDA Service Conferences, in the
most
inclusive and timely manner
possible.
Copyright © 2010
Co-Dependents Anonymous, Inc. and its licensors -All Rights Reserved.
Article I – Offices
Co-Dependents Anonymous,
Inc. shall maintain a known place of business which may be the office of its
statutory
agent in the State of
Arizona. The agent may be either an individual who has been a resident of the
state for three
years, a domestic
corporation, or a foreign corporation authorized to do business within the
State of Arizona. CoDA,
Inc. may change its known place of business or
statutory agent upon delivery to the appropriate commission of the
State of Arizona a statement
setting forth:
1. The name of the Corporation.
2. The Corporation’s current address or the name and address
of its current statutory agent. If the statutory agent or
his/her address is to be
changed, the name and address of the new statutory agent, or the new address
must be filed
with the State of Arizona.
3. Notice that the change is authorized by Co-Dependents
Anonymous, Inc.
Article II- Accounting
Period, Audit and Records
The accounting period of the
Corporation shall be a calendar year and end on December 31. At the close of
the
accounting period, all
records of accounts and an inventory of assets shall be submitted to an
independent accounting
firm who is to submit a report of their
findings to the Trustees. The Trustees shall present the report to the
Fellowship at the next CoDA
Service Conference. The officers of the Corporation shall maintain an accurate
and
complete set of records at
the Corporations office. If the Corporation does not maintain a place of
business with
Arizona, a complete set
shall be maintained at the office of its statutory agent or other such designee
as approved by
the Board of Trustees. Upon
written request, records and minutes of meetings may be inspected by a member
of the
Fellowship, at any
reasonable time, with the exception of certain legal documents and personnel
records.
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 26
Article III – Dues and
Contributions
As defined in the
Traditions, CoDA is self-supporting through its own contributions, and shall
decline all outside
contributions. CoDA has no
fees or dues for membership. Contributions by members of the Fellowship (known
as
Seventh Tradition donations)
are used to support the activities of the Fellowship, the Conference, the
Trustees, and
all committees and service
boards, as directed by the Fellowship and the Traditions.
Article IV – Membership and
Voting
Section 1. Membership.
In adherence with Tradition
3, the only requirement for membership in CoDA is a desire for healthy and
loving
relationships. Members of
the Fellowship of CoDA shall not be considered Voting Members, except as set
forth
herein. This Corporation
shall have Voting Members as defined in the Arizona Nonprofit Corporation Act.
A Voting
Member refers to a member who has voting
rights at the CoDA Service Conference. A voting Member may be a
Delegate, Trustee of CoDA,
Inc., or Director of CoRe, Inc. and, under certain circumstances, an Alternate
Delegate.
No Voting Member will have
more than one vote.
Section 2. Voting Entities
(Entities).
Each State and Territory of
the United States of America and each Country is established as a Voting Entity
(VE)
and entitled to send two (2)
Delegates to the Service Conference. A single Voting Entity is established to
represent
all “Alternative Format
Meetings” (AFM) and is entitled to send two (2) Delegates. AFM is defined as
all meetings
that do not physically meet face-to-face in a
physical location.
Any Voting Entity may
surrender its two (2) Delegates and request to subdivide. The governing
principle is that a
member of the Fellowship
will only be represented by one (1) set of two (2) Delegates. An entity may
request sub-
divisions for reasons of
geographical separation, language, or other recognizable characteristics. Each
entity may
request that it be split
along an internally agreed upon division and each sub-division of the entity
granted two (2)
Delegates. Each sub-division
should have enough members and meetings to support a viable service group so
that
all meetings are still
represented.
The Issues Mediation
Committee will handle requests for CoDA to recognize Voting Entities. Through
the group
conscience process, Voting
Entities select Delegates and Alternate Delegates to carry the will of the
membership of
CoDA, Inc. meetings. In
order to guarantee voting rights, each Voting Entity service board must be duly
authorized
by the Issues Mediation
Committee. In the absence of a Voting Entity service board, members of that
Entity shall
present an alternative
selection process based on group conscience decision making to the Issues
Mediation
Committee. This procedure insures
adherence to the program of recovery endorsed by this Fellowship.
Section 3. Voting Member
Selection/Election.
A Delegate (Delegate) is a
member and trusted servant in the CoDA Fellowship of the Voting Entity
represented and
has an active interest in carrying the message
to other codependents who still suffer. The Delegate is duly
selected/elected by a method
which the Voting Entity where the member resides or provides service work has
established, and is to be
that Voting Entity’s representative at Conference. A Delegate has one (1) vote
at
Conference. Each Voting
Entity may select/elect no more than two (2) Delegates. Each Voting Entity may
determine
its own method of selection/election,
qualifications and requirements for office, and length of term of office for a
Delegate. If a Voting Entity
consists of multiple regions, members of that Entity may determine the method
of
selection of two Delegates
on a regional basis. In regions consisting of two or more Voting Entities,
members of that
region may determine their own method of
selecting Delegates, but the total number of Delegates from that region
may not exceed the total
permitted number of Delegates [number of Voting Entities in the region
multiplied by (2)].
It is the responsibility of
each Voting Entity’s service board to notify, in writing, the Secretary of the
Board of the
selection/election to office
of its Delegates and terms of office. Generally, this notification is provided
at least thirty
(30) days prior to
Conference. In the absence of such notification, a Delegate’s voting rights are
subject to review by
the Issues Mediation
Committee.
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 27
An Alternate Delegate is a member
and trusted servant in the Voting Entity’s Fellowship who has an active
interest
in carrying the message to
other codependents who still suffer and is duly selected/elected to act as an
Alternate
Delegate at the Conference.
Each Voting Entity may select/elect as many Alternate Delegates as it chooses.
If a
Voting Entity consists of
multiple regions, members of that Voting Entity may determine the method of
selection of
Alternate Delegates on a regional basis. In
regions consisting of two or more Voting Entities, members of that
region may determine their
own method of selecting Alternate Delegates. In the event the duly
selected/elected
Delegate is unable to serve
the term of office, or resigns or blatantly reveals an unwillingness to execute
these
responsibilities as a
Delegate, an Alternate Delegate becomes the Delegate until the Voting Entity
acts to select/elect
a new Delegate according to its
selection/election process. Each Voting Entity’s service board must notify the
Secretary of the Board of
the selection/election to office of its Alternate Delegates, their order of
replacement, and
term of office. This
notification is generally provided at least thirty (30) days prior to the
Conference. In the absence
of such notification, an
Alternate Delegate’s voting rights as a replacement for a Delegate are subject
to review by the
Issues Mediation Committee.
A Trustee is a member and
trusted servant in the Fellowship who has an active interest in carrying out
the will of
the Fellowship as determined
at the Conference, abides by the provisions of the By Laws, and is duly elected
at
Conference to oversee the
day to day business affairs of CoDA and the Corporation. A CoDA Trustee has one
(1)
vote at Conference. The
CoRe, Inc. Board of Directors is granted two (2) votes at Conference, to be
allocated as they
see fit among CoRe Directors present. A CoDA
Trustee cannot serve as a Delegate or Alternate Delegate during a
term of office.
An Alternate Trustee is a
member and trusted servant in the Fellowship who has an active interest in
carrying out
the will of the Fellowship
as determined at Conference, abides by the provisions of the By Laws, and is
duly elected
at Conference as an Alternate Trustee, but has
no special status other than that of a non-voting member and/or
Delegate until the member
replaces a Trustee on the Board. In such an event, the Alternate Trustee
becomes a
Trustee. Alternate Trustee will
have no vote at Conference unless serving in the capacity of Delegate, but if
they
become a Trustee, they must
resign their position as Delegate.
Voting Members must be
present and accounted for at the Conference in order to vote.
Section 4. Others.
The Conference may extend
voice or vote privileges at the Conference to any member of the CoDA Fellowship
that
it deems appropriate or
necessary. Voice or vote may be granted for the entire Conference, or on
individual issues.
This flexibility is
sometimes needed to gain the valuable input and services of members who are not
specifically
included in the above
paragraphs.
Section 5. Assignment of
Voting Rights at Conference
If a Delegate leaves the
Conference floor, that Delegate may assign voting privileges to a person from
the same
Entity. This is called
“passing the badge.” If an Entity sends an Alternate Delegate to Conference the
badge is
passed to that Entity’s
Alternate Delegate. If an Entity does not send Alternate Delegates, the badge
may be passed
to another member from that
Entity. This insures that each Entity has full voting representation at
Conference. If a
Voting Delegate passes a
badge and leaves the room temporarily, and a motion is made in the Delegate’s
absence,
the Delegate cannot retrieve
the badge until after the vote on that motion. This allows the people who have
heard the
entire discussion on the motion to vote on
that motion.
Article V – Meetings of
Voting Members
Section 1. CoDA Service Conference
The Corporation shall
annually hold the CoDA Service Conference for Voting Entity Delegates to
conduct the
Corporation’s business. The
Board of Trustees is responsible to observe and support the work of Conference-
appointed service committees
and may provide assistance or guidelines when necessary. Where it becomes
evident
that the work of a committee
is not being undertaken, the Board may request volunteers or another standing
committee to take on that
work until the next Conference, The
Trustees who serve on the Board of Trustees of
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 28
CoDA are assigned custodial
control of all money and property held in trust for the Fellowship, and are
responsible
for prudent management of
its finances. The spiritual and non-legal authority of the Board comes from the
Fellowship as expressed by
group conscience of the selected/elected Delegates to the CoDA Service
Conference held
once each year. The date and
place of the Conference are customarily set by the preceding Conference.
Section 2. Notice of CoDA
Service Conference or Special Meeting.
The Secretary of the Board
of Trustees or a designated officer shall notify the Voting Members of the
Fellowship of
the date, time and place of
the Conference at least forty-five days but not more than sixty in advance of
the
Conference and provide
appropriate information and registration details.
Section 3. Conference and
Special Meeting Procedures.
Conference procedures are
discussed in a separate document, the CoDA Fellowship Service Manual.
Section 4. Quorum and
Resolution.
The Secretary of the Board
of Trustees will determine how many Voting Members are present at the
Conference or
Special Meeting and will
then determine a quorum. This quorum is established at the beginning of the
first business
meeting of the Conference or Special Meeting.
A two-thirds (2/3) count of the registered and accounted for accredited
Delegates and Trustees in attendance shall
constitute a quorum. Once the quorum has been determined, the business
of the Corporation may proceed. Voting Members
who arrive after this quorum is determined may vote and exercise
all the rights and privileges accorded to
Voting Members, but the quorum count does not change. If the Conference
continues over several days,
the presence of a quorum must be determined at the beginning of each business
session.
If a quorum is present,
business may proceed. A quorum count may be requested before any vote.
Motions may be made by
voting members in accordance with conference approved guidelines. Likewise, committee
chairs may present committee motions during
their report to CSC.A motion passes if it is accepted by a simple
majority of the total number
of Voting Members present. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the total number of
Voting
Members present is binding
upon the Trustees, except to the extent the implementation of such a motion
would
cause the Trustees to be in
violation of the Board of Trustees’ legal responsibilities to the Corporation
and its
members or would put the
fiscal integrity of the Corporation at risk.
Section 5. Special Meetings.
During the year, a Special
Meeting of the Fellowship may be called by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of
the
Trustees, or by a petition
from not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the Delegates. The quantifying number of
Delegates
is defined as a number equal
to or greater than the two-thirds (2/3) of the Delegates attending the
Conference
immediately preceding the
request for a special meeting. The petition is to be addressed to the Board of
Trustees and
shall specify the reasons that a Special
meeting is being called. It is then incumbent upon the Trustees and the
Events Committee to arrange
the meeting as soon as possible. The Secretary of the Board of Trustees, or a
designated officer, is to
initiate the same notification process as for a CoDA Service Conference
indicated in Section
2 above.
Article VI – Committees
The Conference may create,
appoint and terminate CoDA service committees, standing and ad hoc committees,
subcommittees or service
boards to fulfill any task or duty the Fellowship has mandated, or as specified
in the By
Laws. All committees have but one purpose: that of serving
the Fellowship of Co-Dependents Anonymous.
Pursuant to the Arizona
Nonprofit Corporations Act, a committee shall not take any of the following
actions:
1. Authorize distributions of the corporate assets.
2. Approve any action that requires the Voting Members’
approval under the Arizona Nonprofit Corporations Act.
3. Fill vacancies on the Board of Trustees.
4. Adopt, amend, or repeal bylaws of the Corporation.
5. Fix the compensation or reimbursed expenses of Trustees
for serving on the Board of Trustees or any committee.
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 29
Article VII – Board of
Trustees
Section 1. Authority.
Pursuant to the Arizona
Nonprofit Corporations Act, all corporate powers shall be exercised by or under
the
authority of and the affairs
of the corporation shall be managed under the direction of the Board of
Trustees, subject
to any limitation set forth
in the Articles of Incorporation as described above in Article V. Subject to
the legal and
fiduciary obligations of the
Board of Trustees to the Corporation and its members, the ultimate authority in
CoDA
comes from the Fellowship as
expressed by the group conscience at the Conference. Subject to the legal and
fiduciary
authority of the Board required by the laws of
the State of Arizona and applicable federal laws, the Conference
reminds the Board of
Trustees of the Second Tradition, “For our group purpose there is but one
ultimate authority -
a loving higher power as expressed to our
group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not
govern."
Section 2. Number of
Trustees.
Co-Dependents Anonymous,
Inc. shall be managed by Trustees on the Board whose number may be as many as
eleven (11), but not less
than five (5). Up to three (3) Alternate Delegates may be available to assume
vacancies on
the Board. A maximum of two
Trustees may be from the same Voting Entity. The exact number of Trustees may
be
fixed or changed within the minimum and
maximum, by the Voting Members while the Conference is in session.
Section 3. Qualifications of
Trustees.
Trustees are elected by the
Voting Members with consideration of the candidates’ capabilities and
experience in the
following:
1. Working knowledge of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions
and Twelve Services Concepts of Co-Dependents
Anonymous.
2. Willingness and availability to serve the Fellowship through
major service projects.
3. Demonstration of skills and abilities while doing CoDA
Service for two or more years.
4. Understanding and experience of the group conscience
process.
5. Courage to express oneself and the ability to listen and
communicate effectively with others.
6. Dedication and commitment to the health of CoDA.
7. Desire to carry the message to the still suffering
codependent.
8. Skills and experience necessary for the Board of Trustees
to fulfill its legal and fiscal responsibilities to the
Corporation.
9. Attendance at a previous CSC.
Section 4. Election and Term
of Office.
Trustees shall be elected by
the Conference for a term of three (3) years and may serve a maximum of two (2)
terms,
but there must be a lapse of
at least two (2) years between each elected term. Elected Trustees replace
outgoing
Trustees and assume their
positions, prerogatives and responsibilities at the end of the Conference.
Alternate
Trustees are elected by the Conference
for one (1) year. The order in which they would fill vacancies on the Board is
designated by the vote of
the Conference at time of election.
If an Alternate Trustee has assumed
the position of Trustee since the previous Conference, the Election Committee
or Conference Chair shall
present said Trustee for ratification by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the
Voting Members
at Conference. Said Trustee
may request election by the Conference for a full term of three (3) years.
Section 5. Vacancies.
In the event of a vacancy on
the Board, by death, resignation or disqualification, the Board shall
officially
acknowledge the assumption
of the vacant position by the designated Alternate Trustee. This acknowledgment
shall
take the form of a motion at
any regular or special meeting of the Trustees. Upon passage of that motion,
the
Alternate Trustee becomes
Trustee, with the prerogatives and responsibilities associated with that
position until the
next election of Trustees,
when that Trustee is ratified by Conference, or the successor is qualified and
elected by
Voting Members. If no
Alternate Trustee is available to fill the position, any vacancy occurring in
the Board shall be
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 30
filled by the affirmative vote of a majority
of the remaining Trustees even though less than a quorum. If there is only
one remaining Trustee, that Trustee shall
elect sufficient Trustees to meet the required minimum number of
Members of the Board which
is five (5). Any Trustee so chosen shall hold office until the next election of
Trustees
when that Trustee is
ratified by Voting Members or the successor is qualified and elected. A Trustee
so elected will
complete the term in office
of the Trustee’s position that is to be filled.
Section 6. Removal of
Trustee.
A Trustee who is remiss in
the duties of a Trustee, and reveals an inability or unwillingness to execute
these
responsibilities as a
Trustee, may be relieved of office and removed from the Board by an affirmative
two-thirds (2/3)
vote of the Trustees present
and voting at a meeting at which a quorum is present. Such removal must be
presented
for ratification at the next
Conference. Any Trustee so removed and whose removal fails to be ratified by
the Voting
Members, shall be subject to
normal election procedures for Trustees set forth in these By Laws.
Section 7. Liability of
Trustees.
Under the Arizona Nonprofit
Corporations Act, any individuals who serve as Trustees to the Corporation
shall be
immune from civil liability
for their actions as Trustees, and shall not be subject to suit directly or by
way of
contribution for any act or
omission resulting in damage or injury, if such people were acting in good
faith and
within the scope of their
official capacities within this organization, unless such damage or injury was
caused by
willful and wanton or
grossly negligent conduct of such people.
Section 8. Regular and
Special Board Meetings.
Regular meetings of the
Trustees shall be held each yearly quarter within or without the State of
Arizona at a time
and place determined to be
geographically and economically feasible for all Trustees. These meetings may
be face to
face or teleconference or
similar means of communication whereby all persons participating in the meeting
can hear
each other. Participation in
a meeting pursuant to this Section shall constitute presence in person at such
meeting. A
Special Meeting of the Trustees may be called
at the request of a majority of Trustees. Trustees should be notified
of the time and place at
least five (5) days prior to the meeting, unless an agreement has otherwise
been reached by a
two-thirds (2/3) majority of
the Trustees prior to the meeting.
A. Action required or permitted to be taken at a meeting of
the Board of Trustees meeting may be taken without a
meeting, if the action is
taken by all of the Trustees. The action must be evidenced by one or more
written consents
describing the action taken,
signed by each Trustee and included in the minutes or filed with the corporate
records
reflecting the action taken.
B. Action taken under this section is effective when the last
Trustee signs the consent, unless the consent specifies
a different effective date.
C. A consent signed under this section has the effect of a
meeting vote and may be described as such in any
document.
D. Any Trustee may revoke consent by delivering a signed
revocation of the consent to the chairperson or secretary
before the date the last
Trustee signs the consent or consents.
Section 9. Quorum and
Resolution.
The number of Trustees
necessary to constitute a quorum for doing business shall be a majority of the
elected
Trustees, except in the case
of resignation or vacancy, (see Section 5). Resolution on any action taken by
the
Trustees requires a simple
majority vote.
Section 10. Compensation.
Trustees shall not receive
any stated or fixed salaries for their services; but an expense reimbursement for
participating in a Trustees
meeting may be allowed. A Trustee may not serve the Corporation in any other
capacity
for which he/she receives
compensation. This is to avoid any conflict of interests involving the issues
of money,
property or prestige. It is
the intent of the Fellowship that all legitimate expenses relating to
participation on the
Board shall be borne by the
Corporation; however, reimbursement shall only be made as funding allows.
Article VIII – Officers of
the Corporation
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 31
Section 1. Election and Term
of Office.
The officers for the Corporation
shall e Trustees elected by the Board at its first meeting following election,
whether
that meeting is a regular
meeting or a special meeting. The offices shall be: a Chairperson, a Vice
Chairperson, a
Secretary and a Treasurer.
The Trustees may also elect other officers or co-officers as it shall deem
desirable to
execute the Board’s
business. The Term of office shall be one (1) year unless sooner vacated by
death, resignation,
or disqualification. In such
a case, the vacancy is to be filled at the next regular or special Trustees’
meeting. A
person may hold no more than
one office at any time.
Section 2. Chairperson.
The Chairperson shall be the
principal executive officer of the Corporation. The Chairperson shall supervise
all of the
day-to-day business affairs of the Corporation
as mandated by the Arizona Nonprofit Corporations Act and by the
Conference. In order to
conduct routine business, the Chairperson, in consultation with the other appropriate
officers
and/or Trustees, may sign
any ordinary contract, deed or other instrument which the Trustees have been
authorized
to execute. Exceptions to
this authority of the Chairperson are situations where the signing and
execution of such
contracts shall be or has
been expressly delegated to another individual by the Conference, Trustees,
these By Laws,
or by statute to some other
officer or agent of the Corporation. The Chairperson is to preside over
Trustees’
meetings, to perform all
duties associated with the office of the Chairperson, and to perform such
duties as my be
prescribed by the Conference
and Trustees.
Section 3. Vice Chairperson.
In the absence or stead of
the Chairperson or in the event the Chairperson is unable or refuses to act,
the Vice
Chairperson shall perform
the duties of the Chairperson. When so acting, the Vice Chairperson shall have
all the
powers of the Chairperson,
subject to the restrictions upon that office. The Vice Chairperson shall perform
such other
duties as from time to time may be assigned by
the Conference, Chairperson or Trustees.
Section 4. Secretary.
The Secretary shall
supervise the performance of all duties associated with the office of Secretary
to include, but not
limited to:
1. Keep a register of the mailing address and email address
of each Trustee.
2. Keep minutes of all Trustees meetings, in one or more
books or electronic formats provided for
that purpose.
3. Prepare and send all notices as required under these By
Laws.
4. Be the custodian of the corporate records in accordance
with the provisions of these By Laws.
5. Attend to correspondence from the Fellowship.
6. Maintain an accurate and current record of
selected/elected Delegates, Alternate Delegates and Fellowship Chairs.
7. Perform other duties as from time to time may be assigned
by the Conference, Chairperson or the Board
8. Maintain the Conference written motions and recorded
documents and tapes.
9. Document elections.
Section 5. Treasurer.
The Treasurer shall have
experience and some demonstrated expertise in the handling and accountability
of money
and assets. The Treasurer
shall supervise the performance of all duties associated with the office of
Treasurer to
include, but not limited to:
1. Supervision of all funds and securities of the
Corporation.
2. Receive and give receipts for monies due and payable to
the Corporation from any source whatsoever.
3. Deposit these monies in such banks, trust companies, or
other depositories as shall be selected by the Trustees.
4. Be responsible for the payment of accounts payable.
5. Maintain appropriate ledgers documenting monies received
and paid.
6. Provide periodic financial reports to the Trustees and
Membership.
7. Perform such duties as may be assigned by the Conference,
Chairperson or the Trustees.
Section 6. Removal of
Officers.
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 32
The Board of Trustees has the
authority to elect and remove officers. Any officer who is remiss in his/her
duties as
an officer, or reveals an
inability or unwillingness to execute these responsibilities, may be removed
from office
when, in the Board’s best
judgment, the officer is not serving the Fellowship’s or the Corporation’s best
interests.
Removal from office requires
a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of all Trustees present and voting at a
meeting of the
Trustees at which a quorum
is present.
Article IX – Amendment of By
Laws
These By Laws may be amended
by two-thirds (2/3) vote at the CoDA Service Conference, or Special Meeting.
Proposed amendments to the
By Laws must be submitted to the Secretary of the Board at least seventy-five
(75)
days prior to Conference for
distribution to Delegates, Alternate Delegates, Trustees and Committee
Chairpersons.
This distribution shall be
at least thirty (30) days prior to Conference, but preferably longer in order
to allow
discussion by the
Fellowship. This distribution requirement may be met by any one of the
following:
1. Publishing the proposed amendments in the Quarterly
Service Report;
2. Including the proposed amendments in a mailing with other
Conference related materials;
3. Sending a special mailing to the Delegates
No proposed amendments may
be accepted for presentation to the Conference until it has met this
distribution
requirement.
These By Laws may be amended
by the Trustees if such amendments are needed to bring these By Laws into
conformity with existing
law, or in the event that changes in federal or state laws require amendments
to these By
Laws. Should this happen
between meetings of the CoDA Service Conference, the Trustees are specifically
authorized by the Conference
to use their best judgment and guidance of the Twelve Traditions to amend these
By
Laws for such purposes and
to bring such amendment(s) to the next CoDA Service Conference for ratification
in
accordance with the above
guidelines.
Certification by Secretary:
The undersigned Secretary of
the Corporation attests that these By Laws were amended by the affirmative vote
of the
Voting Members in accordance
with these By Laws at the CoDA Service Conference convened on [Enter Date]
Intent The existing 2006 By Laws
are not satisfactory according to Arizona law.
A revision of these By Laws was Signed:
developed last year that
attempted to satisfy these legal requirements but went further and took all
authority away
from the Conference and gave
it to the Board of Trustees in violation of our 12 Traditions and 12 Service
Concepts.
________________________
[Name of Secretary],
Corporate Secretary
This version of the By Laws attempts
to find a middle ground that satisfies the legal requirements while also
staying Date:_________________
true to our 12 Traditions
and 12 Service Concepts.
Three additional changes
were made:
Article V, Section 4,
paragraph 2: This was added to clarify that committee chairs, who are not
Voting Members,
may present motions during
their committee reports.
Article VII, Section 1:
Recently the Board had an experience where they had no communication with a
committee for
months. Due to the importance of the
committee’s work, they were unable to get some important work done, and
the Board of Trustees was
not permitted to take any action to resolve the problem. This wording allows
the Board to
make decisions to get the work done without actually
doing the work themselves, or leaving it undone until next
Conference.
Article VII, Section 3: This
is a whole new section and will be covered separately in Motion 5 since it also
requires
a change to the Fellowship
Service Manual (FSM).
Remarks approve: 35
opposed: 0, abstain: 3
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 33
ACTION 12056 7/13/2012 Vote Committee
facilitator Name Alison
Subject Quorum count
Item: A quorum was reached
Intent
Remarks
MOTION 12057 7/13/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee Outreach Name Annie
Subject revised motion #1 (item
#12041)
Item: Move that a PROACTIVE OUTREACH (PO) TASK FORCE be formed
through 2013 CSC to focus on outreach
activities to carry the message
to the codependent who still suffers, primarily outside of the Fellowship. This group
will be comprised of a
chair, volunteers who desire to do service in proactive outreach activities, as
well as at least
one member, present or past,
from each of the following committees plus a board liaison (Outreach, H&I,
CoNNections,
TMC, Communications, Events). In the event that no member from a committee is
available, a
volunteer Task Force member
may act as liaison to that committee.
__________________________________________________________
Remarks:
There are many important
responsibilities that fall under the category of “proactive outreach”Public
Information (see
attached). Currently, several committees do some of
this important work but not one has Piproactive
outreach as a
primary purpose. The PO Task
Force will meet in monthly teleconference meetings and will start with
developing
their mission, as charged by
CSC. As our primary purpose is “to carry the message to the codependent who
still
suffers”, the proposed PO
Task Forceublic Information Committee will allow us
propose a plan to 1. Identify what
is currently being done and
by whom, 2. Identify what still needs to be done, and 3. Develop a structure to
address
this gap.PROPOSED
Public Information Committee
The purpose of the CoDA
Public Information Committee (P.I.) is to carry the message of recovery to the
codependent who still
suffers by informing the general public about the CoDA program. We carry the
message by
creating public relations
policies for media interactions and facilitate the message of CoDA at
conferences, schools,
businesses, and other
appropriate organizations, educating on what the CoDA fellowship can offer.
Furthermore, we
develop services within the
Fellowship to encourage awareness of PI activities that help to carry the
message as well
as policies that promote
inclusiveness for all members so that all who are interested in CoDA are
welcomed.
Our service work involves educating
people about the CoDA Fellowship. We
meet in monthly teleconference
meetings, meanwhile working
on ongoing and new projects that promote public information about the CoDA
fellowship. We work to develop resources in many areas
including to…
Distribute informational
materials to organizations other than those covered under the Pro-Outreach and
H&I
Committees, such as
encouraging book donations to public libraries and submitting literature
proposals regarding PI
activities.
Develop media policies,
focusing on “attraction rather than promotion” and the need to “always maintain
personal
anonymity at the level of
press, radio and films.” (Tradition 11) We work with other committees, as
appropriate, to
develop these policies and
media templates, such as Public Service Announcements and Newspaper
announcements.
Make suggestions regarding
the CoDA website in order to provide easy accessibility for all members or
those
interested in becoming
members. Also, we maintain a PI section
of the website devoted to Public Information.
Support individual projects
that promote CoDA outreach including a database of tools. One such example is a
database of submitted and
committee approved meeting formats, beyond what the FSM or Starter packet provides.
Support member participation
in events in which it is appropriate to have CoDA members speak, conduct
workshops or run booths
about the CoDA program (such as staffing a CoDA booth at a 12-Step Convention).
Maintain lists of regional or
local people wiling to serve in PI service capacities
in collaboration with regional
Intergroups, when possible.
Help with policies and
procedures for groups that promote inclusiveness of those members or newcomers
with any
disability or impairment.
Encourage awareness within
the fellowship of PI activities and service opportunities. This includes connecting with
Intergroups or regional PI
or Outreach committees to listen to their PI needs and provide resources.
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 34
Promote collaboration with
other committees who provide outreach and in-reach services, especially
Outreach and
the Pro-Outreach
subcommittee, Spanish Outreach, H&I, and the Communication Committees.
In our service work, committee
members commit to work under the guidance of the Twelve Steps, the Twelve
Traditions and the Twelve
Service Concepts. Our ultimate authority
is a loving Higher Power, as expressed by our
group conscience.
NOT TO BE INCLUDED ON MOTION
BUT ATTACHED HERE FOR REFERENCE:
The following is from the The Fellowship Service Manual of Co-Dependents Anonymous
Conference - Approved
2010
Outreach Committee
The CoDA Outreach Committee
(Outreach) is a group of actively recovering codependents that serve as the
‘customer service’ branch of
CoDA. Through Outreach service work, we are fulfilling Step 12.
Our service work involves
educating people about the CoDA Fellowship and connecting codependents with
meetings worldwide. We provide
information about face-to-face (f2f) and online CoDA meetings. We answer both
general and specific
questions about CoDA, and share our experience, strength, and hope (ESH). When
appropriate,
we refer others to specific
CoDA Committees.
Outreach assists in updating
domestic, regional, and international contact information and meeting lists by
forwarding information to
the Fellowship Service Office. Where we can, we connect different people in the
same
region who want to start
meetings. One of our goals is to be proactive in reaching out to and connecting
other
codependents. In 2004, we
developed a Spanish Outreach subcommittee to assist Spanish-speaking
codependents
worldwide.
Most of Outreach's service
work takes place online through email; therefore, Outreach members ought to
have an
affinity and ability to
communicate effectively over email. People interested in serving on the CoDA
Outreach
committee should have at
least one year of active CoDA recovery.
(Current FSM)
Intent Intent:
The intention of the PO Task
Force is to 1. Create a plan to achieve “proactive outreach” in the CoDA
fellowship,
including the possible
restructuring and/or creation of committees or sub-committees, 2. Begin to
develop and pilot
proactive outreach projects
and databases, 3. Present a Proactive Outreach Plan and may make suggestions in
the
form of motions at the 2013
CSC.
Remarks There are many important
responsibilities that fall under the category of “proactive outreach”. Currently, several
committees do some of this
important work but not one has proactive outreach as a primary purpose. The PO
Task Force will meet in
monthly teleconference meetings and will start with developing their mission,
as charged
by CSC. As our primary
purpose is “to carry the message to the codependent who still suffers”, the PO
Task
Force will propose a plan to
1. Identify what is currently being done and by whom, 2. Identify what still
needs to
be done, and 3. Develop a
structure to address this gap.
Approve: 37
opposed: 0
abstain: 1
MOTION 12058 7/13/2012 Vote UNANIMOUS Committee Ad
Hoc Name
Subject Motion
Item: That the Ad Hoc continue
gathering information and developing the recommendations presented at 2012 CSC
as
mandated in motion
#11116. In order to increase
effectiveness of our committee work, the Ad Hoc would like to be
authorized by CSC to bring
motions to 2013 CSC.
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 35
Intent To continue and expand with
this year's work.
Remarks amended to: That the Ad Hoc
Committee continue for one more year,
gathering information and developing the
recommendations presented at
2012 CSC as mandated in motion #11116. Also to bring new recommendations
and /or motions to 2013 CSC.
MOTION 12059 7/13/2012 Vote WITHDRAW Committee Ad Hoc Name Dagmar
Subject motion #2
Item: To present the short form of
the Service Concepts to the CoDA Boaard to review and
send to SSC for submission to
the FSM.
Intent To make better use of the
Service Concepts as a service item for the fellowship.
Remarks
MOTION 12060 7/13/2012 Vote Committee
Ad
Hoc Name
Subject replacement members for Ad
Hoc Committee
Item: David Mc - board
Judi T - random or committee
Dianne - random/ intl
Michelle E - committee
Jamie W - random
Intent
Remarks Members Elected:
David Mc - board
Michelle E - Committee
Judi T. - random
Alternate =
MOTION 12061 7/13/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee CoRe Name Mary
Subject motion
Item: Move that CoDA forgo the
royalties on literature purchased by CoDA Committees that is not for resale
Intent To serve the CoDA fellowship
(step 12) and lower committee costs so as to provide more literature to those
still
suffering.
Remarks
approve: 34
opposed: 2
abstain: 2
MOTION 12062 7/13/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee CoRe Name Mary I
Subject
Item: To sccept
as alternates for the Ad Hoc committee the remaining two persons as alternates.
Dianne = 1st, Jamie =
Intent
Remarks approve: 34
opposed: 0
abstain: 1
CoDA
Service Conference Items Page 36
MOTION 12063 7/13/2012 Vote 2/3 VOTE Committee facilitator Name
Subject accept motions from CSC
Item: With the following
corrections:
Replace 12056 with the correct
motion that was approved.
Change 12062 to 2/3 approval
Intent
Remarks approve: 35
opposed: 0
abstain: 1
MOTION 12064 7/13/2012 Vote UNANIMOUS Committee CSC Name Lou - IL
Subject Adjourn
Item: Lou motioned to adjourn
Hal H - SoCal
seconded
Intent
Remarks