[grc] Your Membership List - when a member requests it

[MichaelP]

The basic issue as to membership non-profits, -- or indeed to membership 
nonstock corporations -- is that membership -- as a legal term is tied to 
the right of members to vote for directors,  or for any other issue .

And with the right  of voting goes the right of members to solicit both 
moneey and votes.

 Each state has its own corporation law. But there has beeen lots of 
uniformity adopted as between on state and another.  Wisconsin has its 
chapter 181 "non-stock " corporatons which ALLOWS for the incorporation of 
membertship organizations requires the keeping of membership lists 
andwether under WIS statute or the common law requires voters to solicy 
votes and/or money from the voting membership

Michae;
	EX GRC ALIEN ANARCHIST AND ATHEIST LISTCOP.






On Tue, 27 Jan 2015, dragon wrote:

Ahhh... that could be a distinction in WI law as well. The station I was
at, at the time gave voting rights to all donors, which of course they
called members, so I was reading the law from that perspective.

I would have to go back and look at the statutes to clarify though... I
will leave that up to the reader.

-Todd


On 01/27/2015 01:44 PM, Paul Bame wrote:
> I think membership nonprofits (as opposed to non-membership
> nonprofits which may call donors "members" -- probably including
> most "NPR: stations) in most if not all states are bound to disclose
> their membership lists to members for "proper" purposes.  The analog
> is stockholder lists
> for for-profit corporations.  In both cases disclosure enables
> election oversight and intra-organization communication even if
> that communication is not to the favor of management.
> 
> This is a place where membership nonprofit boards sometimes commit
> illegal acts in order to "protect" members from "privacy invasions"
> and attempts to "polarize" memberships.  Seen from the other side it
> is heavy-handed boards who've committed questionable acts trying
> to snuff out legally-sanctioned communication about those acts.
> 
> 
>              -p
> 
> On 2015-01-27 13:56, dragon wrote:
>> The non-profit laws in the state of Wisconsin for charitable
>> organizations, require that the member list be made available to anyone
>> who asks... it is considered public information. You do not, however
>> have to make them a copy or look up an individual. You just need to make
>> the list available and let them take any notes that they wish. Donors
>> that don't want their info to be made available, need to make an
>> anonymous donation and hence do not get a donation receipt for tax
>> purposes.
>>
>> Perhaps Norm, has more info but this is what is in the statutes unless
>> there is case law that contradicts it. I am not sure how the CPB deals
>> with the situation. I have never heard or seen a CPB station, like
>> Wisconsin Public Radio, announce that your info will be publicly
>> available and it is not in their donor packet that they send you when
>> you make a pledge. Perhaps they get around it because it is the state
>> law, so everyone "should" know it?
>>
>> Interestingly local non-profit here had an issue with it during an
>> election season a few years back. The person that raised a stink was a
>> state politician... didn't even know the law ;)
>>
>> The big thing to take away is that you need to know the rules in YOUR
>> state.
>>
>> Todd
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 01/27/2015 12:34 PM, Jama wrote:
>>> Hello GRC list folks!   This discussion began on the NFCB listserve,
>>> and someone forwarded it to me, asking about the issue.  Someone has
>>> said that she will forward this email to the NFCB list this morning.
>>>
>>> It's about member(s) of a station requesting use of the members'
>>> mailing list, and whether providing that list would violate CPB
>>> rules. This is relevant to all CPB-funded stations in California, and
>>> in other states with similar laws protecting the right of members of
>>> nonprofits to communicate with each other about the organization.
>>>
>>>
>>> CPB Certification Requirements quote the Communications Act:
>>>
>>> "Funds may not be distributed under this subsection to any public
>>> broadcasting entity that directly or indirectly...
>>> (B) discloses contributor or donor names, or other personally
>>> identifiable information, to any nonaffiliated third party
>>> unless..."  [unless the donors are informed that the data will be
>>> made available, and informed about how they can keep theirs private
>>> if they so desire.]
>>>
>>> Key word in this discussion:  "nonaffiliated."  Members of the
>>> organization are definitely "affiliated," so this would not apply to
>>> them.
>>>
>>> This is from
>>> http://www.cpb.org/stations/certification/cpb_certification_req.pdf
>>> -- down on page 23.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The California Corporations Code, nonprofit section, addresses this --
>>>
>>> It does give members the right to use the members' mailing list "for
>>> a purpose reasonably related to the person's interest as a member,"
>>> OR, the organization can provide an equivalent method of
>>> communicating with the other members -- such as including the
>>> member's communique in an upcoming newsletter - clearly an
>>> advantageous option that protects the privacy of member data.  If the
>>> mailing list is to be given out, the requesting member's purpose must
>>> be stated, and the organization could contest that request in court
>>> if the purpose doesn't qualify.  The organization can also charge a
>>> reasonable amount for the list.
>>>
>>> Here's the URL for that one: 
>>> http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/cacode/CORP/1/1/d2/2/13/3/s6330
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I hope those citations are helpful.  Does anyone have other info or
>>> issues to add?
>>>
>>> Also, I know that democracy can be a messy process, and many groups
>>> have chosen to not have a membership to avoid that messiness.  But
>>> sometimes that leaves no pathway out of certain kinds of problems. 
>>> KMUD has stuck with the democratic process, and so far, everyone has
>>> survived it.  :)
>>>
>>> Jama Chaplin -- NOT an attorney!
>>> KMUD
>>> Garberville, California
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
> 
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