CONTACT

ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

The Finance Committee will maintain an online document accessible through the Occupy Eugene web site which lists all donations to the General Fund by category, and all expenses paid out of the General Fund.

MEETINGS

The Finance Committee meets on Sundays at 6:00 pm and on Thursdays at 5:30 pm to consider financial requests. Any requests submitted by noon on the day of a scheduled meeting will be considered at that meeting.

FINANCIAL REQUESTS

One of the major tasks of the Finance Committee is to respond to requests for funding and/or requests for reimbursement by Occupy Eugene committees. Our goal is to assure that OE’s limited financial resources are allocated to the highest priority needs of Occupy Eugene. We strive to respond to all requests promptly, transparently and equitably.

Before a financial request is submitted to the Finance Committee it should be processed by the requesting committee. Each committee should follow its own ground rules for consenting to the request, and that consent should appear in their meeting minutes.

A committee can make a financial request if it meets the following criteria:
1. It has been recognized as an Occupy Eugene committee by the GA.
2. It has at least two active members.
3. It has met at least three times.
4. The minutes of the meeting where the financial request was discussed and consensed on has been posted in the Occupy Eugene forum.

Affinity groups, working groups and task forces should work through the recognized OE committee that sponsors them in order to submit financial requests.

There are two ways to submit the request, online or paper. The online version of the Financial Request Form is on the OE web site. You will find it at FORMS >> FINANCIAL REQUEST on the menu bar. Blank paper forms are located at the Info Booth at Occupy V and on the bulletin board outside of the OE Office at Growers Market. Return completed paper forms to any member of the Finance Committee.

Requests of $200 or more must be approved by a General Assembly. It is the requesting committees responsibility to present their request to the General Assembly, however Finance will assist in any way it can. In some cases, the Finance Committee will actively support a request at the GA. In all cases, the Finance Committee will inform the GA if the request is within Occupy Eugene’s financial capacity.

Requests below $200 can be approved by the Finance Committee by committee consensus.

Requests below $30 can be approved by a check signer and one other Finance Committee member.

INFORMATION FOR POTENTIAL DONORS AND INFO BOOTH STAFF

Thank you for your support for Occupy Eugene! In order to provide necessary transparency and accountability for donations to Occupy Eugene, all monetary donations will come into a general fund for Occupy Eugene, from which all disbursements will be made. At the occupation site, monetary donations are to be collected only at the Info Booth (cash and checks).

The Occupy Eugene Finance Committee, begun by the General Assembly on October 13, opened a credit union account on October 15, and initial policies were agreed on at the October 16 GA.

Information for donors:

- All monetary donations will be considered anonymous, and donor names kept confidential. (Donors are much appreciated, but will not be named by the GA or Finance Committee.)

- We acknowledge that occasionally donors wish for money to be used for specific purposes. However, all monetary donations will go to the general fund to be used for the highest priorities for Occupy Eugene as a whole. Although donations cannot be accepted if restricted by the donor for specific uses, donors may ask that a specific committee or purpose be considered for their donation, but this use cannot be guaranteed, as the needs of the whole community will be prioritized (through the committee structure and GAs).

- If a donor asks for money to be used for a specific purpose, the person to whom the donation is being offered, whether at the Info Booth, or the Finance Committee or in another setting, should explain to the prospective donor that Occupy Eugene uses a consensus model for making decisions in which every voice is as important as any other. If donors have concerns about how Occupy Eugene allocates resources, they should become involved in the Finance Committee and/or attend GAs and voice their concerns.

- Though we are thankful for your generosity, donations are not tax deductible, and no receipts will be given.

MEMBERSHIP

Any member of Occupy Eugene can ask to become a member of the Finance Committee after they have attended at least three Finance Committee meetings. Consent of current Finance Committee members is required.