Party Fund Governance Policy

§0

Policy Identity

Party name Required

Enter party name

Policy version Required

v1.2

Increment each time this Policy is updated. Include date.

Effective from Required

Date this Policy takes effect — must be before the first cycle opens

Approved by Required

Name of party body that approved this Policy (e.g. Party Executive, Policy Committee)

§1

Participation Structure

Design note

Any participation structure is valid provided it complies with the constitutional constraint: equal governance rights per member regardless of contribution level. The party may set contribution amounts, concessional rates, and eligibility criteria — but cannot give higher contributors more voting weight or governance authority.

1.1 Who may participate

Eligibility Required

e.g. Any financial member of the Party in good standing. / Any member who has been a Party member for at least [X] months.

1.2 Contribution structure

Contribution levels Required

e.g. Participant: $[X] per year Contributor: $[X] per year Builder: $[X]+ per year Concessional: $[X] per year (for members experiencing financial hardship — self-declared)

All levels carry equal governance rights. Any number of tiers is valid. A single flat contribution is also valid.

Payment timing Optional

e.g. Collected annually at membership renewal. / Payable at time of Fund membership application.

1.3 Governance rights

Constitutional constraint — cannot be modified

Each participating member holds one equal share of governance authority regardless of contribution level, tenure, or any other factor. This cannot be varied by this Policy.

§2

Cycle Parameters

Design note

Cycle parameters define the rhythm of the Fund. Longer cycles reduce member burden but slow the Fund's responsiveness. Shorter cycles increase overhead. Most starting funds do well with an annual cycle.

Cycle length Required

Annual (recommended for launch)One allocation cycle per year. Lower overhead. Good for new funds.

Bi-annualTwo cycles per year. More responsive. Higher administration burden.

Other: _______________

Cycle start date Required

e.g. 1 July each year. / First Monday of March.

Proposal window length Required

e.g. 8 weeks from cycle start.

Time during which proposals may be submitted. Must close before deliberation begins.

Deliberation / allocation period length Required

e.g. 4 weeks following close of proposal window.

Constitutional constraint — cannot be modified

This Policy may not be amended during an active allocation cycle. Any Policy update takes effect at the start of the next cycle.

§3

Allocation Mechanism

Design note

This is the most important design decision in the Policy. The Fund Mechanism Ideas companion note surveys available options with trade-offs. Most parties launching for the first time should start with a deliberation panel for collective decisions and a pledge threshold for individual ones — both are simple to run without specialist software.

3.1 Collective mode

How does the Fund collectively decide which proposals to fund?

Collective mechanism Required

Deliberation panel with ratification window (recommended for launch)A panel deliberates, produces a recommendation, full membership ratifies or objects.

Open participatory budgetingAll members vote directly on allocation. Simple but higher bandwidth demand.

Token allocationMembers receive token budgets and spend across proposals.

Other (describe): _______________

Panel size (if deliberation panel) Optional

e.g. 5–7 members, scaling with Fund membership size.

Panel selection method (if deliberation panel) Optional

Random draw (sortition)Recommended for funds with 20+ members. Avoids self-selection bias.

Rotation through membershipEach member serves in turn. Predictable but less random.

Open nominationSimpler for small funds. Risk of same people always serving.

Ratification window length (if deliberation panel) Optional

e.g. 14 days after panel recommendation is published.

The period during which members may formally object to the panel's recommendation before it takes effect.

Objection threshold (if deliberation panel) Optional

e.g. One-third of active Fund members must formally object for the recommendation to return to the panel.

3.2 Individual mode

May members independently direct their contributions to specific destinations outside the collective process?

Individual mode Required

Yes — pledge threshold modelMembers pledge to specific destinations. Activates when threshold is reached.

Yes — other model (describe): _______________

No — collective mode only

Threshold (if pledge model) Optional

e.g. Minimum [X] members pledging, or $[X] in total pledges, whichever is reached first, within the cycle window.

Set this carefully. Too high and nothing activates. Too low and the collective process is bypassed entirely. A starting suggestion: 15% of active Fund members or $500, whichever is lower.

§4

Eligibility Review Process

Who reviews proposals for eligibility Required

e.g. The Fund Coordinator reviews proposals against the constitutional eligible purposes and excluded purposes before the deliberation period opens.

Challenge process Required

e.g. Any Fund member may challenge an eligibility decision within 7 days of it being published. Challenges are resolved by a majority vote of active Fund members.

§5

Unallocated Contributions

Treatment of unallocated contributions Required

Carry forward to next cycle (accumulate in reserve)Simplest. Reserve grows until directed. Good for building up to larger projects.

Transfer to standing destination after [X] cyclesName the destination below. Prevents indefinite accumulation.

Return to contributing member after [X] cyclesMost conservative. Members retain control. More administration.

Standing destination (if applicable) Optional

e.g. Civics Ecosystem Cooperative. / A standing eligible destination voted on by Fund members at the start of each cycle.

§6

Administration

Legal requirement before launch

Before operationalising the Fund, the party must seek legal advice on establishing the Fund account on trust terms. This is the strongest protection for Fund contributions against party insolvency — contributions held on trust are not party property and should be beyond the reach of creditors. A standard party bank account does not provide this protection. See clause [X.X.13] of the constitutional amendment.

Fund Coordinator Required

Name and role of the Fund Coordinator. Must not hold party executive office simultaneously.

Fund account details Required

Bank and account name. Must be separate from party operational accounts. Established on trust terms per legal advice. Independent co-signatories required for disbursements above $[X].

Trust structuring — legal advice obtained Required

Name of legal adviser. Date advice received. Summary of trust structure adopted (or explanation of why trust terms were not possible and what alternative protection is in place).

Do not launch without completing this field. An unprotected Fund account exposes member contributions to party creditor claims in the event of insolvency.

Insolvency contact and procedure Required

Who the Fund Coordinator notifies if the party enters administration. Document the 7-day member notification obligation and 30-day emergency vote obligation under clause [X.X.13] so the Coordinator can act quickly if needed.

Annual fund statement Required

e.g. The Fund Coordinator publishes an annual fund statement to all Fund members within 30 days of the end of each cycle, including: total contributions received, total disbursed, total in reserve, and a summary of funded projects and their milestone status.

Governance platform Optional

e.g. Proposals submitted and deliberation conducted via [platform]. Pledge tracking via [platform]. Simple email list acceptable for launch if membership is small.

§7

Policy Review

Constitutional requirement

The constitutional amendment (clause [X.X.9]) requires a mandatory member review of this Policy after the first two completed cycles. This is not optional. This section specifies how the party will conduct that constitutionally-required review.

Sunset review process — implementing clause [X.X.9] Required

e.g. After the second completed cycle, the Fund Coordinator presents this Policy to all Fund members with a summary of what worked well and what didn't. Fund members have [X] weeks to provide written feedback. The party publishes a response to that feedback and any Policy updates before the third cycle opens.

Ongoing review schedule Optional

e.g. This Policy is reviewed annually thereafter, or at any time on written request from [X]% of active Fund members.