FAQ

*** New March 7th *** Q: Why don’t the amendments adopted at the last Annual General Meeting appear in the version of the Constitution published on the website?

A: We submitted the amendments to the notary and subsequently realized that a change to the purpose of the Association would have required unanimous approval by all members present. Since there was one abstention, that particular amendment was therefore not valid. For other amendments to the Constitution, a three-quarters majority of the votes cast is sufficient. The addition of a second Treasurer could technically have been resubmitted to the notary. However, the only candidate known to us for that position has since left the Board. In addition, a comprehensive restructuring of Board roles was already foreseeable, so the Board decided not to invest further time and money in notarizing that specific amendment. If the newly proposed restructuring of roles is rejected, the Assembly would need to elect a second Treasurer, as already provided on the agenda.

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*** New March 4th *** Q: It would be nice if you could also set a quorum for the AGMs. Last year due to BVG strikes, there was hardly a good turn out for the AGM. With 700 members, we should at least have 10% members present at the AGM.

A: Member attendance at the AGM was between 18 (2022) and 45 (2016). We never reached 10% since 2012 (that’s how far back our online minutes go). We could set a lower limit at 5% (about 35 members), but if only 34 showed up then we would have to call again for an AGM a few weeks later. Would attendance be higher then?

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*** New March 4th *** Q: Members should have a clear understanding of what they are signing up for. The roles and duties ought to be openly communicated and made visible to the wider community. 
This is not intended to be a hiring process, but rather an election process. 
These roles provide transparency, accountability, and clarity of responsibility—both internally and externally. Eliminating them risks creating ambiguity about responsibilities and weakening the democratic structure of the Association. Members should know exactly which responsibilities they are voting for and who is accountable for which area.

A: In addition to the board members elected by the membership, based on the Verein constitution, and the legal representatives according to §26 BGB, also elected by the membership, the day-to-day roles and duties are outlined in the new Rules of Procedure, section “2 Duties of the Board”. Electing these roles directly during the General Meeting would require assessing the skills and availability of all members on the spot and then fixing those roles for two years. Experience has shown that this no longer works in today’s environment. We would prefer to take the necessary time for this process and retain the flexibility to adjust roles if circumstances change. Of course, the allocation of responsibilities — which board member is responsible for what — will be communicated publicly.

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Q: Why are you changing the constitution? It has served us well for years…

A: Times change. Boards change. We simply believe that the amendments will allow the board to focus on serving the community.

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Q: Will this be an “all or nothing” vote?

A: No, we will vote on these suggestions one by one at the AGM on March 18th, 2026.

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Q: Will there not be a chair, treasurer, secretary anymore?

A: Most likely there will be those roles, but they might be split up. There might be a chair of the board meetings and a president who represents the Verein publicly. The treasurer role could be split into someone who runs the finances and someone who manages memberships. Or not.

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Q: Why does the board want to give the membership more power? What’s the catch?

A: No catch. We just believe in strengthening the community.

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Q: Seriously, you want to replace one legal term with another legal term?

A: Yes. The ambiguity of the translation has created unnecessary confusion in the past.

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Q: You changed the constitution last year, amending the purpose of the Verein. What happened to that change?

A: As we found out when filing the amendment with the notary, amendments to the purpose of an association must be unanimous, and there was one objection. 

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Q: What if the same happens again this year?

A: This year we do not propose to change the purpose of the association. Other amendments can be passed with a majority vote.

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Q: What about that other change, adding a second treasurer.

A: Frankly, it got lost in the shuffle. Filing an amendment with the notary takes several months. Then the board was busy with itself. Then the earmarked second treasurer resigned. Then we started discussion changing all roles, which makes the idea of a second treasurer moot. 

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Comments

“This is a challenging idea. Hopefully it will get community support.” (author of the amendments)

“You guys are overly bureaucratic. Let’s just get stuff done.” (anonymous commentator)

To be continued