bylawish.md

https://nonprofitally.com/start-a-nonprofit/nonprofit-bylaws/\#link_acc-1-4-d

We propose the following method for Blockchains’ governance:

Prosperity need not be a scarce resource. The success of every company is a collaborative effort enabled by overlapping, cooperating, and competitive communities of stakeholders. Just as the success of every company is a product of interdependence, the prosperity won through this collaboration should be shared. Blockchains is therefore committed to serving these communities in all our products, services, and partnerships. To best serve these communities, we propose a new structure for corporate governance that formalizes stakeholder power to determine company ethos, mission, strategy, and other policies.

• 1 Cooperative Bylaws should include:

  • 1.1 I.    Mission, purpose, and legal structure 

Vision/purpose: To inspire and empower possibility

Mission: Promote and demonstrate the ethical use and innovation of technologies and ideas that empower the individual, improve social coordination, and provide sustainable infrastructure.

• 1.2 II.    Membership

As a distributed collaborative entity (DCE), Blockchains is comprised not only of those on our payroll, but also a set of voting stakeholder groups with their own internal governance frameworks, and stock holders. Those who hold company stock, are employed by our company, and/or are members of any currently existing formally-recognized stakeholder group are members in the Blockchains DCE.

Individuals who own voting stock are voting members of the DCE. Individuals who do not personally own or possess stock in Blockchains can also be members if they are granted membership to a formalized stakeholder group. Each stakeholder group is responsible for defining its own criteria for admission.

Stakeholders are the people who have the ability to affect and be affected by the success of our company, and work with us to succeed. Not all stakeholders necessarily belong to formalized stakeholder groups. Formally represented stakeholder groups have the right to board representation, and may be granted some percent of the total voting power, and/or profit-sharing rights.

Membership Status Changes:

Stakeholder groups are admitted to and removed from the DCE when the majority of board members vote to include the group and existing members of the DCE do not veto the decision. The board is responsible for proposing the voting power and profit-sharing rights of proposed stakeholder groups. Once a board decision has been reached to change the membership status of a stakeholder group and the corresponding change in voting and profit-sharing power, a vote opens to all voting members of the DCE, which remains open for a period of [2 weeks?]. The member-wide membership-deciding vote is a three-part ballot*: “Should this group be allowed? If so, how much VP? How much profit?”* Unless vetoed by 2/3 majority of the voting power participating in the vote, the board decision regarding membership status stands. To decide voting and profit-sharing rights, voters choose between a set of ranges, though no stakeholder group can hold majority voting power upon admittance to the DCE (A. 1-10%, B. 11-20%, C. 21-30%). If the board-chosen number lays within the most-selected universal-ballot decided range, then that number stands. If the most selected option falls outside of the board-decided option, then the newly admitted stakeholder group’s power will be equal to the average between the board’s number and the number in the selected range closest to the board’s.

Example: The board decides the new group should have 20% of the voting power, but the stakeholders decide that the group should get between 1-10% of the vote. In this case, the actual voting power of the newly admitted stakeholder group is 15%.

Termination:

Stakeholder groups are permitted to withdraw their voting power or profit-sharing rights at any point, without exiting the DCE. Stakeholder groups have the right to exit the DCE at any point, and for any reason, by filing a letter of resignation with the secretary. Stakeholder groups are responsible for establishing their own protocols for termination of membership. Stockholders cease to be members when they no longer own stock in the company, unless they are members of the DCE through another stakeholder group.

Member Rights and responsibilities:

Blockchains is comprised of multiple member types that have varying responsibilities, interests, and rights.

Stockholders: Ownership of company stock entitles the owner of that stock to vote in non-stakeholder group-specific elections and ballots.

Stakeholder groups: Stakeholder groups are entitled to some percentage of voting power and profit-sharing rights, which they are entitled to distribute/allocate by whatever internal governance and/or organizational structure they so choose (so long as that chosen structure does not violate any of the agreed-upon DCE rights). Stakeholder groups are entitled to one or more voting board representatives of the stakeholder group’s choosing.

Members of stakeholder groups: Individual members of stakeholder groups are entitled to all DCE member rights, and to whatever profit and voting rights granted to them by their stakeholder group.

Board Members:

• Board members are responsible for setting the values, mission, and purpose of the company.

• They are responsible for setting broad financial goals and policies.

• Hiring and firing senior executives.

• Ensuring that the company has the necessary resources to meet its stated goals, mission, and purpose.

• They are responsible for setting dividend/profit-sharing policies, and options policies.

• They support stakeholder groups in establishing and maintaining their governance structures.

• They have both a fiduciary and ethical responsibility to the company stakeholders and shareholders.

• Board members have the right to vote on all proposed resolutions.

Committees: Board members have the right to form and join board-level committees at-will. All committees will be open to all board members. Committees may propose board resolutions and policies, but adoption of said resolutions must pass board-wide vote.

1.3 III.    Membership Meetings 

• 1.4 IV.    Board of Directors: 

• 1.5 V.    Board Officers

• 1.6 VI.    Finances

• 1.7 VII.    Administration and Miscellaneous

• 1.8 VIII.    Amendment to the Bylaws

• 1.9 IX.    Dissolution

• 2 Model Bylaws for A Worker Cooperative

• 3 References 

A proposed set of values

Prosperity need not be a scarce resource. The success of every company is a collaborative effort enabled by overlapping, cooperating, and competitive communities of stakeholders. Just as the success of every company is a product of interdependence, the prosperity won through this collaboration should be shared. Blockchains is therefore committed to serving these communities in all our products, services, and partnerships. To best serve these communities, we aim to empower individuals from these groups to participate in the governance of our organization, and we have developed a set of guiding principles to govern our relationships and joint projects with collaborative entities:

• Privacy is a civil right.

• Technological systems are first and foremost human systems, and as such should be built to best enable a freer, more open and fair future.

• Individuals should have input in the development and design of systems, technological or otherwise, that affect them.

• Individuals unsatisfied with the systems affecting them have the right to exit them.

• Stakeholder access to verifiable information regarding partnerships and business practices is a prerequisite for democratic governance.

• We strive to create products and services that repair and support healthy ecosystems by sustainably promoting biodiversity and responsible energy usage.

• Employees are entitled to market-competetive compensation.

• Ethical products and services are best created through partnership with consumers to identify and serve their needs.

• Individuals have the right to control access to their data.

• Technology should enable accessibility to people of diverse abilities.

We seek to transform the relationship between businesses and the communities supporting them to best leverage our shared interests to realize a more human-centric future. We will use blockchain technology to create more democratic, transparent, and efficient alternatives to legacy systems, including but not limited to our financial, information, energy, corporate and political institutions. Together, we can incubate and implement technology to the mutual benefit of our companies, employees, and communities – both local and global – and create a blueprint for a brighter future.