» Arf-Society e.V. Charter

§ 1 Name and location of the Society

1. The name of the Society is ARF Society to which the suffix "e.V." is to be appended.
   
   
2. The official location of the Society's headquarters is Bad Doberan, Federal Republic of Germany.

§ 2 Objectives and goal of the Society

1. The Society pursues exclusively and directly community service objectives in the sense of the Section entitled "Reduced-Tax Objectives" ("Steuergünstige Zwecke") of the relevant Federal German Tax Statute ("Abgabenordnung"). The stated objective of the Society is the promotion and preservation of contemporary music of the 1960's, in particular of the group known as "Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention".
   
   Charter objectives are realized in particular through the procurement of monetary support for appropriate concerts and events, especially those aimed at promoting music appreciation among youth.

§ 3 Membership and fees

1. Membership in the Society is open to all who agree to pursue the stated objectives of the Society and who sign the written membership agreement. Final decisions regarding acceptance of membership in the Society are made by the Board.
   
   
2. Membership is terminated by resignation on the part of the member or by expulsion. The Board makes final decisions regarding expulsion. Sufficient grounds for expulsion would be e.g. gross violation of the Society's Charter or behavior resulting in significant damage to the Society.
   
   
3. The annual adult membership fee is Euro 50.-- (New from 01.01.2009 *¹). The General Assembly can decide to change the membership fee.
   
   to *¹ during the meeting of the members of 06.Dez.2008 new specified. Valid starting from 01.Jan.2009. NEW! inclusive Arf-Dossier.

§ 4 Elements of the Society

The Society comprises the General Assembly and the Board.

§ 5 General Assembly

The General Assembly is primarily responsible for:

1. Election and removal of the Board
   
   
2. Election of the Auditors
   
   
3. Approval of the Annual Report and Financial Statement presented by the Board
   
   
4. Support for the Board
   
   
5. Modifying the Charter
   
   
6. Dissolution of the Society
   
   

§ 6 Convening the General Assembly, Voting Procedures

1. The Board convenes the General Assembly, which must meet at least once annually.
   
   
2. The General Assembly is entitled to make binding resolutions when written invitation to the respective General Assembly meeting has been issued at least two weeks in advance.
   
   
3. In addition, the Board convenes the General Assembly when a minimum of one-fifth of all members has made a request to that effect.
   
   
4. Each member has one vote. Motions are adopted when a simple majority of the members present votes affirmatively. An equal number of votes for and against a motion is regarded as a rejection.
   
   
5. Motions which would result in changes to the Charter, the removal of the Board or the dissolution of the Society require the approval of a two-thirds majority of the members present.
   
   
6. The proceedings and resolutions of the General Assembly are to be documented in a protocol which is to be signed by the Recording Secretary and the leader of the Assembly. A list of those present is to be appended to the protocol.
   
   

§ 7 Auditors

The General Assembly will designate two of its members as Auditors. The Auditors are responsible for verifying the daily transactions and Annual Report of the Society, and for presenting their findings to the General Assembly. Auditors are elected for a term of one year and can be re-elected.

§ 8 Board

1. The Board in the sense of German Federal Civil Law ("BGB or Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch") § 26 comprises the members of the Society elected by the General Assembly. The Board serves for a term of five years. Board members can be re-elected.
   
   
2. The Board consists of the President, the Vice-President and the Treasurer. Members of the Board must be legal adults.
   
   
3. The Board represents the Society in all legal and non-legal matters; here the joint action of at least two Board members is required. This also applies with regard to authorization to use bank accounts belonging to the Society and full authorization to conduct any financial matters pertaining to the Society.
   
   

§ 9 Fiscal Year

The fiscal year for the Society is the calendar year.

§ 10 Liquidation

The liquidation procedure necessitated by the dissolution of the Society is conducted by the Board, unless the General Assembly decides otherwise.