Kawashaway Sanctuary Governance Docs

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Communications Plan

Background

As follow-up to the conversations around governance started at the Great Circle at the 2002 Gathering and following in subsequent Circles, a small group of faeries has been working to address communications issues. These faeries include White Ash, Beebalm, H, and Two Bears. 

These conversations have sought to address the need for solutions that allow for regular, dependable, and clear communication among Kawashaway/Northwoods faeries, and allow for the easiest possible means of getting communication done without leaving anyone out. We hope this plan does just that.

Communications Lists

We have several lists and wish to integrate them. We propose:

1. Keeping the Yahoo! Group/nwradfaes as the main faerie discussion/announcement list. This list will have an added feature—Special Announcements Only (SAO)—that will allow faeries who wish to receive calendar items, meeting notes, and other Official Business to do so via email without participating in the full group discussion. This is already a feature of Yahoo! Groups.

2. Adding a Kawashaway Circle Yahoo! Group (Circle list) to focus energy on governance issues and having effective Circles. This group is open to anyone interested in these issues and would include Stewards and Friends (as defined in the By Laws). The list would be used to set the agenda for Circles, circulate drafts of meeting notes, and discuss Circle business between meetings. We propose that this list NOT be used for decision-making, major consensus-building, or to in any way, shape, or form, to replace Circles. This list would exist to enable Circles, NOT to supplant them.

3. Adding to the Kawashaway database a Snail Mail Only (SMO) list. This would be an opt-in list open to anyone who prefers notices by regular mail only. Every two months, we will send a postcard to the SMO list with Circle dates, event dates, and Sanctuary Gatherings. This list will also receive Circle Notes after each Circle. 

Circle Communication

* Circle notices will go via snail mail on postcards to the SMO list every two months.
* Circle Notes will go via snail mail to the SMO list after every Circle.
* Circle Notes will go to the full nwradfaes list as a Special Announcement (which means the SAO list will get them). 
* Circle Notes with financial information will go only to the Circle list and the SMO list—the Notes sent to the nwradfaes group will refer those interested in financial information to the Keeper of the Royal Beads or the Keeper of the Official Dish.

Implementation

1. Send two postcards announcing these changes to the entire mailing list twice, on December 1 and 15, 2002, with a deadline to change their preferences of January 1, 2003.
2. If faeries want to get on the SMO list, they will contact Two Bears.
3. If faeries want to get on the Circle list, they will contact Beebalm.
4. If faeries with email want to be on the nwradfaes list with the SAO option (or if they want to change to that option), they will contact White Ash.
5. We will send a new postcard every year at the same time asking faeries to consider their communications options.
6. We will ask new faeries when registering at Gathering about their options and record these preferences as part of the general database. 

Future

We want to work in the future towards integrating the web site, our database, and our discussion lists. We’re also looking to get governance information on the web as soon as possible. 

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