DC Anti-War Network http://www.dawndc.net/meetings/ 

(As of 4/22/03)

1) DAWN Meeting Structure

Facilitator(s) are encouraged to propose a meeting structure that fosters a DAWN meeting where work is done while simultaneously leaving flexibility for current events discussion and time to address new proposals. A successful structure used in meetings previously is suggested below:

I) Roll Call -- Intros / Roles Review and Assignment
II) Approval of Previous Meeting Notes
III) Treasurer's Report
IV) Current Events Discussion
V) Old Business
VI) Working Group Report Backs
VII) New Proposals
VIII) Working Group Breakouts
IX) Breakout Report Backs / Proposals
X) Announcements
XI) Close - Next Meeting Date, Time, Location & Facilitators

Points I, II, III & XI shall be included in all DAWN meetings.

Points IV through X shall be the Meeting Agenda, the parts of the meeting created and shaped by the DAWN Participants at the meeting.

a. At the start of the meeting, the meeting Facilitator(s) will lead brief introductions, review meeting roles, and secure DAWN Participants to fill meeting roles (see Meeting Roles #4).

b. The first item of business shall be the approval of the notes from the previous meeting, c. The second item of business shall be a financial report presented by the treasurer.

3) DAWN Meeting Agenda

a. Old Business - Facilitators shall offer the DAWN General Meeting the opportunity to return to any old business that may remain to be discussed or not decided upon in a previous meeting.

b. Reports -- The Facilitator shall offer the DAWN General Meeting the opportunity to ask for meeting time for working group reports or general reports. If there are no objections, reports will be placed on the agenda set with time limits. Once all reports have been assigned to the meeting agenda with time limits, reports shall begin and be completed in the time allotted. Time permitting, Facilitators may entertain motions to discuss reports.

c. New Proposals - The Facilitator shall offer the DAWN General Meeting the opportunity to ask for meeting time for new proposals. The Facilitator shall use the Proposal Procedures to see that new proposals are properly addressed (see Proposal Procedures #5).

d. Working Group Breakouts - This is where work is done at the meeting. Facilitators shall list on the agenda and announce any breakout group offered by the DAWN General Meeting. In addition, the Facilitator will recommend a time limit for the breakout period, which will be adopted if there are no objections. DAWN Participants shall have the opportunity to join any breakout group and work on projects during the time allotted.

e. Breakout Reports / Proposals - The Facilitator shall call for the workinng groups to return to the General Meeting and offer any reports or new proposals that may have been created during the breakout period. These proposals are handled using the Proposal Procedures (See #5).

f. Announcements - Facilitators will ask the DAWN General Meeting for any announcements.

g. Meeting Close - The Facilitator will announce the next meeting date, time, and location with no objections. In addition, the next pair of Facilitators shall be chosen and announced.

4) DAWN Meeting Roles

DAWN Participants are encouraged to fill the important meeting roles listed below:

The Facilitator(s) - helps the DAWN General Meeting setup the meeting agenda, carry discussion, and come to decisions about topics and proposals put forth by DAWN Participants. The Facilitator shall be empowered to count a vote on any proposal.

The NoteTaker - keeps the notes of the meeting and is responsible for posting the notes to the DAWN listserves within 48 hours of the meeting. In addition, they are responsible for printing and providing copies of the notes at the next DAWN General Meeting. The notes need only to reflect what decisions were made on proposals and the titles and contact info for any new working groups formed at the meeting plus anything the Facilitators may want especially highlighted in the meeting notes. The NoteTaker shall be empowered to ask that any proposal be repeated to ensure accuracy in the notes.

The StackKeeper - when ANY discussion is opened, the StackKeeper records the names and then recognizes DAWN Participants who want to attain the floor to speak.

The TimeKeeper - helps keep agenda rolling along by watching that the discussion stays to a decided allocated time period. During discussion, the TimeKeeper shall announce when there are only a couple of minutes remaining and ask that the Stack be closed.

5) DAWN Proposal Procedures

a. The Facilitator calls for proposals if and only if a quorum of 12 DAWN Participants is present.

b. Each proposal must be seconded to be considered. Once seconded, with no objections the Facilitator allocates time for discussion and a decision on the proposal. The Facilitator then repeats the language of the proposal to ensure accuracy, and the NoteTaker records the proposal in the notes.

c. After a proposal is brought to the floor, the Stack is opened for discussion.

d. The StackKeeper shall record and recognize DAWN Participants eager to attain the floor for discussion. No one shall speak until she or he has obtained the floor.

e. The Stack Keeper recognizes each speaker in turn until the TimeKeeper asks for the Stack to be closed. At this point the Facilitator will ask the General Meeting for any last requests to be put on Stack before discussion is closed. If there is a large response, the Facilitator shall suggest extending the discussion period with no objections from the General Meeting. The discussion continues using the same procedure outlined above in letter (e).

f. Once the Stack is exhausted and the discussion is closed, the Facilitator inquires whether there is anyone present who objects to the approval of the proposal. If there are no objections, we have a unanimous decision. If there are objections, the Facilitator may decide to offer objectors the opportunity to speak before a vote is taken.

g. The Vote -- A proposal passes with an 80% majority of DAWN Participants present and voting. Participants shall remain raising one hand high until the vote is counted.

h. Friendly Amendments -- Often a DAWN Participant will desire that a proposal currently before the group be amended. In this case, the Participant shall obtain the floor and state precisely what language in the proposal she or he would like to add, delete, or change. The proposal maker will have the choice to accept or reject the friendly amendment. If accepted, the Facilitator restates the newly amended proposal and it is re-recorded by the NoteTaker.

i. Amending By-laws or Meeting Procedures -- In the event that DAWN's By-laws or Meeting Procedures need to be amended, a proposal to this effect is treated like any other proposal. However, no proposal to amend the By-laws or Meeting Procedures shall be considered that has not been submitted, in writing, to all Participants present at the previous meeting and posted on the DAWN-DISCUSS listserve.

6) Event/Action/Project Endorsements by DAWN

Level One Endorsement -- DAWN endorses the event/action in name. This allows the person or organization seeking the endorsement to use The DC Anti-War Network (DAWN) name and/or logo on promotional materials relating to the event/action. Also, DAWN will open up our advertising avenues to promote endorsed events. This includes giving access to publishing the event/action on our on-line calendar and allowing the use of our dawn-dc@yahoogroups announcement listserve. Organizations seeking a Level One endorsement should also be prepared to come to our meetings with promotional materials so to have DAWN participants help spread the word.

Level Two Endorsement -- implies all of the above, plus the creation of a Working Group to assist in planning and executing the event/action. Level Two endorsements allow the organization or person seeking the endorsement to advertise the mission and contact info of this Working Group on our on-line Get Active page. If you seek a Level Two endorsement, please be prepared to send around a sign-up sheet at our meeting so to recruit volunteers from DAWN into your new Working Group.

Level Three Endorsement -- implies all of the above, plus the allocation of funds from the DAWN general account. Does your event have a budget and require funding? Ask DAWN for money by requesting a Level Three endorsement.

Level Four Endorsement -- for autonomous organizations to have DAWN endorse their organizational mission and goals so to become a DAWN organizational affiliate. These organizations get prominence on our website in addition to providing opportunities to share more resources such as funding, contact databases, and volunteers and sharing tabling at events.

DC ANTIWAR NETWORK (DAWN) MEETING PROCEDURES AND POLICIES 

The DAWN General Meeting sets procedures and policies for DAWN.

1. General Meeting Introductions and Roles

      A. The meeting shall begin with Introductions, followed by choosing facilitator(s) to moderate discussion and count votes, if facilitator(s) have not been chosen by the previous meeting.

      B. Individuals will volunteer to fulfill other meeting roles:

            1) Stack Keeper - keeps track of who wants to speak on any topic under discussion.

            2) Time Keeper - keeps track of time previously allotted per subject.

            3) Note Taker - keeps the notes of the meeting and posts notes to the DAWN-DC yahoogroup within 48 hours of the meeting. The notes need only reflect the name of facilitator and note taker; number of participants; decisions made on proposals, including titles and contact info for any new working groups; report of, or new members chosen for, the Biweekly Emergency Committee (BEC); date and place of next meeting and its facilitators; plus anything the meeting directs be highlighted in the meeting notes.

2. The General Meeting Agenda will note times for each topic, including discussion period. The order of topics will be:

      A. Call for any corrections to the notes of the last meeting, to be corrected on DAWNDC.Net.

      B. Treasurer's report

      C. Report from Biweekly Emergency Committee (BEC) and/or choosing of BEC members

      D. Report backs on DAWN projects, completed or in progress

      E. Proposals for endorsements, future projects, working groups, etc.

      F. Working group meetings and report backs (optional, and may come before or after proposals).

      G. Choice of next meeting date, place and facilitators. A non-quorum DAWN meeting may schedule the next DAWN meeting.

      H. Announcements

3. DAWN Decision-Making Procedures

      A. Discussion of Proposals

            1) The Facilitator calls for proposals which may be voted upon only if a quorum of 10 DAWN Participants is present.  Individuals, other organizations or DAWN working groups may make proposals. Meeting notes may reflect that proposals merely were discussed in a quorum-less meeting.

            2) Once explained, proposals must be seconded before the stack is opened for discussion.

            3) A DAWN participant may offer one or more friendly amendments. The proposal maker will have the choice to accept or reject the friendly amendment.

            4) The Stack Keeper records and recognizes in turn each person who raises their hand to be on stack. Participants should not speak unless recognized by the stack keeper. Points of information (clarifying questions) should have a high priority.

            5) The Time Keeper notes that time for discussion has ended. If there are no objections from any participant, the meeting may extend discussion.

            6) Before any vote, the facilitator or proposer repeats the language of the proposal, including any friendly amendments, to ensure accuracy. The Note Taker records the proposal.

      B. Voting on Proposals

            1) If there are two or more similar, competing proposals, the facilitator may allow both proposers to speak and obtain a second and then to conduct a straw poll to see which the group prefers to consider first.

            2) The Facilitator inquires whether any participant objects to the approval of the proposal. If there are no objections, it is noted as a unanimous decision. If there is any objection from any participant, the Facilitator will take the proposal to a vote.

            3) A proposal passes with an 80% majority of DAWN Participants present and voting by raising one hand high. The Note Taker will report yes, no and abstaining votes. Abstentions are not counted as part of the yes-no votes.

4. Levels of Endorsement by General Meeting

      A. Level One Endorsement: DAWN endorses an event/action/campaign by either DAWN participants or another organization. This allows the use of the DC Anti-War Network (DAWN) name and/or logo on promotional materials and the listing of the event/action/campaign on our on-line calendar or links page.

      B. Level Two Endorsement: This implies all of the above, plus the creation of a DAWN Working Group to assist in planning and executing the event/action.

      C. Level Three Endorsement. This may involve only the contribution of money to either a DAWN project or another group’s activities. Or it may imply all of the above, plus the allocation of funds from the DAWN general account. A listing of expected expenses must be presented for approval. Any expenditures above either the initial -- or any amended and approved expenditures -- will be reimbursed upon the discretion of the group. Income from all DAWN events will go into the general fund. The Note Taker will record and publish all amounts in the notes.

5. Amending DAWN Procedures and Policies

      A. Any proposed changes in DAWN's Meeting Procedures must be submitted in writing to a DAWN general meeting and then seconded. The substance will then be announced on the DAWN-DC announce list.

      B. At the next meeting the proposal will be considered and treated like any other proposal.

6. DAWN Working Group Guidelines

      A. Working groups are open to all DAWN participants and others working with DAWN.  They are encouraged to use DAWN’s democratic decision-making processes.

      B. All functioning groups will be included on the DAWN web page with a contact. Working group meetings not held during a regular meeting break out will be announced on the DAWN-DC yahoogroup.

      C. Any Working Group may request time for working group breakouts, and report backs from the break outs, during DAWN general meetings.

      D. DAWN working groups may make many independent decisions, and even endorse other groups’ events, but will report regularly on decisions and progress to the DAWN meeting, which may over turn any decision.

      E. [[Only the DAWN general meeting may give an individual administrative rights to alter the DAWN web site. ]] or?  [[Only the DAWN List/Web page working group may give an individual administrative rights to alter the DAWN web site.]]

7. DAWN Bi-Weekly Executive Committee 

      A. Between DAWN meetings, members of the Bi-Weekly Executive Committee (BEC) are empowered to act on issues that cannot be put off until the next meeting. These might include canceling or moving weekly meetings, calling actions, issuing press releases, speaking for the group, endorsing other groups’ events, or fulfilling administrative functions. Any decision must comply with the Points of Unity. Each BEC is limited to endorsing three (3) actions during its tenure, which will last no more than [[two weeks]] or? [[one month]].

      B. Members of BEC are not empowered to spend money, vote for a proposal voted down at a previous DAWN meeting or endorse any candidate or political party.

      C. Five BEC members will be chosen [[every two weeks]] or? [[once a month]] at a regular DAWN weekly meeting, whether or not there is a quorum. Participants shall volunteer to have their names put into a hat for a random choosing of BEC. No one should be on BEC twice in a row unless five new volunteers cannot be found. One BEC member will volunteer to collect other members’ contact information.

      D. Four of the five BEC members must vote and three BEC members must approve any proposal for BEC to act on behalf of DAWN. A regular DAWN meeting may over turn any BEC decision.

      E. Except in emergency situations, BEC will not cancel or move DAWN meetings without 36 hours notice on the DAWN-DC yahoogroup and the web page.

      F. A member of BEC will report to the next DAWN meeting on any decision(s) made between meetings.