NGO Statutes

NGO Statutes

Legal form: Registered Association (eingetragener Verein – e.V.)
Registered office: Friedberg, Germany
Financial year: Calendar year
Language: English (governing German law)

1. Name and Registered Office of the Association, Financial Year

  1. The association bears the name Gut für Besser – Good for Better (GFB). It shall be entered in the Register of Associations and thereafter bear the suffix “e.V.”.
  2. The association has its registered office in Friedberg.
  3. The financial year is the calendar year.

2. Purpose and Non-Profit Status of the Association

  1. The association, with its registered office in Friedberg, exclusively and directly pursues non-profit purposes within the meaning of the section “Tax-Privileged Purposes” of the German Fiscal Code.
  2. The purpose of the association is to promote:
  • Assistance for people in need in Germany and abroad
  • Environmental protection, particularly in the areas of clean water, healthy nutrition, clean air, and renewable energies

The statutory purpose is achieved in particular through:

  • The procurement and distribution of food and clean drinking water to people in need
  • The implementation of projects to improve air quality and access to clean water
  • Educational and awareness campaigns on the subject of sustainable energy, as well as cooperation with local and international organisations for the implementation of aid and environmental projects
  1. The association acts selflessly; it does not primarily pursue its own economic purposes.
  2. The funds of the association may only be used for the purposes set out in these statutes. Members shall not receive any payments from the funds of the association.
  3. No person may be favoured through expenditure that is unrelated to the purpose of the association or through disproportionately high remuneration.

3. Acquisition of Membership

  1. Any natural person may become a member of the association.
  2. Admission to the association must be applied for in writing to the Executive Board. In the case of minors, the application for membership must be submitted by their legal representatives. The Executive Board decides on the application for membership at its free discretion. It is not required to provide reasons to the applicant if the application is rejected.
  3. Upon proposal by the Executive Board, the General Meeting may appoint members or other persons who have rendered special services to the association as honorary members for life.

4. Termination of Membership

  1. Membership of the association ends through death, or, in the case of legal entities, through their dissolution, resignation, or exclusion.
  2. Resignation must be declared in writing to the Executive Board. Resignation may only be declared with a notice period of three months to the end of the financial year.
  3. A member may be excluded from the association by resolution of the General Meeting if the member:
  • Culpably damages the reputation or interests of the association in a serious manner; or
  • Is more than three months in arrears with payment of the admission fee or membership fees and, despite written reminder with warning of exclusion, has not paid the outstanding amounts.

The member must be given the opportunity to make a statement at the General Meeting regarding the reasons for exclusion. These reasons must be communicated to the member at least two weeks in advance.

5. Rights and Duties of Members

  1. Each member has the right to use the facilities of the association and to participate in joint events. Each member has equal voting and election rights at the General Meeting.
  2. Each member has the duty to promote the interests of the association, in particular to pay their membership fees regularly and, insofar as they are able, to support the life of the association through their cooperation.

6. Admission Fee and Membership Fees

  1. Each member must pay a monthly membership fee, payable in advance.
  2. The amount of the admission fee and membership fees is determined by the General Meeting.
  3. Honorary members are exempt from the admission fee and membership fees.

7. Bodies of the Association

The bodies of the association are the Executive Board and the General Meeting.

8. Executive Board

  1. The Executive Board consists of the Chairperson, their Deputy, and the Treasurer.
  2. The Chairperson, their Deputy, and the Treasurer each represent the association individually.
  3. Members of the Executive Board may be paid remuneration. The amount of remuneration is decided by the General Meeting.

9. Duties of the Executive Board

The Executive Board of the association is responsible for representing the association in accordance with §26 of the German Civil Code (BGB) and for managing its affairs.

In particular, it has the following duties:

  • Convening and preparing the General Meetings, including drawing up the agenda
  • Implementing resolutions of the General Meeting
  • Managing the assets of the association and preparing the annual report
  • Admitting new members

10. Appointment of the Executive Board

  1. The members of the Executive Board are elected individually by the General Meeting for a term of two years. Only members of the association may be members of the Executive Board; membership of the Executive Board also ends when membership of the association ends. Re-election or early dismissal of a member by the General Meeting is permitted. A member remains in office after the expiry of the regular term until their successor has been elected.
  2. If a member leaves the Executive Board prematurely, the remaining members of the Executive Board are entitled to elect a member of the association to the Executive Board until the successor is elected by the General Meeting.

11. Deliberation and Decision-Making of the Executive Board

  1. The Executive Board meets as required. Meetings are convened by the Chairperson or, if the Chairperson is prevented from doing so, by their Deputy. A notice period of one week should be observed. The Executive Board has a quorum if at least two members are present. Decisions are made by a majority of the valid votes cast. In the event of a tie, the vote of the Chairperson shall decide, or, if the Chairperson is prevented from attending, the vote of their Deputy.
  2. The resolutions of the Executive Board must be recorded in minutes. The minutes must be signed by the minute-taker and by the Chairperson, or, if the Chairperson is prevented from doing so, by their Deputy or another member of the Executive Board.

12. Duties of the General Meeting

The General Meeting is responsible for decisions in the following matters:

  • Amendments to the statutes
  • Setting the admission fee and membership fees
  • Appointing honorary members and excluding members from the association
  • Electing and dismissing members of the Executive Board
  • Receiving the annual report and discharging the Executive Board
  • Dissolving the association

13. Convening the General Meeting

  1. An ordinary General Meeting must be convened by the Executive Board at least once a year, preferably in the first quarter. The meeting is convened in writing with a notice period of two weeks and with the agenda stated.
  2. The agenda is determined by the Executive Board. Each member of the association may apply in writing to the Executive Board for an addition to the agenda no later than one week before the General Meeting. The Executive Board decides on the application. Motions concerning the agenda that were not included by the Executive Board, or that are submitted for the first time at the General Meeting, are decided on by the General Meeting by a majority of the votes of the members present. This does not apply to motions concerning an amendment to the statutes, changes to membership fees, or the dissolution of the association.
  3. The Executive Board must convene an extraordinary General Meeting if the interests of the association require it or if at least one tenth of the members request this in writing, stating the purpose and reasons.

14. Decision-Making of the General Meeting

  1. The General Meeting is chaired by the Chairperson of the Executive Board, or, if the Chairperson is prevented from doing so, by their Deputy, and if the Deputy is also prevented from doing so, by a meeting chair elected by the General Meeting.
  2. The General Meeting has a quorum if at least one third of all members of the association are present. If there is no quorum, the Executive Board is obliged to convene a second General Meeting with the same agenda within four weeks. This second meeting has a quorum regardless of the number of members present. This must be stated in the invitation.
  3. The General Meeting passes resolutions by open vote with a majority of the votes of the members present. If no candidate in elections receives the majority of the votes of the members present, the person elected is the person who has received the majority of the valid votes cast. If there are several candidates, a run-off election must be held. Resolutions concerning an amendment to the statutes require a three-quarters majority. A resolution concerning an amendment to the purpose of the association or the dissolution of the association requires the approval of nine tenths of the members present.
  4. Minutes must be prepared regarding the course of the General Meeting and the resolutions passed. The minutes must be signed by the minute-taker and the chair of the meeting.

15. Dissolution of the Association, Termination for Other Reasons, Loss of Tax-Privileged Purposes

  1. In the event of the dissolution of the association, the Chairperson of the Executive Board and their Deputy shall be jointly authorised liquidators, unless the General Meeting appoints other persons.
  2. In the event of dissolution or abolition of the association, or in the event of the loss of tax-privileged purposes, the assets of the association shall pass to Stiftung Menschen für Menschen e.V. for its non-profit purposes.
  3. The above provisions apply accordingly if the association is deprived of legal capacity.

Founding Members:

  • Jose Maria Costa
  • Teresa Busch
  • Susanne Busch
  • Annette Ehlers
  • Beat Ehlers
  • Anika Busch
  • Rainer Busch