DRAFT BYLAWS, PURPOSE & STRUCTURE

OF THE

EARTH RELIGIONS ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION (ERAA)

The Earth Religions' Assistance Association (ERAA) is an organization of religious rights activists dedicated to promoting, defending, and enforcing Earth Religionists' religious rights (including Freedom of speech, assembly, etc.) in the following ways:

ERAA will:

1. Produce generic legal memos about religious and related rights;

2. Produce generic legal strategy packets to help prepare and

present legal cases;

3. Train ERAA Work Group volunteers and religious activists

of other religious rights organizations on fundamentals of legal

research and freedom of religion (and related) law; and

4. Train ERAA Work Group volunteers and religious activists of

other religious rights organizations on how to do internet

networking.

ERAA will:

1. Educate Earth Religionists about their rights by publishing

information in hardcopy format;

2. Educate Earth Religionists about their rights by publishing

information in an electronic format;

3. Educate Earth Religionists about their rights by setting up

information tables at festivals and by posting brochures at

appropriate businesses and events ; and

4. Educate Earth Religionists about their rights by conducting

legal rights workshops at festivals and at appropriate businesses and events.

ERAA will:

1. Operate a telephone assistance line to receive requests for

help, and maintain an e-mail address to receive requests for help

via internet;

2. Provide legal research, referrals, and evidentiary information

to individuals facing religion-based legal problems, and to their

attorneys and others assisting them;

3. Distribute generic legal memos about religious and related rights; and

4. Distribute generic legal strategy packets on preparing and

presenting legal cases.

5. In no way provide legal advice to anyone requesting

assistance. However, our attorneys and licensed paralegals reserve

the right to help the attorneys of people needing the help and/or arrange for help

ERAA will:

1. Network and coordinate efforts with other organizations Dedicated

to promoting, defending, or enforcing religious and related rights—by:

* Cooperating with other Earth Religionist Organizations and publications

* Working on the Earth Religions Assistance List

* Helping other religious rights organizations, and

* Participating in workshops, events, political lobbying campaigns and peaceful

demonstrations relating to freedom of religion and related freedoms, when

necessary and appropriate; and

<<We do need to clarify how far we an go into political lobbying and maintain 501C3.>>

2. Create and distribute articles and press releases; and

3. Compile, edit, publish, and distribute a quarterly newsletter

detailing what is being done by ERAA and other religious rights

organizations.

ERAA will raise funds to help in these efforts.

"Earth Religions" include Pagan Religions, traditional Nature-based

religions of indigenous peoples from all parts of the world, and

the aspects of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism,

Taoism, Shintoism, and other religions that honor Nature and/or the

Earth or that reflect mystic beliefs and practices.

"Pagan Religions" refers to eclectic religious movements, which

revere the Divine in Nature and/or draw upon the myths and symbols

of ancient faiths (including Wicca, Druidism, Shamanism, Asatru,

etc.).

"Mystic beliefs" refers to beliefs that Deity is immanent as well

as transcendent, that all individuals can have direct personal

experience of the Divine without intervention of an outside

authority, and/or that Deity is multifaceted.

Our purpose is to help practitioners of ethical, non-racist, and

non-sexist religions that promote understanding and tolerance of

other religions and their practitioners.

ERAA will work in cooperation with other religious rights

activists, organizations, and communications mechanisms but does

not and will not attempt to interfere in their internal or external

affairs.

The Board of Directors (Board) will consist of 5 officers:

Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Legal Advisor (attorney), Networking Coordinator

Other voting positions in ERAA include

Attorney

Archivist-Distributor

Chronicler-Editor,

Computer Specialist.

Summoner

Fund Raiser

New voting positions may be established by the Board and/or the membership by the procedures described herein

1. Chair Board meetings;

2. Coordinate Board and Work Group meetings;

3. Plan and help execute publicity for Board meetings, and oversee the planning of Work Group meetings, ERAA events, and other ERAA purposes (that will often be executed and planned in detail by other ERAA members)

4. Recruit and welcome in new ERAA members and gets them involved

in on-going projects;

5. Oversee all on-going projects;

6. Ensure that all checks issued by ERAA have been approved by

the Board; and

7. Co-sign all checks

.

1. Cover for the Chair when the Chair is unavailable;

2. Maintain records of ERAA general membership;

3. Maintain records of potential new volunteers/members;

4. Maintain and provide records of these Bylaws and other ERAA

rules; and

5. Make and maintain a record of Board meetings' discussions and

decisions.

6. Assure that members are notified of meetings, taking on the duties of Summoner until a volunteer Summoner is found (who takes over these duties)

1. Ensure that all proposed and actual spending follows

procedures set by these Bylaws;

2. Co-sign all authorized checks;

3. Establish a bank account (when warranted);

4. Propose a budget to the Board (when warranted);

5. Once a budget has been adopted, ensure that all proposed

spending is provided for in the budget;

6. Ensure that all checks issued are provided for in the budget;

7. Maintain financial records adequate to meet 501C3

requirements;

8. Provide financial reports to the IRS; and

9. Oversee fundraising activities.

1. Provide advice to other Board Members concerning Board

Members' responsibilities, concerning Board Members' outside

communications, and consistency of proposed projects, proposed

funding, and Board Members' acts with the purposes of ERAA;

2. Provide advice on other legal matters;

3. Supervise the legal work of all non-attorneys;

4. Produce and supervise production of generic legal memos about

religious rights;

5. Produce and supervise production of generic legal strategy

packets to help prepare and present legal cases;

6. Train ERAA Work Group volunteers and religious activists of

other religious rights organizations on fundamentals of legal

research and freedom of religion law (and/or oversee such training by qualified volunteers);

7. Educate Earth Religionists about their rights by conducting

legal workshops at festivals and at appropriate businesses; and

8. Educate Earth Religionists about their legal rights by

drafting and publishing articles, and reviewing draft articles with substantial legal content.

1. Act as the contact for receiving requests for legal help;

2. Operate a telephone assistance line to receive requests

for help, and maintain an e-mail address to receive requests for

help via internet;

3. Respond to requests with a previously-approved intake

protocol, and submit requests for legal help to the Board for

consideration;

4. Do follow-up investigative work on legal cases, as requested

by the Board;

5. Provide legal research, referrals, and evidentiary information

to individuals facing religion-based legal problems, and to their

attorneys and others assisting them;

6. Network and coordinate efforts with other organizations

dedicated to promoting, defending, or enforcing religious rights--

* by working on the Earth Religions Assistance Internet

Initiative (ERAL, ERLAN, PAL, etc.),

* by helping other religious rights organizations, and

* by helping in political lobbying campaigns and peaceful

demonstrations relating to freedom of religion, when necessary and

appropriate.

7. Train ERAA Work Group volunteers and religious activists of

other religious rights organizations on how to do Internet

networking.

1. Maintain a library of legal memos, evidence, guidance by other organizations, etc.

2. Collect legal memos, etc. relating to freedom of religion and related matters produced by the Work Groups;

3. Collect legal memos, etc. relating to freedom of religion (and related rights) produced by other legal rights organizations and submit them to the Board

for review and approval;

4. Once approved by the Board for distribution, distribute

generic legal memos about religious and related rights;

5. Once approved by the Board for distribution, distribute legal

strategy packets to help prepare and present legal cases; and

6. Educate Earth Religionists about their rights by setting

up information tables at festivals and by posting brochures at

appropriate businesses and events.

1. Set up and host electronic communications mechanisms (e-mail lists, websites, FTP sites, etc) ; and

2. Educate Earth Religionists about their rights by publishing

information in an electronic format.

3. Answer technical questions, help identify appropriate software and help train earth religionists on how to use electronic communications, software, etc.

1. Maintain a digest and database of cases, their status, and

outcome;

2. Draft and distribute articles and press releases; and

3. Compile, edit, publish, and distribute a quarterly newsletter,

detailing what is being done by ERAA and other religious rights

organizations The newsletter shall also contain legal memos and/or other information of value to Earth Religionists in asserting and defending their rights.

1. The Board will create and task Work Groups with ERAA projects and oversee the creation and tasking of Work Groups by ERAA members at large.

2. The Board will supervise all Work Groups. Each Work Group

must be assigned a Board Member responsible for direct oversight

and responsible for reporting back activities and accomplishments

to the Board. The Board does not need to, and generally should not micromanage work group creation or their tasks, but provides over-sight , ideas etc. and has veto power over activities officially associated with ERAA and/or which involve ERAA funds and resources

3. The Board or attorney(s) designated by the Board will review all legal memos produced by Work Groups or received from other legal rights organizations.

4. The Board or attorney(s) designated by the board will review legal requests for help to determine whether to provide new legal memos or legal consultation .

5. The Board may request the Legal Advisor or another attorney to

provide pro bono (free) legal consultation to lawyers at trial or

on appeal relating to freedom of religion and/or closely related freedoms).

1. The Board will be voted in by the ERAA general membership.

2. Board Members will have 1 year renewable appointments.

3. Voting ERLAN positions will be voted in by the Board and/or General membership, and performance and continued voting status shall be reviewed at least semi-annually by Board Members

4. Board Members will be individually subject to recall for cause

(nonfeasance or misfeasance) by a 2/3 vote of the ERAA general

membership and/or Board. (A specific protocol will need to be agreed on.)

5. All projects supported, approved, or carried out by ERAA will have to be consistent with the purposes of ERAA (i.e., must promote, defend, or enforce rights of ethical, non-racist, and non-sexist Earth Religions.)

6. Board meetings and general meetings will be held monthly at a set date,

time, and place, and can be held on an emergency basis if

required by circumstances on sufficient notification of all

Board Members. A quorum of 3 Board Members is required to make a

binding Board vote. Work Groups volunteers and ERAA general membership

can be present and provide input during the open meeting. The

Board will make proposals concerning proposed projects or

funding during the open meeting. Members and work groups may also make proposals. A Board executive session (closed meeting) will follow or precede the open meeting. (Factual details of legal cases and associated strategies that have not already been widely published in the public domain can only be discussed in executive session.)

7. Planned projects and funding cannot be voted on at the meeting at which the project, funding, or modification is proposed, if adequate time is available to delay a final decision on this. Bylaws cannot be voted on at the meeting at which the project, funding, or modification is proposed

e A proposal will be voted on at the meeting following its presentment to the Board (when possible) . Alternatively, if a proposal (including a bylaw revision) is presented by e-mail/phone/mail to the entire general membership, it may be voted on at the following meeting.

8. Projects will require approval by a majority of the Board.

Funding a project will require approval of 2/3 of the Board.

9. Planned projects or funding can be initiated or vetoed by a 2/3 vote of the

ERAA general membership present at the Board meeting in which the

project or funding is voted on.

10. Modification of these Bylaws requires a vote of 2/3 of the

ERAA general membership.

"ERAA General Membership" refers to: (1) anyone who is a Board

member during that fiscal year, (2) anyone who has performed 10

hours volunteer work for ERAA in a Work Group during that fiscal

year, (3) anyone who has otherwise performed 10 hours of

volunteer work for ERAA for Board Members during that

fiscal year, (4) anyone who takes on an on-going voting ERLAN position (Archivist-Distributor, Chronicler-Editor, Computer Specialist, Summoner, Attorney, etc.) and who is certified by a board member as having started and who is making adequate progress

(Snip)