Fiercely Compassionate

Nonviolence is in our blood and it is the first thing that governs everything we do, even before our mission.

Rigorously Humble

We share a holistic commitment to intellectual rigor which honors intuition and received wisdom alongside research, evidence, and logic, while embracing uncertainty.

Professionally Playful

We bring every part of ourselves to our work, including the emotional, professional, and spiritual.

Driven By Necessity

We are individuals who share a calling. We eschew the notion that titles and salaries are a measure of a person’s worth.

Open Everything

We always put transparency and accessibility over security and competition. We seek collaboration by sharing everything we create and trusting that if our contribution is valuable, we’ll get the support we need in return.

Fail Fast

We celebrate risks and failures of every kind, isolating assumptions and putting them to the test whenever possible.

Trauma Informed

We seek to understand the ways in which trauma affects us and others so that we can be literate in healing ourselves and treating others with care.

Power Positive

We bring power to the surface and celebrate it, believing that power held wisely—and transparently—by one is power for all.

Right to be Raggedy

When we fail to live up to these aspirations or when things blow up in our faces, we hold ourselves and each other with love and understanding.

What is leadership?

From the smallest team to the largest organization, there are three crucial roles which comprise leadership:

1. Communicate an inspiring vision: It is the leader’s job to define the purpose of the group in a way that inspires and motivates everyone, and sets boundaries that focus the group’s attention.

2. Model the culture: Leaders must deeply embody the values of the group so they can model behavior that aligns with those values.

3. Create more leaders: A leader should always be focused on developing more leaders by elevating people into positions they aren’t quite ready for, then providing the support they need to succeed.

When filling a leadership role in any group, keep these Principles of Leadership in mind:

Replicate, Don’t Dominate

Success is measured by how many new leaders you create. A great leader shares the most glamorous and most menial tasks, and knows when to support and when to get out of the way.

Care Genuinely

Leadership means taking a personal interest in each of the people you are leading and what they have to offer. It must be genuine; it can’t be a performance.

Listen First

Listening isn’t done until the speaker feels heard. Pausing to listen is a stitch in time that nurtures relationships for the long term.

Surrender the Small Stuff

A skilled leader is quick to let go of the details and focus on what is most important. Let people make mistakes to learn from; never micromanage.

Give Away the Passwords

Literally. (And figuratively.) Have faith in the people you’re leading and default to disclosure.

Lead Anonymously

Leaders motivated by admiration fail to empower others. Leave a legacy without getting caught.

If you're looking for basic info about Pax Fauna, or for information about our research, see our website.

About This Handbook

This handbook is primarily for the use of partners of Pax Fauna. However, it is made publicly available in the interest of transparency, and in case others may find it useful.

This book is perpetually changing subject to Pax Fauna's governance process.

Master Source

This handbook is the authoritative source for policies of Pax Fauna. If any policy appears elsewhere in a different form, the version here is the operative one.

About Pax Fauna

Pax Fauna exists to design a more effective social movement for animal freedom in the U.S., using original research as well as careful study of social movement literature and the recent history of the animal movement, in order to reverse the cultural norm of eating animals.

Life and Death

We understand our work to be of grave importance. We ask ourselves and each other to live up to a quality of work and conduct that reflects that.

Ritual Rich

We design our culture on purpose. We create rituals to vary the flow of our lives, to protect different kinds of engagement, and to mark important transitions.

Take Your Vacation Time

We know that taking care of ourselves will determine how well we show up. We encourage each other to sleep, eat well, exercise, and literally take vacation time.

Warm, Not Cool

We are not too cool for school. We make an effort to be earnest and inclusive while holding each other to high standards.

Respect the Clock

We show up punctually and prepared, and start right on time to honor everyone’s time. We communicate as soon we know any commitment won’t be kept. Upholding small agreements helps us uphold larger ones.

Relational Space

We protect time for fun, not from fun.

Pro Conflict

Conflict is a rich opportunity for growth and change, and a vital skill for everyone to master.

Explicit Expectations

You have no right to your assumptions. When you discover that expectations are misaligned, renegotiate and move on.

Ensemble, Not Soloists

We function as a team first and as individuals second. We are at our best when moving as a single organism.

Brave Curiosity

Don’t get attached to your ideas. Responsibility for ensuring an open and graceful flow of feedback lives on both giver and receiver. Be gentle and compassionate when critiquing the ideas or actions of others; be open and forgiving while receiving feedback.

Movements need power to create positive change. Members of organizations, from the leadership team to the newest volunteer, need power within the organization to make a contribution.

However, handling power without care creates tremendous potential for abuse. We recognize two paradigms of holding power:

• Power-with uses power collaboratively to attend to the needs of everyone involved by changing structures and systems. Power with is a renewable resource.

• Power-over, on the other hand, uses power in a dominating fashion to prioritize the needs of the power holder and their allies over those with less power.

Moving collectively towards the first paradigm, and away from the second, requires effort from everyone. It is everyone’s responsibility to insist that power be held collaboratively by those with more of it, but we must be patient and compassionate with each other as we learn new ways of collaborating.

We must also be vigilant for a stealthy form of power-over called power-under. Power-under, also called leadership attack, is a particular challenge facing left movements due to the left’s ambivalence about power and high sensitivity to social power (power from things like racial and gender privilege). In a power-under dynamic, leaders or individuals perceived to have power are singled out for harsh scrutiny, with the attacker leveraging a victimhood narrative to isolate their target. Leadership attack is usually carried out by traumatized individuals without ill intent, but it is a crucial threat for organizations which must not be tolerated.

The best defense against power-under is a strong, self-conscious culture of power-with. Below are the guiding principles we use to create that culture in Pax Fauna.

Holistic View of Power

In any situation, we consider the social dimension of power as well as its structural, material, spiritual, and other dimensions.

Power is Taken, Not Given

Earned power comes from taking responsibility for a part of the group’s purpose. This kind of power is a renewable resource, where more power for one is power for all.

Bandage the Blisters

We encourage naming small tensions, and fast. It is everyone’s responsibility to bring to light tensions large and small, so that our processes can be improved with all the information available to the group.

Defend Deviation

As Dumbledore said, “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” When someone questions the group consensus, celebrate them and make sure their deviant perspective is considered fully.

Take a Pause

We actively create norms and situations to make power accessible to those with less of it. The ability for anyone to ring a bell and call a pause makes it much easier for anyone to affect the group process, and ensures that tensions sensed by anyone are heard by the group.

Pax Fauna's bylaws, along with certain supporting corporate policies, are maintained in order to ensure Pax Fauna's compliance with the laws governing tax-exempt charitable nonprofits, at both state and federal levels. The bylaws and policies under this heading are not to be amended without qualified legal consultation.

This section doesn't have much to do with the day-to-day life of the organization but they are always operating far in the background. New partners can definitely skip this part.

As with other items in this handbook, the versions here are authoritative.

Section 2.1 Business Offices.

The principal office of the Corporation in the State of Colorado shall be at such location as the Mission Circle shall determine. The Corporation may have such other offices, either within or without the State of Colorado, as the Mission Circle may determine from time to time.

Section 2.2 Registered Office.

The Corporation shall have and continuously maintain in the State of Colorado a registered office, and a registered agent whose office is identical with such registered office. The registered office may be, but need not be, identical with the principal office of the Corporation in the State of Colorado. The registered agent and the address of the registered office may be changed from time to time by the Mission Circle.

The Corporation shall not have voting members as that term is used in the Act and shall have no capital stock. However, the Corporation may have such classes of nonvoting members as may from time to time be prescribed by its Bylaws or by the Mission Circle. The designation of each class of members and their respective manner of election or appointment, qualifications, tenure, terms of membership, rights, limitations and obligations shall be as provided from time to time in the Bylaws of the Corporation or by the Mission Circle. Members shall have no voting rights or other management powers. The Corporation shall be governed exclusively by the Mission Circle pursuant to Article IV hereunder.

Section 1.1 Name.

The Corporation shall be known as Pax Fauna.

Section 1.2 Purpose.

The mission of the of the corporation shall be as follows: Pax Fauna exists to create a kinder world for animals, human and otherwise, by accelerating the emergence of a highly intelligent, collaborative, Nonviolent grassroots mass movement ecosystem to abolish the animal slaughter industry in the United States. We aim to achieve this by conducting research and developing educational, informational, and material resources to enable local advocacy communities to seize the narrative about animal agriculture using controversial mass protest and scalable community organizing.

Section 4.1 General Powers.

The affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by its Mission Circle (MC). The Mission Circle shall have all powers and responsibilities of a Board of Directors subject to any limitations set forth in the Act, the Articles of Incorporation, and these Bylaws.

Section 4.2 Number and Eligibility.

There shall be no less than one (1) and no more than seven (7) members of the Mission Circle, referred to “Directors” or "Co-presidents". Directors need not be residents of the State of Colorado. All Directors shall serve until they resign, are removed or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Directors shall have equal voting privileges to consist of one vote each.

Section 4.3 Removal of Directors.

Any Director may be removed, with or without cause, by a majority vote of the Directors present at meeting at which a quorum is present, excluding the Director in question.

Section 4.4 Vacancies.

Whenever a vacancy occurs on the Mission Circle by reason of death, resignation, incapacity, removal or otherwise, such vacancy shall be filled by a majority vote of the Directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present.

Section 4.5 Regular Meetings.

No annual regular meetings of the Mission Circle are required. However, if there is an annual meeting of the Mission Circle, it shall be held upon notice at such time as determined by itself, and shall be called by any Director. The Mission Circle may provide by resolution the time for the holding of additional regular meetings with notice to be given as set forth herein.

Section 4.6 Special Meetings.

Special meetings of the Mission Circle may be called by or at the request of any Director. Notice of any special meeting shall state the purpose(s) of the special meeting.

Section 4.7 Notice of Meeting.

Notice of each meeting of the Mission Circle stating the date, time and place of the meeting shall be given to each Director at least two (2) days prior thereto by telephone, facsimile, electronic transmission or any other form of wire or wireless communication (and the method of notice need not be the same as to each Director). A Director may waive notice of any meeting before or after the time and date of the meeting stated in the notice.

Section 4.8 Quorum and Voting.

A majority of Directors serving the Corporation at the time notice of a meeting of Directors is given shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at such meeting of the Mission Circle; but if less than a majority of the Directors are present at said meeting, a majority of the Directors present may adjourn and reconvene the meeting from time to time without further notice. The act of a majority of Directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Mission Circle unless a greater number of votes are required by the Act or these Bylaws.

Section 4.9 Voting by Proxy.

No Director may vote or act by proxy at any meeting of the Directors.

Section 4.10 Action Without Meeting.

Any action of the Mission Circle may be taken by written action signed by the number of directors that would be required to take the same action at a meeting of the Mission Circle at which all directors were present. The written action is effective when signed by the required number of directors unless a different effective time is provided in the written action. When written action is permitted to be taken by less than all directors, all directors shall be notified immediately of its text and effective date. Action taken pursuant to this section may be transmitted or received by mail or by facsimile, e-mail, or other form of communication permitted by the Act and must be in a form sufficient to identify (i) the Director or committee member; (ii) the Director's or committee member’s vote, abstention, demand, or revocation; and (iii) the proposed action to which such vote, abstention, demand or revocation relates. For purpose of this section, communication to the Corporation is not effective until received.

Section 4.11 Deemed Assent.

A Director who is present at a meeting of the Mission Circle when action is taken is deemed to have assented to all action taken at the meeting unless such Director objects as required under the Act. Such right of dissension or abstention is not available to a Director who votes in favor of the action taken.

Section 4.12 Telecommunication Meetings.

Directors or the members of any committee of the Mission Circle may participate in a regular or special meeting by, or conduct the meeting through the use of, any means of communication by which all members participating may hear each other during the meeting. A Director or committee member participating in a meeting by this means is deemed to be present in person at the meeting.

Section 4.13 Compensation.

Directors and committee members shall not receive compensation for their services as such; however, the reasonable expenses of Directors and committee members for attendance at meetings may be paid or reimbursed by the Corporation. Directors and committee members shall not be disqualified to receive reasonable compensation for services rendered to or for the benefit of the corporation in any other capacity.

The Mission Circle hereby adopts the Holacracy constitution, version 5 ("the constitution"), as the core governance document of the organization. The MC delegates the governance and operation of the organization to the Operations Circle, according to the rules laid out in the Constitution.

Section 6.1 Minutes, Records, Etc.

The Corporation shall keep as permanent records minutes of all meetings of the Mission Circle, a record of all actions taken by the AC without a meeting, a record of all actions taken by a committee in place of T on behalf of the corporation, and a record of all waivers of notices of meetings of each Board or any committee of each Board.

Section 6.2 Accounting Records.

The Corporation shall maintain appropriate accounting records.

Section 6.3 Records in Written Form.

The Corporation shall maintain its records in written or electronic form.

Section 6.4 Records Maintained at Principal Office.

The Corporation shall keep a w copy of each of the following records at its principal office:

1. The articles of incorporation;

2. These Bylaws;

3. A list of the names and business or home addresses of all current Directors and Officers;

4. All financial statements and Forms 990 prepared for periods ending during the last three years;

5. The Corporation's application for recognition of exemption and the tax-exemption determination letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service; and

6. All other documents or records required to be maintained by the Corporation at its principal office under applicable law or regulation.

Section 10.1 General Standards of Conduct.

Each Director shall discharge the Director’s duties as a Director, including the Director’s duties as a member of a committee of the Mission Circle, and each Officer shall discharge the Officer’s duties, (i) in good faith, (ii) with the care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances, and (iii) in a manner the Officer or Director reasonably believes to be in the Corporation’s best interests.

Section 10.2 Reliance on Information.

In discharging his or her duties, a Director or Officer is entitled to rely on information, opinions, reports, or statements, including financial statements and other financial data, if prepared or presented by (i) one or more Officers or employees of the Corporation whom the Director or Officer reasonably believes to be reliable and competent in the matter presented, (ii) legal counsel, a certified public accountant, or another person as to matters the Director or Officer reasonably believes are within such person’s professional or expert competence, or (iii) in the case of a Director, a committee of the Board of which the Director is not a member if the Director reasonably believes the committee merits confidence. A Director or Officer is not acting in good faith if the Director or Officer has knowledge concerning the matter in question that makes reliance otherwise permitted by this Section 10.2 above unwarranted.

Section 10.3 Conflicts of Interest.

The Board shall adopt a Conflict of Interest Policy. A Director shall promptly disclose to the Board the material terms of any proposed transaction or action involving the Corporation with respect to which such Director may have a conflict of interest. The disclosure shall include all material facts regarding the terms of the transaction, and any relationship that the Director may have with other parties involved in the transaction. Should a conflict of interest exist, the Board shall comply with the requirements of the Act and its duly adopted Conflict of Interest Policy. Section

10.4 Compliance with Standards of Conduct.

A Director or Officer is not liable in his or her capacity as a Director or Officer to the Corporation for any action taken or omitted to be taken as a Director or Officer, as the case may be, if, in connection with such act or omission, the Director or Officer performed the duties of the position in compliance with this Article X.

Section 7.1 Contracts.

The Mission Circle may authorize any subcircle, agent or agents of the Organiz to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation. Such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.

Section 7.2 Checks, Drafts, Etc.

All checks, drafts or orders for the payment of money, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the Corporation, shall be signed by such Officer or Officers, agent or agents of the Corporation and in such manner as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the Board of Directors. In the absence of such determination by the Board of Directors, such instruments shall be signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by the President of the Corporation.

Section 7.3 Deposits.

All funds of the Corporation shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of the Corporation in such banks, or other depositaries as directed by the Board of Di-rectors.

Section 7.4 Gifts.

The Board of Directors may accept on behalf of the Corporation any contribution, gift, bequest or devise for the general purposes or for any special purpose of the Corporation so long as consistent with the Articles of Incorporation and these Bylaws.

Section 8.1 Indemnification.

The Corporation shall indemnify, to the maximum extent permitted by law, any person who is or was a director, officer, agent, member of any committee of the Corporation, fiduciary or employee of the Corporation against any claim, liability or expense arising against or incurred by such person made a party to a proceeding because such person is or was a Director, officer, agent, member of any committee of the Corporation, fiduciary or employee of the Corporation, or because such person is or was serving another entity as a director, officer, partner, employee, fiduciary or agent or member of any committee at the Corporation’s request.

Section 8.2 Insurance.

The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of a person who is or was a Director, officer, employee, fiduciary, agent or member of any committee of the Corporation, or who, while a Director, officer, employee, fiduciary, agent or member of any committee of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a Director, officer, partner, member, manager, trustee, employee, fiduciary, or agent of another domestic or foreign corporation, nonprofit corporation, or other person or of an employee benefit plan, against liability asserted against or incurred by the person in that capacity or arising from the person's status as a Director, officer, employee, fiduciary, agent or member of any committee of the Corporation.

Section 8.3 Limitation.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article 8, the Corporation shall not indemnify any person or purchase or maintain such insurance, to the extent that any such indemnification, purchase, or maintenance would be determined to be an act of self-dealing within the meaning of Section 4941 of the Code, or to be otherwise prohibited under the Code, unless and to the extent (i) a court orders such indemnification, or (ii) the purchase or maintenance of such insurance can be treated as reasonable compensation to such person.

These Bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed and new Bylaws may be adopted by the Directors at any regular or special meeting of the Mission Circle if proper notice is given pursuant to Section 4.7; provided, however, that these Bylaws may not be amended in a manner which is in-consistent with the Articles of Incorporation or which would disqualify the Corporation under §501(c)(3) of the Code. Such notice shall summarize the proposed changes to be made.

In order to adopt a Document Retention and Destruction Policy, the Board of Directors of Pax Fauna has resolved that all critical information will be retained for seven years or permanently, as described in the categories below. Records will be retained, at the discretion of the Board, either in hard copy or in electronic form; provided, however, if retained electronically, then a second copy of the data shall be made and stored at a second site.

Policy is to cooperate with any reasonable request for information from Government agencies. Notwithstanding any retention guidelines, under no circumstances shall any records (written or electronic) known to be the subject of, or germane to, any anticipated or pending lawsuit or governmental investigation be removed, altered, or destroyed.

Section 11.1 Governing Law.

These Bylaws shall be deemed to be made under and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado.

Section 11.2 Captions.

All Article or section titles contained in these Bylaws are for convenience only and shall not be deemed part of the context of these Bylaws.

Section 11.3 Construction.

All pronouns and any variations thereof shall be deemed to refer to the masculine, feminine, gender non-binary, singular or plural as the identity of the person or persons may require.

As of April 2024, the makeup of Pax Fauna's Mission Circle for all purposes is as follows:

• Aidan Kankyoku, Mission Lead

• Eva Hamer, Operations Lead

• Alexander Sage*, Independent Director

• Brent Johannes*, Independent Director

*Does not currently receive compensation from Pax Fauna. All work in the Mission Circle is on a strictly volunteer (unpaid) basis.

Article 1 – Purpose

The purpose of the conflict of interest policy is to protect the interest of Pax Fauna (the Organization) when it is contemplating entering into a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of an officer or director of the Organization or might result in a possible excess benefit transaction. This policy is intended to supplement but not replace any applicable state and federal laws governing conflict of interest applicable to nonprofit and charitable organizations.

Article II – Definitions

1. Interested Person

Any director, principal officer, or member of a committee with governing board delegated powers, who has a direct or indirect financial interest, as defined below, is an interested person.

2. Financial Interest

A person has a financial interest if the person has, directly or indirectly, through business, investment or family:

a) An ownership or investment interest in any entity with which the Organization has a transaction or arrangement.

b) A compensation arrangement with the Organization or with any entity or individual with which the Organization has a transaction or arrangement, or

c) A potential ownership or investment interest in, or compensation arrangement with, any entity or individual with which the Organization is negotiating a transaction or arrangement.

Compensation includes direct and indirect remuneration as well as gifts or favors that are not insubstantial.

A financial interest is not necessarily a conflict of interest. Under Article III, Section 2, a person who has a financial interest may have a conflict of interest only if the appropriate governing board or committee decides that a conflict of interest exists.

Article III – Procedures

1. Duty to Disclose

In connection with any actual or possible conflict of interest, an interested person must disclose the existence of the financial interest and be given the opportunity to disclose all material facts to the directors and members of committees with governing board delegated powers considering the proposed transaction or arrangement.

2. Determining Whether a Conflict of Interest Exists

After disclosure of the financial interest and all material facts, and after any discussion with the interested person, he/she shall leave the governing board or committee meeting while the determination of a conflict of interest is discussed and voted upon. The remaining board or committee members shall decide if a conflict of interest exists.

3. Procedures for Addressing the Conflict of Interest

a) An interested person may make a presentation at the governing board or committee meeting, but after presentation, he/she shall leave the meeting during the discussion of, and the vote on, the transaction or arrangement involving the possible conflict of interest.

b) The chairperson of the governing board or committee shall, if appropriate, appoint a disinterested person or committee to investigate alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement.

c) After exercising due diligence, the governing board or committee shall determine whether the Organization can obtain with reasonable efforts a more advantageous transaction or arrangement from a person or entity that would not give rise to a conflict of interest.

d) If a more advantageous transaction or arrangement is not reasonably possible under circumstances not producing a conflict of interest, the governing board or committee shall determine by a majority vote of the disinterested directors whether the transaction or arrangement is in the Organization’s best interest, for its own benefit, and whether it is fair and reasonable. In conformity with the above determination it shall make its decision as to whether to enter into the transaction or arrangement.

4. Violations of the Conflicts of Interest Policy

a) If the governing board or committee has reasonable cause to believe a member has failed to disclose actual or possible conflicts of interest, it shall inform the member of the basis for such belief and afford the member an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose.

b) If, after hearing the member’s response and after making further investigation as warranted by the circumstances, the governing board or committee determines the member has failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it shall take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action.

Article IV – Records of Proceedings

The minutes of the governing board and all committees with board delegated powers shall contain:

a) The names of the persons who disclosed or otherwise were found to have a financial interest in connection with an actual or possible conflict of interest, the nature of the financial interest, any action taken to determine whether a conflict of interest was present, and the governing board’s or committee’s decision as to whether a conflict of interest in fact existed.

b) The names of the persons who were present for discussions and votes relating to the transaction or arrangement, the content of the discussion, including any alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement, and a record of any votes taken in connection with the proceedings.

Article V – Compensation

a) A voting member of the governing board who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the Organization for services is precluded from voting on matters pertaining to that member’s compensation.

b) A voting member of any committee whose jurisdiction includes compensation matters and who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the Organization for services is precluded from voting on matters pertaining to that member’s compensation.

c) No voting member of the governing board or any committee whose jurisdiction includes compensation matters and who receives compensation, directly or indirectly, from the Organization, either individually or collectively, is prohibited from providing information to any committee regarding compensation.

Article VI – Annual Statements

Each director, principal officer and member of a committee with governing board delegated powers shall annually sign a statement which affirms such person:

a) Has received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy

b) Has read and understands the policy

c) Has agreed to comply with the policy, and

d) Understands the Organization is charitable and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes.

Article VII – Periodic Reviews

To ensure the Organization operates in a manner consistent with charitable purposes and does not engage in activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status, periodic reviews shall be conducted. The periodic reviews shall, at a minimum, include the following subjects:

a) Whether compensation arrangements and benefits are reasonable, based on competent survey information, and the result of arm’s length bargaining.

b) Whether partnerships, joint ventures, and arrangements with management organizations conform to the Organization’s written policies, are properly recorded, reflect reasonable investment or payments for goods and services, further charitable purposes and do not result in inurement, impermissible private benefit or in an excess benefit transaction.

Article VIII – Use of Outside Experts

When conducting the periodic reviews as provided for in Article VII, the Organization may, but need not, use outside advisors. If outside experts are used, their use shall not relieve the governing board of its responsibility for ensuring periodic reviews are conducted.

1. Purpose

Pax Fauna (hereinafter known as the “Organization”) requires board members, committee members and employees to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities, and all directors, committee members and employees to comply with all applicable laws and regulatory requirements.

2. Reporting Responsibility.

The Organization seeks to have an “Open Door Policy” and encourages board members, committee members and employees to share their questions, concerns, suggestions, or complaints regarding the Organization and its operations with someone who can address them properly. In most cases, a board member, committee member or an employee should present his or her concerns to the President of the Board. However, if a board member, committee member or employee is not comfortable speaking with the President of the Board or is not comfortable with the President’s response, the board member, committee member or employee is encouraged to speak with anyone on the Board whom they are comfortable in approaching, or to directly contact the Organization’s outside legal counsel, whose contact information can be obtained from the President.

3. No Retaliation.

No board member, committee member, or employee who in good faith reports a violation of a law or regulation requirement shall suffer harassment, retaliation, or adverse employment consequence. An employee who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment. This Whistleblower Policy is intended to encourage and enable persons to raise serious concerns within the Organization prior to seeking resolution outside the Organization

4. Compliance Officer.

The Anchor Circle shall, when necessary, appoint one of its me Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer is responsible for investigating and resolving all employee complaints and allegations concerning violations of the Principles and/or Code. Outside legal counsel or another board member will carry out the functions of the Compliance Officer if the complaint involves the President.

5. Accounting and Auditing Matters.

The Compliance Officer shall address all reported concerns or complaints regarding corporate accounting practices, internal controls or auditing and shall immediately notify the Board of Directors of any such complaint and work with the Board until the matter is resolved.

6. Requirement of Good Faith.

Anyone filing a complaint concerning a violation or suspected violation of the law or regulation requirements must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense.

7. Confidentiality.

Violations or suspected violations may be submitted on a confidential basis by the complainant or may be submitted anonymously. Reports of violations or suspected violations will be kept confidential to the extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation.

8. Handling of Reported Violations.

The Compliance Officer, or the person responsible for carrying out the Compliance Officer’s role with respect to a reported or suspected violation, will acknowledge receipt of the reported violation or suspected violation by writing a letter (or e-mail) to the complainant within five business days. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective action will be taken if warranted by the investigation.

We use the rules of the Holacracy Constitution to govern our Organisation in the day-to-day.

Holacracy is something you learn by doing. For most people, there's no need to read the Constitution in detail. But sometimes you will need to refer to the Constitution to check a rule. For those cases, it's useful to know the Constitution's "broad strokes" so you know where to look.

To help you navigate the Constitution, here's a quick summary of its most important points.

Preamble

The Constitution is adopted by our Company Directors (the "Ratifiers") as the formal authority structure of the organisation. The Company Directors retain the authority to repeal the Constitution. Beyond that, the rules apply equally to the Company Directors as they do to other Members of the organisation.

Article 1: Organizational Structure

Basic Structure: Our organisation is made up of Roles, which are made up of a Role Name, a Purpose, Domains and Accountabilities. Roles can also hold Policies, i.e. special rules that govern how Roles go about things. Roles can be "broken down" into Circles. Domains and Policies can be delegated to sub-Circles or Roles. By default, the broadest Circle in the organisation holds all authorities and Domains that the organisation itself controls.

Duties of Role-Fillers: When you fill a Role, you have duties to (i) process "tensions" (gaps between how things are and their ideal potential); (ii) regularly define Projects and Next-Actions for your Role's Purpose & Accountabilities; (iii) break down your Projects into Next-Actions; (iv) track Projects, Next-Actions and Tensions in writing; and (v) execute Next-Actions.

Core Roles: Circles have a number of core roles: the Facilitator, Secretary and Circle Lead.

Circle Leads: The Circle Lead holds the overall Purpose of the Circle. A Circle Lead: (i) has the authority to Assign Roles; (ii) automatically fills any unfilled Roles in the Circle; and (iii) has the authority to define what work the Circle should prioritise. You can't change the Purpose of a Circle Lead Role. You can add Accountabilities and Domains to a Circle Lead Role, but if you do, these additions apply to the Circle Lead Role of every sub-Circle as well.

Article 2: Rules of Cooperation

Duty of Transparency: As a Member, if requested by another Member, you have a duty to tell them what's on your plate, what your priorities are and projections of when you expect to complete things. You also have a duty to report, upon request, on Checklist Items, Metrics, Project Updates, and to provide any other information that's readily available to you and won't cause harm to share.

Duty of Processing: As a Member, you have a duty to promptly process messages and requests from other Members where they: (i) ask you to clarify and communicate Next-Actions for your Projects or Accountabilities; (ii) request you to take on a Project or Next-Action; and (iii) request to impact a Domain you own.

Duty of Prioritisation: (i) You must prioritise processing inbound messages from other Members over executing your own Next-Actions (you may process messages in batches, at a frequency that works for you, as long as it's still reasonably prompt); (ii) if someone requests you to attend a Tactical or Governance meeting, you must prioritise attending that meeting over executing your own Next-Actions; (iii) when deciding what work to do, you must consider the priorities and strategies of your Circle and Super-Circle as more important than your own judgment of priorities; (iv) if you see a deadline in an official prioritisation or in Governance, interpret that not as a mandate to hit the deadline, but as an official prioritisation of any actions needed to hit that deadline.

Article 3: Tactical Meetings

Authority: Anyone may convene a Tactical Meeting to assist Roles engaging each other in their responsibilities and duties. In addition, the Secretary of each Circle is accountable for scheduling regular Tactical Meetings for the Circle.

Attendance: For regular Tactical Meetings convened by a Circle's Secretary, all of the Circle's Roles are invited unless a Policy says otherwise. For other Tactical Meetings, the Partner convening the meeting must specify the Roles invited to that meeting.

Meeting Process: The Facilitator of a Circle is accountable for facilitating the Circle's regular Tactical Meetings. Unless a Policy of the Circle says otherwise, the person facilitating the meeting must use the following process: (i) Check-in; (ii) Checklist & Metrics Review; (iii) Project Updates; (iv) Build Agenda; (v) Triage Items; (vi) Closing Round. The Secretary of a Circle is accountable for capturing and publishing Tactical Meeting outputs.

Article 4: Distributed Authority

Distributed Authority: As a Role Lead, you have authority to take any action or make any decision to enact your Role's Purpose or Accountabilities, as long as you don't break a rule in the Constitution. In addition, you may use your own judgment to decide how to prioritise your work (whilst still aligning with any Circle priorities, strategies and deadlines).

Constraints on Authority: As a Role Lead, you must honour the following constraints on your authority: (1) you must not violate Policies; (2) you must get permission before impacting Domains; and (3) you must get authorisation before spending money.

Interpretation Authority: You may use your own reasonable judgment to interpret the Constitution and your organisation's Governance. If there is a conflict of interpretation of the Constitution or Roles/Policies in Governance, you may ask the Secretary of any affected Circle to decide which interpretation to use; and everyone must align with that interpretation until the relevant text is changed. You may appeal to the Secretary of any super-Circle to overrule the interpretation of any sub-Circle Secretary. You may ask a Circle's Secretary to decide if any Governance of their Circle or any sub-Circle is invalid, and delete any that they judge to be so.

Individual Initiative: You are authorised to act beyond the authority of your Roles or break the rules in the Constitution in situations where ALL of the following are true: (1) You are serving the Purpose or Accountabilities of some Role in the organisation; (2) You believe your action would resolve or prevent more tension for the organisation than it would likely create; (3) Your action would not commit the organisation to spending beyond what you're already authorised to spend; and (4) If your action would violate any Policies or Domains, you believe much value would be lost from delaying to get permission or change Governance. Upon taking such Individual Initiative, you must: (1) Explain your action to any Role Leads you believe may be significantly impacted; (2) Help resolve any tensions created by your Individual Initiative if requested by any of the impacted Role Leads; (3) Refrain from taking similar Indiivudal Initiative on request of any Role Lead; and (4) Prioritise the above restoration over your regular work, unless otherwise prioritised by a Circle Lead of a Circle that contains all roles affected by your action.

Article 5: Governance Process

Governance Participants: People eligible to participate in a Circle’s Governance Process are those filling Roles in a Circle, including the Core Roles of Circle Lead, Facilitator, Secretary & Circle Rep (if there is one). A Circle Rep role may be added in any Circle if/when needed in response to tensions (not automatically). The Circle Rep would be elected from existing Circle members.

Scope of Governance: A Circle’s Governance Process may only: (i) Define, amend or remove a Circle's Roles & Policies; (ii) Move Roles or Policies into/out of sub-Circles where it serves the Purpose/Accountabilities to do so; (iii) Hold elections for Facilitator, Secretary, Circle Rep. A Policy may only be one or more of the following: (i) Additional rules about what a Circle's Role Leads can or can't do which are specific to that Circle + its sub-Circles (unless otherwise stated); (ii) a rule that changes one of the modifiable rules in the Constitution.

Changing Governance: Governance can be changed via the Governance Process of Proposal > Questions > Reactions > Objections > Integration. For a Proposal to be valid, the Proposer must be able to describe a tension for one of their Roles, share an example and explain how the proposal would reduce the tension. In response to a Proposal, other participants can raise concerns. The Facilitator will then test concerns, and if they meet certain criteria, they are considered "Objections". The Proposal will then need to be changed so it resolves Objections as well as the original tension.

Electing Facilitator, Secretary and Rep: Any Circle Member can call for an election process for the Circle's Facilitator, Secretary or Rep. The election process is as follows: Describe Role > Nominate Candidates > Nomination Sharing Round > Nomination Change Round > Make a Proposal > Objection Round.

Governance Meetings: A Secretary is accountable for scheduling regular Governance Meetings & special Governance Meetings when requested - which may be limited to focussing on a tension or changing specific roles. A Circle Rep may invite one Role Lead at a time from the Sub-Circle they represent, to a Governance Meeting of the broader Circle, to process a specific tension. No quorum is required for Governance Meetings, but all Circle members must have reasonable advance notice of when they are scheduled for, and attendance is optional. Governance Meetings must have a Check-in Round, then build an agenda of tensions, then process them in turn, and end with a Closing Round. Agenda items must be processed using Integrative Decision Making: Present Proposal > Clarifying Questions > Reaction Round > Option to Clarify > Objection Round > Integration.

Process Breakdown: Anyone may request a Circle’s Facilitator look for a Process Breakdown in that Circle or any of its sub-Circles - where there’s a pattern of behaviour or output that violates the rules of this Constitution. A Circle's Facilitator may also declare a Process Breakdown if a Proposal fails to reach a resolution after those involved spend a reasonable amount of time and effort seeking resolution. In case of a Process Breakdown, the Facilitator of relevant Circles may restore due-process. A Process Breakdown in once Circle is not automatically considered a Process Breakdown of its Super-Circle. However, if it remains unresolved for an unreasonable time, then the Super-Circle is also considered in Process Breakdown

Major organization-wide policies can be found beneath this header. These policies are created and amended through the governance process of the anchor circle. Policies created by other roles and circles, along with some minor operational MC policies, live on Glassfrog.

Key procedures for partners to ensure Pax Fauna's accounting follows laws and meets transparency standards.

Time Tracking

Please track your time in the following categories in a way that balances accuracy and ease. If you forget to track time, do your best in retrospect.

The purpose of time tracking is threefold:

First, it’ll give us some documentation of what percentage each employee spends on lobbying and exempt activities. This is important because our 501c3 can only spend 20% of our resources on lobbying, and no resources at all on electoral campaigns.

Second, it’ll prepare us to file our annual returns to the IRS (and other spending reports for transparency with the public). On these returns, we report how much we spent in each category, and our biggest accomplishments for the year. Because the work ebbs and flows between the two organizations, Clockify can be a helpful tool for reporting what we’ve done.

Third, it provides transparency to ourselves and each other about how we spend our time.

We encourage efficient use of time and healthy work/life boundaries. We think ~35 hours a week is a good normal work week for information workers- much more than this, and your work efficiency and quality probably suffer. It’s okay if some days or weeks are lighter or heavier than others- sometimes you’re not at 100% for whatever reason, and sometimes you get into a flow. You don’t get extra points for working a whole lot, and you won’t be criticized for sometimes working less.

Categorization

Expenses include class, category, and description.

Time entries only need class (called project in Clockify) and description.

Class/ project designations

Please use the following designations when tracking time and expenses.

110 General Programs

Everything else, related to Pax Fauna’s mission. This includes projects, meetings, reading emails and messages, making a to-do list, etc.

120 Research

Research that may eventually be published, such as survey experiments, interviews or other qualitative research, literature reviews, policy development, etc.

130 Lobbying

All work in furtherance of specific campaigns. This includes projects, meetings, reading emails and messages, making a to-do list, etc.

132 Portland Lobbying- reportable

Click "task" to access this designation. Time spent attempting to influence actions of city officials. Include time spent prepping emails and letters and prepping for oral communications with a city official. Track what you’re doing (email, text message, personal/virtual/telephone meeting, meeting preparation) and for which ordinance. Include grassroots lobbying— encouraging our members to reach out to city officials. City officials include electeds and directors of city departments.

If a city official requests information from you and you respond with just that information, or you testify at a City Council meeting, use “Portland Lobbying” but do not use the “reportable” task. Also use only “Portland lobbying” for travel time to personal meetings with officials or City Council meetings.

140 Conference

Time or money spent attending or preparing for conferences, presentations, or networking events.

140 Electoral Candidate Work

Time or money spent supporting candidates who are running for office or running an endorsement process.

610 General Admin

Keeping the lights on: accounting, taxes, compliance, expenses, time tracking. For most people, this will rarely be used because expenses and time tracking take a negligible amount of time. Use “General Programs” or “Lobbying” for things like reading emails and making your to-do list, not General Admin.

620 Retreat

Team building, planning exempt programs, debriefing.

620 Retreat- Lobbying

Retreat time spent planning specific campaigns.

630 Training

Professional development, including time spent attending trainings, preparing for trainings we attend, reading or consuming other media for professional development. Use “General Programs” for trainings we deliver.

710 General Fundraising

Grant writing, meeting and corresponding with donors, preparing fundraising materials

Expenses and Reimbursements

For expenses and reimbursements, we use Ramp.

Be sure to log in to, and use the card from, the correct organization for the expense you're incurring.

Please review Ramp’s how-to guides for the following subjects:

Submitting Expenses

Submitting Mileage and Reimbursements (Note: you can only use your phone number to text receipts for one account, choose it wisely.)

Automatically Forward Receipts to Ramp

Subscriptions

For subscriptions or recurring online vendors, please create a new virtual card by using “Request Spend.” This way, you can save yourself time by inputting some of the required information to be automatically applied to each transaction, and you protect the organization against accidental overcharges.

The feedback process happens 1-2 times a year.

Each partner is invited to distribute the review form to each person they’d like feedback from. We suggest inviting feedback from anyone you’ve worked closely with, including (but not limited to) other partners of Pax Fauna. We also suggest using the same form to give self-feedback.

We encourage giving both celebratory and critical feedback to highlight what is working well and offer suggestions for ways the partner can improve.

There is no expectation to fill out each question or each section of the form. However, in order to fully reflect on the work and our relationships, we suggest taking your time with this process and reflecting fully on each question.

After everyone has had a chance to fill out the form for others and digest the feedback they've received, we have a feedback meeting. Everyone shares the feedback they received (and gave to themselves) and what the most important takeaways are. We discuss concrete plans for changing habits in response to feedback and set a 6-month personal OKR.

If Pax Fauna is made aware of a partner's disability and there is a need for accommodation, the Program Lead, the partner's coach, or the partner’s circle lead will engage with them in an interactive process as outlined under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This process will determine what, if any, accommodations are necessary and reasonable to assist the employee in doing the essential functions of their job. Whether an accommodation is reasonable will be determined based on several factors, including whether it will effectively assist the employee in doing the essential functions of their job, the cost, and the effect on organizational operations.

All employees are required to comply with safety standards. Employees who pose a direct threat to the health or safety of themselves or others in the workplace may be temporarily moved into another position or placed on leave until it is determined if a reasonable accommodation will effectively mitigate the risk.

Scope

This policy applies to all of our partners who take leave for any reason.

Policy elements

Leave can fall into several categories, based on reason and length. Leave includes, but is not limited to:

• Vacation: for leisure, including travel or time spent at home.

• Sick days: to heal in the event of a short term illness or injury, or complications from a disability.

• Federal or religious holidays: to observe a holiday, or any religious event.

• Bereavement: to mourn the loss of a loved one.

• Maternity/paternity leave: to birth or care for a newborn baby, or as a result of pregnancy and/or pregnancy disability.

• Family and Medical Leave: to heal or help a family member in the event of a long-term illness or injury, or complications from a disability.

• Legal: to appear in court, or fulfill any other legal obligation.

Length

The requirements for leave notification partially depend on length. If a partner plans to take a half-day to two work days off, they are requested to offer one week’s notice. Anything three days or longer requires two week’s notice. However, we encourage partners to offer as much notice as possible.

Sick Days, Bereavement, and Unforeseeable Events

Partners are required to notify the organization as soon as they are able to, in the event of a sudden illness or injury (including of a family member), death of a loved one, or any other emergency.

Vacation

Partners are required to give the organization at least two week’s notice before taking vacation time lasting three work days or longer. partners are expected to fulfill their work commitments (e.g. an employee should not plan a vacation during an event or deadline they previously committed to). At the start of each sprint, all partners should already be notified if anyone is taking vacation time during the course of the sprint, so they can plan accordingly. We encourage partners who work full-time to take four weeks of vacation time each year. PTO accrual for part-time employees is detailed below.

Federal and Religious Holidays

The organization observes the following holidays:

• New Year's Day (January 1).

• Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Third Monday in January).

• Presidents' Day (Third Monday in February).

• Memorial Day (Last Monday in May).

• Juneteenth (June 19)

• Independence Day (July 4).

• Labor Day (First Monday in September).

• Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Second Monday in October).

• Veterans Day (November 11).

• Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November).

• Christmas Day (December 25).

If a holiday falls on a weekend, the nearest weekday is off (e.g. if it is on a Saturday, Friday is taken off).

Partners can observe any other religious holiday they see fit, but are required to provide one week’s notice, given that it does not conflict with a previously-made work commitment.

Other Reasons for Leave

Taking leave for three work days or longer, for any foreseeable reason, as it applies to family or child duties/care, personal leave, jury duty, probation, or leave to appear in court, which also may include time to prepare for such, requires two week’s notice. We understand that this is not always possible, and we prioritize the fulfillment of work commitments, even over adequate notice.

Procedure

When you plan to take leave, you need to:

• Consider the commitments you’ve already made, particularly if they are time-sensitive.

• Determine the nature and length of your leave.

• Notify the organization in accordance with the nature and length of your leave, maximizing notice time when possible.

• Plan a catch-up meeting and craft an agenda to ensure that you fulfill all obligations when you return from leave.

Paid Time Off for Part-Time Employees

PTO Accrual

• Hourly employees will earn 1 hour of PTO for every 15 hours worked.

• PTO accrual will begin from the employee's date of hire or date of status change, such as a full-time employee transitioning to part-time work.

PTO Calculation

• PTO will be calculated based on the actual hours worked by the employee.

• For example, if an employee works 30 hours in a week, they will earn 2 hours of PTO for that week (30 hours / 15 hours = 2 hours of PTO).

PTO Usage

• Employees can use accrued PTO for any reason, including vacation, sick days, or personal time off.

• PTO usage must be scheduled in accordance with the company's time off policy as outlined in the handbook.

PTO Carryover and Limits

• Accrued but unused PTO will carry over from one year to the next, subject to a maximum limit.

• The maximum limit for storing up PTO will be 64 hours.

• Once an employee reaches the maximum limit, they will stop accruing additional PTO until their balance falls below the limit.

PTO Payout

• Upon separation from Pax Fauna, employees will be paid out for any unused and accrued PTO.

• The payout will be based on the employee's hourly rate at the time of separation.

PTO Notification

• The company will notify employees of upcoming PTO according to the time off policy outlined in the employee handbook.

• Employees will receive advance notice of their scheduled PTO, allowing them to plan accordingly.

PTO Bank

• PTO, holidays, sick days, and vacation will all be consolidated into a single PTO bank.

• Employees will draw from this bank when taking time off.

Record-Keeping

• Pax Fauna will maintain accurate records of PTO accrual, usage, and remaining balances for each employee.

• Employees will have access to their current PTO balance upon request.

Expense Procedure

This policy applies to all Partners and associates that need to spend money for mission-related activities.

Any member of the Mission Circle may unilaterally approve expenses less than $500 per month. Any expenses over that threshold must be approved by a decision of the full Mission Circle.

There is no guarantee that an expense will be approved after the fact, so when possible, you should seek approval before spending money. If you make an unauthorized purchase with an organizational account, you may be required to pay the money back yourself.

Circle Budgets

The Mission Circle may also approve a budget for any sub-circle. At that point, the circle lead has discretion over use of the use of their circle's budget. Any circle may similarly delegate a portion of its budget to any role or sub-circle.

Voluntary Simplicity

We practice voluntary simplicity and want to avoid overspending or unnecessary costs. With any purchase, please put in some extra effort to find a less expensive option, within reason. In general, Pax Fauna is very unlikely to reimburse expenses that could be deemed luxuries, such as business-class tickets and other upgrades.

Some Eligible & Ineligible Expenses

Travel Expenses

Travel expenses include any kind of transportation and accommodation expenses that you incur when going on a work trip. Expenses related to this category that may be fully or partly reimbursable include:

• Accommodation

• Air, train, ship, gasoline, or other transportation fares

• Local transportation during trips (taxi fares, rental cars etc.)

• Other minor or per diem expenses that are included in that trip’s budget (e.g. meals, business material)

• Medical expenses arising from travel-related accidents, if appropriate.

Non-reimbursable expenses

We won't reimburse the following:

• Expenses incurred by spouses or other associates who accompany our Partners on their travels

• Un-authorized service upgrade (e.g. business class or hotel rooms)

• Travel insurance (unless explicitly approved by MC in writing)

• Personal services (massages, beauty treatments etc.)

• Personal purchases (gifts, clothes etc.)

• Lost personal property (e.g. luggage)

• Cannabis or alcoholic beverages

• Animal products

• Fines incurred while driving or parking

• Non-business subscriptions/ training

• Personal trips

This list is not exhaustive. Seek approval before spending money when possible, and use the normal approval process for uncertain reimbursements after the fact.

Abuse of the Expense Procedure

Any excessive expenses will be investigated. Consistent falsified or exaggerated claims, or repeatedly making unauthorized purchases with a Pax Fauna account, will be grounds to initiate a conflict process and may initiate a review of a Partner's membership in Pax Fauna.

At Pax Fauna, we value the importance of shared authority and responsibility, extending even to administrative tasks. Each of our partners is capable of exceptional contributions to our mission, and it is our intention to ensure that no one partner bears an overwhelming burden of administrative responsibilities, thus leaving little room for creative endeavors.

Our best work can be accomplished when we function as a team. At the same time, teamwork requires an investment of time from all team members in collaborative systems in order for the team to function effectively.

The following duties are an integral part of every partner's job description at Pax Fauna. It is often necessary to prioritize these duties even above other mission-critical tasks. Neglecting these responsibilities is equivalent to disregarding the unique accountabilities associated with a specific role you fill.

All of these apply to full-time partners (≥32 hours per week). Part-time or hourly partners may be exempted from specific duties on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Operations Lead. If a partner requires an accommodation in order to be able to fulfill these or any other responsibilities, it is incumbent on the partner to communicate the nature of their need to the Mission Circle and suggest appropriate accommodations.

Rotating Facilitation

Enter the rotation to take a one-week shift facilitating sprint ceremonies.

Time Tracking

Report all your work hours in Clockify. Assign all your Clockify sessions to a project that aligns with our accounting system. This is absolutely crucial for Pax Fauna to remain compliant with IRS section 501(h) regulations on lobbying and the prohibition for 501c3 organizations to work on electoral campaigns.

Engage in Team Meetings

Attend all meetings unless you are unable to due to illness, unavoidable scheduling conflicts, or scheduled time off. Actively participate in meetings by following the agenda and being prepared to answer direct and indirect questions related to current agenda topics.

Report Expenses

Collect and upload receipts for any expenses you incur. Adhere to all other requirements outlined in the expense reporting policy, which may be updated periodically.

Use Software

Set up and maintain accounts on all team collaboration software according to standards specified by any circle lead within a circle where you hold a role. When new systems are introduced, set up your account in a timely manner, especially when directly asked to do so.

Communication & Responsiveness

During sync time, be available to respond to Slack messages within an hour unless your calendar, visible to other partners, indicates that you are occupied. Respond to emails in a timely manner, typically within a day of receiving them. Check Asana at least once each workday for tasks and updates assigned by other partners.

Practice Holacracy

In addition to the above duties, partners should be aware of the expectations placed on them by Pax Fauna’s Holocratic constitution, including:

• Duty of Transparency: When requested, inform other partners about your ongoing projects, progress, projected timelines, and reasons for relative prioritization.

• Duty of Prioritization: Generally prioritize duties in the following order:

1. Processing inbound messages related to your roles, such as information requests, next actions, projects, administrative tasks, requests impacting a domain you oversee, and requests for clarity or transparency as mentioned above.

2. Meetings: Give priority to regular meetings over processing your own next actions.

3. Circle priorities: When selecting tasks to work on, prioritize the strategy of any parent circle associated with a role you hold.

4. Deadlines: Prioritize projects with clear deadlines arising from real-world circumstances or instructions from a circle lead relevant to your role.

Default to Transparency

As with other matters, we publish all information related to our finances unless there is a compelling reason not to do so. The main reason to publish our financial information is so that our associates may hold us accountable.

Dangers of money

We ask all associates, friends, and supporters of Pax Fauna to join us in keeping vigilant watch for the many nefarious issues that may arise in an organization where money is concerned, including but not limited to:

• Undue influence exerted on our mission by donors, either directly or indirectly by our need to appeal to donors.

• Replacing creativity with money; becoming lazy with how we spend money when a creative solution has greater potential.

• Conflict over how to spend money and an artificial sense of scarcity.

• Becoming overly invested in the separation between individuals receiving money from the movement and those who are not; arrogance on the part of paid fellows.

Information available to Partners

All partners, at all times, shall have complete access to any and all financial information, including the amount and source of all donations and the amount and cause of all expenses. No partner shall be denied full disclosure about any financial matter for any reason, except where such disclosures may violate a law or regulation.

Information available to the public

At a minimum, the following information shall be published on our website annually:

• IRS Form 990 returns.

• An annual report detailing our financial activity in broad terms, including:

  • a breakdown of our expenses for the year into meaningful, clearly defined categories; and

  • a breakdown of income from from small, mid-sized, and large donations, and an exact amount received from each grantor of large donations. (The grantor's identity may be kept anonymous, per the section below.)

  • The identities of research fellows and the amount of their grant, as well as the identity of and amount given to anyone else for customized products or services.

  • Where our money is banked.

When financial information may be kept private to Pax Fauna

Generally speaking, except for the items listed above, financial information may be kept private if there is a compelling reason to do so. Some examples are:

• The identity of a grantor, be they an individual or a foundation, if the grantor provides a credible explanation for why their identity should be kept private. (Where such exceptional circumstances apply, the donation will be published with an accompanying note: “Donor has requested anonymity.”)

• Any financial information related to active or potential legal cases.

• Identities of donors who contribute less than $5000 per year shall be kept private unless the donor requests otherwise.

Donation Integrity

Money is an incredibly potent force in our society. The overwhelming tendency of money is to reinforce the status quo by directing energy into the channels created and stewarded by the financial sector. Money therefor poses a threat to any organization attempting to challenge or disrupt the status quo. At the same time, many organizations have missions which cannot be accomplished without money, and the movement ecosystem could never be complete without them. We must find a way to raise money without succumbing to its dangers.

Of the dangers listed above, the risk of co-optation is the most nefarious. We adopt the following rules in an attempt to mitigate the threat of financial co-optation. (For the purpose of these rules, a grantor is someone contributing over $5000 per year.)

• We will never accept grants from individuals or organizations with any financial or business interest in any animal agriculture, fishing, or vivisection enterprise.

• We will never discontinue, or decline to undertake, any program at the suggestion of a current or potential grantor.

• We will never onboard a particular partner or provide a research grant to a particular grantee at the behest of a current or potential grantor.

• We will never accept more than $5000 in one year from a member of the Mission Circle (Board of Directors), and giving more than that amount in one year shall make someone ineligible to sit on the board for three years.

• As much as circumstance, reason, and law allow, we shall not base decisions about our mission and programs on what we think will satisfy donors and grantors.

It’s normal to feel a little awkward and uncomfortable around it, given a lot of toxic messages we’ve been taught about conflict. You might find yourself totally disinterested in engaging, or, in the other direction, very eager to take the moral high ground and engage in right vs wrong thinking. You might feel some shame that this is happening to you. You might even find that the minute you realize a conflict needs addressing, you’re too upset about the situation to approach it with the care you want. All of these tendencies are normal starting places, and if you prepare, relax, and take a collaborative, reciprocal approach to meeting the needs of everyone involved, conflict can be a great opportunity for bonding and growth.

Isn't it time we start relating to conflict differently? Conflict can be healthy and beautiful, not to mentioned playful and fun! It is natural, normal, and necessary; it’s needed to transform people, relationships, and society. In Pax Fauna, when we notice that there's a little tension in the air, we lean into it. If you are experiencing a difficult situation or conversation with someone in our community (or elsewhere!), the steps in this document can help you take a conflict positive approach. They are presented in order of least to most resource intensity, and in the order we recommend taking them.

When people in conflict have a conversation, often both feel a strong need to be heard by the other, making it very difficult for either party to listen. If one or both parties prepare, it’s more likely that one of them will be able to extend the emotional generosity to listen first. Once one person feels heard, they’re more likely to feel enough spaciousness to listen next.

Individual Preparation

Conflict is natural, but that doesn’t mean it’s not painful. Taking time to care for ourselves and clarify our thoughts and feelings can help prepare us to bring our best selves to resolving the conflict. This might mean removing yourself from the immediate situation, taking some time to let your feelings settle before acting, or journaling. It might help to journal privately on the following questions.

1. What happened?

2. What judgements am I having about the situation, the other person, or myself?

3. How am I feeling? Am I needing acknowledgement of anger, fear, alienation, or disgust?

   1. How are my feelings showing up in my body? Is there a weight on my chest, pain in my stomach, hotness in my head?

   2. Can I extend a sense of gentleness or compassion to myself for how I’m feeling?

4. What’s really important to me in this situation? What values are alive for me right now?

5. How might the other person be feeling? What might be important to them?

   1. If you get stuck here, you might like to continue from #2, repeating as many times as necessary until there’s a softening towards the other person and a felt sense of what the situation might be like for them.

6. What requests might I like to make of myself now, or the other person in the future?

Finding a Supportive Listener

You may find it helpful to try to find someone not directly involved in the situation who can really listen to and understand you. This might be able to help you understand and describe how you’re feeling. This may help you prepare for having a direct conversation with the person/people you are feeling in conflict with. This may also be a necessary step for you to draw on external resources to shore you up and make it safe for you to engage in the conflict, especially when you believe you are in a power-down position compared to others involved in the conflict (whether due to social factors like race and gender or due to your relative positions in the organization).

It’s important to draw a distinction between supportive listening and gossip. The difference lives in the intention behind the conversation. The purpose of gossip might be to connect with the person you’re talking to or to punish the person you’re talking about. Supportive listening is meant to help you resolve your feelings and prepare you to talk directly to the person you’re in conflict with. In these conversations, the listener focuses on your feelings rather than the actions of the other person or on “taking sides” with either of you. Clarify your intention with the listener before you start- that you aren’t asking for them to take your side or judge the other person. You might request that they keep the content of your conversation private.

Having a Conversation

You could arrange to talk directly with the person/people you are feeling in conflict with. If you do this, we suggest taking turns in speaking and trying to really listen and understand what is important to the other person and how they feel. It may be helpful to reflect what you heard in your own words and allow a chance at clarification before responding, such as by saying “I heard you say ___, did I get it?” Tips for supportive listeners above are also useful for conflict conversations. It is important to create an agreement about when, where and how long you will talk together before you begin your conversation.

One method is called the “long walk”: walk together in one direction while one person shares. When they are done sharing, turn around and walk back while the second person shares. This ensures both people have equal time to share and listen.

Having a Conversation with Support

You might also ask someone who everyone involved would trust to be present. That person’s role would be to be a silent support for everyone there. It can be very supportive to people who are having a difficult conversation to have someone with them who is just listening and helping them to feel safe and not alone - we would strongly recommend that this supporter remain silent because even when our intentions are to help, it can be very difficult to figure out something that actually helps.

Restorative Circles

Sometimes conflicts are discrete between two people, but just as often they involve many more than this. In these cases, we recommend restorative circles. Restorative circles include one or more facilitators and everyone involved in the conflict who wants to participate. They consist of the following steps.

1. Pre-circle dialogues: The facilitator speaks 1:1 with each person in the process, explaining how the process works and drawing out what’s important to each person. The facilitator checks for willingness to go ahead with the circle.

2. The facilitator works in collaboration with the parties to determine who else needs to be invited to the circle.

3. Circle dialogue: All parties meet to discuss the conflict, with an emphasis on allowing each party to be fully heard. The facilitator may ask questions such as,

   1. What do you want the person to know about how you are now in relation to the event and its consequences?

   2. What do you want the person to know about what you were looking for when you acted?

   3. What would you like to happen next? What would you like to offer, and to whom?

The facilitator encourages each participant to reflect what they heard and check for understanding before responding. This slows the pace of conversation and minimizes reactivity and further harm.

1. Post circle dialogue: Immediately after the circle dialogue or at a later date, the parties meet to harvest learning and review solutions that came from the restorative circle. Agreements that aren’t working are revised.

Advice for Making Agreements

After spending some time listening and trying to understand each other, it is a good idea to create some agreements to improve how you work together and prevent the conflict from reoccurring again in the future. We suggest that these agreements be S.M.A.R.T. meaning Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Specific. For example, instead of agreeing to be nicer to each other, you might agree to creating a specific section of a meeting where you will express gratitude for things you appreciate about each other’s work.

When Separation is Appropriate

Rarely, through attempting to process a conflict, it becomes clear that the best way to care for individuals and the group is for one or more people to separate, i.e. leave the group. Often, when this is the case, the parties will reach this understanding mutually. Sometimes, it becomes necessary to ask an individual to leave before they reach that conclusion on their own. Situations where it is appropriate to separate someone from the organization include:

• When someone presents an imminent danger, physically, psychologically, or materially to themselves, others, or the organization.

• When someone repeatedly fails to follow through on important agreements made during a conflict process.

• When someone refuses to engage in a conflict process in good faith and their behavior is reasonably causing others undue distress.

• When someone's intention is determined to be discriminatory on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information, or when someone refuses to hear and consider why their words or actions are received as discriminatory.

• When sexual misconduct by one party leaves another party unable to be in their presence safely.

• Individuals whose past trauma exceeds the ability of the organization to create a healing environment without impairing its mission, such as those with high conflict personality disorders.

• When someone actively undermines the mission and values of the organization or carries out an unjustified leadership attack.

Every circle lead has the authority to interpret these criteria and remove someone from their circle, including the Mission Circle. MC has the authority to remove someone from the organization by a bare majority vote. Any such action by MC shall be effective immediately and shall immediately strip the person of all privileges of membership, without exception unless otherwise stated.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to outline the procedures and guidelines for reimbursement of work-related travel expenses for employees of Pax Fauna.

Scope

This policy applies to all employees of Pax Fauna who incur travel expenses related to their work duties and is intended for local travel only. For travel on trips, refer to the Pax Fauna Travel Policy.

Policy Guidelines

Eligibility

- All employees of Pax Fauna are eligible for reimbursement for work-related travel.

- Work-related travel is defined as travel that is required by the employee’s work duties.

- Employees attending events without responsibilities germane to the role they are employed in (such as someone other than the campaign coordinator attending text bank shifts or socials) are considered to be acting as volunteers and are not eligible for mileage reimbursement.

Modes of Transportation

1. Personal Vehicle Use:

- Reimbursement will be based on the standard IRS mileage rate.

- Employees are responsible for the daily equivalent of a commute from their residence to a central location in the jurisdiction in which they work. Mileage beyond this baseline is reimbursable.

- In the case of carpooling, the entire driving distance is eligible for reimbursement without the need to subtract the baseline commute. Carpools should include the passengers' names in the trip descriptions. Volunteers count towards this policy.

2. Public Transportation:

- Reimbursement will be based on the actual cost of the public transport fare or mileage as if a personal vehicle was used, whichever is preferred.

- Employees are required to submit evidence of the fare (e.g., tickets, receipts, or a screenshot of the route on Google Maps or similar).

3. Rideshare Services (e.g., Uber, Lyft):

- Reimbursement will be calculated based on the driving distance as if the employee used a personal vehicle, using the standard IRS mileage rate.

Documentation and Submission

- Employees must maintain accurate and timely mileage logs, specifying the reason for travel. We recommend using an app such as MileIQ.

- Submissions for reimbursement should be made through the Ramp platform.

- Required documentation includes:

- For personal vehicle use or rideshare: Filling out the expense form on Ramp with mileage, memo, class, and category is sufficient; no further documentation is needed.

- For public transport: Tickets or receipts.

Reimbursement Process

- Reimbursements will be processed at least monthly through Ramp.

- Mileage should be submitted by the end of the next calendar month following travel.

Policy Compliance

- The organization reserves the right to audit travel claims and deny reimbursement for claims that do not comply with this policy.

Amendments and Updates

- This policy is subject to review and amendments. Changes will be communicated to all employees in a timely manner.

Questions and Clarifications

- Any questions or need for clarifications regarding this policy should be directed to the Program Lead.

Directions for Submitting Mileage Reimbursement

1. Login to app.divvy.co

2. Select “Create reimbursement”

1. Select “This is for Mileage”

1. Fill out either distance or, if you're not subtracting a commute, Start location and Destination. If you’re using public transportation, use “out of pocket”

2. Connect your bank account. You will only need to do this once.

3. Under “memo” be specific and enter the names of any passengers.

4. Include Class and Category as outlined in the Expense Policy.

Understanding Trauma & Its Effects

Compensation Philosophy

While Pax Fauna exists to create a platform for mass-scale organizing, the core of our work is done by full-time partners who receive a living stipend. These partners comprise a close, collaborative research team working together to actualize Pax Fauna's mission of launching a new mass movement organization. Our living stipends are designed to strike a delicate balance.

We believe it is necessary to provide a just and secure living wage. At the same time, we have experienced numerous challenges that money creates in volunteer-driven social movements.

Pax Fauna’s team members provide ourselves with a modest salary pegged to MIT’s living wage calculator. Campaign directors receive the salary for the MSA where their chapter is located. Other roles receive that salary if they choose to live in an MSA with a PAF chapter. Otherwise, they receive the salary for Boulder County, Colorado, enough to comfortably get by almost anywhere in the U.S. with small luxuries. It is our hope that this approach can:

• minimize the gap between “professional” advocates and “volunteers,” which makes mass movement organizing impossible;

• decouple seniority from compensation and reduce conflicts around money; and

• stay true to our grassroots origin and vision.

By accepting a living stipend, partners of Pax Fauna agree to commit themselves wholeheartedly to our work building a new social movement for animal freedom. Full-time partners work 35-40 hours a week, taking at least four weeks of paid vacation per year and traveling for quarterly in-person retreats. You can read more about these expectations here.

Salary Amount (Voluntary Simplicity)

The purpose of Pax Fauna’s research stipends is to enable work by individuals who would already be choosing to do precisely this work if money were no obstacle. Thus, our philosophy is needs-based: we seek to provide a secure living wage. Our vision of voluntary simplicity can be summed up by the following statements we want anybody depending on a research fellowship from Pax Fauna to be able to make.

• I don’t worry about money. I have enough to eat, pay rent (with housemates) in a place I like, have good health insurance, and save up a little.

• For larger expenses, like a new bike, a trip, or extensive car repairs, I do have to plan ahead and save.

• I usually eat at home, but I can afford an occasional meal out if I choose. I don’t frequently purchase new clothes, electronics, or furniture.

• I’m a penny-pincher when it comes to superfluous expenses, but I confidently invest in myself through things like books, courses, and enriching experiences.

• I would consider myself frugal and thrifty, but not extremely so. My quality of life is high and I don’t view a lack of money as holding me back in any significant way. I see voluntary simplicity as a choice, not a burden.

To achieve this, we have pegged the base amount for our research fellowships to MIT’s living wage calculator, and they will be updated annually to reflect MIT’s benchmark. We chose to pin this living wage to Boulder, CO (Pax Fauna’s home address and a relatively expensive location) for all Colorado-based and remote employees to honor the ways individuals factor cost of living into where they choose to live. The amount for 2023 is the equivalent of a $54,822 annual living wage, dispersed in biweekly paychecks.

Other Compensation

Retirement Contributions

Pax Fauna partners have the option to set up a SIMPLE IRA account. Pax Fauna will match any contributions to it up to 3% of the partner’s paycheck.

Index

This Is an Uprising, Mark and Paul Engler

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Don't Think of an Elephant, George Lakoff

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Merge Left, Ian Haney Lopez

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The Political Brain, Drew Westen

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Anat Shenker-Osorio, ASO Communications

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FrameWorks Institute, Framing the Food System

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Marshal Ganz: Public Narrative

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Sprint Planning Meeting

Takes place every two weeks, at the beginning of the sprint.

• 5 minute meditation

• Clarify roles present, including facilitator.

• Check-in round.

• Minute of silence.

• State purpose of meeting: to decide on our focus for the upcoming sprint and break it down into outcomes and tasks.

• Review current epic.

• Decide on focus/goal of the upcoming sprint, captured in a brief statement.

• Determine outcomes needed. Capturing them as user stories where appropriate.

• Break outcomes/stories down into specific, actionable tasks with a clear definition of done. Populate them into Asana.

• Determine team capacity (how many hours everyone can contribute this sprint).

• Review and commit to sprint backlog. If the backlog is greater than the capacity, choose the most important things.

• Everyone names a SMART personal development goal they’ll be focusing on for this sprint.

• Check-out round.

Daily Scrum

Takes place daily.

• 5 minute meditation

• Clarify roles present, including facilitator.

• Check-in round.

• State purpose of meeting: to touch base and see if anyone else can help us clear an obstacle we’re encountering.

• Each person answers:

  • What have you accomplished?

  • What are you doing next?

  • What is one obstacle you are facing?

  • What are you doing today to work on your personal development goal?

  • What are you doing today to take care of yourself?

• Invite offers of assistance, and send them out of the meeting.

• Check-out round.

Sprint Review & Retrospective

Takes place every two weeks, at the conclusion of the sprint.

• 5 minute meditation

• Clarify roles present, including facilitator.

• Check-in round.

• Minute of silence.

• State purpose of part 1, demo: to celebrate everything we’ve completed in the last sprint and compare it to the goals we set for the sprint.

• Briefly review the focus/goal of the sprint.

• Look over the sprint backlog, what was done and not done.

• Demo round: each team member has a chance to present what they completed this sprint, answer questions about it, and receive short feedback. Longer feedback should be taken outside of the meeting.

• Celebrate Failures: how did we fail this sprint? What did we learn from these failures?

• Take a break.

• State purpose of part 2, retrospective/governance: identify a few opportunities to improve how we work together.

• Everyone thinks to themselves silently for three minutes: what are tensions I’m sensing or opportunities for how we could work better?

• Agenda build: people offer agenda items, specifying whether they already have the proposal or want a discussion to generate one.

  • [list agenda items]

• Check-out round.

• Clarify the roles of each person present, including facilitator.

• Silent meditation proportional to meeting length.

• Check-in round.

• State purpose of meeting: [purpose]

• Update on action items, projects, and metrics as needed.

• Build agenda

  • [list agenda items, or use the table below]

• Check-out round.

Agenda Table

Let’s start with a minute of silence to remember why we’re here.

You might want to ground your feet [pause], find a balanced posture, and close your eyes if you feel comfortable doing so [pause], and we’ll take some time…

...to remember our deep connection with fellow animals. To remember the individuals we have known, and those we've shared our lives with. To remember how they, like us, have the capacity to love, to be playful, to feel joy.

We're here to remember all fellow animals, whether big or small, on the land or in the sea, as well as all those who are invisible to us, in our soils and in our homes. And to remember those whose homes and habitats we invade and destroy. To remember all those who are born into captivity, where they suffer and are killed. To remember how their families are torn apart, and how they grieve. To remember how they resist and fight back every day.

But also to remember those who free themselves, and those who are freed by others. To remember those who live free from human interference and oppression, and those who live in peaceful co-existence with humans. And to remember the possibilities that these offer for all of us.