A. _____________________________, (hereinafter “_________________” or “the Community”) is an intentional community owned and operated by its members, who act in accordance with its Statement of Religious Beliefs and Practices, share some income and expenses, rear their children communally, and are collectively responsible for all the needs of the Community’s members and children, including food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, and other needs and amenities considered desirable, insofar as the Community is able to provide them.

B. Throughout these Bylaws, “the Community” is used in a sense that implies that the Community makes decisions or takes actions. All such references shall be interpreted as meaning that the responsible officers or directors of the Community make the decision or take the action referred to unless otherwise specified to mean the voting membership of the Community.

C. Whenever in these Bylaws the word “member” or “membership” is used without the qualifying adjectives “full” or “provisional,” the word shall be taken to apply to all full and provisional members.

D. The term “members in transition” shall mean members during their first seven days of membership, or such portion of that time as is provided for by Community policy, and members during their final four weeks of membership, or such portion of that time as is provided for by Community policy.

E. The terms “voting membership” and “voting members” shall in all cases mean the full membership, except for members in transition, and shall exclude the provisional membership.

F. The word “co” shall mean “she or he”; “cos” shall mean “hers or his”; “coself” shall mean “herself or himself.”

G. The word “shall” is synonymous of “may” and not “must” or “will”, in other words you are encouraged to behave as expressed, but it is not mandatory. UEVN policy is to be flexible to the individual needs at all times.

Paragraph Two. Purpose.

Together our aim is to perpetuate and expand a society based on cooperation, sharing, and equality:

A. Which serves as one example of a cooperative social organization, relevant to the world at large, and promotes the formation and growth of similar communities;

B. Which strives to treat all people in a kind, gentle, honest, and fair manner, without violence or competition;

C. Which assumes responsibility for maintaining the availability of natural resources for present and future generations through ecologically sound production and consumption;

D. Which in the behavior of individuals and of the Community strives to eliminate the attitudes and results of sexism, racism, ageism, and competitiveness;

E. Which has no special privilege or benefit associated with positions of responsibility, and does not permit the power or influence necessitated by efficient government to differentially promote the welfare of the governing group, or of any other subgroup;

F. Which assumes responsibility for the material and social needs of its members, according to the principle “from each according to cos ability; to each according to cos need”; and

G. Which strives to be self-reliant by producing for itself the goods and services necessary for the maintenance of the Community.

Paragraph Three. Implementation.

The Definitions and Purpose stated above shall be implemented through:

A. Intentionality in our planning and daily functioning to discover and encourage the most desirable behaviors for individual members and the most desirable goals and methods of functioning for the Community as a whole;

B. A system of internal economics that holds most land, labor, and other resources in common, and makes the material benefits of the Community available to all members equally or according to need;

C. A general practice of respecting the liberty of each individual member to as great an extent as is consistent with the well being of the Community and the laws of the government in whose jurisdiction it lies;

D. A participatory form of government in which the voting members have either a direct vote or the right of impeachment or overrule;

E. A collective form of maintenance, care, education, and responsibility for all children residing in the Community;

F. An emphasis in the Community’s social policy and practices on fostering responsibility and commitment, on cooperation rather than competition, and on affirming rather than punishing means for changing behavior;

G. A general practice of open membership, so long as the potential member’s acceptance is consistent with the purposes and social needs of the Community and with the happiness of its members;

H. An insistence on the non-involvement by all members in acts which are defined by the Community as conflicting with the purposes and policies set forth in this Article.

Paragraph Four. Use by Other Parties.

In no event shall the resources or facilities of this Community be used to further in any manner any project or activity or purpose of any group or individual that is inconsistent with the purpose of the Community as set forth in this Article.

Article II. Membership .

Paragraph One. Membership Agreement.

The Community shall at all times have a form of a membership agreement, a copy of which shall be filled out and executed between the Community and each member of the Community. Said form of said agreement is attached to these Bylaws as Exhibit 1, and may be amended by the same procedure as this Article of these Bylaws. Upon amendment of said form of said agreement, each member of the Community shall acknowledge the change(s) by executing with the Community a new agreement as amended.

Paragraph Two. Classes of Membership.

Membership in the Community consists of provisional members and full members.

A. Applicants may become provisional members after having been accepted as such by established Community procedures in accordance with and upon approval of the Board of Directors of the Community, provided that such applicant signs a membership agreement with the Community within four weeks after beginning such membership.

B. Provisional members may become full members six months after joining the Community by signing a membership agreement as such, if they are accepted as full members by established Community procedure in accordance with and upon approval of the Board of Directors of the Community.

C. If a member voluntarily terminates cos membership in the Community, or cos membership is involuntarily terminated as provided in paragraph Four of this Article II, co shall not be entitled to a return of any property which co may have donated to the Community. No member nor cos heirs nor cos assigns shall have any claim or right, title, or interest in any property of the Community on account of the services performed by such member for or on behalf of the Community during cos period of membership.

D. Members under the age of eighteen years shall have all the rights and duties of their membership class except such as may be determined to be legally inappropriate to minors.

Paragraph Three. Requirements for Membership.

Assuming that the Community is financially and otherwise able to accept new members, membership is available, without financial requirements, to any person who is deemed to be a desirable member by the Community. Presently the joining fee is $15,000USD per adult and $5,000USD per children below age 12, since at the time the Community is not financially capable of accepting new members without the joining fee. The Community may waive this fee, based on what the new member has to offer in exchange of the joining fee.

Paragraph Four. Termination.

A. The term of membership (provisional and full combined) is for the life of the member, unless voluntary termination of membership or expulsion occurs.

B. Voluntary termination consists of a public statement by a member that co is resigning membership, which shall include, however, a member’s departure from the Community, and interpretation by the Community that co intended to terminate cos membership. The effective date of termination shall be set by the member with the consent of the Community, and shall be designated on the leaving document signed by the leaving member. If the member fails to set such a date, the date shall be set by the Community.

C. In the event that a member, after leaving the Community as above described, shall change cos mind within 30 days and wish to return, the Community may, at its discretion, readmit co to cos former status and treat the intervening time as if it had been vacation. However, under these circumstances the Community is not obliged to provide the same housing or work or positions of responsibility that the member formerly had. Any spending of money or other financial transactions in which the member may have engaged during the interim which shall, viewed retroactively, be seen to have violated the Property Code (Article IV hereunder) shall be dealt with at the discretion of the Community. The former member may also choose to apply for provisional membership as a new candidate, should this be acceptable to the Community.

D. Expulsion of a provisional member may occur at any time during the provisional period and for any reason, including but not limited to those specified in subparagraph (E) below, provided only that the Community believes that said provisional member is undesirable. Expulsion shall generally occur, except for unusual and exceptional cases, if said member does not become a full member or voluntarily terminate cos membership within a year of becoming a provisional member.

E. Expulsion of a full member may, but need not, take place for any of the following reasons:

The above provisions shall not be taken as requiring the Community to expel a member, even for these reasons. The Community may, but need not, expel a member for any of the above reasons. The Community also has the option of substituting other remedies or sanctions.

F. Expulsion Mechanism. The procedure for expulsion shall be as follows: Expulsion may be proposed by any voting member. The Board of Directors of the Community, and/or such other body of members as the Board of Directors may authorize either ad hoc or as a matter of policy, shall hold a public meeting or meetings on the proposed expulsion—provided, however, that at one meeting or another the member in question shall be given full opportunity to answer any accusations or to explain cos conduct or view and express cos desires concerning cos membership, if possible. If, after the member in question has been heard, the Community desires cos expulsion, if possible co shall be so informed, at which time co will normally be allowed at least three days before co is required to leave the Community premises. Extensions of this period may be made at the discretion of the Community.

BY LAWS part II

BY LAWS part III

BY LAWS part IV

NOTE: These by laws are a modified version from the Federation of Egalitarian Communities. The main difference between the FEC and UEVN-F is that we do not require our member communities to be egalitarian, we are much more flexible in all issues related to property ownership.