Purpose

The Associate Membership Policy was created to formalize the relationships between prior residents and involved community members and current residents, increase labor and financial contributions to the HAUS, and help prior uRth HAUS residents and community members feel welcomed and accepted. As a non-profit, uRth HAUS should serve the community, and this policy will extend our client-based beyond current residents.

Benefits and Rationale

Primary benefit: Ensure approved Associate Members feel welcomed and accepted in the space.

Secondary benefits:

• Compensate HAUS for resource and space utilization.
• Diversify funding streams and increase organizational stability.
• Extend community beyond current residents.
• Larger “clientele” makes HAUS project more appealing to donors and funders.
• Reduce ability to be “taken advantage of” by prior residents.
• Help prior members transition out of co-op living.
• Establish rules and regulations to hold prior residents accountable.
• Create boundaries so prior members know what is acceptable behavior.

Associate Membership Status & Initiation

• Prospective Associate Members may ask uRth HAUS for call to vote at the next HAUS meeting.
  • Prospective Associate Members may not be present during the meeting their Associate Membership status will be discussed or voted on.
  • Associate Members must be approved by more than 2/3 house vote. Associate Members will be allowed to have the door code upon more than 2/3 house vote.
    • This may be obtained via electronic vote or in a meeting
  • Prospective Associate Members must be notified on approval, denial, and door code status by the Membership Coordinator within two weeks of official call to vote by Prospective Associate Member (if Membership Coordinator feels uncomfortable with notifying, they may ask Trustee to notify them).
    • If HAUS decides to provide Associate Member door code, it is the responsibility to the Maintenance Coordinator to update them whenever code changes.
  • Associate Membership status should be tracked and posted in a public space within uRth by Membership Coordinator, so that Associate Membership status is accessible and known by residents.
• Once an Associate Member is accepted into the HAUS, Associate Members will be required to pay $100 a year, or $60 for 6 months (money order or check) directly to the Treasurer.
  • For lower-income Associate Members, they may pay in labor hours- 5 hours per month to remain an Associate Member. This too will be assessed on a 6 month or yearly basis.
    • Associate Members will log labor hours in specific Slack channel designated for Associate Members. All residents may hold Associate Member accountable for labor, but Labor Coordinator is obligated to inform HAUS if Associate Members is significantly below labor quota.
  • Associate Members must decide in advance to pay the Associate Membership fee or complete labor- no combinations will be allowed (although a fee-paying Associate Member is welcome to participate in labor if they desire).
• Upon acceptance, Membership Coordinator will ensure Associate Member signs Associate Membership Form (clearly stating length of membership and whether they will pay the fee or perform labor) and anti-harassment policy.
  • Membership Coordinator will archive documentation and resurface it, if necessary.

Space & Resource Utilization