ASSOCIATION RULES
Helsinki Entrepreneurship Society ry
Effective date: 23.09.2020
1. Name and domicile of the Association
The name of the Association is Helsinki Entrepreneurship Society ry. The domicile of the Association is Helsinki, Finland.
2. Purpose and nature of the Association’s activities
The purpose of the association is to promote an entrepreneurial culture and growth, foster an entrepreneurial spirit, and act as a co-operative body for its members. In order to achieve its purpose, the association organizes meetings, training, events, evening gatherings, study trips as well as panel discussions, information and seminar events, makes initiatives and presentations for authorities and publishes its own proprietary materials in this field. The association collaborates with universities, student organizations, companies and other stakeholders. In addition, the association publishes magazines, guides or other publications and bulletins related to entrepreneurship, if necessary.
To support its activities, the association accepts donations and grants as well as bequests funds. In addition, the association can conduct fundraisers, lotteries, entertainment events and more similar events after obtaining appropriate authorization.
3. Members
A person who approves the association’s purpose and rules can be accepted as a proper member of the association. An individual or a legal entity that wants to support the purpose and activities of the association can be accepted as a supporting member of the association. Proper members and supporting members shall be approved by the Board of the Association. Honorary Chairperson, and honorary members are persons who have significantly promoted and supported the activities of the association.
4. Resignation and dismissal of a member
Members have the right to resign from the Association with a written announcement to the Board or its President or by announcing their resignation in a meeting of the Association to be recorded in the minutes.
The Board may dismiss a member from the Association if the member provided false or misleading information when they joined the Association, if the member has not paid their overdue membership fee or otherwise has not fulfilled the obligations they committed to when joining the Association, if the member’s actions in the Association or outside it have caused considerable harm to the Association, or if the member no longer fulfils the membership criteria specified by law or in the Rules of the Association.
5. Membership fee
The Autumn General Meeting decides on the amount of the annual membership fee that is to be collected from the Association’s members. Honorary Chairperson and Honorary members do not pay membership fees.
6. Board
The matters of the Association are handled by the Board that includes the Chairperson and at least three and at most eight other regular members who are selected at the Autumn General Meeting. The Chairperson of the Board and at least ½ of the members of the Board must be a student, alumni or employee of Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences. The term of office of the Board is the calendar year. The Board selects from amongst its members a Vice Chairperson and a Secretary, and the Board also selects a Treasurer as well as other necessary personnel from amongst its members or from outside the Board.
The Board convenes at the invitation of the Chairperson or, if the Chairperson is unavailable, the Vice Chairperson, when they deem it necessary or when at least half of the members of the Board demand it. The Board constitutes a quorum when half of the members of the Board as well as the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson are present. Votes are decided by absolute majority. If the votes are tied, the Chairperson will cast the deciding vote, except in elections where tied votes are decided by drawing lots.
7. Signing authority for the Association
The Board’s Chairperson and Vice Chairperson may sign on behalf of the Association, each separately.
8. Accounting period and performance audit
The accounting period of the Association is the calendar year.
The financial statement and necessary documents as well as the Board’s annual report must be provided to the performance auditors at least one month before the Spring General Meeting. The performance auditors must provide their written statement to the Board at least two weeks before the Spring General Meeting.
9. Meetings of the Association
The Association holds two General Meetings annually.
The Spring General Meeting of the Association is held between January and May and the Autumn General Meeting between September and December on the date specified by the Board. In the meetings of the Association, each proper member has one vote. Support members have attendance and speaking rights at meetings. The decision of the meeting of the Association is, unless otherwise stipulated in the rules, the opinion that received over half of the votes that were cast. If the votes are tied, the chairperson of the meeting will cast the deciding vote, except in elections where tied votes are decided by drawing lots.
An additional meeting is held when the meeting of the Association so decides or when the Board deems it necessary or when at least one tenth (1/10) of the Association’s members who are eligible to vote request it in writing from the Board for the purpose of processing a specific matter. The meeting must be held within thirty days of when the demand for holding the meeting was presented to the Board.
A meeting of the association may be attended, if so decided by the board or by the association meeting, via post or by means of a telecommunication connection or other technical aid during the meeting or before the meeting.
10. Convening the meetings of the Association
The Board must convene the meetings of the Association at least 7 days before the meeting by letter or email.
11. General Meetings
The following matters are handled at the Spring General Meeting of the Association:
opening the meeting
selecting the chairperson, secretary, two examiners for the minutes, and two vote counters
establishing the legality and quorum of the meeting
approving the agenda for the meeting
presenting the financial statement, annual report and statement from the performance auditors
deciding on the confirmation of the financial statement and granting the Board and other responsible persons the freedom from liability
handling the other matters mentioned in the meeting invitation.
The following matters are handled at the Autumn General Meeting of the Association:
opening the meeting
selecting the chairperson, secretary, two examiners for the minutes, and two vote counters
establishing the legality and quorum of the meeting
approving the agenda for the meeting
approving the strategy, income and expenditure estimate, and the amount of the membership fee for the next calendar year
selecting the Chairperson and other members of the Board
selecting one or two performance auditors and their deputies
handling the other matters mentioned in the meeting invitation.
If a member of the Association wants to include some specific matter in the agenda of the Association’s Spring or Autumn General Meeting, they must notify the Board of this in writing sufficiently in advance so that the matter can be included in the meeting invitation.
12. Changing the rules and dissolving the Association
The decision on changing the rules and dissolving the Association must be made in a meeting of the Association by a majority of at least three quarters (3/4) of the votes given. The meeting invitation must mention that the meeting will include a motion to change the rules or dissolve the Association. If the Association is dissolved, its funds will be used to advance the purpose of the Association in the manner specified by the meeting that decided to dissolve the Association If the Association is abolished, its funds will be used for the same purpose.