MEMBERSHIP

MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA AND ACCEPTANCE PROCESS

Criteria

To be eligible for membership, an organization must:

1) Be an organization whose stated purposes include a spiritual dimension.

2) Be an organization whose operation is open and fiscally transparent.

3) Be an organization as defined in the by-laws of the Society, which embraces and supports the purposes, values and goals of the Society.

4) Positively value the presence of core truth within the varying religious and spiritual traditions.

5) Not engage in proselytizing, which is here defined as seeking to persuade members to leave one faith group in favour of another.

6) Not malign, denigrate or speak negatively of another spiritual tradition or religious community or its practitioners or beliefs or practices.

In evaluating an organization for membership, the InterSpirtual Centre Society board shall base its judgment only on the practices of the organization itself and not on those of other organizations associated with it or higher and broader levels of hierarchy with which it is associated.

Process

1. A community or organization applying for membership will complete the ISC of Vancouver Society membership application form and provide a description of their organization of not more than 200 words.

2. The membership committee of the ISC of Vancouver Society will be made up of three members, at least one of whom sits on the board. The membership committee will meet with an applicant within 30 days of the receipt of its application for membership and conduct an interview to ensure that membership criteria are met by the applicant.

3. The membership committee shall put forward a recommendation for membership to the Executive Committee following their evaluation of the applicant.

4. The Executive Committee shall advance the membership applications to the board’s agenda for ratification.

5. The board of the ISC of Vancouver Society shall approve all membership applications and confirm membership on those organizations that meet the membership criteria.

Organizational Membership Fee Schedule

Annual organizational membership fees for the InterSpiritual Centre of Vancouver Society are based on the member organization’s own annual income according to the following schedule:

• Income of less than $100,000: $100
• Income of $100,000 to $1 million: $300
• Income of greater than $1million: $500

The Board of the InterSpiritual Centre Society may waive or alter fees if the cost would be an undue hardship on any member organization.

Application for Organization Membership

We appreciate your interest in supporting and joining the InterSpiritual Centre of Vancouver Society. Please read the above information about membership criteria, application process and fees, then tell us about your congregation, community or organization as outlined below. Send your application to the Membership Committee of the InterSpiritual Centre Society at 949 West 49th Avenue; Vancouver, BC V5Z 2T1, or e-mail it to membership@interspiritual.org.

Please provide the following information (where applicable):

Name of your congregation, community or organization

Mailing address

Office telephone

E-mail

Website

Contact person(s)
• Name
• Position or role in your organization, community or congregation
• Phone (day/evening)
• E-mail
• Mailing address

Please help us get to know your congregation, community or organization by describing it in about 200 words. Let us know something about your religious or spiritual affiliation, if any; your activities; the approximate size of your membership; your history; why you are interested in becoming a member organization of the InterSpiritual Centre Society; and anything else you’d like to share with us.