Governance

How Netism is governed

Netism is a legally recognized religious organization operating under Section 508(c)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code. Governance exists to keep the work honest and the community safe, and to hold the tradition to the same standards it asks of every member. The bylaws are the written structure. This page explains how that structure works and where its authority begins and ends.

The first thing to understand is that authority in Netism is bounded. The Law of Free Will places self-determination at the top of the moral order, and leadership answers to it. Every office and body described below is stewardship, guidance, and support, with authority held only by the consent of the people it serves. No one in Netism is owed worship, obedience, or deference by rank. The bylaws state this plainly: the governing body operates without absolute authority, and any claim of superiority or demand for worship is treated as false and incompatible with the 9 Points.

The governing body

The organization is governed by its Board of Directors, known within the tradition as the Conclave. The Conclave is composed of between three and eleven members, elected by the general membership, and it acts as the administrative leadership of Netism. Board and Conclave name the same body, the first in the language of the law, the second in the language of the tradition. Its work is bounded by the philosophical structure of the tradition rather than standing above it. The Board carries real limits. It may not dissolve Netism, and it may not claim ownership of the tradition’s intellectual or creative property. Those works belong to the collective body of Netism, held for the community across generations.

The Board’s role is stewardship in the practical sense: it keeps the organization compliant, solvent, and aligned with the 9 Points and the Three Laws. It sets the direction of programs, oversees finances, and answers to the membership that elected it. Where the bylaws and the foundational teachings speak, the Board follows. Where they are silent, the Board is expected to reason from the same principles that bind everyone else.

Officers and their duties

Day-to-day governance runs through four officers, each with a defined role.

The Chair is the principal leader and public representative of Netism. The Chair presides over Board meetings, guides planning, ensures the bylaws are followed, and provides oversight for official operations.

The Vice-Chair assists the Chair, assumes leadership duties in the Chair’s absence, and coordinates between departments and committees so that activity stays consistent across the organization.

The Secretary keeps accurate records of meetings, resolutions, and official documents, manages correspondence, and maintains the transparency and record-keeping the organization is held to.

The Treasurer oversees the financial health of Netism. That means budget preparation, financial reporting, honest stewardship of funds, and compliance with the federal and state rules that govern a religious nonprofit. The Treasurer is accountable for keeping every dollar aligned with the 9 Points.

Specialized committees and appointed fundraising roles support this work, advancing outreach, education, and the ethical growth of the organization.

Financial oversight and property

Netism is not organized for profit, and no part of its income benefits any private individual. Annual financial transparency is a governance requirement, not a courtesy. Resources are allocated ethically according to the tradition’s principles, compensation practices stay within the law, and donations are managed openly. Property held by Netism, including land and the resources that come with it, serves communal benefit and sustainable stewardship rather than private gain. On dissolution, remaining assets are distributed ethically and in accordance with IRS regulations, never to insiders.

How the teachings are stewarded

Governance covers more than money and meetings. It also covers the care of the tradition itself: its texts, its symbols, its practices, and the integrity of what gets published in its name. All creative, scholarly, spiritual, scientific, and artistic work produced under Netism is recognized as the collective property of the organization, held in perpetuity for the community. No individual member or officer may claim exclusive ownership of work made in the name of the tradition. Use or publication of Netist material outside the organization requires written consent from an authorized body within Netism, must credit the source, and must uphold the values of the teachings. This is how the corpus stays coherent as it grows, and how it stays protected from capture by any single person.

The operative side of the tradition, the Heka work, is carried and taught within its own lineage, the Heka Order. The Order is described on its own page.

Communities keep their own authority

Netism governs itself lightly on purpose. Communities under the Netist umbrella exercise free will as their highest law. Each is encouraged to develop its own customs, forms of local governance, economic arrangements, and cultural expression, so long as they hold to the 9 Points and the Three Laws. The organization supports communities with guidance, educational material, structural templates, and, where appropriate, land or resource assistance. It does not impose top-down authority over community affairs unless there is clear and repeated violation of the core principles. A community is treated as both sanctuary and proving ground, a place for healing, connection, and honest experiment, and it appoints its own leaders and builds its own infrastructure within that trust.

Amendments

The bylaws can change, and the process is deliberate. Amendments require a two-thirds majority of the Board, which keeps the written structure aligned with the foundational principles while making casual revision difficult. The aim is continuity: a governance framework that can adapt without drifting from the values it exists to protect.

Where authority stops

Read the whole structure together and one pattern holds. Each office is a stewardship, its powers are bounded, and the free will of the person in front of you sits above all of it. Governance in Netism exists to protect the work and the people who do it, and it is built so that no seat at the table can become a throne.