Articles of Association

§ 1 Name, registered office, financial year

1. The name of the association is "Gewaltfrei in die Zukunft".
2. It shall be entered in the register of associations and bear the suffix "e.V.".
3. The registered office of the association is Berlin.
4. The financial year is the calendar year.

§ 2 Purpose and non-profit status of the association

1. The association, with its registered office in Berlin, pursues exclusively and directly non-profit purposes within the meaning of the section "Tax-privileged purposes" of the German Tax Code.
2. The purpose of the association is to promote help for victims of crime.
3. The purpose of the statutes is realized by supporting victims of domestic violence to free themselves from a violent situation. This is achieved in particular through the development, provision and maintenance of a free app for mobile devices. Due to the app's range of functions, victims of domestic violence are provided with direct and indirect help and support. The range of functions includes in particular
   1. Provision of information on the topic of domestic violence, through which awareness of the problem is created and promoted among victims
   2. Mediation of organizations active in the field of support for victims of domestic violence to victims of domestic violence
   3. the possibility of documenting incidents of domestic violence within the app in a court of law; this strengthens the ability of victims of domestic violence to free themselves from the violent situation through legal action.
4. The association is a non-profit organization; it does not primarily pursue its own economic purposes.
5. The association's funds may only be used for statutory purposes. Members do not receive any benefits from the association's funds.
6. No person may benefit from expenses that are alien to the purpose of the association or from disproportionately high remuneration.

§ 3 Acquisition of membership

1. Any natural or legal person can become a member of the association.
2. Admission to the association must be applied for electronically to the Executive Board. In the case of minors, the application for membership must be submitted by their legal representatives. The Executive Board shall decide on the application at its own discretion. Rejection of the application does not require justification.

§ 4 Termination of membership

1. Membership ends upon resignation, expulsion, death or dissolution of the legal entity.
2. Resignation shall be effected by means of a declaration in electronic form to the Executive Board. Resignation must be declared with effect from the end of the financial year.
3. Exclusion takes place by resolution of the general meeting and can only take place for good cause. Good cause includes, in particular, conduct that is detrimental to the objectives of the association or a breach of statutory duties. The member must be given the opportunity to comment on the reasons for expulsion at the general meeting. These must be communicated to the member at least two weeks in advance.

§ 5 Rights and duties

1. Every member has the right to use the association's facilities and to participate in joint events. Every member has equal voting and election rights at the general meeting.
2. Each member has the duty to promote the interests of the association and, as far as he/she is able, to support the life of the association through his/her cooperation.

§ 6 Contributions

Members shall not be required to pay contributions.

§ 7 Supporting membership

1. Any natural or legal person who supports the objectives of the Association may become a supporting member. Supporting members have the right to make suggestions regarding the association's activities and to receive information, in particular regarding the use of support contributions. They therefore receive written information about the association's projects at regular intervals. Supporting members are invited to the General Meeting and also have the right to request that the Executive Board of the association convene a General Meeting. Supporting members have no voting rights at the general meetings.
2. The Executive Board decides on the application for admission of supporting members at its own discretion. The Executive Board decides whether and to what extent a contribution is to be charged.
3. The termination of sponsoring membership is governed by § 4. An important reason according to § 4 paragraph 3 is also if the member is more than three months in arrears with the payment of their contributions and has not paid the arrears despite a written reminder under threat of expulsion.

§ 8 Organs of the association

The organs of the association are the General Assembly, the Executive Board and an Advisory Board.

§ 9 Tasks of the General Assembly

The General Assembly is the supreme body of the Association. Its duties include in particular

1. resolving on amendments to the Articles of Association and the dissolution of the association
2. electing and dismissing members of the Executive Board
3. receiving the annual report and discharging the Executive Board
4. deciding on the exclusion of members
5. as well as other duties arising from the Articles of Association or by law.

§ 10 Convening the general meeting

1. A regular general meeting must be convened by the Executive Board at least once a year, if possible in the first quarter. The meeting shall be convened in electronic form, giving two weeks' notice and stating the agenda.
2. The agenda is set by the Executive Board. Each member of the association can apply to the Executive Board electronically for an addition to the agenda no later than one week before the general meeting. Additions to the agenda must be announced at the beginning of the meeting. The agenda can be supplemented at the request of a member at the beginning of the general meeting and by resolution of the members present.
3. The Executive Board is obliged to convene an extraordinary general meeting if at least one third of the members request this electronically, stating reasons.

§ 11 Holding the general meeting

1. The general meeting may be held electronically, i.e. on the Internet, on a communication channel determined by the Executive Board, at the decision of the Executive Board.
2. The General Meeting constitutes a quorum if one third of the members are present. At the beginning, a chairperson of the general meeting and a secretary are appointed.
3. The secretary draws up minutes of the resolutions of the general meeting. The minutes shall contain in particular the number of members present, the determination of the quorum, the motions put forward and the type of vote with the exact result of the vote. The minutes must be signed by the chairperson and the chairperson of the meeting.
4. Each member has one vote. The right to vote may be exercised on behalf of another member by submitting a written proxy.
5. Votes are decided by a simple majority of the votes cast. Resolutions are generally passed by open vote. Resolutions to amend the articles of association require a majority of three quarters, while resolutions to change the purpose or dissolve the association require the approval of nine tenths of the members present.

§ 12 Executive Board

1. The Executive Board within the meaning of § 26 of the German Civil Code (BGB) consists of a chairperson, a deputy chairperson and a treasurer.
2. The chairperson and the treasurer each represent the association alone.
3. The Board of Directors may be paid remuneration. The General Assembly decides on the amount of remuneration.

§ 13 Appointment of the Executive Board

1. The Executive Board is elected individually by the General Assembly of Members for a term of one year.
2. Members of the Executive Board can only be members of the Association; membership of the Executive Board ends with membership of the Association. The re-election or premature dismissal of a member by the General Assembly is permitted. A member remains in office after expiry of the regular term of office until the election of his or her successor.
3. If a member leaves the Executive Board prematurely, the remaining members of the Executive Board are entitled to elect a member of the association as their successor.

§ 14 Tasks of the Executive Board

The Executive Board of the association is responsible for representing the association in accordance with Section 26 of the German Civil Code (BGB) and managing its business. In particular, it has the following duties

1. convening and preparing the general meetings, including drawing up the agenda
2. executing the resolutions of the general meeting
3. managing the Association's assets
4. preparing the annual report and
5. admitting new members.

§ 15 Consultation and decision-making of the Executive Board

1. The Executive Board meets as required. Meetings are convened by the chairperson or, if the chairperson is unable to attend, by the deputy chairperson. A notice period of one week should be observed. The Board of Directors is quorate if at least two members are present. Resolutions are passed by a majority of the valid votes cast. In the event of a tie, the Chairperson has the casting vote; if the Chairperson is unable to attend, the Deputy Chairperson has the casting vote.
2. The resolutions of the Board of Directors must be recorded in the minutes. The minutes must be signed by the secretary and another member of the Board of Directors.

§ 16 Advisory Board

1. The Executive Board may establish an Advisory Board. The task of an advisory board is to advise the Executive Board and the general meeting on all matters relating to the association. The aim of the advisory board is to support the purpose of the association, whereby it is possible for the Executive Board to entrust individual members of the advisory board with different tasks and focal points.
2. The members of the Advisory Board are appointed by the Executive Board for a period of two years. The Executive Board determines the number of Advisory Board members and can appoint one or more Advisory Board chairpersons and several deputies.

§ 17 Patronage

1. In order to support the association and its objectives and to inform the public about them, a public figure who is particularly associated with the objectives of the association through their work may be asked to assume the patronage of the association for the respective term of office of the Executive Board. This request is made by resolution of the General Assembly.
2. The patronage is an honorary position that contributes to the purely non-material support of the association. The patron may not act contrary to the purposes of these Articles of Association.
3. The patronage may be combined with a supporting membership.