The current bylaws have been very helpful, and because of growth and impermanence, they are due for some changes. The most substantive change is in Article 7. You can watch the explainer video about this:
Article 7 establishes that along with a Board of Directors, ZCO is also governed by a Spiritual Leader. That Spiritual Leader has always been Chozen Roshi. She and the Board agree that it’s now time to expand that spiritual side of leadership into a Spiritual Leadership Council. She will be the first member, and she will appoint the additional members of that Council. They will then decide among themselves how they will operate.
It’s a rare event to change the bylaws. So our Board Secretary, Brad Senkei Biddle, who also happens to be an attorney, has graciously offered a great deal of his time and expertise to comb through the whole document to find places to clarify and update. Here you can find all of the changes he suggested and with the cooperation of the Board of Directors and the Teachers, the additional changes are in RED with footnotes, too!
Article 4 on Membership also had some notable changes. These were mostly clarifying what has always been set forth in the bylaws: To be a member in “good standing”, one must be current on dues for a year.
During the Covid pandemic, an unofficial volunteer (free) membership category was created called “Red Alder”. It was discovered, however, that 1) It was not possible to track people’s volunteer activities to establish “good standing”. And 2) it was also not possible to track whether someone no longer wanted to be a member (it is very easy to track people’s discontinuation of dues).
Currently the lowest cost for membership is $5 per month. So the bylaws will now more clearly reflect the function of a monthly dues process, that still allows some leeway that the Board can have to make membership accessible, including the option to waive membership fees if appropriate.