SOCIAL WELFARE ASSOCIATION OF NEO-SOCIALITES (SWANS) - CHARTER

SWANS - Social Welfare Association of Neo Socialites is a group of volunteers from different background associated with a missionary zeal for social good.

PREAMBLE:

The SWANS community was primarily conceived and formed in Bhopal on April 2007, under the aegis of OASiS (Organisation for Awareness of Integrated Social Security), a social sector organisation with a heart and soul for creating difference to the ‘Have-nots’ of the society and with several global acclaims, along with a few very enthusiastic professionals from various walks of life interested in the same philosophy.

AIM:

Prompted by the need to foster a sense of equality in the changing socio - economic environments of the developing world and especially of our country, and also with the rapid efforts for globalization of the developing world, the association aims at:

1.              Providing a forum for like minded people to come together to contribute to social good in a structured and effective manner.

2.              Fostering socio-economic equality by educating, strengthening, empowering and nurturing the deprived section of society through efforts of various member

            organisations or individuals.

3.              Aligning and supporting the social sector, environment sector and the corporate sectors for realizing the goal of nation building.

4.              Networking and propagating locally, nationally and internationally the spirit of voluntary support for the social sector to remove all imbalances.

5.              Establishing a system of Social Credits for improving respect and status in society for those doing social good.

BROAD STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES:

a)              Creating awareness about the need for social good and promoting the spirit of  SWANS in all parts of the society

b)              Identifying the focus areas needing attention and intervention for the deprived sections of the society

c)              Drawing action plan and initiating actions with the objective of addressing the identified needs

d)              Facilitating support of socially responsible corporate houses and other organisations and associating them for the social good

e)              Planning activities addressing the needs and implementing  them through SWAN members

f)               Monitoring, analysis and evaluation of the activities initiated and completed

MEMBERSHIP

• The SWAN membership is open to all irrespective of caste, creed, sex, age, profession, religion and nationality except for those with criminal antecedents, intentions and connections.
• All members will be considered equal.
• Membership will be renewed YEARLY and will be applicable across SWANS Lakes.
• Membership will be of 4 types:

·       SWANS LAKE, which shall be limited to those City Chapters which declare in writing that they subscribe to the Charter and that they wish to join the Association;

·       SWANS NEST, which are those institutions / organizations that declare in writing that they subscribe to the Charter and that they wish to join the Association;

·       SWANS, who shall be individuals / persons who declare in writing that they subscribe to the Charter and that they wish to join the Association; and

·      SWANS GROVE, which shall be those social sector / voluntary organisations that state their intention to undertake activities in co-operation with the Association 

     through Member SWANS.

 

FEES (non-refundable):

The Annual Membership Fees for a SWANS shall be Rs 200/-

Individual SWANS Membership will cease:

1.     On death

2.     On getting insane

3.     For act of indiscipline

4.     On withdrawal from the SWANS membership

5.     On advice of majority of SWANS members for reasons of generally unacceptable country specific practice and conduct  

SWANS GROVE Membership will cease:

1.     On ill-treatment of Individual SWANS Members for no act of indiscipline.

2.     On engaging Fellow SWANS in inappropriate activities.

3.     On withdrawal from the SWANS membership

4.     On advice of majority of Individual SWANS members for reasons of generally unacceptable country specific practice and conduct.

SOCIAL CREDITS:

• A certificate mentioning all the Social Credits (Feathers) earned by a SWAN shall be given once in a year during the SWANS LAKE Congregation. In case a SWAN leaves the SWANS LAKE before the congregation, the SWAN shall be given the certificate for the period he/she has been with the SWANS LAKE in that year.
• Assessment of social work done by a SWAN shall be done once in six months.
• The criteria for assessment of social work and Allocation of Social Credits (Feathers) shall be based on the following Parameters:                           

1. Time Given                                                                                                    
2. Field Work                                                                                                       
3. Behaviour / Attitude                                                                                        
4. Responsibility                                                                                                 
5. Efficiency                                                                                                       
6. Creativeness / Innovativeness                                                                         
7. Team Work Capability / Leadership                                                                
8. Motivating others                                                                                            
9. Feedback from Beneficiaries                                                                          
10. Feedback from SWANS GROVES                                                                   

• The Assessment shall be done by the Flock Leader, Fellow flock members and the Project In-charge of the SWANS GROVE(s) where the SWANS has worked. A SWAN working in multiple SWANS FLOCKS and multiple SWANS GROVES shall be assessed by the respective Flock Leaders and the Project in-charges for the respective periods.
• Some points for assessment are explained below:
• Efficiency shall be calculated as the level of perfection achieved during performance.
• Team work shall be assessed differently by the SWANS GROVE and the SWANS Flock. The GROVE will assess the ability of the SWANS to work within the team working on the project. The SWANS Flock shall do a 360^o assessment for assessing the ability of the SWANS within the Team.
• Creativeness shall be measured as the ability to add/modify a component of the work to make it more effective, efficient or simple.
• Motivation shall be measured by the GROVES as the ability of the SWANS to motivate the beneficiaries towards their betterment. The Flock shall measure motivation as the ability of the SWANS to motivate others in the flock/nest/lake and others to join SWANS.
• The SWANS LAKE council will be the final authority for deciding the number of Social Credits to be awarded to a SWAN, based on the average assessment of individual parameters made by the SWANS GROVES and respective SWANS FLOCK:
• The total points received by a SWAN will be divided by a constant to determine the integer part as Social Credits and balance points as Carry over points. These Carry over points will be added up in the next assessment.

 

GOVERNANCE:

SWANS NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

• The SWANS National Executive Committee will comprise of 11 members shall have tenure of 3 years. 
• The National Executive Committee of SWANS shall comprise of 2 Members from every membership type and 3 Founder Members. 
• While the executive committee members from each member type shall be selected on the basis of social credits accumulated in 3 years, the other 3 Founder members shall be elected by rotation. 
• Any executive committee member from the member types elected 5 times shall join the Founder members group with elective rights.

SWANS LAKE:

• Every SWANS LAKE shall have a Governing Council that will operate under the guidance of SWANS National Executive Committee. The Governing council of SWANS Lake shall have minimum 9 members with 3 members each from the SWANS NEST and the SWANS GROVE membership types selected on the basis of their social credits accumulated in 2 years. The male and female SWAN of a SWANS LAKE with the highest Social Credits shall be selected as the KING SWAN and QUEEN SWAN respectively. The 9^th member of the SWAN LAKE Council shall be a member of the SWANS National Executive Committee. The tenure of the SWANS LAKE Council shall be 2 years.
• A SWANS LAKE should have at least one SWANS GROVE and at least one Common SWANS NEST that would comprise of individual SWANS who are not part of any SWANS NEST.
• In case of more than one Fellow SWAN receive the highest number of Social Credits (Feathers), the King / Queen SWAN shall be selected on the basis of their points on Motivation (x 3), Team Work (x 2) and Efficiency (x 1).
• The aggregation of Social Credits (Feathers) of all SWANS in a SWANS LAKE shall be the Social Credit Total of a SWANS LAKE in a particular year.

SWANS NEST:

• Every SWANS NEST shall have a Governing Council that will operate under the guidance of SWANS LAKE. 
• The Governing council of SWANS NEST shall have minimum 7 members with 1 member each from the SWANS FLOCKS and a Nest Leader SWAN. 
• The Nest Leader SWAN shall be the SWAN with the highest number of social credits in the SWANS NEST in a year. 
• The tenure of the SWANS NEST Council shall be 1 year.
• An institution / organisation applying for a SWANS NEST status should have at least 10 SWANS who are a part of the institution or employed with the organisation.
• The aggregation of Social Credits (Feathers) of all SWANS in a SWANS NEST shall be the Social Credit Total of a SWANS NEST in a particular year.

SWANS FLOCK:

• A SWANS FLOCK shall comprise of SWANS with common interests and fields of activity within a SWANS NEST. 
• Every SWAN FLOCK shall be led by a Leader SWAN selected on the basis of the Social Credits accumulated by him/her over a year.

SWANS GROVE:

• A SWANS GROVE shall be a social sector organisation working directly at field level and associated with a SWANS LAKE. 
• A SWANS GROVE shall be selected through the recommendation of at least 2 existing SWANS GROVES OR on the basis of Credibility Ranking by National / International groups. 
• The Social Credit total of a SWANS GROVE will be the total number of SWANS hours engaged by the SWANS GROVE in a year.

 

GENERAL:

• The SWANS National Council, the SWANS LAKE Councils and the SWANS NEST Councils shall appoint their own Working Committees among the SWANS for smooth functioning of the organisation, as per guidelines issued by SWANS National Council from time to time..
• Assessment of the Working Committee SWANS shall be done by their respective Councils.
• No SWANS shall hold more than one position in the entire SWANS organisation.
• The SWANS National Committee shall allocate ID Ranges to each SWANS LAKE, from which the new members shall be assigned IDs. For additional IDs, the SWANS LAKE will request for a new range which will be allotted by the National Committee.
• The Yearly Membership Fees of SWANS shall be distributed in the following manner for covering the administrative expenses of the respective groups to which the SWANS belongs:

                      SWANS FLOCK           -           40%

                      SWANS NEST             -           15%

                      SWANS LAKE              -           30%

                      SWANS National Body -           15%

 

BECOMING A SWANS:

• An individual willing to become a SWANS will be required to undergo a minimum of 15 hours probation within 45 days from his/her date of joining.
• During this period he/she would be required to achieve at least 50% assessment based on the above criterion. 
• During this period, the individual shall be working with at least 1 SWANS FLOCK, and will be assessed by the SWANS FLOCK Leader for accepting him/her as SWAN.

 

CHANGING SWANS NESTS:

• A SWAN wishing to change a SWANS NEST should present a No Objection Certificate from the previous SWANS NEST and a proof of employment / admission in the next SWANS NEST. In case a SWAN wishes to move to an organisation / institution that is not a SWANS NEST, he/she can move to the Common SWANS NEST and continue his/her social contribution.
• It shall be the responsibility of a SWAN to replace himself/herself with another SWAN of equal capacity and capability when he/she decides to leave a Project or change a Project within a SWANS GROVE.

MEETING:

• The SWANS LAKE council shall meet every 2 months. All SWANS NESTS will submit a report on their activities every two months to the SWANS LAKE. The SWANS LAKE will discuss the reports of the SWANS NESTS and award Social Credits (Feathers) to the recommended SWANS after verifying their work.
• The SWANS LAKE will also organise a meet with all associated SWANS GROVES once every to assess the effect of volunteerism by the SWANS.
• The congregation of all SWANS in a SWANS LAKE will be held once in a year.
• Every SWANS LAKE shall submit a yearly report to the SWANS National Executive Committee. The SWANS National Executive Committee Council shall meet every year to discuss the reports sent by the SWAN LAKES and issue directions for the next year.
• The congregation of all SWAN LAKES’ KING and QUEEN SWANS shall be held by the National Executive Committee once in 3 years.

AMENDMENTS:

Any amendments to the clauses shall be effective only with the consent of the majority of SWANS LAKE members and with the approval of the SWANS National Executive Committee.