Articles of the association

§ 1 – Name, Domicile, and Objective

The name of the association is Copenhagen Pride.

1.2 The association is domiciled in the municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark. The postal address of the association is decided by the board.

1.3 The object of the association is to work to influence legislation and societal positions, nationally and globally, for the purpose of improving the conditions for sexual and gender identity minorities, including by producing an annual Copenhagen Pride Week as well as other events in accordance with the object of the association.

1.4 The association must be a member of EPOA (European Pride Organiser’s Association) and of Interpride (the international association of Pride event organizers) or similar associations.

§ 2 – Organization

2.1 The association is organized in the board, secretariat, area managers, and working groups.

2.2 The secretariat, area managers, and working groups are appointed and dismissed by the board as required.

§ 3 – Members

3.1 Any individual who has paid membership fees to the association, and who adheres to the objective and basic concept and values of the association, is a member of the association.

3.2 The membership period is any current month + 11 months as of entry. The membership fee is decided by the ordinary general meeting.

3.3 Volunteers who have worked at least 12 hours at Copenhagen Pride between 1 September and 31 August are exempt from paying membership fees in the following 12 months. The assessment is made on 31 August. Volunteers who meet the membership criterion as being exempt from paying membership fees will be notified in connection with the convening of the general meeting. The board is covered by this provision. Volunteer work must be registered in a volunteer management system that has been approved by the board.

3.4 Companies and organizations may subscribe to a type B membership of the Association. The type B membership fee amounts to five times the ordinary membership fee applicable at any given time. Type B members are not entitled to vote at the general meeting.  

3.5 The board may exclude any member who does not respect these bylaws, or decisions made by the general meeting, from the association. It is possible to request that exclusion be discussed at an extraordinary general meeting. Such a request must be received by the board within eight days of the time when notification of the exclusion was made.

§ 4 – The Board

4.1 The board consists of 5-7 members and  two  chairpersons; a political chairperson, and an organizational chairperson. The political chairperson is elected directly at the general meeting for a two-year period in odd years, while the organisational chairperson is elected in even years directly at the general meeting for a two-year term.

4.2 Half of the board is elected every two years. Board members are elected for one year at a time.

4.2.1 The board shall establish itself with a political vicechairperson, an organizational  vicechairperson, and a treasurer. If the organization does not have a secretariat, the board shall also establish itself with secretary.

4.2.2 If a member leaves the board, an alternate will take their place until the next general meeting. In the event that no board-appointed alternate member is found, the board is self-sufficient until the next ordinary general meeting, where the leaving board member’s position must be filled at the authority of the general meeting.

4.3 The board has a quorum when half of the board is present, one of whom must be a chairperson and one must be a vice-chairperson. Board decisions are adopted by a simple majority. In the case of a tie, the votes of the chairpersons shall be decisive and their two votes shall count for three when there is agreement between the chairpersons. If the chairpersons do not agree and there is still a tie, the proposal is dropped.

4.4 The board of directors may – if found necessary – appoint an ad hoc committee for the purpose of solving a specific task mandated in detail in cooperation with the secretariat, just as the board may enter into a cooperation with other associations or companies for the purpose of solving the board’s tasks. The board hires and terminates area managers.

4.5 The board may hire and terminate the head of secretariat, while the head of secretariat, if such is employed, hires and dismisses other staff. The board instructs the secretariat in the framework for its work in addition to what has been determined for the secretariat pursuant to Section 5 by way of powers of procuration relating to the association’s financial administration. 

4.6 The board shall adopt standing rules for its activities, including the following:

• setting up an executive committee;
• formulation of the responsibilities of chairpersons and vicechairpersons;
• ordinary frequency of meetings and calls for extraordinary meetings, as well as content of agendas and deadlines for the summoning and distribution of material, etc.
• minutes method and method of publication of minutes if necessary;
• the right to invite non-board members to attend parts of board meetings.

§ 5 – Finances and authority to sign

5.1 The financial year runs from 15 October until 14 October. The accounts must be audited by an auditor appointed by the general meeting.

5.2 The association’s funds must be deposited into, and managed via, an account in a financial institute. The board may decide to place the association’s surplus funds into investment associations after having consulted with a financial institution – however; not including high-risk investments.

5.3 The association is drawn up in a contractual manner, either by:

• the chairpersons and treasurer
• the chairpersons and at least one vicechairperson
• the treasurer, one vicechairperson and one chairperson.

5.3.1 The board is authorized to:

• Appoint the authorized signatories, cf. Section 5.3, to have at their joint disposal the association’s assets and to sign for the association in new financial matters.
• Appoint one or several board members to, cf. Sections 5.3 and 5.4, have at their sole or joint disposal the association’s means via electronic bank products and to enter into agreements in this respect.

5.4 The board assigns powers of procuration to the secretariat as regards the specific use and disposal of the means, and the treasurer has, through the secretariat, direct access to account entries as part of their joint efforts to keep the board informed of the financial circumstances of the association as well as to make proposals to the board regarding decisions that are not included by the powers of procuration assigned to the secretariat regarding the administration of the association’s financial circumstances.   

5.5 The association is only liable by way of the assets that exist at any given time. The association’s members or board are not personally liable.

§ 6 – General Meeting

6.1 The general meeting is the highest authority of the association.

6.2 The ordinary general meeting is held annually before the end of the month of November and is convened by email to the address most recently disclosed by the member, via the association’s website and in a post on at least one social media platform where members can subscribe for notifications no later than 14 days prior to the meeting. 

6.3 Notice of the meeting must at minimum include information about the time and place as well as information regarding the deadline for submitting proposals – including proposals for candidates for the board, both as members and alternates, in that the same name may appear in both cases.

6.4 Proposals to be considered must be sent to a chairperson by mail or by letter to the association’s address, so that a chairperson has it available at least 10 days before the general meeting.

6.5 The final agenda and the wording of incoming proposals must be announced on the association’s website no later than seven days prior to the general meeting.

6.6 Members each hold one vote in polls and voting in general.

6.6.1 No one can proxy for more than one member at the general meeting.

6.6.2 All members have access to attend and speak at the general meeting and to make proposals. The member may be accompanied by a professional or personal advisor.  

6.7. In order to achieve the right to vote, members must be of legal age and able to present a valid proof of membership or payment dated no less than six weeks before the general meeting.

6.8 All decisions at the general meeting, with the exception of decisions pursuant to Section 7, are made by a simple majority of votes. The legally convened general meeting is quorate. Only members pursuant to Sections 3.1 and 3.3 have the right to vote.

6.9 Anyone who is a member, cf. § 3.1 and § 3.3, is eligible to run for election to the board. If a member is prevented from attending the general meeting and wishes to run for election to the board, this can be done in writing. Nominations to the board must reach a chairperson in writing no later than 10 days before the general meeting. Candidates for personal elections are published no later than one week before the general meeting is held on the association’s website.

6.10 Elections where the number of candidates is greater than the number of available positions take place by voting in writing.

6.11 The agenda of the ordinary general meeting must at minimum contain the following items:

1. Election of moderator
2. Election of person to take minutes of the meeting
3. Election of persons to count the votes
4. The board’s report on the activity of the association in the past year
5. The presentation of the audited accounts
6. The presentation of the organizational supervisor’s report for the information of the general meeting
7. The presentation of the budget
8. Incoming proposals
9. Decision of the membership fee
10. Election of chairperson
11. Election of the board and alternates
12. Election of the organizational supervisor (applicable for one year at a time)
13. Election of auditor and, if necessary, an alternate auditor. The alternate auditor becomes irrelevant if a professional auditor is elected
14. Any other business

6.12 Minutes are taken of the general meeting serving as minutes of resolutions. The minutes must be approved by the moderator.

6.13 An extraordinary general meeting is held provided that at least 4/5 of the board requests it; if at least 2/5 of the association’s members makes a written request; or if an excluded member has requested it.  Any request for an extraordinary general meeting must state the items that are to be discussed, with the exception of exclusion.

6.14 The extraordinary general meeting is convened by email to the address most recently disclosed by the member, via the association’s website and in a post on at least one social media platform where members can subscribe for notifications no later than 14 days prior to the meeting.  

§ 7 – Amendments to the bylaws

7.1 Proposed amendments to the bylaws may only be adopted at a general meeting provided that no less than 2/3 of the voting members attending the general meeting vote in favour of the amendments. If a proposed amendment does not achieve a 2/3 majority among the attending members, but achieves a simple majority, the proposal may be discussed at an extraordinary general meeting at which the proposed amendment is adopted by a simple majority of votes.   

§ 8 – Dissolution of the association

8.1 If a general meeting decides to dissolve the association in pursuance of Section 7, the assets of the association must be set aside for a duration of two years for the purpose of the possible re-establishment of the association, after which they must be made available to a humanitarian organization or a non-profit association as decided by the general meeting which supports purposes consistent with the object of the association.   

§ 9 – Commencement

9.1 These bylaws were adopted at the general meeting on 7 November 2022.