Money & Financial Ethics

Section 1: Purpose

Thronos recognizes that money and other material resources are necessary for people and organizations to accomplish worthwhile purposes.

Money may therefore be used within or alongside Thronos, but financial activity shall remain subject to honesty, stewardship, transparency, and the purposes of the organization.

Thronos shall not treat money as the measure of a person's worth, contribution, or standing within the community.

Section 2: Thronos Is Not a Crowdfunding Platform

Thronos is not a crowdfunding platform.

Membership does not create an entitlement to financial support from Thronos or from other members.

A person who creates a Project is responsible for identifying and obtaining the resources necessary to undertake it unless Thronos has expressly committed resources to that Project.

Members shall not be pressured to finance another person's Project merely because they belong to the same community.

The community may provide knowledge, skills, relationships, labour, resources, encouragement, and other forms of assistance without assuming financial responsibility for every Project.

Section 3: What Thronos May Charge For

Thronos may charge reasonable fees for goods, services, programmes, events, resources, facilities, memberships, or other activities where a fee is appropriate to the nature and cost of what is being provided.

Examples may include:

use of facilities;

events requiring payment;

physical goods;

educational or training programmes;

specialized services;

publications or resources;

accommodation or hospitality where applicable;

or other lawful activities established by Thronos.

The existence of paid activities does not mean that ordinary participation in The Third Place must be paid.

Thronos should distinguish clearly between community participation and paid goods or services.

Section 4: Sale of Goods and Services by Members

Members may sell lawful goods or services through or in connection with Thronos where such activity is permitted by the relevant Space, Project, facility, or policy.

Commercial activity must remain relevant to its context and must not become spam, harassment, exploitation, or persistent unsolicited solicitation.

A member's ability to sell something through Thronos does not constitute an endorsement by Thronos of the product, service, business, or individual.

Where appropriate, Thronos may establish separate spaces or structures for commerce among members.

Section 5: Projects and Financial Resources

Projects may require financial resources.

A Project creator may identify financial requirements as part of the Project's needs and may seek lawful sources of funding outside the ordinary obligations of Thronos membership.

Where a Project involves donations, investment, loans, commercial transactions, or other financial arrangements, the terms and responsibilities of those arrangements should be clearly communicated to the persons involved.

Participation in a Project does not by itself create a financial relationship between its participants.

Thronos shall not represent a Project as financially supported by the organization unless Thronos has expressly agreed to provide such support.

Section 6: Solicitation Between Members

Members shall not use Thronos primarily as a means of soliciting money from other members.

Repeated requests for loans, donations, investments, purchases, or financial assistance may be restricted or prohibited within Thronos spaces.

Particular care shall be taken where a person requesting money has authority, influence, or a position of trust over the person being asked.

Voluntary transactions between members may occur where lawful and appropriate, but they remain personal transactions unless Thronos is itself a party to them.

Section 7: Donations to Thronos

Thronos may receive donations and other voluntary contributions from individuals, organizations, institutions, or other lawful sources.

Donations shall be used in accordance with the purposes of Thronos and any lawful restrictions attached to them.

A donation does not automatically give the donor authority over Thronos, its members, Projects, leadership, or decisions.

Where a donation is given for a specific purpose, Thronos shall make reasonable efforts to honour that purpose or appropriately communicate where the intended use cannot be fulfilled.

Section 8: Gifts and Benefits to Leaders

Persons exercising authority within Thronos shall not use their position to solicit personal financial benefits from members.

Leaders may receive reasonable compensation for legitimate work performed for Thronos where such compensation has been appropriately authorized.

Gifts or other benefits offered to leaders should not create an obligation, expectation, or conflict of interest.

Thronos may establish policies governing gifts, hospitality, compensation, reimbursements, and other benefits received by persons exercising organizational authority.

Section 9: Compensation and Employment

Thronos may employ or contract people to perform work necessary for the organization.

People performing legitimate work for Thronos may receive reasonable compensation in accordance with the terms of their employment or engagement.

Voluntary community participation should not be confused with unpaid labour that Thronos has an obligation to compensate.

Where a person is regularly performing work on behalf of Thronos under circumstances that create an employment or contractual relationship, the organization shall seek to structure that relationship appropriately.

Section 10: Financial Stewardship

Thronos' financial resources shall be managed with honesty, care, and accountability.

Organizational funds shall not be treated as the personal property of individual leaders, employees, volunteers, or members.

Financial records shall be maintained to a degree appropriate to the size and activities of the organization.

Persons entrusted with financial authority shall act within the authority given to them and shall be accountable for the resources placed in their care.

Section 11: Transparency and Conflicts of Interest

Financial relationships that could reasonably create a conflict of interest for a person exercising authority within Thronos should be disclosed to the appropriate authority.

No leader should use organizational resources, confidential information, influence, or authority to obtain an improper personal financial advantage.

Where Thronos enters into a significant financial arrangement with a person connected to its leadership, appropriate authorization and documentation should be required.

Section 12: Financial Misconduct

Thronos prohibits fraud, theft, embezzlement, bribery, financial deception, misappropriation of resources, and other dishonest financial conduct.

No person may misrepresent the financial condition, funding, costs, ownership, or intended use of resources associated with Thronos or a Thronos Project.

Where financial misconduct is suspected, Thronos may restrict access to funds, suspend relevant authority, investigate the matter, and take other appropriate action.

Serious matters may be referred to appropriate external authorities.

Section 13: Financial Relationships and Endorsement

Participation in Thronos does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement of financial transactions between members.

Thronos shall not be responsible for a private transaction merely because the parties met through the community or because the transaction was discussed within a Thronos Space.

Where Thronos itself recommends, facilitates, administers, or becomes a party to a financial transaction, the nature of its involvement should be made clear.

Section 14: Access and Financial Standing

A person's wealth or ability to pay shall not determine their inherent worth within Thronos.

Where Thronos establishes a fee for a particular service, programme, event, or resource, inability to pay shall not be treated as a moral failure.

Thronos may establish scholarships, waivers, subsidized access, or other arrangements where appropriate, without creating a general obligation to provide free access to every paid activity.

Section 15: The Principle of Stewardship

Thronos treats financial resources as things to be stewarded rather than worshipped.

Money may enable worthwhile work, sustain institutions, provide opportunities, and help people carry responsibilities.

It may also create temptation, dependency, manipulation, inequality, and conflict when handled poorly.

Thronos therefore seeks to cultivate a culture in which people can earn honestly, spend wisely, give freely, steward carefully, and remain free from the belief that money determines human worth.

Section 16: The Financial Character of Thronos

Thronos shall seek to remain financially responsible without allowing financial considerations to become the sole measure of its purposes.

The organization may charge for legitimate goods and services, receive donations, employ people, operate facilities, support appropriate Projects, and engage in other lawful financial activity necessary to fulfil its purposes.

At the same time, The Third Place and ordinary community participation shall not be understood as a marketplace in which belonging is purchased.

Thronos exists first as a community and organization serving its purposes; money is a means of sustaining that work, not its ultimate purpose.