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Policies - September 17, 2017

POLICIES of Arisia, Incorporated

Revised September 17, 2017

Corporate Policies - Convention Policies



  1. Dues for all members are payable on September 1st of each year. Any member who joins during the year shall be pro-rated to the following September 1st. All memberships expire September 1st. There is an automatic grace period until the start of elections at the Annual meeting. The eboard may choose to extend the grace period for all members to no later than December 31st of the Corporate Year. Any member who has neither paid their dues, nor requested a hardship waiver, shall have their membership expire at the beginning of elections of the Annual Meeting. The clerk shall notify any member who has neither paid their dues nor requested a hardship waiver by September 1st.
  2. Members who request a waiver of dues or makes other dues arrangement due to financial hardship shall remain confidential and will not be reported in the minutes.


  1. The Executive Board shall appoint the next Convention Chair. This appointment shall be made no later than the Annual Meeting.
  2. Where space permits, a notice that Arisia, Mentor of Arisia, and the Arisia Lens, are service marks of Arisia, Incorporated shall be affixed. Preferably, the most prominent appearances of the name should bear the superscript of SM.
  3. The Clerk shall receive INSTANT MESSAGE, the newsletter of the New England Science Fiction Association, and other newsletters, and make it available to the Executive Board members.
  4. The executive board has the authority to approve and set ad rates where not otherwise set by the membership in bylaws or policies. Such rates must exceed marginal costs.
  5. Only the Executive Board of Arisia, Incorporated may speak on behalf of the corporation.
  6. The Clerk is responsible for the timely distribution of Arisia mail from the mailbox to the responsible individuals. The Clerk shall make an archive copy of all appropriate paper correspondence. This task may be delegated.
  7. No Corporate or Convention entity may enter into any agreement that violates any Corporate or Convention Bylaw or Policy or any applicable Federal, State, county or municipal laws, regulations or codes.


  1. The Executive Board has the authority to look into bonds for future plans--not immediate needs.
  2. Any two members of the Executive Board may authorize issuing of promissory notes.
  3. There will be a thorough review of the books every time there is a change of treasurer unless the outgoing treasurer has been in office for less than a year.
  4. Corporate dues should be sufficient to cover basic corporate expenses unless that amount would be clearly excessive. When more specific figures are available, corporate dues will be reviewed according to this principle.
  5. Anyone receiving income must report the source of that income for IRS purposes. All expenses are to be accounted for exactly.
  6. All persons with budgetary authority must keep track of the budget balances in consultation with the treasurer.
  7. All money received by the Corporation from any source for any purpose, excluding convention business, must be recorded in a receipt book maintained by the Corporate Treasurer for such purposes without regard to the form the payment is received in; further, a receipt of payment must be returned to the payer as soon as possible after receiving the payment.
  8. Treasury Staff shall not send any amount of cash through the mail.
  9. Anyone being put on the Hotel Master Bill but not being comped will provide an imprint of a credit card to the Treasurer before keys are handed out.
  10. The Treasurer shall publish in each Mentor a balance sheet listing balances of all accounts, and the balances of fund reserved special purposes.
  11. After a Convention Chair has been selected and approved by the Membership, but before they have passed a budget for their convention, they shall have budgetary authority to spend no more than 2% of the gross revenue of the convention three years previous. This money is intended to go to various marketing and setup expenses (parties, etc.) that might occur well before the budget process. All money spent under this authority must be accounted for in their convention budget eventually presented to the Corporation.
  12. The Convention Budget should include an expense line of 2% of the total income budget for ConChair expense reimbursement.


  1. All corporate members of Arisia, Incorporated shall receive a 20% discount on all Arisia merchandise.
  2. The Executive Board has the authority to set merchandise prices.
  3. Three (3) Sales Shirts from each year will be kept for Archival Purposes; Sales Shirts from years preceding the current year which are determined by the Executive Board, in consultation with the Corporate Sales Officer, to be excess will be donated to a charity of the Executive Board's choosing. Furthermore, Lens T-shirts shall be considered an acceptable replacement for 1990 Sales T-shirts, but that actual 1990 Corporate Sales Shirts be preferred, if available.


  1. All reports, announcements, and items for submission to the corporate newsletter shall be submitted in writing. Oral reports and announcements shall be reported as best as possible.
  2. All major matters of new business shall be submitted to the Executive Board in writing prior to a meeting of the membership for review prior to discussion.
  3. Motions or proposals that touch on areas covered by any standing committee or corporate official shall be deferred to said committee or official for review and recommendation prior to being brought before the membership.
  4. Meetings shall be set at those places and times which are convenient for the majority of the membership and not restricted to weekends only.
  5. By Action of the Membership, the default Time and Location for Corporate Meetings for the 2016-2017 Membership Year is 2:00 PM; at MIT Building 66 room 168 (or an adjacent room along the same corridor). According to the Bylaws, the default date is the Third Sunday of the month.
  6. Any Corporate Member wishing to participate in a Corporate Meeting must do so in person or via a proxy (as described in the Bylaws).  If they wish to participate via a proxy, it is up to the Corporate Member to arrange with their proxy how they are kept informed of the progress of the meeting.


  1. The correct honorific to address the president is General Arisia.
  2. The Executive Board may establish a Long Range Planning Committee to be responsible for researching long-term issues facing the corporation. The number of members shall be set at the discretion of the Board and the interest of the membership.
  3. The Executive Board may establish a Merchandising Committee, to be responsible for making and selling of all items of merchandise that the corporation sells. The number of members shall be set at the discretion of the Board and the interest of the membership.
  4. The Executive Board shall establish the position of Corporate Inventory Control Officer.
    1. All keys handed out for Arisia storage be numbered on at least one side of the key with the following number scheme: Set Number.Key Number. For example: 1.1 would be set 1, key 1; 8.4 would be set 8, key 4.
    2. The Executive Board shall maintain a sign out record (including contact information) for keys to Arisia Incorporated controlled areas.
  5. The following process shall be observed when selecting a Convention Chair:
    1. The identity of all candidates shall be public knowledge.
    2. When there is more than one candidate, each candidate must be interviewed.
    3. The selection process should begin in October, 27 months before the start of the convention for which they are to be appointed and confirmation by the corporate membership should be no later than the December Corporate meeting. For Arisia 2019, the selection process should begin in February 2017.
    4. The Executive Board selects and appoints the Convention Chair so as to avoid a popular vote. The Executive Board is expected to use their judgment when making their selection, and should be able to substantiate the decision if questioned by the membership.
    5. The resumes of all candidates will be published in the Corporate Newsletter.
  6. The Student Art Contest and Student Writing Contest shall be corporate functions.
    • Student Art Contest and Student Writing Contest prize money shall be paid from corporate funds.
    • Administrative costs shall come from the corporation
    • The cost of transporting the contest submissions in both directions shall be the financial responsibility of the entrants


  1. Keys may be given out to individuals who need to access storage on a regular basis. Keyholders may not lend out keys to other individuals without EBoard or CIC approval.
  2. Equipment and goods may be stored in Arisia Storage with permission of the EBoard or CIC, provided such items may be used by Arisia for free, ie "at no charge".
  3. Personal (and Arisia owned) equipment in Arisia Storage is not insured by Arisia.  If there is any loss or damage, Arisia will not cover the loss or damage but will pass on a pro-rated portion of any money collected from a third party.
  4. All equipment in Arisia Storage must be labeled with, or be in a container labeled with the owners name; additionally all Arisia owned equipment must be labeled with, or be in a container labeled with the responsible department.
  5. Equipment in storage may be loaned out with EBoard approval. However Common Courtesy and Common Sense dictate that individual owners, and/or committee members responsible for such equipment be consulted before any loan is approved.
    1. Any time anything is loaned out from storage, an inventory record of said items should be sent to all keyholders to facilitate proper "check-in" when all items are returned.
    2. Anyone borrowing anything from Arisia Storage must agree to return everything in a like condition as borrowed, or to repair or replace anything damaged in a timely manner.
  6. The Arisia CIC must maintain a contact list of all keyholders, and all individuals or organizations storing anything in storage. A copy of said list shall be posted in a conspicuous place in storage.


  1. This Privacy Policy applies to ARISIA, Incorporated, and all functions directly and solely sponsored by ARISIA, Incorporated; hereafter referred to as "ARISIA."
    1. This includes but is not limited to the annual Arisia Convention.
  2. ARISIA may collect personally identifying information in order to create, manage, or enhance our relationship with our corporate & convention members and web site users.
    1. This includes, but is not limited to, names, postal mail addresses, phone numbers and/or email addresses.
    2. This does not include credit card information, which is covered by PCI compliance.
  3. ARISIA shall not sell personally identifying information to any party.
  4. ARISIA shall not share personally identifying information that it collects with unaffiliated third parties without the express consent of the individual, or, as required by Federal, State, County or Local laws.
    1. Affiliated third parties are those organizations used by or who provide services to ARISIA and/or the events it sponsors in order to perform its functions
      1. This includes, but is not limited to, Registration Services Providers, Bulk Mail House Service Providers, Hotel and Housing Services, Transportation services.
    2. Non-governmental third parties accepting data from ARISIA, for ARISIA's benefit or their own, are required to agree to keep the personally identifying information confidential under a policy substantially similar to this Privacy Policy.


  1. A request to consider disciplinary action against a person or persons may be brought to the eboard by any corporate member. The Eboard will look into all such requests in as confidential a manner as possible.

    After investigating, the Eboard will notify the person(s) involved, and then report their decision to the Corporation with twelve days notice including action to be taken. Any Eboard member involved will be automatically recused from participating in the investigation and decision. The confidentiality of other person(s) involved in the complaint including those making the request will be protected in this report. If the only action taken is a warning (whether verbal or written), the Eboard may vote to keep the name(s) of the person(s) warned confidential in the report given at the meeting. If no action is taken, the confidentiality of all person(s) involved in the complaint will be protected in this report. No matter what action is taken, no names will be published in Mentor nor elsewhere in public and restricted as much as possible after the report to those with a need to know. Possible actions include but are not limited to a ban from attending, volunteering, staffing, or otherwise participating for a number of year(s) or permanently. If the Membership wishes to overturn this decision of the EBoard under bylaw 4.4, a motion to do so shall be in order only during New Business of the corporate meeting at which this decision is reported or the corporate meeting immediately after. After that, the decision is binding on future events but may be appealed to the EBoard after at least one year. Such appeals will be heard by the then current Eboard and will be handled in the same fashion as original requests.

    Revocation of convention membership because of actions at or involving the current year's convention is up to the Convention Chair or their designee. Revocation of membership because of actions not involving the current year's convention should always use this process. A Convention Chair may always choose that they do not wish a particular person or person(s) working on their con.


  1. The Eboard will appoint a committee of three from the voting and ex-officio members of the eboard to review and manage incident reports, with preference to them being the members at large. Those three people should select one of their number as chair of the committee to:
    1. To take physical responsibility for reports, log books, and related materials from the ops div head at the end of the convention
    2. To be the point of contact for incident reports received by email and to ensure they are archived and referred appropriately
    3. To acknowledge all incident reports within two weeks of receipt

    Based on their review of the incident reports, the committee shall bring complaints as needed to the Eboard for investigation and possible disciplinary action.

    Incident reports are not to be shared with other people or organizations other than the people in Arisia who take the reports or participate in the investigation. Actions taken as a result of the report can be shared with others under the restrictions given elsewhere in corporate policies. Incident reports that are referred to the Eboard are handled in accordance with the Disciplinary Policy above.


  1. The clerk may provide two issues of Mentor to non-members who attend meetings or who otherwise show or are thought to be interested in Arisia.
  2. Contact information for individuals (for instance, in MENTOR) should not be posted to the Web in searchable text form, unless requested otherwise.
  3. The annual Arisia Smofcon Scholarship is included by reference as a corporate policy, and may only be changed via the same mechanisms which are allowed to change corporate policy.


  1. The Arisia Code-of-Conduct is included by reference as a corporate policy, and may only be changed via the same mechanisms which are allowed to change corporate policy.

    The Convention Committee is required to establish and document a procedure that is publicly accessible for taking incident reports, including but not limited to violations of Arisia's code of conduct, during the convention.

    The procedure will support the following:

    • We take all complaints into consideration.
    • We may initiate significant action in response to a single complaint.
    • We are careful to correctly identify persons in the complaint.
    • We treat the people making complaints with respect, listen to them, and take the complaints seriously.
    • When appropriate, we work to bring about a resolution which mitigates future harm (so far as is possible).
    • An offending party will be told there is a complaint against them but the source of the complaint will not be identified, nor will that person be given an opportunity to confront the person making the complaint.

    In cases where it is possible for an offense to be redressed and where the people making complaints would like such an action, we will if possible help this to occur

  2. Advertising Rates (to be adjusted if costs change).
    1. Ad rates
      Category/Size Full 1/2 1/3 1/4
      Pro $580 $360 $280 $220
      Semi-Pro $290 $180 $140 $110
      Fan $145 $90 $70 $55

      Extra Charges
      Center: +$575
      Color: +$600
      Bleed +$50
      Inside Cover: +475
      Outside Cover: +$900
    2. Semi-pro and Fan rates may be used at the discretion of the Convention Chair of the current Arisia or their designee where an advertiser does not simply fit into the Pro category. The Semi-Pro rate is always available to Dealers, Artists, and Artist Agents who participate in Arisia. The Fan rate is always available to any 501(c) organization or the equivalent non-US organization.
    3. Pocket Program & Restaurant Guide rates:
      Pocket Program same as Souvenir Book (because of high cost of publication among other things).
      Restaurant guide $300, $200, $125, discount for advertisers to give a discount to Arisia attendees.
    4. NO coupons in lieu of payment for ads.
    5. Prices quoted are for camera ready copy.
    6. Arisia will have a perpetual one-page black and white SB ad trade (swap) with NESFA and a half page B&W ad swap with Readercon.
  3. Art Show Rates
    1. The standard unit of Art Show panel space shall be four foot by four foot (4' x 4') in size. The standard unit of Art Show table space shall be as close to a thirty-inch by six-foot (30" x 6') table as can be provided.
    2. The cost for panel shall be $28 and the cost for table space shall be $36.
      1 Table 6' X 30" $36
      1 Panel 4' X 4' $28
      ½ Table 3' X 30" $18
      ½ Panel 4' X 2' $18
    3. The convention may sell any kind of fractional space, rounding the price up to the nearest dollar.
    4. The cost for floor space for free standing art shall be the same as for table space. Oversized pieces of art will be charged at a special rate.
    5. All high school students, and any college level art student enrolled full time in an accredited degree granting institution shall have their first unit of space fee waived.
    6. The Print Shop has a limit of three to ten copies per unique image. One copy of each item must be displayed on the artist's panel or table.
    7. There shall be a fifteen-dollar ($15.00) service charge to process mail-in art. A prepaid return shipping label or completed waybill should accompany the art.
    8. The Arisia Artist Guest of Honor shall not be charged any Art Show or Print Shop fees or commissions.
  4. Dealer Rates
    1. The fee for the Dealers Room is $120 per table.
    2. The fee for the Dealers' Row is $120 per room, and does not include the cost of renting the room from the hotel.
    3. Dealers fees do not include memberships.
  5. Registration Policies
    1. Each convention will set a cap subject to approval by the corporation on the number of members on site at a single point in the convention, known as the "registration cap".
      1. The Registration cap for Arisia 2016 is 4200.
      2. If no action is taken, the registration cap will default to the number established for the previous convention.
      3. Registration shall keep records such that the registration cap can be calculated and the Convention Chair can be kept informed of the number.
      4. The calculation used to measure the registration cap is: Total full weekend registrations (sold and comps) + one-day comps and paid one-day memberships for that day.
      5. The Convention Chair shall be allowed to increase the registration cap by 10% before convening the Executive Board of Arisia, Incorporated, in order to increase the limit further.
      6. The Convention Chair shall consult, if possible, with division heads and with the head of Security before raising the cap.
    2. Membership Rates
      1. The year-ahead rate is $45.
      2. The pre-reg rate:
        1. Until September 30th is $50.
        2. October 1st through December 31st is $60.
      3. The at-door (after December 31st) rate is $70.
      4. The rate for students (with ID) aged 13-25 is $30.
      5. The rate for children and Fast Track shall be equal to the rate for adult memberships.
      6. The rate for babysitting/childcare shall be $70 regardless of time of purchase.
      7. A membership discount of $5 may be offered at parties that are promoting Arisia at other conventions.
      8. The rates for at-con registration shall be as follows:
        Full weekend          $70
        Friday only             $25
        Saturday only         $50
        Sunday only           $35
        Monday only           $15
    3. The schedule of discounts for group memberships shall be set as follows:
      Size of Group                  Discount
      10-14 memberships            5%
      15-19 memberships          10%
      20-29 memberships          15%
      30+ memberships             20%
      To qualify for the group discounts, the number of memberships must be bought with one check (or credit card, or exact amount in cash). A contact person must submit all the names of the group members. Group memberships must be purchased no later than six weeks before the convention or at the end of the pre-reg period--whichever is earlier.
    4. Memberships that are paid with "REAL MONEY" are transferable within type (child to child, adult to adult) from one person to another, but only for the year in which they are bought. This includes "guest of X" memberships, and normal transfer regulations, letter and ID, apply. Anyone wishing to transfer a membership to another year must have the approval of both the original year's Convention Chair and the new year's Convention Chair.
    5. All "NO-CHARGE" memberships and admissions to Arisia are non-transferable. No-Charge Memberships Shall Include:
      - Earned Memberships (aka Earned Comp)
      - Guest of Honor
      - Former Guest of Honor
      - Press Pass
      - Program Participant Membership (aka Program Comp)
      - Event Participant Membership (aka Event Comp)
      - Gaming Membership (aka Gaming Comp)
      - Award Guest (Student Art, etc.)
      - Paid Worker (babysitters, organist, hired security, Labor Ready, etc)
      - Equipment Exchange (Equipment provided by individual who does not otherwise work for the convention).
      - Kids-(or Adults)-In-Tow
      - Gift Memberships (anything not listed above)
      1. EARNED MEMBERSHIPS are defined as memberships acquired by anyone who puts in the required 12 hours of non-excluded time working on the convention.
        1. Exclusions include:
          1. Time spent participating in a program item.
          2. Time spent while making or attempting to make a personal profit, such as dealers and live role-playing organizers.
          3. Time spent at meetings.
        2. Hours put in before or after the convention must be documented, and will be counted toward the time limit required. An Earned Membership is good at any one Arisia Convention within two conventions of the convention in which it was earned.
        3. Hours worked before a particular convention may count towards an earned membership for the current convention. To qualify, the pre-convention hours must be recorded on a separate timesheet and all pre-convention hours are applied to the current convention's membership (i.e., if a volunteer works 24 hours pre-convention, the volunteer may not apply 12 hours to the current convention's membership and the remaining 12 hours to the next year's convention).
        4. Work involved in set-up and tear-down, including loading and unloading the logistics vehicles, shall count double for volunteer benefits.
      2. GIFT MEMBERSHIPS are obtained from the Convention Chair or their delegate.
        1. A person can not receive a gift membership in two consecutive years.
      3. KIDS-IN-TOW/ADULTS-IN-TOW: are required to always be with a person with a membership when they are in any convention area. This does not apply to any other "no charge" membership.

        1. Program Participants shall be given a full-weekend membership for participating on three (3) or more programming items. Program Participants on 1-2 programming items shall be given single-day membership(s) for the day(s) of the item(s).
        2. Event Organizers (up to two) of each event shall be given a full-weekend membership.
        3. Event Participants (performers and support personnel) shall be given single-day membership(s) for the day(s) of their event(s). Event Participants who participate in three (3) or more event items shall be given a full-weekend membership.
        4. Program Participants who are also Event Participants shall have each event counted as a programming item for purposes of comp membership.
        1. Tabletop Game Masters scheduled to run four and one half (4.5) or more hours of gaming for four (4) or more players shall be given a full weekend membership. Each 1.5 hours of scheduled game time shall be counted as a programming item for purposes of comp membership as in Convention Policy V.e.4.
        2. LARP Moderators shall be considered “Event Organizers” for the purpose of the policy in Convention Policy V.e.4., and shall be able to designate a reasonable number of assistants as Event Participants.
      4. Single-day comped membership may be upgraded to a full weekend memberships for the price of the earliest available pre-reg rate (not the year-ahead rate) as specified in Convention Policy V.B.
      5. Exceptions to this policy require authorization from the Convention Chair or his/her delegate. Exceptions shall be summarized to the corporation.
    6. There will be no distinction made on badges between paid and "no charge" memberships. This does not include Program Participant ribbons, or Kids-In-Tow or Adults-In-Tow indicators.
    7. Lost badges shall be replaced for a one-time fee of $5.00. The fee shall be refundable upon return of original badge. The second time a lost badge replacement is requested the party will be required to purchase a replacement membership at full price.
    8. Memberships may not be sold for a single function (e.g., Masquerade or a concert).
    9. All past Arisia GOHs and Special Guests receive comp memberships in future Arisias, if requested.
  6. Each Convention Chair is allowed to select the Guests of Honor for their convention.
  7. Each Convention Chair is allowed to make use of ARISIA, the Arisia Lens, and any other Arisia marks on gifts.
  8. Concerning line item transfers within the Convention Budget,
    1. A Convention Chair may transfer funds from the contingency fund in the Convention Budget in accordance with Section 9.4 of the Bylaws.
    2. A Division Head may, with the approval of the Convention Chair, transfer funds between any other line items in the Convention Budget within that division provided that:
      1. The total sum of income and expenditures remain unchanged.
      2. The Division Head shall report each transfer to the Corporate and Convention Treasurers.
      3. Transfer of funds between divisions may be made, with the approval of the Executive Board after the last Corporate Meeting before the convention.
  10. Any person holding a party to promote an Arisia Convention shall be allotted twenty dollars ($20.00) as gratuity for the housekeeping staff. Further, said person may be compensated for any additional charges placed by the hotel upon the party room for cleaning purposes. Finally, the Convention Chair may authorize up to the cost of one room night be paid if the party host attended the convention for the sole purpose of publicizing Arisia.
  11. The Convention Budget, starting with Arisia 2017, should include an expense line of 2% of the total income budget for ConChair expense reimbursement to cover some of the reasonable and customary extra possible expenses of being a Conchair, such as Div Head gifts, suite rental at con, travel to other cons, meals when meeting with staff members pre-con, and so on. These expenses would be subject to normal Arisia expense policies. Whenever possible, the Eboard should be notified in advance of incurring such expenses.
  12. Anyone bringing a lawsuit against Arisia, Incorporated, or any Arisia function, event, or subsidiary, shall not be allowed to attend any Arisia convention until said suit is resolved.
  13. Anyone working 8 hours at the convention will receive a Team Arisia T-shirt. Pre-con work shall count toward T-shirts.
  14. All dealers (both Dealers' Room and Dealers' Row) are required to sign a liability waiver (to indemnify Arisia from stupid things dealers do) as part of the dealers contract. The eboard shall provide the wording of the waiver.
  15. For all debts owed to Arisia or an Arisia convention incurred from March 2010 forward, no one owing more than the at-door cost of an adult membership is allowed to attend without repaying the entire debt or making a payment plan acceptable to the Corporate Treasurer first.
  16. Relaxacon registration rates shall be:
    1. Prereg: $25 for the weekend
      $10 for Friday, $20 for Saturday, and $5 for Sunday.
    2. At con: $35 for the weekend
      $15 for Friday, $25 for Saturday, and $10 for Sunday.
    3. Children of Fast Track age are half-price.
    4. Younger children are free.