Statutes
§ 1. Name, Location
The association bears the name »initiative neue musik berlin e. V.« (abbreviated as »inm«) and is located in Berlin. It is registered in the register of associations.
§ 2. Purpose
The purpose of the association is the promotion of art and culture (revenue code §52, paragraph 2, clause 1, number 5) in the field of new art music in the Berlin area with the intention of promoting the creation and dissemination of new art music. In doing so, the association aims to maintain, strengthen and support Berlin as a city of art and culture and as an international hub of contemporary music. The association pursues this purpose in such a way that it takes note of, coordinates and publicly represents the financial and material concerns of the artists, ensembles, groups and institutions active in this field. The association pursues this purpose without discrimination or preference on the basis of origin, nationality, language, gender, sexual identity, social class or position, disability, religion, ideology, political conviction or race. The purpose of the statutes is realised through the promotion and support of events with contemporary music in the broadest and also cross-media sense as well as their participants, through cooperation with institutions promoting and disseminating music such as state departments and administrations, agencies, foundations, publishing houses, institutions under public law such as broadcasting corporations and universities, through coordinated public relations work as well as through the issuing of publications. The purpose of the statutes is realised in particular through the awarding of subsidies for events in the field of contemporary music to project organisers who apply for these. The project organisers are to be regarded as auxiliary persons in the sense of the revenue code, §57, paragraph 1, clause 2. From the applications received, a jury elected by the General Assembly of inm in accordance with §6, paragraph 5 of the Statutes shall select projects in accordance with the funding regulations that correspond to the objectives and concerns of the Association. The results of the selection process are announced publicly. The concrete activities are described in the project applications. The grants are awarded in accordance with and in compliance with the current version of the law on grants for the public benefit, and their use is checked accordingly.
§ 3. Non-Profit Status
(1) The Association shall exclusively and directly pursue charitable purposes within the meaning of the »tTax-privileged purposes« of the tax code. The Association shall act selflessly and shall not primarily pursue its own economic purposes.
2. The funds of the Association may only be used for the purposes set out in the Statutes. Members shall not receive any benefits from the funds of the Association.
3. No person shall be favoured by expenses which are foreign to the purposes of the Association or by disproportionately high remuneration.
§ 4. Financing
The activities of the Association shall be financed by membership fees, contributions from public funds, donations, gifts and other voluntary contributions.
§ 5. Membership
Membership in the Association is open to any natural or legal person with legal capacity who supports its aims as defined in § 2. The Board decides on the admission of members. Applicants rejected by the Board have the possibility to appeal to the General Assembly.
Membership must be applied for in writing. It ends through resignation, death or expulsion. Only the General Assembly has the right to decide on an expulsion; in this case a two-thirds majority of the votes present is required.
Reasons for the expulsion of a member are serious violations of the statutes or against the interests of the initiative.
§ 6. Executive Bodies
The executive bodies of the Association are the General Assembly (GA), the Board, the Auditors.
§ 6 (1) General Assembly (GA)
The GA is the highest executive body of the Association.
Every natural member and every representative of a legal member has the right to vote and to stand for election.
Each natural member has one vote, each legal member has two votes.
Votes are transferable and in this case require a written proxy; however, a member may not have more than four votes.
The GA decides on the basic tasks and the work programme in the sense of § 2. It accepts the accountability report of the Board and the financial report of the Treasurer and grants approval, if necessary with conditions.
The GA determines the membership fees. Membership fees shall be paid from the 1st January but no later than the 31st January of the current calendar year. At GAs after this date, only members who have paid the subscription shall have the right to vote.
The GA decides on amendments to the Statutes. These require a two-thirds majority of the GA. Proposals for amendments to the Statutes must be submitted in writing to the Board, and the wording must be included in the invitation to the next GA.
The GA elects the Board and the Auditors for a period of two years. There is the possibility of two re-elections.
In order to ensure the continuity of the Board's work, only some new members of the Board shall be elected each year. In even years, the Chair and the Treasurer are elected. In odd-numbered years, the two Vice Chairs and one or two other Board members are elected. In justified exceptional cases, this may be deviated from by resolution of the GA.
The GA has a quorum if at least one third of the members' votes are represented. The GA passes resolutions by simple majority, unless otherwise stipulated in the Statutes. In the event of a tie, the Chair shall have the casting vote. If none of the candidates receives a simple majority of the votes in elections to the Board, a run-off election shall be held between the two candidates with the most votes. The candidate with the most votes in the run-off election shall be elected.
The GA shall meet at least once a year. A special GA may be convened by decision of the Board. It must be convened at the request of at least one third of the members. In accordance with the statutes, the GA can only take place if the Board has issued a written invitation – by post, fax or email – at least four weeks in advance.
All resolutions of the GA shall be recorded in the minutes. The minutes of the GA shall be signed by the Chair and the Secretary.
§ 6 (2) Board
The management of the Association and the conduct of business between the GAs is carried out by the Board. The Board is responsible for the implementation of the resolutions passed by the GA. It is accountable to the GA.
The Board shall consist of the Chair, two Vice Chairs, the Treasurer and one or two other Board members. The number of additional Board members shall be determined by the GA prior to the election of the Board.
Board meetings shall be held at least every six months and before each GA, and also as otherwise required. A quorum of the Board shall exist if at least three Board members are present. Resolutions shall be passed by simple majority. In the event of a tie, the Chair shall have the casting vote. Each Board member shall have only one vote. Votes of Board members are not transferable in Board votes. All resolutions of the Board shall be recorded in the minutes.
The Association shall be represented in and out of court by two Board members jointly, one of whom must be the Chair or Vice Chair.
The Board may co-opt natural persons. Co-opted Board members shall have no voting rights on the Board but shall act in an advisory capacity to the Board. Co-opted Board members shall have no right of representation.
§ 6 (3) Auditors
The GA shall elect two Auditors who may not be Board members at the same time.
The Auditors shall be responsible for the control of the financial transactions. They shall examine the Treasurer's financial report and, if necessary, submit a motion for approval of the actions of the Board. The auditors shall be granted access to all financially relevant documents of the Association.
§ 6 (4) Managing Director
The Board of the Association may appoint a Managing Director who shall be accountable only to the Board. The Managing Director shall be responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the Association and shall carry out the decisions of the Board and the GA. They assume the function of the secretary. The Board may grant the Managing Director power of representation within the framework of the provisions of the Statutes.
§ 6 (5) Jury
The GA elects a Jury every two years, which decides on project funding from public and private donations. The Jury shall consist of seven persons, six of whom shall be elected by the GA. The Chair of the Association is an advisory member of the Jury without voting rights and presides over the meeting of the Jury. He may be represented in this function by one of his deputies. A single re-election is possible. A Jury meeting constitutes a quorum if at least four members of the Jury and the Chairman of the Association, or his deputy, are present. Decisions shall be taken by simple majority. The members of the Jury are not bound by instructions.
§ 7. Dissolution
The dissolution of the Association can only be decided at a GA convened solely for this purpose with a two-thirds majority of the votes. In the event of the dissolution of the Association or in the event of the discontinuation of tax-privileged purposes, its assets shall pass to the Senate Administration of the State of Berlin responsible for culture, which shall use them directly for tax-privileged purposes within the meaning of § 2 of the statutes of the Association. In the event of the dissolution of the Association, its members shall not be entitled to any part of the its assets. There will be no refund of contributions.
adopted on 18.1.1991,
supplemented on 6.10.1997,
supplemented on 7.12.1998,
supplemented on 06.09.2004,
supplemented on 19.01.2006,
supplemented on 26.08.2013,
supplemented on 4.9.2019
modified on 24.5.2021
No legally binding translation.