In 2022, the Board of Directors decided to remove kingdom newsletters from behind a paywall and make the newsletters freely accessible from the SCA.org website. This change caused all references in the Governing Documents of the SCA, Inc. to “subscribing memberships” and requirements for immediate access to a newsletter at one’s home to become obsolete. The Board of Directors is seeking commentary on the changes to the Governing Documents necessary to bring them in line with the reality that the newsletters are no longer of limited access.
Below are the areas of Corpora, the Bylaws, and Corporate Policies where changes will be needed to bring these documents in line with current practice.
Governing Documents: References to Membership types for Officer Privileges
Bylaws, V.C.2.b—Members-General Conditions and Privileges of Membership-Privileges of Members-Eligibility for Office:
Officers at all levels of the SCA must be members and must have immediate access to the corporate newsletter for their area. This standard also applies to deputies designated as successors to officers subject to this provision or assigned independent administrative duties. Deputies who only assist with specific tasks are exempt from the newsletter access requirement.
Corporate Policies, I.B, 1-4—Membership Types-Non-Statutory Members:
1. Sustaining Membership conveys eligibility to hold office in the SCA, a subscription to a Kingdom newsletter, the option to subscribe to other Corporate publications, and any other privileges designated by the SCA or its subdivisions as accruing to members of the SCA. This type of membership is considered a subscribing membership.
2. International Membership conveys the privileges of Section I.B.1. This membership type is available only in locations outside the United States which are part of the SCA, Inc., and not subject to an affiliate corporation. This type of membership is considered a subscribing membership.
3. Associate Membership conveys eligibility to hold office in the SCA, except where other membership categories are required by the Governing Documents. Associate membership also entitles the holder to any privileges designated by the SCA or its subdivisions as accruing to members of the SCA, except where another membership type is specifically required by the organization defining the privilege. This type of membership is not considered a subscribing membership.
4. Family Membership extends the privileges of Section I.B.1 to one additional adult and any children aged 21 or younger who live at the same physical address as a member defined in paragraphs B.1-B.2 of this Article. This type of membership is not considered a subscribing membership.
Corporate Policies, II.C: General Conditions and Privileges of Membership-Eligibility for Office:
Officers at all levels of the SCA must be members as defined in I.B.1-4 above. and must have immediate access to the corporate newsletter for their area provided by a subscribing membership at their residence. (Alternate access arrangements may be made on a case-by-case basis for people with post office boxes and for International Members.) This standard also applies to deputies designated as successors to officers subject to this provision or assigned independent administrative duties. Deputies who only assist with specific tasks are exempt from the newsletter access requirement.
Corpora—Glossary:
Subscribing member: A Sustaining or International member of the SCA, Inc. or its approved equivalent in an affiliated organization.
Corpora I.D.2– General-Membership Requirements-Officers:
a. Officers at all levels of the Society must be Society members as defined in the By-Laws and Corporate Polices of the SCA, Inc. Glossary. and must have immediate access to the corporate newsletter for their area received at their residence. (Alternate access arrangements may be made for members of affiliated organizations or on a case-by-case basis for people with post office boxes and for International Members.) This standard also applies to deputies designated as successors to officers subject to this provision or assigned independent administrative duties. Deputies who only assist with specific tasks are exempt from the newsletter access requirement.
Corpora III.A.2—Branches-General:
While international memberships may be used in the calculation of membership totals for branch status, a branch based on international memberships must have least one subscription to the appropriate corporate publication for their geographic area. The exact number required is a matter for negotiation among the Seneschals of the branch, principality, and kingdom, and the Society Seneschal. The required subscription(s) may be purchased communally by the branch.
Corpora, including the By-Laws, can be found in its entirety here: https://www.sca.org/resources/document-library/govdocs/.
Please email all commentary to
and use the title “Newsletter References” in the subject line.
NOTE: Do not use attachments in your commentary. Attachments will mark your message as spam and it will be rejected by the server.
You can also send commentary by mail, Postage-Prepaid, to:
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
RE: Newsletter References
P.O. Box 611928
San Jose, CA 95161
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