- Charter/constitute of the association and other internal legislation, if any,
- In case of keeping books on the basis of the operation account method business account; official minute book, membership registration book, document registry book, general journal and operating ledger,
- In case of keeping books on the basis of balance sheet; official minute book, membership registration book, document registry book, journal and ledger,
- Receipts, donation in kind receipts, expenditure documents, in-kind aid delivery notices, authorization certificates,
- Inbounds and outbounds, declarations, notifications, membership documents, documents in relation to estate and assets,
- Documents, related to the fund, if exists,
- Books, ledgers and documents in relation to the economic enterprise,
- Safe, stock and bank account statement as of the date of commencement of the audit, bank account statements for the period to be audited, regarding the debt and credit status and similar documents.
Key advocacy tools include;
- Lobbying,
- Organizing, creating networks,
- Education and awareness raising,
- Monitoring and shadow reporting,
- Press/Media studies,
- Mobilization.
- Identification of the problem that need to be solved through advocacy activities (Problem Analysis),
- Problem analysis in regards to context, structure and culture (Triangle Analysis),
- Developing solutions to the problem analyzed,
- Established the advocacy strategy based on the solutions developed
- To defend communities from adverse changes,
- To achieve widespread, long-term and sustainable changes for the benefit of communities, especially for the benefit of the disadvantaged groups,
- To ensure the responsibilities of governments and decision makers at the level of local, regional, national and international to citizens are met and rights are fully respected
- To strengthen democracy by encouraging the engagement of citizens and civil society organizations in the policy-making process
Outcome Mapping (OM) focuses on changes in the behaviour of the people, groups and organizations influenced by a project or a programme. Like the logical framework, it is a planning methodology that has implications for how monitoring and evaluation is conducted. In other words, OM supports a project or a program to learn about its influence on the progression of change in their direct partners, and therefore helps those in the assessment process think more systematically and pragmatically about what they are doing and to adaptively manage variations in strategies to bring about desired outcomes.
OM is designed to be used at the beginning of a programme/project, after the main focus of that intervention has been decided. There are three key stages to plan an outcome map. They are;
- Intentional Design: The planning stage, where a programme/project reaches consensus on the macro-level changes it wants to influence and the strategies to be used.
- Outcome and Performance Monitoring: Provides a framework for the ongoing monitoring of the programme/project's actions and the boundary partners' progress towards the achievement of outcomes. It is based largely on systematized self-assessment.
- Evaluation Planning: Helps the teams set priorities so they can target evaluation resources and activities where they will be most useful. At this stage, evaluation planning outlines the main elements of the evaluations to be conducted.
The process for identifying the macro-level changes and designing the monitoring framework and evaluation plan is intended to be participatory and, wherever feasible, can involve the full range of stakeholders, including boundary partners. Outcome Mapping is based on principles of participation and purposefully includes those implementing the program in the design and data collection so as to encourage ownership and use of findings.
For more information, please check out the resources below;
Amendments to the bylaws in associations can only be made by a decision of the General Assembly. The Board of Directors or a sufficient number of members prepare the amendment proposal and add it to the agenda of the general assembly.
The meeting call must be made in accordance with the procedure specified in the bylaws, and the amendment agenda item must be clearly stated. At the first meeting, the quorum is the absolute majority of all members. A decision to amend the bylaws is adopted with the vote of at least 2/3 of the members present at the meeting. If the quorum is not met, no majority is required at the second meeting, but the number of participants cannot be less than twice the total number of the Board of Directors and Supervisory Board members. (Turkish Civil Code Articles 78, 81) After the decision, both the old and new versions of the bylaws must be prepared, and each page of the new text must be signed by the Board of Directors members. The minutes of the General Assembly, the attendance list, and the new bylaws must be submitted to the local authority within 30 days following the meeting.
It should be noted that decisions made without meeting the required quorum are considered invalid. If the amendment is not notified to the local authority within the specified time, an administrative fine may be imposed. Amendments to the bylaws cannot be contrary to the Law or the Associations Regulation. Otherwise, the local authority may issue a warning or legal action may be taken.
Real or legal persons with legal capacity have the right to establish associations without prior permission. However, there may be restrictions in special laws regarding members of the Turkish Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies, as well as public officials employed in public institutions and organizations with civil servant status.
In addition, minors who are over the age of 15 and have the power of discernment may, with the written consent of their legal representatives, establish children's associations or become members of already established children's associations in order to protect and develop their social, mental, moral, physical, and intellectual abilities, as well as their rights to sports, education, and training, their social and cultural assets, family structure, and private lives. Persons over the age of 18 cannot be founders or members of children's associations. (Associations Law, Article 3)
The general assembly may be called to an extraordinary meeting by the board of directors whenever deemed necessary by the board of directors or the supervisory board, or upon a written request by 1/5 of the association members. If the board of directors fails to call the general assembly to a meeting, upon the application of one of the members, the civil court of peace appoints 3 members to call the general assembly to a meeting. (Associations Regulation, Article 13)
In associations, an extraordinary general assembly is convened in urgent situations deemed necessary by the board of directors or the supervisory board, or upon a written request by 1/5 of the association's members. In response to these requests, the board of directors is obliged to call the general assembly to meet within 30 days. Otherwise, the members may apply to the Magistrate to request the assignment for holding the meeting. (Turkish Civil Code Art. 75)
There is an avenue for appealing administrative fines imposed on the association. An administrative fine objection lawsuit can be filed by applying to the competent Criminal Court of Peace within 15 days from the date the penalty decision is notified to the association. This period is a statute of limitations; if no application is made within the deadline, the penalty becomes final.
All natural persons who have legal capacity (over 18 years old, have the power of discernment, and have not been declared legally incapacitated by a court) and legal entities have the right to become members of associations. (Turkish Civil Code Art. 64)
Children cannot become members of associations as they do not have legal capacity to act. However, children over the age of 12 can become members of children's associations with the written consent of their legal representatives, while children over the age of 15 can become members of the management and supervisory boards in children's associations. Persons over the age of 18 cannot be founders or members of children's associations. (Associations Law Article 3)
Associations are legally required to regularly notify the local administrative authority. The annual declaration must be submitted by the end of April each year. (Associations Law Article 19, Associations Regulation Article 83)
Changes of address, governing bodies, or statutes must be reported within 30 days following the change. (Associations Regulation Article 92)
Acquisition of real estate must be reported within 30 days from registration at the land registry (Associations Regulation Article 93). Notification of general assembly results must be made within 30 days following the general assembly meeting. (Associations Regulation Article 17)
Associations wishing to receive financial assistance from abroad must notify the authorities in advance; monetary donations must be received via a bank. (Associations Regulation Articles 18, 19)
Foreign associations must submit their activity notifications within the first two months of the following year. Failure to submit these notifications on time and accurately may result in administrative fines, and if deficiencies are not remedied, legal proceedings may be initiated. (Associations Regulation Article 29)
Associations are obliged to notify the local administrative authority of any changes in place of residence, any changes in the association’s organs other than general assembly meetings, any amendments to their statutes, and information about real estate they have acquired.
The notification of changes in the place of residence, changes in the association’s organs, and amendments to the statutes must be made within 45 days from the date of change. Real estate must be reported within 30 days from its registration in the title deed. Notifications regarding real estate can be made through DERBIS.
Associations may receive in-kind and monetary aid from individuals, institutions, and organizations abroad provided that they notify the local civil administration authority in advance. It is mandatory that monetary aid be received through banks and that the notification requirement is fulfilled before the aid is used or spent.
Associations that are to receive aid from abroad must complete the 'Notification of Receiving Aid from Abroad' and inform the local civil administration authority. This is carried out via DERBIS (Associations Information System). If this notification is not made, an administrative fine is imposed in accordance with Article 32 of Law No. 5253 on Associations, and this penalty is personally imposed on the chairperson of the board of directors.
If the aid received is within the scope of a specific project, the project's name, purpose, type of aid, and budget (advance, installment, etc.) should also be included in the notification, thereby clarifying the limits of how the aid may be used.
The supervisory board consists of at least 3 principal and 3 substitute members, or as many members as specified in the association’s bylaws.
The supervisory board carries out its audit duties according to the principles and procedures specified in the association’s bylaws; the audit results are submitted to the board of directors and the general assembly in a report. (Turkish Civil Code Article 86)
Internal auditing is fundamental in associations. Internal audits can be conducted by the general assembly, the board of directors, or the audit committee, and it is also possible to commission independent auditing firms to conduct audits. The fact that an audit has been carried out by the general assembly, the board of directors, or independent auditing firms does not relieve the audit committee of its responsibilities. (Association Law, article 9)
The internal audit of associations is carried out at the intervals specified in the association's bylaws. However, according to Law No. 5253 on Associations, it is mandatory for the audit committee to audit the association's financial and administrative transactions at least once a year.
Unless otherwise specified in the bylaws, the board of directors consists of 5 principal and 5 substitute members. It is possible to increase this minimum number through the association's bylaws. Membership of the board of directors begins with an election and continues until the end of the membership term. The duties and powers of board members start once the elected members expressly or implicitly accept their election to the board. Members cannot be forced to accept membership on the board of directors. The duration of board membership is usually specified in the association's bylaws. In general, this period corresponds to the time between two general assembly terms. Membership usually ends when this period expires. However, membership may also end before the term through dissolution of the association, resignation, dismissal, or the fulfillment of conditions specified in the bylaws (such as not attending three consecutive meetings). (Turkish Civil Code articles 84, 85)
It has been made possible for association presidents and members of the association’s board of management and supervisory board to be considered insured if, in addition to their existing roles within the association, they perform work under an employment contract that could otherwise be carried out by third parties. (Social Security Institution General Communiqué No. 2019/9 dated 24.04.2019 regarding changes in insurance procedures)
The important point to note here is the nature of the work to be performed and the employment contract. The work that is the subject of the employment contract must be of a different nature than the work carried out as part of their board of management or supervisory board memberships. For example, if (A), a member of the association’s board of management, also wishes to work as a social media specialist within the association, there is nothing preventing them from being employed under SGK within the association after signing an employment contract in this context.
Additionally, if the association is considering participating in a grant procurement process in such situations, it would be a protective measure for both the grant process and transparency to adopt a board decision specifying the conditions (salary terms, participation in meetings, etc.) under which board of management and supervisory board members will work as SGK-insured employees within the association in order to prevent any conflict of interest, and to establish the internal operational procedures of the association.