Group Affiliation Requirements Policy

Requirements

The requirements for all groups affiliated to Freegle Ltd are:

• All items offered or requested have to be free - mandatory
• All items offered or requested have to be legal - mandatory
• Selling of items is not allowed - mandatory
• Be a non-profit group - mandatory
• Swapping is not allowed - mandatory
• Inclusion of the Freegle logo on the homepage - mandatory
• Inclusion of a link to the Freegle website on the homepage - mandatory
• All Freegle Volunteers will receive national announcements - mandatory
• Do not allow messages asking to borrow items - highly recommended
• Operate in a geographical area agreed with Freegle – highly recommended

This means that the requirements above are our basic shared values. The mandatory requirements must be followed by all groups listed on the Freegle website, and groups are strongly encouraged to also adopt those that are highly recommended.

The Freegle Volunteer Agreement outlines the expectations of Freegle and Volunteers.

Local Rules

All groups have to comply with the mandatory requirements and the expectation is that they will also comply with those that are highly recommended. As groups are independent, local guidelines and rules can be adopted, although it is best to have as few as possible. All groups should be run for the benefit of its members and to ensure that Freegle nationally is seen as a positive community service. There are Best Practice guidelines which outline our agreed ways of working.

Geographic Area

Freegle Ltd agrees a core geographic area of operation for each group that is affiliated, but the catchment area the group chooses to operate with is a local decision. Freegle will only agree one group for each core area; it is highly recommended that the group operates in that agreed core geographic area.

Changes to Affiliation Requirements

Affiliation requirements can only be changed by Freegle Member vote. Additional or amended mandatory requirements require at least 66% of the vote in order to be adopted. See Document Approval Policy.

This policy was adopted by the Board at their meeting of 27th August 2014 and amended by the AGM in November 2019.

Links:

• AGM Resolution [[1]]
• Disaffiliation Procedure
• Glossary
• Previous Freegle UK document : Basic Requirements of a Freegle Group