Governance

The honest current state: IFA is presently convened by its founder. It is not yet incorporated and has no board. Here is exactly how and when that changes, so you can hold us to it.

Last updated 2026-08-09

Today

Decisions are made by Dave London and recorded in the public decision log below, from decision one. Every founding document is versioned and dated; nothing is edited silently.

What happens next, and when

Two things are settled. Incorporation happens when there is something worth capturing: a member roll and a commons of real value. And when it happens, the safeguards move from this page into the founding legal documents, where they are hard to undo.

Everything else is open. The legal form, the shape of the board, who may vote and from when, are questions for the members, not for this page. Working notes exist and will be published alongside counsel's analysis when there is a membership to discuss them with. Nothing in them is a commitment.

Who may speak for IFA

Until governance forms: only the founder, and only within what these documents say. After: only the Executive Director and the Board Chair, and only within positions members have adopted. On everything else: "IFA has no position on that."

Decision log

#	Date	Decision
1	2026-08-08	Name adopted: Independent Founders Alliance. Domains registered (see Money).
2	2026-08-08	Founding-document suite v0.2 drafted: Manifesto, Compact, What Counts as Independent, Charter outline. Superseded by v0.5, see #5.
3	2026-08-08	Six anti-capture commitments adopted, then called "locks", pending entrenchment at incorporation. Reworked into the Charter safeguards at #5.
4	2026-08-08	Founder identity public: Dave London.
5	2026-08-09	Founding documents restructured: one question per document; Compact = aspirational north stars; Charter = five plain safeguards + interim arrangement; open-door membership; detailed governance machinery deferred to community definition (kept as internal blueprint).
6	2026-08-09	No pledge or requirements at joining. Until the alliance proves its value, it demands nothing of members; joining is an invitation to help build, and the yearly one-click re-count keeps the member number honest.
7	2026-08-09	Safeguard 6 added: membership never requires money or resources until value is concretely demonstrated AND members approve by vote. Volunteering always welcome, always a choice.
8	2026-08-09	The founder is member #1. The homepage counter row replaced with the one number that matters now: members.
9	2026-08-09	Founding-signatory concept dropped. The manifesto is signed by the founder (updatable in future versions); joining means a place on the membership roll.