Who we are?

(1) The association bears the name “Next Level e. V.”.

(2) The association shall have its registered office in Erfurt.

(3) The association shall be entered in the register of associations at the Erfurt Local Court. The place of jurisdiction is Erfurt.

(1) The purpose of the association is
a) the development and implementation of school and extracurricular educational programs for mainly young people and adults in Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany and Europe
b) the communication of fundamental values such as peace, democracy, solidarity and sustainability
c) the promotion of active and solution-oriented discussion of problems and challenges facing society in the areas of education, the environment, the economy and culture
(2) The purpose of the Articles of Association is achieved in particular through a variety of learning arrangements such as further training for specialists, seminars, workshops, study trips, youth encounters, work camps, voluntary services, meetings, symposia, conferences, forums and other formats with local, regional, national, European and other international partners at local, national and international level, European and other international partners at local, regional, national, European and international level in the areas of extracurricular youth and adult education (example programs are Erasmus+, Youth in Action, European Solidarity Corps, Federal Child and Youth Plan) with a focus on
a) Environmental education
b) Experiential education
c) Cultural education
d) Transcultural education
(3) The association pursues exclusively and directly charitable purposes within the meaning of the section “Tax-privileged purposes” of the German Tax Code as amended.
(4) The association is selflessly active; it does not primarily pursue its own economic purposes. Funds accruing to the association may only be used for statutory purposes. Members shall not receive any profit shares or, in their capacity as members, any other benefits from the Association’s funds.
(5) The association is politically and denominationally neutral.

(1) No person may benefit from expenses that are alien to the purpose of the association or from disproportionately high remuneration.
(2) The members of the bodies of the Association and members entrusted with tasks to promote the Association are entitled to reimbursement from the Association for expenses incurred in connection with the exercise of their office (Section 670 BGB) within the framework of the resolutions of the Executive Board and within the financial capacity of the Association. An honorary allowance (§ 3 No. 26 a EStG) in the form of a lump-sum reimbursement of expenses or an activity allowance can be paid.

(1) Any natural person or legal entity with full legal capacity who recognizes, supports and promotes the objectives of the association may become a member of the association. The application for admission to the Association must be submitted in writing to the Executive Board, which decides on the admission. If the application for membership is rejected, the Executive Board is not obliged to inform the applicant of the reasons.
(2) The membership fee shall be determined by the General Meeting in a membership fee regulation.
(3) Membership ends
a) by death or – in the case of legal entities – by dissolution,
b) by resignation,
c) by exclusion,
d) by deletion from the list of members.
Resignation from the Association shall be effected by written declaration to the Executive Board with a notice period of three months to the end of a calendar year. Expulsion is only possible for good cause and without notice by resolution of the Executive Board. An objection to the decision of the Board of Directors may be lodged with the General Assembly of Members within one month of receipt of the declaration of exclusion. The member’s rights are suspended until the decision of the general meeting. Removal from the membership list is carried out by the Executive Board. It can take place if the member is more than three months in arrears with their membership fee and has not settled the arrears within two weeks despite a reminder. In the reminder, the member must be informed of the impending removal from the membership list.
(4) Members who have resigned or been expelled shall have no claim to the return of paid contributions or other benefits from the Association’s assets, without prejudice to the Association’s claim to existing receivables.

The bodies of the Association are
a) the General Meeting,
b) the Board of Directors.

(1) The General Meeting shall consist of the members of the Association.
(2) An ordinary general meeting shall be held at least once a year, in the first half of the year. The tasks of the General Meeting are
a) the election of the Executive Board,
b) Deciding on the appeal of an expelled member,
c) Acceptance of the annual report and the annual accounts,
d) Discharge of the Board of Directors,
e) Election of the auditors,
f) Amendment of the Articles of Association,
g) Dissolution of the association.
h) other tasks, insofar as these arise from the Articles of Association or by law.
(3) The General Meeting shall be convened in writing by the Chairman of the Board of Directors or his deputy with 14 days’ notice, stating the agenda. Each member may submit motions for the agenda up to the 5th day before the General Meeting. It must be convened if 1/3 of the members so request. The agenda can be supplemented or amended by a majority resolution of the General Meeting at the meeting; this does not apply to amendments to the Articles of Association. Each member may be represented by another member with written authorization. The transfer of voting rights must be notified to the chair of the meeting before the General Meeting opens.
(4) The Chairman of the Board of Directors or his deputy shall chair the meeting. A separate chairperson may be appointed at the proposal of the Board of Directors.
(5) Each member has one vote in the vote. Abstentions are considered invalid votes. In the event of a tie, the Chairman of the Board of Directors shall have the casting vote.
(6) The General Meeting shall constitute a quorum if it has been duly convened and at least one third of the members are present. If less than one third of the members are present, the General Meeting may be reconvened immediately thereafter; it shall then constitute a quorum regardless of the number of members present.
(7) The resolutions of the General Meeting are passed by a simple majority of the valid votes. Resolutions on amendments to the Articles of Association and dissolution of the Association require a 2/3 majority of the valid votes. The consent of all members is required to change the purpose of the Association. Resolutions are passed by secret ballot if 1/4 of the members present request this. In elections, the person with the most votes is elected.
(8) Amendments to the Articles of Association that are required by the local court or the responsible tax office for registration or to obtain non-profit status may be made by the Board of Directors by unanimous resolution.
(9) Minutes shall be taken of the resolutions of the General Meeting, which shall be countersigned by the chairperson of the meeting and another member of the Board of Directors.

(1) The Executive Board consists of the Chairman and his deputy.
(2) Only members of the Association may become members of the Executive Board. Upon termination of membership in the Association, the office as a member of the Executive Board shall also end.
(3) The Board of Directors is elected for a term of three calendar years, but the members of the Board of Directors remain in office until a successor has been elected, but for no longer than six months after the end of the term of office. In the event of the premature departure of a member of the Executive Board, the full Executive Board shall appoint an interim member of the Executive Board until the next General Meeting. The substitute member of the Executive Board elected by this General Meeting is only elected for the remaining term of office of the member who has left.
(4) The Chairman or his deputy shall represent the Association in and out of court. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman are authorized to represent the Association individually. The scope of the Board of Directors’ power of representation with effect against third parties is not limited.
(5) The Board of Directors passes resolutions in meetings convened by the Chairman or his deputy. It is not necessary to submit an agenda. The Board of Directors is quorate if at least half of its members are present. The Board of Directors decides by a simple majority of votes; each member of the Board of Directors has one vote. Voting is by show of hands. A secret ballot must be held at the request of a member of the Board of Directors. At the meetings of the Board of Directors, decisions are made by a simple majority of those present. In the event of a tie, the Chairman has the casting vote; in his absence, the Deputy Chairman has the casting vote. Minutes must be taken of the meeting and signed by the secretary appointed at the meeting. The meetings are not public.
The Board of Directors may adopt rules of procedure.
(6) The Board of Directors is responsible for all matters relating to the Association, unless otherwise stipulated in the Articles of Association. This includes in particular the following business tasks
a) the preparation and organization of general meetings
b) the implementation of resolutions of the General Meeting
c) deciding on applications for admission and the expulsion of members
d) ensuring an orderly financial situation
e) the timely payment of all taxes, fees and contributions
f) the administration of the Association’s assets.
(7) If a member of the Board of Directors is permanently unable to perform his or her duties, another member of the Board of Directors shall temporarily take over his or her duties until the next General Meeting at which a new election is to be held. The assignment of duties shall be made by mutual agreement between the Executive Board and the Executive Board member taking over the duties.
(8) In addition to the Board of Directors, special representatives shall be appointed for certain transactions. Certain transactions to be represented by special representatives within the meaning of this paragraph are all those which the Board of Directors is unable to represent due to a lack of knowledge within the respective business area. Special representatives are to be appointed by the
to be appointed. Minutes must be taken of the appointment, which must be signed by the Management Board, the secretary and the representative to be appointed. The power of representation of such a representative extends in accordance with § 30 BGB, in case of doubt to all legal transactions that the business area assigned to him usually entails.

The cash auditor elected by the General Meeting for a period of 3 years checks the association’s cash transactions for arithmetical accuracy. The cash audit does not extend to the appropriateness of the expenditure approved by the Board of Directors. An audit must be carried out at least once a year; the results must be reported at the Annual General Meeting. The cash audit covers the accuracy of the transactions, not their appropriateness.

The Association’s financial year is the calendar year.

(1) The dissolution of the Association shall be brought about by a resolution of the General Meeting with a 4/5 majority of the members entitled to vote. In the event of the dissolution of the association or the discontinuation of tax-privileged purposes, the association’s assets shall be transferred to the
Youth Garage e.V., which must use it exclusively and directly for charitable purposes.
(2) If the dissolution of the association only involves a change of legal form or a merger with another similar association, whereby the direct and exclusive pursuit of the previous purpose of the association is still guaranteed by the new legal entity, the association’s assets shall be transferred to the new legal entity. (3) If the liquidation of the association’s assets is necessary due to the dissolution of the association or the withdrawal of its legal capacity, the chairpersons of the association in office at that time shall be the liquidators, unless the general meeting resolves to appoint another liquidator at a properly convened general meeting with a ¾ majority of the members present and entitled to vote.
The above Articles of Association were adopted by the Founders’ Meeting on 07.07.2020 in Erfurt.