9Contributions, the Frugality Offering and the Impartial Care Fund

9.1 Everything is voluntary

9.1.1 All giving in 墨门 / The Mohist Community is voluntary. No one loses membership, loses an assignment (职), loses the right to attend any meeting, or receives any reminder, appeal or note in a record because they give little or nothing.

9.1.2 No leader may ask a Mohist how much they give, or use the amount given as a basis for awarding a 职 (see chapter 7) or for any other judgment about them.

9.1.3 Mozi said: "Those with strength hasten to help others; those with wealth make an effort to share it." Giving effort and giving money are both sharing. A Mohist who only gives time and a Mohist who only gives money stand exactly equal in the Community.

9.2 有财相分 — the regular contribution

9.2.1 有财相分 ("those with wealth share it") is a Mohist's regular contribution. The suggested amount is one to three percent of personal income. Each Mohist sets their own figure and may change or stop it at any time.

9.2.2 The contribution is paid monthly or yearly into the chapter's 兼爱基金 (Impartial Care Fund) account. Students, the unemployed, retirees and anyone in financial difficulty should not be expected to give any amount.

9.2.3 The amount any individual gives is known only to the treasurer. It is never disclosed to anyone other than the 社长 (chapter lead), and never appears on any list, at any meeting or on any web page. The 社长 may look only when handling a refund or correcting an error.

9.3 节用捐 — the frugality offering

9.3.1 The 节用捐 is a practice particular to the Community. In a given month, a Mohist applies the 节用 standard (chapter 12) — skips a luxury, an unnecessary gift, an oversized celebration — and gives the difference. That difference is the frugality offering.

9.3.2 There is no suggested amount and no expectation of an offering every month. Its purpose is to turn 节用 from a saying into a number you can see.

9.3.3 At the monthly meeting (chapter 6) only the chapter's total frugality offering for the month is announced — never a name, never an individual amount. The total may carry one sentence, for example: "Seventeen Mohists made frugality offerings this month, totalling ××."

9.4 One fund, three sub-accounts

9.4.1 The Community has a single audited fund, the 兼爱基金. All regular contributions, frugality offerings and other gifts go into it. No other fundraising channel exists.

9.4.2 The fund is divided into three sub-accounts: the receiving chapter keeps fifty percent; its region (墨区) receives twenty percent; the Community as a whole receives thirty percent.

9.4.3 A gift designated for a specific purpose (for instance a named disaster response) is used as the donor intends and is not split as above. If the purpose is completed or cannot be carried out, the remainder moves to the general account with the donor's consent.

9.5 Uses, in order of priority

9.5.1 The fund is used for the following purposes in this order. Money is not spent on a later item while an earlier one is unmet:

1. Mohists and their families in hardship: rent, food, medical care, funerals.
2. Stipends for the 兼士 service year (chapter 10).
3. Materials for 科技堂 and youth activities (chapter 11).
4. Meeting space and necessary running costs.

9.5.2 Hardship aid goes first to members of the chapter, but a chapter may help non-members. "Impartial" means exactly that a person's welfare does not weigh less because they are not a Mohist.

9.5.3 The fund may not be used for any political campaign or lobbying, for buying real property, or for anyone's salary except as provided in 9.8.

9.6 Disbursement and approval

9.6.1 Every disbursement begins with a written request stating purpose and amount. The request may come from the person in need, from their care partner (chapter 8) or from the holder of any 职.

9.6.2 Approval has three levels. The chapter council may approve any single disbursement up to the chapter's monthly cap, which the council sets and publishes each year. Amounts above the monthly cap are approved by the region. Single amounts above the large-disbursement threshold published by the 墨门理事会 (the Council) are approved by the Council.

9.6.3 Emergency hardship aid — for example, someone needs a place to sleep tonight — may be released by the 社长 and treasurer together, and reported to the chapter council within seven days.

9.6.4 The identity of anyone receiving aid is confidential beyond the chapter council. Council members are bound to keep the cases they discuss private.

9.7 Open accounts and annual review

9.7.1 Every chapter, every region and the Community as a whole publish a quarterly statement on mohist.org, written at paragraph level, showing at least: total income, spending by category, and closing balance. No donor or recipient is named.

9.7.2 The fund is reviewed once a year by an independent reviewer who is not a leader or treasurer of the Community and is not related to any leader. The full report is published.

9.7.3 Any Mohist may inspect the chapter's original books on seven days' notice, but not the individual records of donors.

9.8 No paid clergy

9.8.1 The Community has no paid clergy. The 鉅子 (Juzi, the head of the Community), the 社长, council members and every 职 are unpaid; only approved actual expenses are reimbursed.

9.8.2 Once the Community has more than twenty chapters, the Council may employ up to three staff for administration, accounting and technical work. Their pay is set at the 节用 standard and the figures are published on mohist.org. Staff hold no leadership office and take no part in approving disbursements.

9.9 The treasurer and the two-person rule

9.9.1 Each chapter, each region and the Community have one treasurer. It is a 职 with the same term as other assignments. The treasurer receives money, keeps the books, prepares the quarterly statement and works with the annual reviewer.

9.9.2 Every payment requires two people: the treasurer and either the 社长 or a second signer named by the region or the Council, signing or confirming online. No one pays alone — the Juzi included.

9.9.3 The treasurer and the second signer may not be spouses, immediate family, or members of the same care pair.

9.10 Deposits, privacy and refunds

9.10.1 The fund is held only in bank accounts protected by deposit insurance. It is never invested in any form — no shares, funds, cryptocurrency or loans to anyone.

9.10.2 A donor's identity, amounts and dates are protected under chapter 13. They are never sold, shared, or used for any fundraising list.

9.10.3 A donor may ask for a refund for any reason within thirty days of giving, and the treasurer returns it within fourteen days. Later requests are decided by the chapter council, unless the money has not yet been spent, in which case it is returned.

9.10.4 When a chapter dissolves, its sub-account passes to the region; when a region dissolves, to the Community. In no circumstance is any balance distributed to individuals.