TNT is a nonprofit co-operative
TNT is organized for community benefit and operates through a membership-based governance structure.
Governance & Transparency
Governance & Transparency
True North Taekwondo is a community-based nonprofit co-operative. We believe members, participants, families, volunteers, funders, and community partners should be able to understand how the organization is governed, how decisions are made, and how concerns can be raised. This page provides a plain-language overview of TNT’s governance, access to important public policies, and links to our formal governing documents.
Plain-language overview
How TNT is Governed
Members
Eligible members participate in the governance of the co-operative according to TNT’s governing documents.
Board of Directors
The Board is elected by the membership and is responsible for governance, oversight, organizational direction, accountability, and stewardship.
Instructors and Program Leaders
Qualified instructors and program leaders deliver programming under authority established by TNT. Instructional authority and Board governance authority are different responsibilities.
Policies and Accountability
TNT uses policies to establish clear expectations for safety, conduct, accessibility, financial stewardship, privacy, complaints, and other organizational responsibilities.
Member Participation
Members can participate through elections, meetings, volunteering, committees, feedback, and other opportunities established by TNT.
Raising Questions or Concerns
TNT provides clear pathways for governance questions, privacy matters, complaints, Safe Sport concerns, accessibility questions, and other issues.
Our purpose
Why are we a co-operative?
Because we believe the people who teach should be able to focus on teaching—and the organization around them should help make that possible.
True North Taekwondo was built around a simple idea: great instructors should be able to spend their time doing what they do best—teaching, mentoring, and helping people grow—rather than carrying the entire administrative burden of running a club themselves. Our co-operative model allows us to share that responsibility.
The Board and other members of the organization can contribute their own skills to areas such as governance, finances, fundraising, accessibility, Safe Sport, facilities, community partnerships, and long-term planning. That frees our instructors to put more of their time and energy into the things that directly make our students better: developing curriculum, planning thoughtful lessons, refining their own skills, thinking about what and how they want to teach, and finding better ways to help each student progress. Instead of asking instructors to be teachers, administrators, fundraisers, bookkeepers, and organizational managers all at once, we want to build a strong organization around them so they can concentrate on providing excellent instruction.
But there is a deeper reason the co-operative model fits True North.
Taekwondo has never been only about individual achievement. It teaches that our abilities come with responsibilities: to help others, contribute to our community, show leadership, and use what we have learned in service of something larger than ourselves.
Co-operation is built on much the same idea.
Instead of an organization existing primarily for the benefit of an individual owner, a co-operative brings people together around a shared purpose. Members contribute their time, knowledge, resources, and perspectives so that the organization can accomplish more collectively than any one person could accomplish alone.
For TNT, that means building something that belongs to a community of people who care about what it can become.
It means:
- instructors concentrating on excellent teaching, curriculum development, and mentorship;
- students benefiting from better-prepared instructors, safer and more consistent programming, stronger organizational support, and more opportunities to learn, grow, participate, and succeed;
- a Board providing strong governance, financial stewardship, and organizational oversight;
- members contributing their skills and perspectives to strengthen the club;
- resources being directed back toward programming, accessibility, equipment, instructor development, and opportunities for participants; and
- decisions being guided by the long-term health of the organization and the people it serves.
Our goal is not simply to operate a taekwondo school.
We want to build a strong, safe, sustainable organization that people work together to create—and that, in turn, creates opportunities for others.
That spirit of shared responsibility, service, and contribution makes the co-operative model a natural fit for True North Taekwondo.
Start with the plain-language guide
Governance Charter
TNT’s Governance Charter provides a more detailed, plain-language explanation of how the organization is governed. It is intended to help members and the public understand TNT’s governance structure without having to interpret formal legal drafting.
Public policies and drafts
Public Policies
Public policies and drafts authorized for public review appear here. Drafts are clearly marked and await Board confirmation. Other policies will be added as they are approved. Confidential documents are not uploaded to this website.
Codes of Conduct · Public PDF
Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy
Draft — awaiting Board confirmation. Published for review, not as an approved policy.
- Document number
- TNT-205
- Version
- 0.1 (Draft)
- Approved / effective
- Not yet approved or effective
Draft for public review. Awaiting confirmation by the Board at its next meeting; not an approved policy.
View document (PDF)Safe Sport · Public PDF
Safe Sport & Participant Safeguarding Policy
Draft — awaiting Board confirmation. Published for review, not as an approved policy.
- Document number
- TNT-210
- Version
- 0.1 (Draft)
- Approved / effective
- Not yet approved or effective
Draft for public review. Awaiting confirmation by the Board at its next meeting; not an approved policy.
View document (PDF)Questions, concerns, and support
Accountability & Reporting
Choose the pathway that best matches your question or concern. TNT uses its existing contact and reporting systems so you do not need to find a new email address for each topic.
Safe Sport concerns
Find TNT and independent support and reporting pathways.
Open pathway →Privacy questions
Review public privacy information or contact TNT with a question.
Open pathway →Complaints
Ask for help understanding which concern or complaint process may apply.
Open pathway →Governance questions
Contact TNT with a question about the co-operative or its public records.
Open pathway →Accessibility concerns
Review facility information, discuss accommodations, or arrange a tour.
Open pathway →Financial-assistance inquiries
Contact TNT to ask about available participation supports.
Open pathway →Document hierarchy
How the documents work together
TNT’s governance documents work together. Higher-level governing authorities take precedence where documents conflict.
- Articles
- Bylaws
- Governance Charter
- Board Policies
- Procedures
Formal authority
Legal Governing Documents
TNT’s Articles and Bylaws are the organization’s formal legal governing documents. The Governance Charter provides a more accessible explanation of TNT’s governance structure. Where there is a conflict, TNT’s governing documents and applicable law take precedence.
Bylaws · Public PDF
Bylaws
- Document number
- TNT-002
- Version
- 17 September 2026
- Approved / effective
- 17-Sep-2026
The co-operative’s Bylaws, covering membership, directors, meetings, governance, and organizational procedures.
View document (PDF)Articles · Public PDF
Articles of Incorporation
- Document number
- TNT-001
- Version
- 17 September 2026
- Approved / effective
- 17-Sep-2026
The co-operative’s Articles of Incorporation, including its name, purposes, governance framework, and first directors.
View document (PDF)