- BY-LAWS of APURVA Foundation
Section 1: Name, Objectives, and Location
1.1 Name
1.2 Purpose
1.3 Location
- 1.3.1 Principal Office
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1.3.2 Change of Address
Section 2:
Membership Regulations and Organization
2.1 Eligibility for
Membership
2.2 Annual Dues
2.3 Rights of Members
2.4 Resignation
and termination
2.5 Meetings
2.6 Quorum
Section 3: Executive Committee
3.1 Executive committee, size, and compensation
3.2 Term
3.3 Meetings and notice
3.4 Executive
committee elections
3.5 Election procedures
Section 4: Officers
4.1 Officers and Duties
4.2 Vacancies
4.3
Resignation, termination, and absences
4.4 Special meetings
Section 5: Committees
5.1. Organization
Service
5.2. Records
5.3. Finance
5.4. Hospitality
5.5. Projects
Section 6: Amendments
6.1 Amendments
Section 7: Impeachments
7.1 Impeachment
Procedure
Certification
The name of this organization shall be APURVA Foundation.
APURVA Foundation is a charitable organization. In addition it
is a non-political, non-profit, secular organization. It is organized
exclusively for charitable purposes. The primary objective of this organization
is to make charitable contributions to the social upliftment of the
underprivileged people in India by creating awareness about related issues and
collaborating with similar non-profit organizations. This upliftment and welfare
shall be achieved through aiding and supporting charitable projects focusing
mainly on education, rural development, health care, and social welfare. These
projects shall be focused in villages, rural areas, or in other economically
underprivileged regions. The criterion for selecting the charitable projects
shall be at the discretion of the executive committee. The awareness shall be
created through our website, informative pamphlets, handouts, and posters.
The principal office of the organization for the transaction
of its business is located in Honolulu County, Hawaii.
The executive committee may, however, change the principal
office from one location to another within the named county by noting the
changed address and effective date below, and such changes of address shall not
be deemed an amendment of these Bylaws:
____________________ Dated: __________, 20__
____________________ Dated: __________, 20__
____________________ Dated: __________, 20__
Membership shall be open to all individuals, irrespective of
their race, sex, religion, or nationality. Charitable contributions will be
sought from the community at large. Membership is granted after completion of an
application and receipt of annual dues. The list of members shall be updated
periodically. The list of members is kept for the purposes of informing the
members of projects, activities, and needs of the organization.
The annual membership fee shall be $10 for students of
University of Hawaii at Manoa, $ 20 for faculty/staff of University of Hawaii at
Manoa and $ 15 for all other people unless changed by a majority vote of the
members at an annual meeting. Continued membership is contingent upon being
up-to-date on membership dues.
Each member shall be eligible to cast their vote in the
organization’s elections and attend all the meetings of the organization.
Any member may resign by filing a written resignation with the
general secretary. Resignation shall not relieve a member of unpaid dues, or
other charges previously accrued. A member can have their membership terminated
by a majority vote of the members.
Regular meetings of the members shall be held not less than a
month, at a time and place designated by the executive committee. An annual
meeting of the members shall take place in the month of September. At the annual
meeting the members shall elect officers, receive reports on the activities of
the association, and determine the direction of the organization for the coming
year. Electronic notice of each meeting shall be given to each voting member, by
E-mail, not less than one week prior to the meeting.
A two-thirds majority of the members in good standing shall
constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the organization. Any
four members of the executive committee, one of whom must be the president or
general secretary, shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the executive
committee for business transactions to take place and motions to pass.
All issues to be voted on shall be decided by a simple
majority of those present at the meeting in which the vote takes place.
The executive committee is responsible for overall policy and
direction of the association, and delegate responsibility of day-to-day
operations to the volunteers and committees. The executive committee shall have
up to 6 members. The executive committee receives no compensation other than
reimbursements for reasonable expenses.
All executive committee members called as officers henceforth
shall serve one-year terms, but are eligible for re-election for up to two
consecutive terms.
The executive committee shall meet at least quarterly, at an
agreed upon time and place. An official executive committee meeting requires
that each executive committee member have written notice at least two weeks in
advance.
New officers shall be elected or re-elected by the voting
representatives of members at the annual meeting. Directors will be elected by a
simple majority of members present at the annual meeting.
Nominations of officers shall be made in writing. In addition,
any member can nominate a candidate to the slate of nominees. Voting shall be by
secret ballot.
There shall be six officers in the executive committee,
consisting of a President, General Secretary, Treasurer, Public relations
officer, Project coordinator, and Website coordinator. Their duties are as
follows:
a) The president shall preside at all regular and special meetings of the
organization and the executive committee. He/she shall, with the approval of the
executive committee, appoint all standing and special committees, fill such
vacancy by appointment until the next regular election of the organization.
He/she shall be an ex-officio member of all committees. He/she shall serve as
chair of the organization service committee, and will organize the
organization’s calendar of events, meetings, and programs.
b) The general secretary shall succeed to the office of president in the event
or removal of the latter, for whatever cause, and, in the absence of the
president, shall preside at all the meetings of the organization and of the
executive committee. The general secretary shall maintain all organization
records. He/she shall keep minutes of all the meetings of the organization and
executive committee. He/she shall serve as chair of the records committee.
c) The treasurer shall have custody of all organization funds, maintaining all
necessary records and depositing all such funds in a bank approved by the
executive committee of directors. He/she shall report on the organization’s
financial status at each meeting of the organization and shall hold all records
available for inspection by any organization member. The disbursements shall be
made electronically or by check with the approval of the executive committee.
He/she shall serve as chair of the finance committee.
d) The public relations officer shall facilitate meetings and create awareness
about the organization and its present and future activities on a regular basis.
He/she shall serve as chair of the hospitality committee.
e) The project coordinator shall be responsible for planning, coordinating, and
running individual projects. He/she shall serve as chair of the projects
committee.
f) The website coordinator shall be responsible for developing, maintaining, and
updating the organization website.
When a vacancy on the executive committee exists mid-term, the
general secretary must receive nominations for new members from present
executive committee members two weeks in advance of an executive committee
meeting. These nominations shall be sent out to executive committee members with
the regular executive committee meeting announcement, to be voted upon at the
next executive committee meeting. These vacancies will be filled only to the end
of the particular executive committee member’s term.
Resignation from the executive committee must be in writing
and received by the General Secretary. An executive committee member shall be
terminated from the executive committee if there are more than two unexcused
absences from executive committee meetings in a year. An executive committee
member may be removed for all other reasons by a three-fourths vote of the
remaining officers.
Special meetings of the executive committee shall be called
upon the request of the one-third of the executive committee. Notices of special
meetings shall be sent out by the general secretary to each executive committee
member at least one week in advance.
The following committees shall be always in existence, headed
by their respective officer as stipulated in the by-laws of the organization.
The president shall serve as the chair of this committee. This
committee shall be responsible for organization, membership, and such other
matters as may be deemed appropriate.
The general secretary shall serve as the chair of this
committee. This committee shall be responsible for correspondence. This
committee shall also be responsible for writing, editing, and posting meeting
minutes and organization newsletters.
The treasurer shall serve as the chair of this committee. This
committee shall devise ways and means of financing and organizing any and all
organization activities requiring funds, in cooperation with the appropriate
committee.
The public relations officer shall serve as chair of this
committee. This committee shall be responsible for promoting the organization,
advertising, and facilitating meetings.
The project coordinator shall serve as the chair of this
committee. This committee shall be responsible for maintaining an accurate
calendar of the organization activities, participants, and coordination of
various ongoing projects.
These by-laws may be amended by majority vote of the members
in good standing at any regular or special meeting of the organization at which
a quorum is present, provided notice of intention to call such a vote is given
at least fourteen days earlier at a meeting of the organization at which a
quorum is present, and provided such amendment is approved by the executive
committee. Nothing in these by-laws shall contravene any provision of the
organization’s constitution.
Any member may initiate removal of officers by the following
procedure:
a) Petition the executive Committee with signatures of 1/3 of all voting
members: petition should state reason for removal.
b) Executive Committee shall then notify members and call for vote of removal
within 14 days of the filing of the petition.
c) Members shall be notified at least one week prior to the vote of removal
meeting.
d) At the meeting for removal, the petition's stated grievances shall be made
public and the officer charged shall be allowed to respond to the charges of the
petition. Removal from office shall require a vote of 2/3 of all voting members.
These bylaws were approved at a meeting of the executive
committee by a two thirds majority vote on November 15, 2004.
Date: November 15, 2004
Raghu Srinivasan
General Secretary
Apurva Foundation
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