[Nelson’s Campbell Reunion has gotten along since 1893 with unwritten, but apparently well accepted, bylaws. But in modern times. banks require written bylaws to open an account. Please review the draft below, and let us know if you have changes you’d like to suggest. We’ll consider them and soon submit a final version and conduct voting by email.]
DRAFT
BYLAWS OF THE
Campbell Reunion Association of Nelson, PA
A Nonprofit Association
Article I: Name, Description and Purpose
Section 1: Name
The name of our Association is Campbell Reunion Association of Nelson, PA.
The address of our Association is 2445 St. Rt 352, Elmira, NY 14903.
.
Section 2: Description
The Association is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, religious or scientific purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Section 3: Purpose
The purpose of our Association is to facilitate communication among descendants of the Campbell family of Nelson, PA and their associated families and also connection with their roots.
Article II: Membership
Members in the Association is open to:Any descendant of Joseph Campbell, Robert Lugg, or “Gentleman” John Blackwell; or
- The spouse of a descendant of the above; or
- Anyone interested in the family history of the above.
Article III: Officers
Section 1: Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall consist of the following Officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary, and up to two additional members selected by the association. One person can hold multiple Officer positions.
Section 2: Term of office
The term of office for all officers begins at the adjournment of the Reunion that elected them and ends at the adjournment of the following reunion.
Section 3: Qualifications
Any Member of the Association who is 18 years of age or older.
Section 4: Removal
An Officer can be removed from office by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Section 5: Vacancy
Members can nominate persons to fill any vacancy on the Executive Committee and the Executive Committee will meet to consider nominations. The Executive Committee will elect an individual from those nominations to fill the vacancy by a majority vote of the remaining Officers. An Officer elected to fill a vacancy is elected for the remainder of the term of his or her predecessor.
Section 6: Duties
President: The President will preside at our reunions and all Executive Committee meetings and serve as the official representative of the Association and retain all official records of the Association.
Vice-president: The Vice-president will preside in the absence of the President. And will serve out the president’s term should the office become vacant.
Treasurer: The Treasurer will serve as custodian of the Association’s finances, collect revenue, pay any authorized expenses and hold all financial records.
Secretary: The Secretary will record minutes of the Executive Committee meetings and make these available to Members, help maintain contact information on members and help with correspondence.
Section 7: Meetings
Committee meetings and Reunions may be held by video conferencing.
Reunions should be held at least every other year.
The Executive Committee will meet at least once per year. Any Officer may call an Executive Committee meeting.
Article IV: Financial Policies
Section 1: Fiscal Year-
The fiscal year of the Association begins January 1 and ends December 31 of the same year.
Section 2: Banking
All funds must be kept in a checking account in the name of the Association. The President and Treasurer shall both be authorized signers on the account.
Section 3: Approvals
The President or Treasurer are authorized to spend up to $1,000 on individual expenses directly related to the operation and needs of the association without approval from the Executive Committee. Expenses greater than $1,000 require approval by majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Section 4: Reporting
All financial transactions will be recorded in an electronic accounting system or on spreadsheets stored on “the cloud” and viewable by all the officers. The Treasurer will reconcile all accounts monthly and provide a treasurer’s report at Executive Committee meetings and at reunions.
Section 5: Contracts
Only the President or the President’s designee has the authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the Association.
Section 6: Loans
The Association may not directly or indirectly make any loan to an Officer, Member, employee or agent of the Association.
Article V: Amendments
These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Article VI: Dissolution
In the event of dissolution of the Association, any funds remaining shall be donated to any 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.
These bylaws are adopted this day [MM/DD/YYYY]
______________________________
[Name]
President
______________________________
[Name]
Treasurer
______________________________
[Name]
Secretary
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John makes some good points, although a quorum would be hard to achieve if one person can hold multiple offices. Maybe limit that number to two offices per person? That way, there will always be three people at a minimum. As far as the two year reunion schedule, perhaps you could add wording to the effect of ‘or until the next reunion organized by the Association’. Finally, in Article 4, section 3, it’s not clear if the thousand dollar expense limit is a cumulative amount for each calendar year or a limit per each transaction. Otherwise, these seems clear and unambiguous – thank you!
Thank you. We’ll make it clear that each person only has one vote, regardless of how many hats they wear.
It looks pretty reasonable for this type of organization. I would be inclined to add a quorum for the executive committee (perhaps 3); probably in Section 7. As the Executive Committee is elected (or confirmed) by the “next reunion”, and the reunions are to be held “at least” every two years — but not mandated — perhaps there should be a fall back there if no reunions are held for more than two years.