Punjabi Unlimited Constitution & Bylaws
Mission
Punjabi Unlimited is a non-profit cultural organization with no affiliation with any religious or political ideology, dedicated only to the promotion of Punjabi art, culture, dance and music. This organization is open to everyone who is a Punjabi at heart and enjoys Punjabi Arts, Culture, Food, Music, Dance etc.
Article 1. Name
The name of the organization shall be Punjabi Unlimited and the website is www.punjabiunlimited.org.
article 2. Objectives
We will be involved in organizing and promoting in cultural and social events, To cultivate, promote, and foster the exchange of ideas and understanding between the people of Punjabi and other cultures, and develop the advancement of knowledge in Punjabi language and literature.This shall be a nonprofit cultural and secular organization.
Article 3. MEMBERSHIP AND VOTING
The membership shall be open to anyone interested in participating in the activities of Punjabi Unlimited and Punjabi culture, and who is at least eighteen years of age. The different classes of members’ dues and method of collection, voting and other rights shall be as set forth in the bylaws. Any 2 members of executive committee/BOD are required to approve membership of any individual.
Punjabi Unlimited membership is not transferable and membership dues are non refundable. Anyone subscribing to the objectives of PUNJABI UNLIMITED and willing to abide by the Constitution and Bylaws of Punjabi Unlimited can become PUNJABI UNLIMITED members as follows:
1. Membership Types: PUNJABI UNLIMITED Membership can be as a “Single Member” or as a “Family Member”, as follows:
a. "Family Membership" shall be defined as husband and wife.
b. "Single Membership" shall be defined as membership by one individual.
c. “Student Membership” shall be an individual membership for any individual who has a valid and current student ID.
Membership dues can be paid by the membership applicant only by his/her personal check. Cash payments are not permitted.
2. Membership Dues: The membership dues shall be recommended by the Board of Directors from time to time for the approval by simple majority of the BOD. Any revision in the membership dues shall be made only once in a calendar year and will be effective immediately after the approval.
3. Suspension of Membership: Documented activities against the purposes of the organization as defined in Article II shall constitute grounds for suspension of membership. These allegations shall be communicated to the member by the Board of Directors in writing through mail. The alleged member shall then be entitled to a hearing by the BOD on such charges. In order to be eligible for aforementioned hearing, the alleged member should request the Board of Directors in writing by certified mail to call for such hearing within thirty days from the receipt of above notification. Failure to respond within thirty days shall result in automatic suspension.
Voting: Members in good standing as of June 30 are eligible to vote in that year’s election. Each single member has one vote. Only Members in good standing for a period of 2 years (after completion of the first 2 years of PU) as of June 30* are eligible to contest for any PUNJABI UNLIMITED Executive Committee position in that year’s election
Article 4. Organization
The organization shall be made up of the Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee.
Parliamentary procedures: Robert's Rules of Order shall govern all meetings and procedures except where they are inconsistent with the PUNJABI UNLIMITED Constitution or Bylaws.
1. Patrons: Patrons of Punjabi Unlimited shall be those members who have deep rooted interest and support for Punjabi art, culture, sports etc. Patrons are responsible for providing a guiding hand to Punjabi Unlimited by providing vision, experience, knowledge and financial support as needed. Initially they will give $1000 to the Punjabi Unlimited to be considered as a Patron. After the first 5 patrons have been nominated, the rest of them shall be added by the approval of at least 2 of the patrons. Patrons shall have 2 positions on the Board of Directors and shall internally decide on who should be nominated for such.
2. Board of Directors: The Board of Directors will be responsible for long term goals and projects and look after the well-being of PUNJABI UNLIMITED. The Board will actively participate in fund-raising activities. The Board will appoint and provide the guidelines for the Audit Committee and the Election Committee. It shall set the amount of dues for various memberships. The Board will be the final authority in resolving disputes and conflicts in PUNJABI UNLIMITED matters and activities. The Board shall be informed of the annual plans of the Executive Committee but shall not interfere in the day to day operations of the Executive Committee.
The Board shall oversee the transition of PUNJABI UNLIMITED assets and materials from one Executive Committee to the next. The Board must approve the opening and closing of any PUNJABI UNLIMITED bank accounts.
Directors serve a term of two calendar years following their election. There will be a total of 11 Directors. 2 directors shall be nominated by the patrons on round robin basis and 2 directors shall be nominated by the incorporators of Punjabi Unlimited. 6 non-permanent Directors serving staggered terms with 2 Directors elected every year. The first 2 directors to leave shall be decided using lottery draw and from then on it shall be on a First in-First out basis. In addition, the President will serve as an ex-officio member of the Board. The Directors elect a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson for the Board from among the Directors. The chairman and secretary shall not continue for 2 consecutive terms. The Board shall meet at least once a quarter. The Secretary shall ensure that the minutes of the Board meeting gets posted on PUNJABI UNLIMITED website within 3 weeks of the meeting. The BOD and Executive Committee members shall nominate the 2 new members and if there is no consensus then the BOD and Executive Committee shall vote for the election of new members. The eligibility for becoming director would be, to have been for a member of Executive Committee of PUNJABI UNLIMITED in good standing for at least 2 years.
3. Executive Committee: The Executive Committee shall provide the leadership; execute the plans reviewed by the Board of Directors and policies approved by the BOD and directives provided in the Constitution and Bylaws. It shall have the authority to act for and on behalf of PUNJABI UNLIMITED. No member of the Executive Committee, individually or jointly, shall borrow money for the association. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for certifying the membership. The President and members of the Executive Committee shall be responsible for one another and shall be jointly responsible to the BOD.
Membership: The voting members of the Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice President, General Secretary, Treasurer & Youth Secretary. The term of office for all of these positions shall be one calendar year i.e. from January 1 through December 31.
President: The President shall be the spokesperson for the association. The President shall be the coordinator of the Executive Committee and shall perform all duties pertaining to the office of the President. He/she shall preside over all meetings of the PUNJABI UNLIMITED Executive Committee. He/she shall be an ex-officio of any of the meetings organized by any member of the Executive Committee. He/she shall appoint any ad-hoc committees with the approval of the BOD. He/she presides over all PUNJABI UNLIMITED functions. He/she may sign any contracts, deeds, documents, and other instruments on behalf of PUNJABI UNLIMITED after satisfying the following conditions. For any contract of expenditure of $500 or more, the President, on behalf of the Executive Committee, MUST receive the written or email approval of the Board of Directors. The President and Treasurer shall be the only authorized persons to sign the checks individually up to $500. Any check exceeding $500 shall require the signatures of both President and Treasurer with a daily of $1000.
Vice President: The Vice President shall assist the President and fulfill his/her duties in his/her absence and when so acting shall have all the powers of the President. He/she shall perform such other duties as assigned by the President. The Vice President shall be responsible for fundraising activities and food services during PUNJABI UNLIMITED events. He/she shall oversee membership drive for the organization.
General Secretary: The General Secretary shall be the custodian of the Seal, Constitution, and Bylaws of the association. He/she shall issue call for meetings of the Executive Committee at the directive of the president, assist the president in preparing the agenda before each meeting and prepare the minutes of the meetings. He/she shall post the minutes of a meeting on the PUNJABI UNLIMITED website within 3 weeks of the meeting. He/she shall maintain an updated list of all paid members while ensuring that an updated membership list is posted on the website on a quarterly basis. He/she shall be responsible for the maintenance of records, documents, accurate postal and email addresses, official correspondence of the organization, and reports of any Ad-hoc Committees. He/she shall be responsible to ensure that all reports, documents, and records are kept and filed as required by law. He/she shall be responsible for transferring all the records of PUNJABI UNLIMITED to the incoming General Secretary within five days (by January 5)after the end of his/her term. The secretary shall be responsible for preparing guidelines, soliciting and approving cultural items with the consultation of executive committee, contacting and coordinating performers, preparing agenda for cultural events, and presenting cultural items to the audience. Although cultural secretary serves as the lead person, the Executive Committee as a whole shall be responsible for the overall planning and implementing of any PUNJABI UNLIMITED cultural event.
Treasurer: The Treasurer and President shall be the only authorized persons to sign the checks individually up to $500. Any check exceeding $500 shall require the signatures of both Treasurer and President. He/she shall be responsible for issuing notice and collection of all dues and deposit the same in such banks or trusts as the Executive Committee may designate. He/she shall operate all accounts as per Article IX. He/she shall have custody of all accounts, receipts, and disbursements. He/she shall submit quarterly financial reports to the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. He/she should ensure that this information is posted on the PUNJABI UNLIMITED website within 45 days of the end of the financial quarter. He/she shall perform such other duties and exercise such other powers incident to the office of Treasurer by law. He/she must ensure that the tax returns are filed with the Internal Revenue Service for the year in office and provide appropriate records for financial audits to the Board of Directors. He/she shall transfer all records, documents, and accounts to the incoming Treasurer within five days (by January 5) after the end of his/her term.
Youth Secretary: The Youth Secretary shall be the face of the youth in the organization. He/she shall issue call for meetings of the Youth Body, assist in preparing the agenda before each meeting and prepare the minutes of the meetings. He/she shall post the minutes of a meeting on the PUNJABI UNLIMITED website within 3 weeks of the meeting. He/she shall maintain an updated list of all youth members while ensuring that an updated membership list is posted on the website on a quarterly basis. He/she shall be responsible for organizing youth events and interactions with the executive committee and bringing new ideas to evolve more active youth participation in Punjabi unlimited events. He/she shall be responsible for transferring all the records of PUNJABI UNLIMITED to the incoming Youth Secretary within five days (by January 5) after the end of his/her term
Article 5. Vacancies
Any vacancies in the Executive Committee will be filled by a majority vote of the Executive Committee members within one month of such occurrence.Any vacancies in the Board of Directors will be filled by a majority vote of the Board of Directors within one month of such occurrence.
Members appointed in the above manner for vacant position(s) in Executive Committee and/or Board of Directors shall serve in the position until the next election. If a permanent member of the BOD resigns then his/her seat shall be converted and be filled by non-permanent member of BOD.
Article 6. Termination
Any member of the Executive Committee, who fails to attend three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings without properly informing the President, shall be terminated without prejudice. Any such vacancies shall be filled as stated in Article 5.
Article 7. Impeachment/Removal
Any member of the Executive Committee may be removed or impeached on the grounds of incompetence, corruption, favoritism, extortion, or oppression in office, or gross misconduct in a special BOD meeting, subject to 30% quorum, called for such purpose. Approval of two-thirds of the BOD shall be required for such impeachment/removal. Any member of the Board of Directors may be removed or impeached on the grounds of incompetence, corruption, favoritism, extortion, or oppression in office, or gross misconduct in a special meeting of BOD and EC, subject to 30% quorum, called for such purpose. Approval of two-thirds of the attendees of the above mentioned meeting shall be required for such impeachment/removal.
Article 8. Elections of Executive Committee
The Officers of the Association shall be elected at a meeting of the Association on or before November 30 of every calendar year. The election will be conducted by the Election Committee appointed by the Board of Directors following the guidelines established by the Board.
The members of the Election Committee shall neither contest for any position nor nominate/second/endorse any candidate. No one should contest for more than one position in the same election. No one can serve in any given Punjabi Unlimited position for more than 2 consecutive terms.
Any person who is an active member for at least 2 years and in good standing would be eligible to stand for a position for executive committee member. There would also be a requirement of active participation in any of the 1 event of the organization in the last year.
The first election shall be conducted in November of 2012 with subsequent elections being conducted in November of every year.
Article 9. Office and Address
Until such a time a permanent office and address are established, all correspondence shall be addressed to the principal address of the organization.
Article 10: AD-HOC COMMITTEES
Punjabi Unlimited President, in consultation with the Executive Committee, is empowered to establish ad-hoc committees to accomplish such tasks and operations as to realize the objectives of the association, to investigate specific problems, procedures and matters of interest, and to make recommendations to the executive committee. In no event shall an ad-hoc committee exist beyond the end of the term of the Executive Committee that establishes it.
Article 11: GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
Generally when there is a difference of opinion among the members of the executive committee or the Board of Directors, the majority opinion shall be binding. However, if a member perceives himself/herself to have been constantly harassed or deprived of his/her ability to serve the organization, the matter should be referred to the Board of Directors.
Article 12: CONFLICT OF INTEREST
All BOD and Exec team members shall ensure that there is no conflict of interest between their business or work with the functioning of Punjabi Unlimited. In case there is a conflict then that member shall make the rest of team aware of this and excuse themself in making decisions or voting on policy matters related to those issues.
Article 13. Finances and fiscal year
This organization does not contemplate pecuniary gain or profit to the members or officers and it is organized for nonprofit purposes. The financial transactions shall be carried out as set forth in the bylaws.
The property of this organization is irrevocably dedicated to literary purposes and no part of the net income or assets of this organization shall ever inure to the benefit of any officer or member thereof or to the benefit of private individual. Upon dissolution or winding up of the organization, its assets remaining after payment of, or provision for payment, of all debts and liabilities of this organization, shall be distributed to a nonprofit fund, foundation or corporation which is organized and operated exclusively for cultural purposes and which has established its tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as voted upon by the majority of the current executive committee.
PUNJABI UNLIMITED shall maintain separate funds for specific purposes. All financial records shall be maintained as required by IRS.
General Operations Account: Annual membership fees, advertisement revenue, food revenue, movie collections, and miscellaneous income shall be deposited in the General Operations Account. The funds from this account alone should be used to organize events and incur any administrative and organizational expenses PUNJABI UNLIMITED needed from time to time.
Endowment Account: This account consists of all the funds received towards Membership Fee and any other special income received. Also any surplus amount exceeding $6,500 that is available in the General Fund account at the end of calendar year shall be transferred into this account. The withdrawal of funds from this account to meet any general/operational expenses of PUNJABI UNLIMITED requires the approval of general body. However, the Treasurer, with the approval of the PUNJABI UNLIMITED executive committee, may invest these funds in a C.D. account from time to time to earn a higher interest than a regular bank account. The PUNJABI UNLIMITED executive committee shall have the powers, only in case of emergencies, to withdraw any interest that is earned on this account, to meet PUNJABI UNLIMITED operational expenses. Such amount shall not exceed $500 and only one such withdrawal shall be permitted without the approval of the General Body.
Charitable Trust Account: PUNJABI UNLIMITED, being a community organization, realizes that it has a responsibility to help and rise to the occasion when a tragedy strikes a family/person or community. On such occasions the Executive Committee has the power to raise funds to support such causes. All donations and special income derived through the special efforts shall be deposited in this account and such funds may be utilized for the cause in the manner that the Executive Committee agrees.
Audit of the accounts: The Board of Directors shall appoint a three- member audit committee and name one of them as chairperson of the committee to audit the accounts every fiscal year. Such committee shall be in place by the end of November of every calendar year. Only PUNJABI UNLIMITED Life Members in good standing shall be eligible to participate in the committee. However, the audit committee shall be permitted to obtain any professional help from an accountant to complete the assigned task. The committee shall verify all the accounts operated by PUNJABI UNLIMITED and submit a report to the Board of Directors by January 31 of the following year and the Board of Directors must ensure that the report is posted on the PUNJABI UNLIMITED website by the last day in the month of February of the same year the report was submitted to them.
Article 14: E-MAILS, WEBSITE AND TECHNOLOGY
Realizing that technology has vital role to play in promoting organizational activities, PUNJABI UNLIMITED shall establish a website, and email list. PUNJABI UNLIMITED has sole proprietary rights to both the website and email list. No individual, inclusive of Executive Committee member owns any personal rights/ownership to these items. The Executive Committee shall maintain website and emails in a dignified manner. No member of the Executive Committee shall use them for: (a) personal glory; (b) airing grievances and internal conflicts; (c) accusations, badmouthing, profanity, insults, derogatory/demeaning remarks, etc.; or (d) any other purposes that are detrimental to PUNJABI UNLIMITED image and principles.
Article 15: RULES AND REGULATIONS
The following rules and regulations shall conclusively bind PUNJABI UNLIMITED and all persons acting for or on behalf of it:
No part of the net earnings of PUNJABI UNLIMITED shall be distributed to its members, officers, or other private persons, except that the organization shall be authorized and empowered to pay actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred by any member in furtherance of the objectives set forth herein.
No part of the activities of PUNJABI UNLIMITED shall be the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the organization shall not participate in or intervene in any political campaign including the publication or distribution of statements on behalf of any candidate for public office.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws, PUNJABI UNLIMITED shall not carry on any activities not permitted by an organization:
1. (a) Exempt from federal income tax under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law, or
2. (b) That can accept tax-deductible contributions under Section 170 (c) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law.
Office holders of PUNJABI UNLIMITED shall avoid conflicts of interest in carrying out their responsibilities.
Article 16: INDEMNITY
The Executive Committee members and the members of the Board of Directors shall not be held personally liable for any actions and decisions taken on behalf of the association.
The PUNJABI UNLIMITED members listing (mailing address, e-mail address, and phone number) shall be used for distribution of PUNJABI UNLIMITED related information only.
The PUNJABI UNLIMITED members listing (mailing address, e-mail address and phone number), equipment, individual software, web pages developed during the year; photographs taken during the programs (performed by the professional artists), etc. are the organizations property. No one should sell trade or exchange or utilize in any other manner for personal or third-party gains without obtaining the permission of the general body.
Article 17: DISSOLUTION
In the event of dissolution, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all the liabilities of the association, dispose off all the assets of the association exclusively for the purposes of the association in such manner, or to such association or associations organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt association under section 501(c) (3) and 170 (C) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or Federal, State, or Local government for exclusive public purpose.
Article 18: AMENDMENTS
The constitution may be amended in a BOD with appropriate quorum of at least 6 members of BOD. In this BOD where the agenda specifically calls for the amendments, the constitution may be amended with the approval of at least two-thirds majority or more of the attending membership. The amendments and the time and place for the meeting shall be notified to all members at least 15 days in advance. All amendments shall be submitted in writing to the President to enable him/her to implement. Only those members present at meeting shall be eligible to vote.
AMENDMENTS
