Allentown Garden Club of New Jersey
By-Laws of the Allentown Garden Club
Amended April 2017
Article I - Name
Section 1.
The name of this organization shall be the Allentown Garden Club.
Article II - Purpose
Section 1.
The purpose of this organization is to promote the development of all phases of gardening, the betterment and beautification of the community and the protection of our natural resources, as well as to stimulate interest in learning and better methods of gardening.
Article III - Membership
Section 1.
The membership of the Allentown Garden Club shall be composed of any resident of the Allentown Community and surrounding areas whose interests are in alignment with the club's purpose identified above. The membership shall be considered closed with a total of 100 active members.
Section 2.
The membership of this Club shall consist of active, sustaining and honorary members.
a. Active members, to be considered in good standing, are required to participate in a minimum of two (2) activities during the club year, attend three (3) club meetings, pay dues in a timely manner, purchase or sell three (3) tickets to our biennial fundraiser and perform such duties as assigned by the President and Executive Board. If these requirements are not met, the Membership Chairman may notify the Board and the member may be dropped from the roll at the discretion of the Board.
b. Honorary Membership is reserved for those charter members and Past Presidents who no longer wish to remain active. Honorary members are invited to participate in any club activity. Honorary members are not expected to pay dues; however, they do not have the privilege to vote.
c. Membership in the Allentown Garden Club is open to all regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity or religious affiliation.
d. A membership year runs from May 1st to April 30th of a given year.
Section 3.
Fiscal Year - The fiscal year of the Allentown Garden Club shall run from July 1st to June 30th of a given year.
Section 4.
a. Annual Membership Dues - Effective May 1, 2017 annual dues for individual active members will be $25.00 per individual or $35.00 for a Family Membership (two individuals living at the same address). b. Due Date and Late Fee - Dues will be payable on or before the March General Meeting and submitted to the Treasury by mail or at the meeting. Annual dues for membership renewal that are received after the March General Meeting may be subject to a $5 late fee. Non-members and unpaid members after the March General Meeting will be asked to become a dues paying member after the second meeting. If they do not wish to join but still want to attend additional meetings, a $5.00 speaker fee will be requested. c. Pro-Rated Membership Dues - After January 1, Club membership for the remaining few months of the current fiscal year will be prorated to $10.00 for individual members and $15.00 for a Family Membership. The full membership dues for the next fiscal year will then be payable on or before the March General Meeting.
Section 5.
Budget - A budget for the ensuing year shall be adopted to the membership for adoption at the Spring Board of Director's meeting.
a. The budget will list the collection and distribution of funds for the fiscal year. Distribution will be discussed and agreed upon at the conclusion of the Spring Board of Directors Meeting; at this point the budget will be finalized
b. Upon the dissolution of the organization, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501 c (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose.
c. No part of the net earnings of the organization shall insure to the benefit of, or be distributed to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the organization shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in the purpose clause hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the organization shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the organization shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of this document, the organization shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501 c (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170 c (2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
Section 6.
Privacy - The Club maintains contact information for all members, active or not. This information, other than the member's name and town, will not be shared with anyone, whether a member or not, except for active members authorized by the Board. The club will provide the means for members to contact one another while maintaining the privacy of their contact information.
Article IV - Officers
Section 1.
The officers of the Allentown Garden Club shall consist of the Elected Officers (President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Club Secretary and Treasurer) and three Directors. All positions will be held for the term of one-year or more with the option of being re-elected.
Section 2.
Detailed Elected Officer & Director's responsibilities are included in the Club Website and the Club Booklet.
Article V - Board of Directors
Section 1.
The Board of Directors shall consist of the elected officers and three (3) appointed Directors (Note: one of whom may be the immediate past president). The Directors will be elected at the discretion of the President or the Nominating Committee.
Section 2.
Qualification - No person shall be elected or appointed or shall continue to serve as an Officer or Director of this organization unless he/she is a voting member in good standing.
Section 3.
Vacancies - Any vacancy occurring in the Board of Directors may be filled until the next annual meeting by two-thirds majority vote of the remaining members of the Board of Directors.
Section 4.
Property and Business - The Board of Directors shall plan and direct the work necessary to carry out the program as adopted by the general membership and share future direction of the club at the next club meeting.
Section 5.
Meetings and Quorum - There shall be at least three but not to exceed six meetings of the Board of Directors annually outside of the normal annual club schedule. Three members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. At the Board of Directors meetings Officers and Directors shall hear Committee Reports to ensure progress made or proper action is being taken by Committee Chairs. Three of these meetings will be scheduled for the following year at the Spring Board of Directors meeting, including the following Spring Board of Directors meeting which shall be held in March or April. A meeting agenda will be communicated to the membership no later than one week before the meeting. Board of Directors meetings are open to any active club member to attend, participate, and vote.
Article VI - Meetings
Section 1.
Membership Meeting - There shall be at least nine meetings, the meetings shall be held the second Thursday of each month unless conflicting with a holiday. Membership meetings are held from September to June. There are no meetings in July and August.
Section 2.
Annual Meeting - An annual meeting shall be held on the second Thursday of May. Officers, Directors and members of the Nominating Committee shall be announced.
Section 3.
Quorum -One-third of the voting membership shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the Allentown Garden Club.
Article VII - Amendments
Section 1.
Amendments to these Bylaws shall be presented in writing by any club member and read to the membership at the meeting preceding the one at which they are to be acted upon. A two-thirds vote of the members present and voting shall be necessary for the adoption of such an amendment.
Article VIII - Nominating Committee
Section 1.
Nominating Committee - The Nominating Committee shall consist of three people appointed by the President. The Nominating Committee will select and approach potential candidates for various offices.
Article IX - Parliamentary Procedures
Section 1.
All official club business will be conducted at the Board of Directors meetings with the exception of approving changes to the By-Laws and the election of officers which occur at the General Meetings. Official club business includes, but is not limited to, the approval of the budget, approval of expenditures outside of the budget, the creation and disbanding of committees, defining the roles of the committees, appointment of committee chairs, and resolving any issues raised by members that cannot be easily resolved at a General Meeting. The Board of Directors meeting will be chaired by the ranking officer present who will call for a vote on an issue when appropriate. Any active member can raise an issue for the Board's consideration by either sending an email to email@allentowngardenclub.net, submitting the request in writing to any club officer, or by raising it directly at a Board meeting. Any member present can call for a vote on an issue being discussed. A simple majority of eligible voting members is required to pass a motion or approve an issue under discussion.
Article X - Communication
Section 1.
The primary method of communication with the club, as a whole, is via email.
There will be a monthly newsletter emailed to all active members during the months of general meetings. It will contain general news,
updates from the various committees, links to current budget information and committee reports, meeting notices and other information
as appropriate.
There will be separate emails notifying members, at least one week before, of upcoming Board of Directors meetings and the general club
meetings. The notification for the Board of Directors meeting shall contain the agenda.
All active members will be able to email all other members, or a selected list of members, via our website. Other than the member's
name and town, no other member information will be visible on the website except for administrators as per Article III Section 6 on Privacy.
These emails are for club business only. Anyone abusing this may have their email sending privilege revoked at the discretion of
the website committee.
The club website and Facebook page are the secondary methods of communication. These generally will contain the same information as
the emails plus information that is not appropriate for emails, such as large files, images etc. The information may not be as
current as that contained in the emails.