Free Spirit Alliance
Corporation By-Laws
(including amendments through January 26, 2003)
Individuals who participated in the vote to approve this Corporation's Articles of Incorporation are charter members. Upon payment of the proper membership fee, they will immediately become entitled to all membership rights without need for acceptance or approval of their applications at subsequent Corporation business meetings. Their applications will not require the endorsement of other members.
Subsequent to incorporation, an individual must meet the following criteria before acceptance into voting membership:
Each member shall have the right to request that any candidate for membership be removed from consideration for membership. This request shall be made to the President who shall evaluate whether the request is justified. If the President agrees that the request is justified, he/she shall place the request on the agenda for consideration at the next Business Meeting. Should the President not deem the request justified, the requesting member may appeal to the Trustees who shall have the power to reverse the President's decision.
When a member calls for removal of a candidate for membership, discussion must be invited before the vote. When a candidate is removed from consideration by the Corporation, the applicant's membership fee must be refunded in full. The membership fee must also be refunded in full if the applicant asks to withdraw the application at any point before he/she becomes a full member.
Once an applicant has been removed from consideration as a member, she/he may not apply to become a candidate for membership again without approval by a Corporation business meeting.
The names for all candidates for membership shall be published for review by the membership in sufficient time for any objections to be submitted and acted upon by a Corporation business meeting before the year and a day waiting period expires.
A voting member in good standing who is six months in arrears on dues payment shall have their membership put on "inactive" status. Inactive members are not eligible for active membership privileges such as (but not limited to) voting at business meetings, free newsletter subscriptions, and discounts on event admissions. An inactive voting membership may be reactivated by payment of dues in full.
The following classes of affiliation were defined at the General Business meeting held on April 13, 1991, and amended on January 26, 2003:
The Corporation's membership records are its own private property. Information therein may not be sold, borrowed, or disclosed to other organizations and individuals, nor published and distributed to Corporation members without the expressed consent of each member involved.
Trustees and members of the Administrative Board, as an implicit function of their offices, may use the membership records for purposes which benefit the Corporation. All copies of these records in their possession must be returned to the Corporation upon their resignation or removal from office.
Officials of federal, state and local government agencies may examine the membership records in the normal course of their duties so long as they show proper warrants, but will be required to show proper identification to the Corporation's officers.
All mail from the Corporation to its members must be sealed or stapled and marked externally in a manner that does not compromise the privacy of members who prefer not to disclose their faith to others.
The Administrative Board will keep records of the Corporation's finances in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Financial statements must be examined by the Board of Trustees before distribution. If the trustees wish to express an opinion, the opinion must be attached to the statements. When the trustees fail to agree on an opinion, none will be attached, but the statements may not be distributed until the next Corporation business meeting.
Corporate banking and borrowing resolutions must be witnessed by at least one trustee who is not authorized by these resolutions to sign checks, notes, or other contracts with the bank. At least one trustee must witness a written contract made on behalf of the Corporation by the Administrative Board.
Upon request, the Administrative Board must make all Corporation records available for inspection by any trustee. The Administrative Board must comply with the request within 30 days.
A trustee who suspects irregularities in the Corporation's financial records or violations of the Articles of Incorporation or the Bylaws may instruct banks to refuse withdrawals, checks, and loans until the matter can be discussed at the next Corporation business meeting. The trustee(s) who executes such authority must immediately inform all other trustees and the Administrative Board, in writing, that they have taken such action. By a majority vote of the trustees, all authority exercised by the Administrative Board can be suspended until the next Corporation business meeting, which will be presided over by the trustees.
The Administrative Board cannot suspend the membership rights of a trustee until the trustee has been removed from office.
Financial statements, bank statements, and records which do not compromise the privacy of Corporation members must be made available for inspection within 60 days upon request by any member other than a trustee.
The Administrative Board may distribute information for other organizations and individuals for the benefit of the Corporation's members. The Corporation must be compensated for any commercial advertising in its publications or commercial advertising it distributes that is not part of a publication.
The following fees were established by the Corporation.
Advertising rates for the newsletter will be determined by the editor. Registration fees for festivals and other activities will be determined by the Administrative Board and committees managing these activities.
The Corporation reserves the exclusive right to represent itself with the name Free Spirit Alliance. Only activities and publications sponsored by the Corporation may be advertised as such. No other individuals or organizations may claim to represent the Corporation or advertise an affiliation with the Corporation except as specifically authorized by same and with expressed permission.
Participants at any Corporation-sponsored activity are responsible for their actions. The Corporation may demand compensation for any individual whose illegal or negligent behavior causes damage for which the Corporation or its members are held accountable.
[Approved October 21, 1989, Fall general business meeting]
The agenda of the Corporation business meeting is set by the President, and is presented to the membership by the Administrative Secretary. The President may accept agenda items suggested by the members, but may, at his/her discretion, reject any of these items. Committee reports of which the President is advised before the setting of the agenda must be included in it, as well as any report by the Financial Secretary or Trustee.
Any item rejected by the President may be brought up by the members as a motion under "new business." Motions and late-arriving committee reports brought under new business which, in the opinion of the President, require the entire membership's opinion or consent may be postponed by the President and thereby become part of the agenda for the next business meeting.
As authorized by the Articles of Incorporation, the President presides at business meetings. Accordingly, she/he has the responsibility and authority to moderate debate and insure the rights of the members. With just cause, the President may, require a person whose behavior interferes with the rights of other members to cease and desist from such behavior. If this fails, she/he may introduce a motion to eject from a meeting any person whose behavior violates the rights of other members.
The official rules and powers of elected officers are specified in the Articles of Incorporation and additionally include the following powers and responsibilities.