By-Laws of the Nauset Fellowship, Inc.

By-Laws of the Nauset Fellowship, Inc.

Article 1 – Name

The name of the Corporation shall be Nauset Fellowship, Inc. (herein referred to as the “Fellowship”)

Article II – Purpose

The purpose of the Fellowship shall be to promote individual, spiritual, and ethical growth through discussion, study, work, and mutually stimulative recreation, and to dedicate itself, through its members, to the service of humankind, in local and world communities, in ways that are suitable for such purposes and are agreed upon by the membership.

Article III – Membership

The Fellowship strives to foster a climate of purposeful inclusion of all people. We value the diversity of racial and cultural identity and background, nationality, sexual and affectional orientation, gender identity and its expression, religious background and belief, marital status, family structure, age, mental and physical health and ability, political perspective, and educational and class status.

Any person may become a voting member of the Fellowship who is in sympathy with its purposes and programs and who first reads and accepts the current By-Laws of the Fellowship and then signs the membership book maintained by the Secretary. Membership is retained as long as the member actively supports the purposes and programs of the Fellowship.  “Active” means attending fellowship meetings, making a financial contribution or in-kind contribution of goods or services.

Yearly reviews of the membership rolls shall be conducted by the secretary in consultation with the treasurer. Their findings will be presented at the business meeting preceding the annual meeting with the final decision about removing a name and adding it to the list of Friends of the Nauset Fellowship to be made at the annual meeting. The affected members will be notified by mail before the annual meeting

Article IV – Affiliation

The Fellowship shall be a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association (U.U.A.). It shall be the objective and intention of the Fellowship to make annual contributions to the organization based on the fair share as determined by the Association.

Article V – Meetings

  1. Regular programs or non-business meetings of the Fellowship shall be held at such times and places as shall be determined by the members. There shall be at least forty (40) such meetings held in each calendar year.
  2. Regular business meetings of the Fellowship may be held once a month.
  3. An Annual Business Meeting of the Fellowship shall be held in June.
  4. Special business meetings of the Fellowship may be called by the Officers and shall be called at the written request, addressed to the President, of any five (5) voting members.
  5. Members shall be notified in writing or email at least ten (10) days in advance of annual and special business meetings.
  6. Forty (40) percent of the total number of voting members shall constitute a quorum at a business meeting.
  7. Unless otherwise specified, Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern all business meetings.

Article VI – Officers

  1. The officers of the Corporation shall consist of the Past-President, President, President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer, all of whom shall be voting members of the Fellowship. The terms of officers shall begin on the first day of July following their election and end upon the beginning of their successor’s terms. The term of President-Elect shall extend for one year; whereupon that personal shall serve as President for one year; whereupon that person shall serve as Past-President for one year. The term of Secretary and Treasurer shall extend for two years. The term of Secretary shall begin in odd numbered years; the term of Treasurer shall begin in even numbered years.
  2. The Past-President, President, and President-Elect shall divide the following duties among themselves:
  3. Preside at all Business Meetings and the Annual Meeting of the Fellowship;
  4. Represent, or otherwise delegate the representation of the Fellowship at denominational or public occasions;
  5. Appoint from the membership of the Fellowship chairs of standing and of ad hoc committees, and
  6. Perform such other functions as are generally required of a president of a corporation.
  7. The Secretary shall prepare and keep minutes of all Business Meetings, certify memberships and changes in memberships and elections to offices, register changes in offices or Officers with the MA Secretary of State and UUA, send notices to members, and conduct correspondence as instructed by the President and elected Officers.
  8. The Treasurer shall prepare an annual budget to be approved at the last meeting of the fiscal year, keep an accurate accounting of all disbursements and receipts (all contributions to be kept confidential), pay all budgeted bills and other bills approved by the Elected Officers, maintain all bank and other fiscal accounts and keep the membership apprised of the corporation’s finances through quarterly reports. The Treasurer shall send an annual request for a financial pledge to all members and friends, and shall acknowledge in writing the receipt of all gifts or pledges received from members, friends and supporters. The treasurer will also file any annual forms required by the Commonwealth.
  9. The term of office for each officer shall be subject to the right of re-election. Vacancies in any office shall be filled by appointment by the Elected Officers and the appointee shall serve until the next annual election.

Article VIII – Committees

There shall be such standing and ad hoc committees as shall from time to time be determined by the Elected Officers.

Article IX – Nominations and Elections

  1. A Nominating Committee, consisting of three voting members of the Fellowship, shall be appointed by the President and, at least one month prior to the Annual Meeting of the Fellowship, shall submit to all voting members by mail or email a slate of their nominees for all offices. At each Annual Meeting floor nominations shall be permitted.
  2. Elections shall be by majority vote of voting members present at the Annual Meeting if a quorum is present. A tie shall be decided by a majority vote of the Elected Officers and Program chairman.

Article X – Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of the Fellowship shall be July 1st thru June 30th.

Article XI – By-Law Amendments

These By-Laws may be amended or revised at any business meeting by a two-thirds vote of the voting members present, if a quorum is present.

Article XII – Dissolution

In the event of dissolution all net assets remaining after paying liabilities shall be disposed of exclusively for purposes consistent with the Corporation’s purposes including distribution to another organization(s) qualifying as tax exempt by the IRS. In the event of dissolution, a Committee of the membership shall be appointed for the purpose of deciding how to dispose of the organization’s assets and property, with the recommendations subject to a majority vote of the membership.

 

**These By-Laws were accepted by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on August 29, 1978 and were then accepted by the unanimous vote of the Nauset Fellowship on September 10, 1978. By-Laws were amended on April 2, 1989, May 31, 2015, September 4, 2016, June 7, 2020 and June 5, 2022.