A2MQG Bylaws

 
 

THE ANN ARBOR MODERN QUILT GUILD BYLAWS

 

Created: February 27, 2013

Revised  January 27, 2014 (dues year)  - approved by membership 2014

Revised January 19, 2017 - approved by membership 2017

Revised September 25, 2019 (change in officer elections and term start) - approved by membership 2019

 

Article I

Name and Location of Guild:

  • The name of this organization is the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild, also referred to as the Guild or A2MQG.
  • The Guild’s home is in Ann Arbor, MI with members from Ann Arbor and surrounding communities.

 

Article II

Purpose of Guild

  • The purpose of the Guild is to create a positive community where modern quilters can share knowledge of their craft, learn new sewing techniques, engage in charitable activities, and discuss topics relating to the quilting community. 
  • This Guild is a non-profit organization under the laws of the State of Michigan and is not organized for personal profit. 
  • In the event of dissolution, all funds and goods owned by the Guild shall be donated to a non- profit organization(s) that is voted and agreed upon by the Guild Officers.

 

Article III:

Membership

  • Membership is open to any person who agrees to the purposes of this Guild, pays yearly dues, and completes the membership form. 
  • Members are allowed the opportunity to participate in all meeting activities such as swaps, bees, show & tells, etc. 
  • Members are allowed access to any of the Guild’s social media, whether public or private. 
  • If a member has a quilt-related blog, that blog can be included on the website blogroll and featured in any social media or publicity.

 

Guests

  • Guests are those who attend Guild functions but have not paid yearly dues or signed a membership form. 
  • Guests are welcome to attend one Guild meeting free of charge. Guests will be charged $5 for each subsequent attendance until membership dues have been paid and the membership form completed.
  • Guests shall check-in with the Vice President of Membership every meeting in order to track their attendance.
  •  Guests are not allowed to vote in elections, have access to private social media or participate in meeting activities such as swaps and bees.

 

Article IV:

Annual Dues, Fees, and Finances

Dues:

  • Dues are collected to meet operational needs as decided upon by Guild Officers. The Officers will vote on the amount of that year’s dues at the Guild Officer’s meeting one month prior to the start of the new dues year following a proposed budget analysis from the Treasurer.
  • The Dues year runs from October to October.
  • Dues are NOT refundable.


Fees

  • Fees may be charged for special classes, presentations and/or events as established by the Guild Officers.
  • Fees will be collected by the Treasurer (or her/his designee), identified and held in the Guild’s checking account. The Treasurer shall account for all fees collected in the Treasurer’s report presented at Guild Officer’s meetings.
  • Fees for special events hosted by the Guild are generally non-refundable, except in case of event cancellation or upon Board approval which may be given if the refund will not require the Guild to lose money.

 

Finances

  • The fiscal year is January 1 through December 31.
  • The Guild Officers will conduct a yearly audit of the Guild’s books. Once completed, the findings will be shared with the Guild membership.

 

Article V:

Meetings

Membership Meetings

  • The Guild shall schedule monthly meetings and notify all members well in advance through email, publication on the Guild website, and/or on the guild Facebook page (or other appropriate social media).

Quarterly Officers Meetings

  • The Guild Officers shall meet a minimum of four times a year.

Board Election meeting 

  • Board Officer elections will be held at the October member meeting for the board that will take effect the first of January. Holding the elections in advance of the Annual Meeting will allow time for transition to the new board which will take effect the first of January. 

 

Annual Meeting

  • The Annual Meeting is held every January.
  • The purpose of this meeting is to review and amend Guild Bylaws as necessary, review the previous year’s activity, and to discuss plans for the upcoming year.

 

Special Meetings

  • Special meetings may be called for the purpose of a single item matter.
  • Members will be notified of a special meeting a week in advance as to date, time, and location of the meeting.

 

Special Events and Workshops

  • When the Guild hosts special events such as lectures, classes, sew-ins, or retreats, members will be given first opportunity to reserve space, then non-members/guests as space permits. The Board may decide to have an increased fee for non-members. 
  • When space for such events is limited, spaces can be reserved at Guild functions on a first-come-first-serve basis.  In the event of overwhelming interest, a lottery may be required to reserve a space. 
  • Additional fees to attend special events may be asked of members and guests as agreed upon by Guild Officers. The Guild will be notified of additional fees either at meetings, by email, social media or on our website.

Minutes:

  • Minutes of all Membership Meetings shall be available on the Guild website for review. 
  • Minutes from all Membership Meetings must be posted within a reasonable amount of time following the meeting (generally well in advance of the next monthly meeting).

Voting

  • Every act or decision brought to a Membership Meeting shall be decided by a majority of members present at the meeting with no provision made for proxy (absentee) votes or delaying of the vote based on members not in attendance. The Board may also decide to have ballots presented through email venues with one vote allowed per member.
  • Each member present is entitled to one vote on each matter. Voting shall be by voice, show of hands, or by ballot.
  • For a vote to be taken, there must be a quorum of Officers present.(e.g., 3 out of 5 board members).

 

Meeting Etiquette:

Photography

  • Meeting attendees (including members and guests) must ask permission before photographing any person in attendance or any item brought to a meeting. 
  • Should permission be granted, the photographer will tag the artist of the creation pictured, or the person being pictured, in any publication, website, or social-media forum where the photo is posted. 






Children

  • Children of members and guests are welcome to attend meetings, however it is respectfully requested that parents remove crying babies and noisy children from the meeting area so that communication is not hindered.  Be advised that adult language may be used in meetings.

Selling of Goods

  • If a Guild member is interested in selling quilt-related goods during Guild functions, the Guild Officers must grant permission prior to the event. 
  • Goods should be sold before or after the formal proceedings of a Membership Meeting or event.

Civility

  • Members or Guests who repeatedly show a lack of respect for others at the meetings will be asked to leave the Guild. 
  • Members who have concerns should take any issues to a Guild Officer who may administer a warning to the offender.

Article VI:

Board Officers & Their Responsibilities

  • The Guild Officers shall include a President, Vice-President in charge of Programs, Vice President in charge of Membership, Secretary/Webmaster, and Treasurer. Duties of these offices may be divided and officers are able to create supporting committees or designees to assist them. 
  • The Board positions are for one-year terms and there is a five-consecutive term limit.
  • Following a Board member’s term of office, they are required to relinquish all paperwork pertinent to the position (i.e., notes of how they performed their office and/or guild specific paperwork) to either the current Board or the new person filling the position.
  • All key paperwork (that which the Board determines should be archived and accessible) associated with the Board should be kept in electronic format and posted to the Guild’s shared drive (e.g., Google Drive or similar location) that is accessible by all standing Board members.

o   An example of required paperwork would be bylaws, job related documentation, board minutes.

o   Forms which are available elsewhere electronically should be documented as to the location (e.g., bank statements, tax forms, etc.)

 

The President

  • The President shall organize and lead all Membership and Special Meetings. 
  • The Board will offer a standard agenda to the membership, however in the case of special meetings, the President shall send an agenda to the membership, or post one to the website, prior to the next Membership Meeting. 
  • The President shall oversee other Officers and Committee Chairpersons and establish and coordinate regular Board meetings. 
  • The President shall be the main point of contact between the Guild and any national or regional organizations the Guild may be part of.

The Vice President in charge of Programs

  • In the absence of the President, the Vice President of Programs shall preside over Membership, Board, and Special Meetings. 
  • The Vice President in charge of Programs shall oversee all Guild programs such as lectures and classes as well as coordinate with the Retreat chair and/or other officers regarding meeting locations and sew-ins. 
    • While this list may change, an example of programs would be monthly member spotlights and skill schools, bringing in national or regional teachers, or arranging teaching events with local teachers.
  • The Vice President in charge of Programs is able to create a committee to assist in the carrying out of these duties.

 

The Vice President in charge of Membership:

  • In the absence of the President and the Vice President in charge of Programs, the Vice President in charge of Membership shall preside over Membership and Special Meetings. 
  • The Vice President in charge of Membership shall maintain our membership roster, as well as collect and store membership forms. 
  • The Vice President in charge of Membership shall provide new members with the necessary links to our Guild websites and social media forums. 
  • The Vice President in charge of Membership shall provide new members with a membership card, copy of the Bylaws, and information about the Guild as well as coordinate membership with any other National or Regional organizations as appropriate. 
  • The Vice President in charge of Membership will obtain new members’ email addresses and blog URLs (if applicable) and provide them to the Secretary/Webmaster. 
  • The Vice President in charge of Membership will welcome Guests and ensure that Guests have the necessary information should they choose to become members.  
  • The Vice President in charge of Membership (or her/his designee) will keep track of Guests, ensuring that each Guest is allowed only one free-of-charge pass for a Guild function.

Treasurer

  • The Treasurer shall hold custody over the Guild’s funds, including bookkeeping and filing taxes.  The Treasurer or her/his designee shall collect dues. 
  • The Treasurer shall pay all bills and sign all checks; the President shall also be authorized to pay bills and sign checks. 
  • The Treasurer shall prepare the books for audit the first Officer’s meeting of the year, where she/he shall present them for review and audit.
  • The Treasurer shall work with the Board to prepare a proposed budget for the following year  prior to the October membership meeting).  The Board will use this proposed budget to set dues for the following year.  This budget will be considered preliminary until ratified or modified by the new Board at the first Officer’s meeting of the new year following elections. 
  • The Treasurer shall prepare an annual report to present to the membership at the Annual Meeting which would include a reporting of the previous year’s income and expenditures. 
  • The Treasurer shall keep a running inventory of items donated to the Guild and their dispersal.

Secretary / Webmaster

  • The Secretary / Webmaster shall take notes of all motions made and carried out at each Membership Meeting. 
  • The Secretary / Webmaster shall post minutes on the Guild website for review within a reasonable time (typically well before the next meeting) for every Membership Meeting. 
  • The Secretary / Webmaster shall inform the membership of upcoming meetings well in advance via email, website posts, and social media announcements. 
  • The Secretary / Webmaster shall maintain and update the Guild Blogroll as new members with blogs join the Guild.  
  • The Secretary / Webmaster shall maintain a Guild calendar on the website.
  • The Secretary / Webmaster shall also maintain any communications with the membership through a shared Board email account, social media venues (including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, website/blog, Messenger, etc.)  The Secretary/Webmaster may also appoint designees to post material from classes or meetings, including blog round-ups or other publicity, ensuring board policies are followed for said postings.


 

Organizational Chart: 

  • Guild Officers are organized in the following order: President, Vice-President in charge of Programs, Vice President in charge of Membership, Treasurer, Secretary / Webmaster.
  • In the event that an Officer is unable to complete her/his term in office, the President shall appoint an interim officer until a general election of the membership can be held.

Article VII:

Committee Chairs & Their Responsibilities

  • The Guild Board reserves the right to establish or abolish any Committees as it feels needed to accomplish the effective running of the Guild. This includes appointing designated Chairperson(s) for those committees. 
    • Examples of  Committee Chairs include Library, Charity, Retreats, Swaps/Round Robins, Sales, Inter-Guild Challenges, and Field Trips. 
  • The Chair positions may be for a one-year term or may be for single event purposes. There is a five-consecutive term limit. 
  • The Committee Chairperson is responsible for the general supervision of the committee and its membership. 
  • Committee Chairs are responsible for presenting to the Board a monthly report of all pertinent information regarding their committee, including sign-ups, due dates, progress, etc. They are also responsible for attending monthly membership meetings and presenting progress on their event or task. Committee Chairs may also be asked upon occasion to attend an Officer’s meeting to present committee progress. Committee Chairs do not have a vote on the Board. 
  • The Committee Chairperson is responsible for notifying the President of any items to be included in the agenda at least three days prior to a Membership Meeting.

Article VIII:

Leadership Elections

  • Elections for Officers are held during the October Meeting. 
  • The newly elected Officers will take office on January 1st. 
  • Upon leaving a post, all outgoing Officers and Chairpersons must turn over all information, books, and data must be given to the newly appointed Officer or Chairperson. This should be accomplished before the next membership meeting. Thus for October elections, the old officer should pass along all information well before the January 1st turnover date.

 

General Voting

  • All members in good standing and in attendance during voting procedures are allowed one vote per motion, amendment, poll, or election. There will be no absentee ballots.

Leadership Removal

  • Should it be necessary to remove any elected officer(s), a 2/3rds vote of members present at any Membership Meeting can accomplish this.  Prior to leadership being removed, the membership must be notified a minimum of a week in advance  of the meeting to allow the opportunity for members to attend the vote.

Article IX:

Bylaw General Information

Amendments

  • Amendments to these bylaws shall be made by majority vote of members present at a Membership Meeting. The Board may also decide to hold an electronic vote with one vote allowed per member. The changes must be posted on the Guild’s website prior to the next regularly scheduled membership meeting. 
  • Any member can propose an amendment, which will be presented and voted on at the next Membership Meeting.  Proposed amendments shall be posted on the Guild website for a minimum of one month prior to the vote to allow all members the chance to review and be available to vote.

Bylaw Effective Date

  • The bylaws shall take effect immediately upon their adoption. Revisions, additions or deletions are to be effective upon the date so voted by the membership. 
  • These bylaws must be reviewed once every year at the Annual Meeting to make sure that they still hold true. A majority of membership present at the meeting may decide to approve the bylaws without a detailed reading thereof.

 

Bylaws written this 27th day of February 2013

Revised  January 27, 2014 (dues year)

Revised January 19, 2017 - approved by membership 2017

Revised September 25, 2019 (change in officer elections and term start) - approved by membership 2019