UIA Current Constitution

[Umu Igbo Alliance]

UMU IGBO ALLIANCE CONSTITUTION


PREAMBLE

To provide a home for diasporic Igbos to meet, network and form
lasting relationships and to maintain our culture heritage and
language within the Igbo community, WE, the members of Umu Igbo
Alliance hereby enact and adopt this Constitution.


ARTICLE I - NAME

The name of this organization shall be Umu Igbo Alliance hereinafter
referred to as “UIA”.

ARTICLE II – PURPOSE

The purpose of UIA is to utilize resources of members of the
organization to:
1. encourage the appreciation and practice of Igbo culture amongst
Igbos living in the United States
2. instill in Ndigbo a greater awareness and commitment to the needs
of Ndigbo
3. provide networking opportunities for Igbos to connect and meet with
one another
4. develop community service initiatives for Igbos in the Chicago area
and service projects for Ndigbo in Nigeria
5. promote and cultivate civic awareness and responsibility among
Ndigbo
6. develop social events and activities through which Igbos can meet
and forge lasting relationships

ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP

Section 1 – General Membership

General UIA membership may consist of all individuals of Igbo heritage
or by naturalization between 18 and 35 years of age. Individuals of
the general membership are committed to the purpose of UIA as stated
in Article II of this Constitution.

Membership Types
1. Active – participates in at least 50% of UIA activities and/or
meetings, fulfilled financial obligation
2. In good standing – financial obligation and not under disciplinary
action
3. Associate – not necessarily of Igbo heritage but participates in
UIA activities and fulfilled financial obligation
4. At large – fulfilled financial obligation, less than 50%
participation in UIA activities


A. Active membership in UIA consists of all members that have:
i. Submitted the necessary paperwork to the executive board, and
ii. Fulfilled their financial obligations to UIA
iii. Participated in at least 50 percent of UIA activities in a given
year

Section 2 – Active Membership

To constitute active membership, as stated in Article III, Section
2(a) of this Constitution, each member must remit payment of dues to
the Treasurer not later than the thirtieth (30th) of June of each
year. The amount of dues required and the rules governing payment, are
to be determined by Article VII, Section 1.


Section 3 – Non-discrimination Clause

Non-discrimination Clause: UIA will not discriminate against any
individual or group on the basis of sex, race, religion, ethnic group,
age, national origin, or country of abode.

Section 4 – Duties of Membership

Duties of Membership:

1. Participation in UIA activities and meetings is incumbent upon each
member.
2. Payment of membership dues as established by the UIA executive
board.

ARTICLE IV – ADMINISTRATION

Section 1 –Office Eligibility
Persons eligible to hold an office on the Executive Board of UIA must
be active members in good standing of the organization.

Section 2 – Executive Board Positions and Duties

There will be a UIA Executive Board that will consist of the
following: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Financial Secretary,
General Secretary, Historian, and Parliamentarian.

a) President – the President shall be the chief executive of the
Executive Board and preside over the Executive Board meetings. The
President is also responsible for the implementation of policies
approved by the Board.
b) Vice President – the Vice President shall in the absence or
disability of the President, perform the duties and exercise the
powers of the President and generally assist the President, exercising
such other powers and performing such other duties as may be delegated
by the President or the Board.
c) Treasurer – the Treasurer shall maintain custody and safe-keeping
of all of the funds of UIA and ensure that all monies collected on
behalf of UIA are deposited into a designated FDIC insured bank
approved by the Executive Board.
d) Financial Secretary – The Financial Secretary shall collect and
record all monies due to the UIA and shall pay such monies to the
treasurer no later than seven (7) days after collection. He/she shall
render, at the annual meeting of UIA or to the President or the
Executive Board, whenever they may so require, an account of all his/
her transactions as financial secretary, and of the financial
condition of UIA.
e) General Secretary – The General Secretary shall be responsible for
the coordination and dissemination of all information and publicity of
the organization.
f) Historian – The Historian shall be responsible for archiving
meeting minutes, taking pictures of events and general recording of
organizational activities.
g) Parliamentarian – The Parliamentarian must be knowledgeable on
parliamentary procedures and the laws of the organization. He/she
shall keep time and maintain law and order during proceedings of the
General Body and the Executive Board, and recognize without bias,
individuals who may speak at meetings.


The officers must perform duties prescribed by the Constitution,
Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by UIA.

Section 3 – Duties of Executive Board

The day to day administration and management of the affairs of UIA
shall be vested in the Executive Board by the General membership. The
activities of the Executive Board shall be subject to approval of UIA
General membership.

The UIA Executive Board will:
a. have general power to administer any and all programs, business
projects, and matters pertaining to or concerning UIA,
b. determine all questions of policy and procedure, and must
administer the affairs of UIA under the Constitution and Bylaws of
UIA,
c. be subject to the orders of the membership; none of its acts can
conflict with decisions made by the vote of the general assembly or
the goals and objectives of UIA,
d. make recommendations,
e. have the power to create staff positions and committees as
necessary to carry out the business of UIA,
f. make decisions at a duly called meeting at which there is quorum,
g. have the power to discipline any officer pursuant to Article IX of
this Constitution, and
h. set the date, location, and agenda of all meetings.




Section 4 – Board Approval

Board Approval: Board approval is defined as an affirmative, simple
majority vote by the Executive Board and subject to ratification by
the general membership.

Section 5 - Vacancies

Should the office of President become vacant, the Vice President will
fill the unexpired term. Should any other Board position become vacant
other than the President, the unexpired term will be filled by
appointment by the President, subject to approval by the Executive
Board.

Section 6 – Election of Officers


The positions of President, Vice President, Treasurer, Financial
Secretary, General Secretary, Historian, and Parliamentarian must be
elected by a majority of the general body members in attendance at the
designated election meeting. A member must be in good standing to run
for office. If a member is not in good standing, he may vote, but may
not run for a position.

A simple majority consists of at least 51% of votes. The election will
be coordinated by an Electoral Committee as described in Article VI of
this document.

Section 7 – Terms of Office

The elected officers of UIA will hold office for a term of (2) years
to begin on June 1st and end on May 31st of the final term year.

ARTICLE V – MEETINGS

Meetings consist of face-to-face or teleconference correspondence.

Section 1 - Executive Board meetings

A. Officers are expected to attend all Executive Board meetings.
B. Executive Board meetings will be presided over by the President.
C. The Executive Board meetings will be called by the President.
D. Members of the Board will be notified of the meetings at least two
weeks prior to the meeting.
E. The Secretary shall make Board meeting minutes available, upon
request to any active organization member.

Section 2 – General meetings

A. General body members are expected to attend all UIA General Body
meetings.
B. There will be four (4) standing meetings per year in May, August,
December and March.
C. General body meetings will be presided over by the President.
D. General body members will be notified of the meetings at least one
month prior to the meeting.
E. The minutes of the general body meeting must be made available to
general body members.

Section 3- Emergency meetings

An emergency meeting of UIA can be called by the President, Secretary,
or any member of the organization through the President. Justification
must be provided for the meeting and it must be approved by a majority
of the executive board.

Section 4 – Executive Board Meeting Quorum

A quorum of the Executive Board consists of four (4) executive board
members.

Section 5 – General Body Meeting Quorum

A quorum of any general meeting shall consist of the President or Vice
President, General Secretary, or Treasurer and any 10 other active
members of UIA.


ARTICLE VI – COMMITTEES

A. The Standing Committees of UIA will consist of the:
a. Constitution and Bylaws Committee – responsible for the development
of the Umu Igbo Alliance Constitution and Bylaws, as well as
modifications and amendments made to the Constitution and Bylaws.
b. Fundraising Committee – responsible for development of fundraising
projects and programs to seek out fiscal resources for the
organization
c. Public Relations Committee – responsible for dissemination to the
public of information related to projects, programs and events held
and/or sponsored by Umu Igbo Alliance. This committee is also
responsible for the development of marketing campaigns to publicize
the organization
d. Membership Committee – responsible for membership intake and
management
e. Service/Activities Committee – responsible for the development of
community service programs and events
B. Ad hoc Committee
a. Electoral Committee - The electoral committee is responsible for
the oversight and management of all aspects of UIA elections. Members
of the committee will be selected by majority vote of the general
body. This committee shall not contain any member already serving on
the Executive Board.
C. The Executive Board, upon approval by the general membership, can
create any other committee necessary for the carrying out of UIA
objectives.
D. The Executive Board may delegate such appointive powers as
necessary to facilitate both the organization and the operation of a
committee.

ARTICLE VII – FINANCIAL AFFAIRS


Section 1 - Dues


The Executive Board will:
A. determine the amount of dues.
B. set a uniform dues structure applicable to every member.
C. submit a list of organization members that have paid their dues as
well as provide written notice to those members who have not paid.



Section 2 – Exception to Payment of Dues


If a member is unable to meet the dues requirement due to extenuating
circumstances, the member must complete and submit a “Request for
Waiver form” by the June 30th dues deadline. The Membership Committee
will then determine the appropriate amount of dues the individual
must. Payments must be made by cash, money order or certified check.

The Membership Committee must present a report for the Executive Board
outlining all individuals petitioning for dues waivers for approval.
The membership committee may designate a payment plan in which a
minimum payment must be made and the remaining payments honored
according to the payment plan. Dues payments are applied to the
upcoming fiscal year.

Section 3 - Delinquency


A member that is delinquent on the financial obligation for thirty
(30) days after the due date shall be notified of such delinquency in
writing and shall lose all membership privileges, including voting
rights, if the delinquency continues for three (3) months. A member
whose delinquency exceeds three (3) months shall no longer be a member
in good standing and shall forfeit all rights and privileges of
membership.

A member will be reinstated and able to enjoy all of the rights and
privileges of membership once dues payment has been received and a
receipt issued.

Section 4 – Final Financial Report


A final full disclosure of all funds received and disbursed within any
given fiscal year must be disseminated by the Executive Board to all
active members prior to the first regularly scheduled Board meeting of
the newly elected officers. The financial report may be disseminated
in the form of an electronic report or a paper report.

ARTICLE VIII – FISCAL YEAR

The fiscal year of UIA will extend from June 1st of the present year
to May 31st of the following year.

ARTICLE IX – DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS

Section 1 – UIA Enforcement

UIA is empowered to make and enforce its own rules and to require that
its members and officers refrain from conduct injurious to UIA or its
purposes. The Executive Board will have the power to censure its
members, staff persons, and committee members. Enforcement of any
disciplinary action is pursuant to this article of the Constitution.



Section 2 – Board Removal

A. An Executive Board member may be expelled, suspended, or otherwise
removed from office after due process in accordance with the
provisions of the Bylaws by an affirmative vote of no less than two-
thirds (2/3) of the Executive Board and two-thirds (2/3) vote of the
active membership. The Presiding officer at the meeting will require a
secret ballot vote for any proposed adverse action.
B. Notice of expulsion, suspension, or removal will be given to the
Board member in writing. Any officer initiating such an action or the
object of such an action must make a presentation verbally or in
writing on his or her behalf and/or select an advocate and witnesses.
C. Any officer may resign at any time. Resignation must be in writing
and given to the President. The Executive Board must send a written
confirmation of the resignation to the resigning officer.
D. All disciplinary measures must be reported by the Executive Board
to the general body at the general body meeting following the
resolution of such proceedings. Disciplinary measures are subject to
review by active general body members.


ARTICLE X – PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

UIA is empowered to establish its rules of order through the adoption
of some form of parliamentary authority. A Parliamentarian, elected by
the general body will:
A. be responsible for carrying out the parliamentary authority, and
B. serve as a resource on parliamentary procedure

ARTICLE XI – BYLAWS

Section 1 – Bylaws Approval

The Bylaws of UIA must be approved by 2/3 of the membership present at
the Bylaws Approval Meeting. The Constitution and Bylaws committee
must publicize the need to make the change and create an amendment to
the Bylaws prior to acting; results of the Constitution and Bylaws
committee’s actions must be publicized.

Section 2 – Non-substantive changes

The Bylaws Committee has the authority to make grammatical, non-
substantive changes to the UIA Constitution and such changes will be
publicized.

ARTICLE XII – SUPREMACY CLAUSE

Section 1

The provisions of the UIA Constitution and Bylaws, are subject to the
United States Constitution. The provisions of the UIA Constitution and
Bylaws supersede any action of the Executive Board and any committee.

ARTICLE XIII – AMENDMENTS

Section 1

The Constitution of UIA must be adopted by a 2/3 vote of the general
members present at the constitution amendment meeting.

Section 2

Amendments to these Constitution and/or Bylaws may be proposed by a
two-thirds (2/3) vote of the membership present at the general
meeting.

Section 3

Proposed amendments must be submitted in written form to the
Constitution and Bylaws Committee. The proposal must be clearly stated
and justified.

Section 4

Constitutional amendments must be passed at the designated meeting
upon receiving a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the General
Assembly.

ARTICLE XIV – RATIFICATION

Unless an alternative date is specified therein, the Constitution and
Bylaws, and any passed amendments of UIA become effective immediately
upon ratification.

Ratification will occur upon two-thirds (2/3) affirmative vote of the
active members present or by proxy at the designated ratification
meeting.