Bylaws PDF 

BY THE LAW OF
NEBRASKA NEPALESE SOCIETY
Approved 11-08-2009

To preserve and promote the interchange of Nepalese culture among the residents of Nebraska while remaining a charitable and benevolent establishment


ARTICLE: I - NAME

The name of this organization shall be Nebraska Nepalese Society (hereinafter called "NNS"). It shall be a non-profit organization.


ARTICLE: II - PURPOSE

The purpose of the organization is to engage in the following:

1. GENERAL PURPOSE

· To build, foster and support a cohesive, active and supportive community of Nepalese, Nepali-Americans and Friends of Nepal living in the Nebraska (the "Nebraska Nepalese Community").

· To promote the culture and traditions of Nepal and Nepalese and advance the intellectual, material, physical, religious and social well being of its members.

· NNS shall not be engaged or participate in any political agenda or support any individuals’ interest in the matter.

2. SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES

· Nepalese New Year Festival: The NNS to celebrate the New Year.

· Dashain: The NNS to celebrate Dashain.

· Summer Activity: Primarily In the form of a picnic for he purpose of social gathering, kids education.

· Charitable: NNS sponsors Penny for Pen project in support of “ Maya” and “Nangi Village Project” in Nepal.

· Education: The community shall be educated about Nepali culture through various activities such as Movie, Documentary, and performers from Nepal.

· Fund Generation: Fund to support various NNS sponsored program shall be generated through various sports and social activities.

· Health Awareness: NNS shall sponsor various sports related activities to bring the health awareness to the community.

· Financial Assistance: NNS shall provide financial assistance to its members with the full consent of the council members depending upon the severity of the situation. The fund will be allocated form the emergency fund that was established in 2002.

· OTHER: Other activities, functions and works will be considered and implemented by the NNS executive body and Board of Trustees in accordance with the general purpose of NNS.

ARTICLE: III - MEMBERS AND MEMBERSHIP

  1. Membership in NNS is open to all Nepali, American, and other nationalities willing to join and support to achieve the goals and objectives of NNS. There will be no denial of membership based on age, gender, race, color, national origin, religion, disability, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, military status or any other unlawful reason.
  2. There is no membership fee. If need be, election for a position shall take place during Dashain Tihar Sanjh. Everyone 18 and older is eligible to cast his or her vote in the interest of the society.
  3. Executive Council:

The Executive Council shall consist of the President, Vice President, General Secretary, Joint Secretary, Treasury, and up to 12 NNS Council Members as elected by the general members.  If the number of elected Council Members is less than the maximum of 12, the current elected board reserves the right to grant eligibility to a person or a certain group of people to join the board.  The majority rules stated under Article VII applies while taking this decision.

  1. Specific Duties of Council Members:
    • The President shall be the chief executive officer of the council and shall have general supervision and control of its activities and programs. He/she will handle all formal correspondence between Members, the Council and members of NNS, and others, and call and run meetings.
    • The Vice President shall assist the President and assume his or her duties when the President is unable to serve or during his/her leave of absence.
    • The Treasurer shall be the custodian of all funds of the NNS Council, shall maintain bank accounts, receipts and disbursement of funds and shall give complete reports to the Council. The Treasurer shall be the primary contact person for the issues related to the financials of NNS council.
    • The General Secretary shall keep a records and minute of all meetings of NNS Council and of all activities and programs. The General Secretary will assume the duties of the President if and when the President and Vice President are unable to serve or during their leave of absence, the Joint Secretary shall assist the General Secretary and assumes his or her duties when the General Secretary is unable to serve or during his/her leave of absence.
    • All Council Members will assist in the various activities of NNS. They can also be assigned a specific task or tasks for the period of their membership in the Council or a shorter period.
    • The Council Members are also responsible for selecting up to five Advisory Board Members for the year.
    • The various tasks of maintaining the status of NNS with state, federal and other agencies will be appropriately assigned at the first meeting of the new council, among council members.
  2. Advisory Board Members:

Advisory Board Members are NNS members appointed by the Executive Board Members in order to provide the society with necessary direction, guidance and assistance, based on their expertise.

  1. Roles and Responsibilities of Advisory Board Members
    • Advise Board Members on various society activities and issues
    • Attend at least one executive board member. meeting in a year
    • Volunteer in society activities

7. Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees are NNS members appointed by the Executive Board Members every three years, with the exception of Life Members who are on the Board until one of the criteria in Article VII are applied8. Roles and Responsibilities of Board of Trustees

  • The Board of Trustees shall decide the presiding officer among themselves
  • The major activities involving the spending of more than $1000 to be approved by the Board of Trustee
    • The only exceptions to this would be Dashain-Tihar Sanjh and Nepali New Year Party. For these events, the amount shall be $1500. The amount is amendable by 10%-15% based on the inflation.
  • The Board of trustees shall meet at four times a year (once every 3 months)
  • If a controversy arises during the election of new Board of Directors, the Board of Trustees shall appoint an election officer who shall conduct the fair election for the new board president including all the office bearers.
  • In case a new Executive Board could not be formed by Dashain Tihar Sanjh, the Board of Trustees shall either request the current Board of Directors to extend their terms for additional period not exceeding 3 months or shall form a temporary Executive Board in order to conduct the necessary activities as defined in the constitution
  • Any decision to be passed by Board of Trustees requires at least 2/3(two-third) majority vote among the Trustees

ARTICLE: IV - ELECTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS

  • The members of the NNS community shall elect officers to the COUNCIL annually.
  • Elections will be held during the Dashain party each year. The term of the office shall start on the day following the Dashain Party and terminate on the day of the Dashain Party of the following year.
  • The NNS Council shall designate an election committee among the members to perform the election of NNS Council in due time according to the by-laws. The election committee shall seek nomination from members for all of the NNS Council positions.  If the number of candidates nominated becomes equal to the number of available positions in the NNS Council, then the candidates shall be declared elected automatically. Otherwise, election shall be held to decide from two or more nominated candidates. Each eligible member, 18 years or older, shall cast one vote for one position. The election officer may formulate specific election rules and design ballots for the election. The election committee member(s) cannot be nominated for any position but shall have a voting right.  The election officer designated by the committee shall flip a coin to decide for any position in case there is a tie between two candidates. The election committee shall be dismissed once the new executive committee of NNS Council is elected.

Formation of the First Board of Trustees

· 7 members including 3 life members will be presented to the Executive Board by any board member

· Final list will be decided by 2/3(two-third) majority of the board with at least fifty percent attendance

· The final list will be confirmed by the General Meeting. Controversial nomination will be addressed by the open  vote (raising vote)

o In case there is a controversy on the raising vote, the current Board of Executives shall nominate an Election commissioner and hold a voting by a method agreed upon by the Board Members

· The General Meeting shall be defined as any major gathering that NNS Holds. This includes Dashain-Tihar Sanjh, New Year Party or Annual Picnic.

· In case the general meeting does not confirm any of the nominees, the individual nomination will be canceled automaticallyFormation of Board of Trustees Floating Membership

· The nomination of floating members would be done in similar way of the nominating the life members

· Appointment to fill the vacant floating member position would be done following the same criteria as would be done for appointing the new members

ARTICLE: V - ACCOUNT AND AUDITING

  • The NNS Council shall open bank account that shall be operated by the President and the Treasurer. Signatures of both the President and the Treasurer will be required for any withdrawal. Executive board members shall form a subcommittee to audit the financial records of NNS annually. The subcommittee will submit the results of audit to the Executive committee.
  • An emergency fund has been established with the US bank. The purpose of the fund is to assist the community in the case of an emergency to its members. The fund will only be allocated with the full consent of the council members depending upon the severity of the need of the fund.

ARTICLE: VI - MANNER OF OPERATION

1. OPERATIONAL RULES AND PROCEDURES:

  • Meetings: Except as otherwise provided by law, a written or verbal notice of each meeting of the NNS Council stating the place, day and hour thereof and, in the case of a special meeting, the purposes for which the meeting is called, shall be given not less than three days or 36 hours to each member of NNS Council. The General Secretary with the president’s consent will give by the President or such notice of meeting. The President will conduct the Meeting and the General Secretary shall take the minutes.
  • All COUNCIL meetings shall be conducted in open public session, at such hours and in such locations, so as to facilitate attendance by interested persons.
  • Quorum: At any meeting of the NNS Council a Quorum as to any matter shall consist of the majority of NNS Council Members except where a larger quorum is required by law, or these By-laws. Council members present at the meetings will be eligible to vote on any matter in case there is a vote on decision process. The Presiding person of the meeting will cast the tie-breaking vote. There will be no proxy voting.
  • Action by Vote: All issues before the Council will be decided by vote of the Council, the Quorum being present, AND ATTENDING DIRECTORS. An airing of the issues by all Council Members and Directors present shall precede the vote.
  • Action without meetings: The President will have the right to act upon issues that arise and cannot wait for the next Council meeting. At the minimum the President will have to consult with the Vice President, the Treasurer and the Secretary. The entire Council will be notified of the issue, and action taken, within the next two days or forty-eight hours. THE COUNCIL MAY ENDORSE OR REJECT SUCH ACTIONS. IN CASE OF REJECTION, THE PRESIDENT AND OTHER EXECUTIVES INVOLVED WILL CEASE ALL ACTION INITIATED.
  • Attendance: Council Members cannot miss more than three meetings of the Council unless the President prior to the meetings excuses their absence. More than three unexcused absences will result in an automatic dismissal without vote of the council.

ARTICLE: VII - RESIGNATIONS, VACANCIES AND REMOVALS

  • Any member of the NNS Council may resign from their post, with a two-week prior notice, in writing to the President. The Council will fill the resigned post from within the Council. If more than one Council Member seeks the vacant post, there will be a vote of the NNS Council. If the vacant post cannot be filled from within Council, the Council shall seek to fill the post from the General Membership.  Any Advisory Board Member may resign from their post with a 2 week prior notice.
  • If any NNS Council Member or Advisory Board Member is not fulfilling his/her responsibilities and/or is engaging in illegal acts or acting against the interest of the society, the Council can vote to suspend or remove him/her from the post. Any NNS Council Member can bring forth a motion of suspension or removal to a NNS Council meeting if he/she can back up the motion with supportive evidence. The NNS Council cannot vote for a dismissal without first voting for a suspension, followed by a one-month probationary period. After the one month probationary period, the Council can vote to fully re-instate or dismiss the NNS Council Member or the Advisory Board Member. Votes to suspend, re-instate or dismiss require a three-fourth majority, and three-fourth of the Council Members to be present.
  • Board of Trustees
    • In case any of the life members get deceased, move out of the state, or resign, the vacant position would be filled following the similar criteria defined in ARTICLE IV
    • If anybody in the board is found to be involved in any illegal activities as defined by any state of the USA, he/she will be automatically removed from the board. This business will be taken care by the Board of Trustees
    • If the current Board of Directors receives a request accompanied by 200 or more signatures of the NNS General Members, the Executive Board will call a General Meeting for the removal of any members in the Board of Trustees. The Trustee can be removed with a 2/3(two-third) majority of the general meeting

ARTICLE: VIII - AMENDMENTS

These By-laws may be adopted, amended or repealed by a two-third vote of the majority of NNS Council Members, with more than two-third of the Council Members, then in office, present. Any by-law, whether adopted, amended or repealed by the Council Members, may be amended or re-instated by the Council Members pending approval from 2/3 of the Board of Trustees. Any amendment not passed by the Board of Trustees shall be reviewed and resubmitted for approval. Any proposed by-law amendments shall be circulated to the NNS members no fewer than thirty days prior to a meeting of the NNS Council.

ARTICLE: IX - COMPENSATION

No NNS Council Members shall be entitled to receive any salary or other compensation for serving in NNS Council. The NNS Council Committee shall hire and fix the compensation of any and all employees that they in their discretion may determine to be necessary or appropriate in the conduct of the business of the NNS, and may delegate such authority to the officers and/or the President of the NNS Council.

ARTICLE: X - EXECUTION OF INSTRUMENTS

Except as otherwise provided in these By-laws or as the COUNCIL may generally or in particular cases authorize the execution thereof in some other manner, all instruments, documents, deeds, leases, transfers, contracts, bonds, notes, checks, drafts and other obligations made, accepted or endorsed by the corporation shall be signed by the President, the Treasurer, or the Secretary. Facsimile signatures may be used in the manner and to the extent authorized generally or in particular cases by the Council.

ARTICLE: XI - FISCAL YEAR

The fiscal year of NNS council shall be the twelve month ending at Dashain Tihar Sanjh of each year.

Membership Rules:

  1. Eligibility:
    1. Membership in NNS is open to all Nepali, American, and other nationalities willing to join and support to achieve the goals and objectives of NNS. There will be no denial of membership based on age, sex, race, color, national origin, religion, disability, marital status, and military status.
    2. If need be, election for a position shall take place during Dashain Tihar Sanjh. Everyone 18 and older is eligible to cast his or her vote in the interest of the society.
    3. Eligibility for Board of Trustees
      1. Life Membership
        1. Resided in Nebraska for 7 or more years
        2. Should have served at least two years in board, or was one of the founding/co-founding members of NNS.
        3. Should be a respected personality in the community
      2. Floating Membership
        1. Resided in Nebraska for 5 or more years
        2. Should have served at least one term on Board, or was one of the founding/co-founding members
        3. Should be a respected personality in the community
  2. Benefits:
    1. The members shall have voting rights to choose the Executive Council of NNS.
    2. The members will be able to participate in different events organized by NNS.
  3. Fee:
    1. There shall be no membership fee.
    2. Annual contribution from the members will be accepted by NNS to fund various activities.

ARTICLE XII - TERM DURATION

  1. The NNS Board of Directors shall assume their position starting the first full day after the Dashain-Tihar Sanjh until the Dashain-Tihar Sanjh of the following year.
  2. The NNS Board of Trustees shall have the following term durations:
    1. For Life Members, there shall be no term duration
    2. For Floating Members, the term duration shall be 3 years, with the new members' election occurring before the 3rd Dashain-Tihar Sanjh after the first elections
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