Bylaws

GOPIO-MANHATTAN NYC BYLAWS AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES GOPIO-MANHATTAN NYC follows GOPIO International Guidelines for its chapters as follows

 Goals and Objectives

 As a Community Service Organization, GOPIO-MANHATTAN serves as a non-partisan, secular, civic and community service organization – promoting awareness of Indian culture, customs and contributions of NRIs and PIOs through community programs, forums, events and youth activities. GOPIO-Manhattan NYC is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization, affiliated with Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) International, Inc.

It seeks to strengthen partnerships and create an ongoing dialogue with local communities.

Mission: To promote the well-being of People of Indian Origin (PIO) and to enhance cooperation and communication between PIOs and other communities.

Goals: Present and promote the interest of India and PIOs and help shape relevant policies.

Promote better understanding of Indian history, culture and customs

Mobilize the growing professional and intellectual resources of Indian Americans for economic and social programs beneficial to the community.

Membership

There will be two categories of Membership:

The categories and yearly dues can be changed and determined by the Executive Committee.

Regular:

Individual members – $30 and $50 for couple for Calendar Year

Permanent Members – $ 250. Those who become Life members of GOPIO International opting to affiliate with GOPIO-MANHATTAN will also become Permanent Members for whom the Membership fee will be paid by GOPIO International (i.e. 25% of the GOPIO Intl. Life membership fee paid).

GOPIO-Manhattan NYC  Executive Committee

The Executive Committee consists of the following:

            President

            Executive Vice President

            Vice President

Treasurer

            Secretary

            Joint Secretary

            Immediate past President

    1. President:  Head and CEO of the organization and chairs Executive  Committee, Board and General Body meetings, in charge of all the activities, communicates with dignitaries and invites guests, press/media contacts, represents and promotes GOPIO-Manhattan NYC  to all outside parties and  represents chapter in GOPIO international.
    2. Exec. Vice President: Takes charge of all the duties in the absence of the President, promotes GOPIO- New York and is in charge of getting sponsorships for events.
    3. Vice President: Takes charge of all the duties in the absence of the President and Exec. Vice President and is, in charge of membership and promotion through media including sending out press releases.
    4. Secretary:  In charge of emailing the information, taking minutes, sending the minutes, and sending out all communication to members and community at-large as decided by the Exec. Committee and the President.
    5. Joint Secretary: Represents Secretary in the absence of Secretary, helps in keeping data of membership and develops the spreadsheet of the members and help Vice President to take action on the membership fee renewal.
    6. Treasurer: Takes care of all financial transactions, creates budgets for the events, creates projected budgets.
    7. Immediate Past President: Provides and helps in continuity of the objectives and activities of GOPIO-Manhattan NYC, and help the Executive Committee and the President in developing new activities, and getting event sponsorships and Permanent/Life members.

The Executive Committee has a term of two years. One can hold a particular position up to two terms. The quorum requirement is 50%. The Executive Committee may hold its meetings physically as well as by teleconference. No two (2) members of the chapter Executive committee shall be from immediate family (spouse, siblings and children). 

The signatories for the bank accounts will be at least the President, Secretary and the Treasurer. The checks can be issued by the Treasurer or the President. However, for checks above a certain amount (for example $500 and above), it has to be approved by the President and signed by Treasurer or Secretary. Any amount above $1,500 has to be approved by the Executive Committee.

If an Executive Committee member does not attend three consecutive meetings without prior notification and without a legitimate reason, the president (in case he/she is not available, the secretary) will notify the absent member that being absent at the fourth meeting will result in relinquishing the position as a member of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee can then co-opt another person for the remaining term of such vacant position

GOPIO-MANHATTAN NYC BOARD OF TRUSTEES 

The Board of Trustees will look after the trust and foundation related activities of GOPIO-MANHATTAN NYC. It will have six elected members plus President. Each year two members are appointed for a term of three years. On a rotational basis, every year, 2 trustees complete their term while 2 new trustees are elected (to bring the rotational process, six members of trustees will be elected with 2 trustees for 3 year term, 2 trustees for 2 year term and 2 trustees for 1 year term). If there is a vacancy (due to resignation or any other reason), the Executive Committee can co-opt members to the remaining term of such vacant position. After the new election, the trustees will elect a Chairperson for a two-year term. All trust bank accounts and raising funds for any cause will be managed by the Board of Trustees. The Trustees will appoint a Comptroller among themselves to manage the funds in the Trust Accounts. The signatories of the Trust Accounts will be the Chairperson, President and Comptroller. As a permanent body, if there is an impasse in the functioning of the Executive Committee, the Trustees will have the power and responsibility to run the organization till such impasse is resolved.

The Trustees will also be responsible to look for good candidates to be honored at the Annual Awards Banquet. The chairperson on behalf of the trustees could recommend and provide information of such candidates to the Awards Committee appointed by Executive Committee.

The quorum requirement is 50%. The Board of Trustees may hold its meetings physically as well as by teleconference.

If a Trustee does not attend three consecutive meetings without prior notification and without a legitimate reason, the Chairperson (in case he/she is not available, the President) will notify the absent member about being absent at the fourth meeting will result in relinquishing the position as a Trustee. The Executive Committee can then co-opt another person for the remaining term of such vacant position

GOPIO-MANHATTAN NYC Executive Committee Elections and Appointments

GOPIO-Manhattan NYC has to hold elections for the Executive Committee members for a two-year term before the end of odd calendar years, but not later than December 15th. An election committee consisting of 3 members has to be appointed before Nov. 15th for the election to be conducted before Dec. 15th.  All positions except the position of the immediate past president are up for election for a two-year term.

They will be elected at the Biennial General Body meeting of GOPIO-Manhattan NYC members with a minimum of 20% of the total members present making a quorum.

GOPIO-Manhattan NYC Board – Will consist of the executive committee and additional members (minimum 4 and maximum 10) selected and appointed to its board within sixty days after takeover. To remain an active board member each board member is required to attend at least 50% of the board meetings unless a special approval is given by the executive committee.

The executive committee can also appoint a number of advisors (up to six) who can lend special expertise or consult to the board. Special advisors are welcome to attend board meetings but are not required to attend them.

Only the executive committee will have the voting rights to run the operation of the organization.

No two (2) members of the chapter Executive Committee and Board Members shall be from immediate family (spouse, siblings and children). 

The election process will consist of two parts:

  1. Nomination of the Candidates
    1. Only GOPIO-Manhattan NYC members in good standing (fully paid at least 12 months prior to the election) are eligible to be nominated, and must be nominated by a GOPIO-Manhattan NYC member in good standing. No self nomination is allowed.
    2. Nominations must be received on the prescribed nomination form at least 10 days before the election date.
    3. List of candidates will be circulated to all contestants 8 days before the election date and can withdraw from contesting any position 7 days before the election date.
    4. One can contest only for one position
  1. Voting for the candidates. The selection committee will send the slate of candidates to all members eligible to vote 6 days before the election date.
    1. Only current GOPIO-Manhattan NYC members (fully paid at least 3 months prior to the election) are eligible to vote.
    2. In case of a tie, the voting process will be repeated if no candidate withdraws from the contest.

 

Eligibility criteria for the candidates

            For Executive Committee:

  • Must be a member of GOPIO-Manhattan NYC for at least one year
  • Must have shown support for the organization by participating in the meetings, activities and events of GOPIO-Manhattan NYC
  • Maximum term limit to serve in a particular position continuously is two terms (i.e. 4 years)

For President: Criteria for executive committee plus:

  • Must be a member of the GOPIO-Manhattan NYC executive committee or a Board Member for at least one term (attended a minimum of 50% of the organization’s meetings)
  • Must have demonstrated executive skills by organizing, managing or leading events and activities

For Treasurer: Criteria for executive committee plus:

  • Knowledge or experience handling finances preferable.

In terms of any conflict, the final decision will rest upon the election commission.

 

GOPIO-MANHATTAN NYC Board of Trustees Appointments

GOPIO-Manhattan NYC Executive Committee will appoint for the two outgoing vacancies of the Board of Trustees for a term of 3 years every year after the new E.C. is elected. For the first time, 2 members will be elected for 3 years, 2 members for 2 years and 2 members for one year. All elected trustees must be current members of GOPIO-Manhattan NYC.

The Trustees will meet in the beginning each calendar year and elect a chairperson among themselves and appoint a comptroller. The signatories for the trust account will be the Chairperson, the President and the Comptroller. The checks have to be signed two, of which one of them should be the Comptroller.