BY LAWS OF THE YOUNG ROTARIANS FELLOWSHIP
- Purpose:
1.1 The purpose of the Young Rotarians’ Fellowship is to bring together the young professionals across the globe; foster a strong friendship among these members as well as to explore together the avenues of service and fellowship with Rotarians all over the world.
1.2 This Fellowship has no governing, decision-making or legislative powers, except for the decisions concerning the activities of this organization; for which each member (as represented by its corresponding Fellowship Representative) shall have one vote. Rather, this organisation exists primarily as a resource for Rotaractors and Rotarians alike.
1.3 This organization is affiliated with Rotary International, but it operates and is governed independently. Nothing in this Constitution shall contravene Rotary International’s Code of Policies.
2. Qualifications for Membership
2.1.1 Membership is open to any Rotarian, family member of Rotarian, program participant and alumni; or Rotaractor.
2.1.2 He/She has registered on the Young Rotarians’ Database consisting of contact information and Rotary profile of the member. The sole purpose of the database will be having a consolidated data of all members in the fellowship.
3. Officers
3.1 The Officers of the Fellowship will be:
3.1.1 Chairperson
3.1.2 Immediate Past Chairperson
3.1.3 Vice Chairperson
3.1.4 Secretary
3.1.5 Joint Secretary
3.1.6 Treasurer
3.1.7 Sergeant at Arms
3.1.8 Director (Membership)
3.1.9 Director (Projects)
3.1.10 Director (PR)
3.1.11 Director (Bulletin)
3.1.12 Rotaract Chair
3.1.13 Fellowship representative in Africa
3.1.14 Fellowship representative in America
3.1.15 Fellowship representative in Asia
3.1.16 Fellowship representative in Australia
3.1.17 Fellowship representative in Europe
3.2 In addition to above mentioned posts, the Chairperson may assign additional directors. The chairperson needs to provide the name of the post, name of proposed candidate and responsibilities of the post in Board meeting prior to any such appointment.
4. Eligibility of Chairman and other Directors
4.1 Qualifications for Nominees
4.1.1 Chairperson
To be eligible to be nominated for the office of chairperson of the Young Rotarians’ Fellowship; a person must have previously served on the fellowship board of directors or on a committee serving the fellowship. The Chairperson must be a Rotarian.
4.2 Other Officers
4.2.1 The fellowship officers shall be the chairperson, the immediate past chairperson, the Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Sgt. at Arms.
4.2.2 Board of Directors other than officers
Any current members of Young Rotarians’ Fellowship who is willing to and agrees to devote the time required to perform the responsibilities of the particular post can apply to be part of Board of Directors. The officers reserves the right to appoint or deny position to an eligible members by majority vote.
5. Nomination and Election of the Chairman
5.1 The current Chairperson shall appoint a 4 member nominating committee by October 1 of the Election year. The committee shall consist of at least 2 members that are not current board members and who shall not themselves contest election. The nominating Committee will be responsible for gathering nominations from the Young Rotarians’ Fellowship membership and contacting the nominees for their willingness to run for office. All nominees must signify acceptance of the nomination. All nominations shall be submitted to the chairman no later than October 15. No chairman may serve two consecutive terms.
5.2 Voting Ballot will be e-mailed to all current members by December 1, and a simple majority vote of the votes received is necessary to be elected. Ballots will be mailed by and results counted by the current Election committee, appointed by the current chairperson. Two weeks will be allowed to receive completed ballots. All ballots must come from the members registered e-mail address, one ballot from each address. The two-week period will start and end at midnight Evanston, Illinois time (US CST) which will be referred to as Paul Harris Time.
5.3 The Chairman will be elected on December 16, for a two year term to take office from the following July 1. The chairperson may not serve more than two consecutive terms.
6. Assignment of Board of Directors
6.1 Following the election the Chairman, the Chairman-elect and one member of the fellowship designated by the chairman-elect shall comprise a committee for the purpose of proposing Board members.
6.2 The Chairman-elect shall present the list of proposed Board members to the membership prior to July 1.
6.3 The final assignment of directors’ duties shall be made by the Chairman-elect having regard to any response by the membership.
6.4 The Board of Directors shall make all operating decisions in respect of the Fellowship.
6.5 The board shall exercise no governing power over the affairs of member districts and shall not serve as an official representative of any member district.
7.Resignation/Demise of Officers or Board Members
7.1 In the event of the Chairperson tendering his/her resignation, the Vice Chairperson will take over for the remainder of the term.
7.2 In the event of the demise of Chairman, the Vice-Chairman will take over as Chairman of the fellowship for the remainder of the term. New appointments for all other officers, board members or committee chairs will be made by the newly appointed Chairman.
8. Roles and Responsibilities of the Directors
8.1 Chairperson:
8.1.1. Presiding general and board meetings.
8.1.2. Conducting monthly meetings of the fellowship via newsletter, teleconferencing, internet, videoconferencing and other communication equipment
8.1.3. Have regular communication with the General Secretary
8.2 Immediate Past Chairperson
8.2.1 The immediate past Chairman serves as a director on the fellowship board
8.3 Vice Chairperson
8.3.1 Perform the responsibilities of the Chairperson in case of unavailability of the chairperson
8.4 Secretary:
8.4.1. Note minutes of every meeting
8.4.2. Maintain files of communication, minutes and important documents
8.5 Joint Secretary:
8.5.1. Perform the responsibilities of the Secretary in case of unavailability of the chairperson
8.6 Treasurer:
8.6.1. Collect dues wherever applicable
8.6.2. Maintain records of all financial activities and report monthly to the Chairperson
8.6.3. Report the financial status to the General Secretary wherever applicable
8.7 Sergent at Arms
8.7.1 Make sure that propoer protocol is being followed in every meeting and communication of the fellowship
8.8 Director (Bulletins):
8.8.1. Gather data of projects and activities from members
8.8.2. Design bulletin every month and send the bulletin electronically to all members, RI officials and District Governors.
8.8.3. Maintain records of feedback received for the bulletins.
8.9 Director (PR):
8.9.1. Post frequent updates to social media pages of the fellowship (facebook, instagram,website)
8.9.2. Gather data on the trends of activity on the pages and analyze it
8.9.3. Keep track of the feedback on the posts and inform director (membership) for any leads to new potential members
8.10 Director (Projects):
8.10.1. Invite proposals for joint activities of all members and their clubs
8.10.2. Carry out projects that have potential to involve maximum members and clubs
8.10.3. Provide prompt project reporting to Chairperson and General secretary as applicable
8.11 Director (Membership):
8.11.1. Ensure that perfect geographical balance of members in maintained
8.11.2. Attempt to invite new potential members to the fellowship
8.12 Rotaract Chair
8.12.1 Represent Rotaractors in the fellowship
8.12.2 Promote fellowship and encourage Rotaractors to be members in the fellowship
8.13 Fellowship representative in Africa
8.13.1 Represent and promote the fellowship in Africa
8.14 Fellowship representative in America
8.14.1 Represent and promote the fellowship in America
8.15 Fellowship representative in Asia
8.15.1 Represent and promote the fellowship in Asia
8.16 Fellowship representative in Australia
8.16.1 Represent and promote the fellowship in Australia
8.17 Fellowship representative in Europe
8.17.1 Represent and promote the fellowship in Europe
8.18 Vacancies in Board Membership
In case the office of a director becomes vacant, an alternative shall be elected by the board members to serve as director for the rest of the term.
- Board Meetings
9.1 The board of directors will meet every month at the time determined or at the call of the Chairperson. The meetings can be carried using teleconferencing, internet, videoconference, and other communications equipment.
- General Body Meetings
10.1 The meetings of all members of the fellowship will be conducted at least once every month. The meetings can be carried using teleconferencing, internet, videoconference, and other communications equipment.
- Monthly Report
11.1 In order to foster good communications between the board of directors and the Young Rotarians’ Fellowship members, a designated member will observe board discussions and prepare a monthly report to be sent to the registered members via the newsletter. This report will include a calendar of events or activities, an overview of board discussions and activities, and any other pertinent information.
- Normal Operating Decisions
12.1 The Young Rotarians’ Fellowship Board as the elected governing body of the Young Rotarians’ Fellowship will have the responsibility to make any operating decisions for the benefit of the fellowship, that do not explicitly require a majority membership vote according to the by-laws.
- Use of Young Rotarians’ Fellowship Name and or Logo on Web Sites
13.1 It is encouraged that the Young Rotarians’ Fellowship name and logo be displayed on all web sites done for or as a result of Young Rotarians’ Fellowship. All of these web sites must be within RI policy guidelines and placement of the Young Rotarians’ Fellowship logo is subject to approval by the Young Rotarians’ Fellowship Board of Directors.
13.2 Any concerns regarding sites not in accordance with RI or Young Rotarians’ Fellowship guidelines should be directed to the Young Rotarians’ Fellowship board for review.
13.3 In a case where a site is deemed not to conform to acceptable guidelines, Young Rotarians’ Fellowship as an RI Fellowship reserves the right to request removal of its name, logo, etc. from the site, based on a vote of the majority of the Young Rotarians’ Fellowship Board.
- Amendments
14.1 Any member of Young Rotarians’ Fellowship may propose a change to these bylaws by sending an email to the chairperson.
14.2 The chairperson will call for a vote among the Board of Directors, two thirds of the board vote in favor of the proposed change is needed before calling for a vote among the members.
14.3 Proposed amendment should be sent to members via email 10 days prior to vote.
14.4 A minimum of two third vote out of received votes is necessary to change the bylaws.
14.5 Any approved amendments to these bylaws will be effective by the beginning of the new Rotary year (i.e. 1st Of July).