By-Laws for the
Circassian Association of California /Adyghe Khasa (CAC/AK)
Article I Name
The name of the organization is the “Circassian Association of California /
Adyghe Khasa”, established on November 5, 2006.
Article II Purpose
A. The corporation is a nonprofit MUTUAL BENEFIT CORPORATION, organized under
the Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law. The purpose of this corporation is
to engage in any lawful act or activity, other than credit union business, for
which a corporation may be organized under such law.
B. The specific purposes of this corporation include:
1. To study and foster all matters pertaining to the welfare of the Adyghes in
America in the cultural, social, creative, athletic, religious and benevolent
fields, and to strengthen the cooperative ties among the Adyghe peoples wherever
they may be to preserve and nurture the Adyghe heritage.
2. To provide voluntary assistance to Adyghes in sickness or distress as well as
proper and decent interment in case of death.
3. To maintain and foster an interest in civic affairs and to instill in its
members principles of the United States Constitution and to encourage
naturalization and the acquisition of the United States citizenship.
4. To receive, hold, care for, invest in and operate real or personal property,
or both, and to use and distribute from time to time all the income therefrom
and the principal thereof, as well, exclusively for religious, charitable,
literary, or educational purposes, either directly to individuals or by means of
contributions to organizations duly registered to carry on religious,
charitable, literary or educational activities consistent with the By-Laws of
the Corporation providing, however that no part of such income or principal
shall be contributed to any organization whose net earnings or any part thereof
inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual or any
substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda or
otherwise attempting to influence legislation.
5. No part of the net earnings of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of
any member, trustee, officer or any private individual (except reasonable
compensation may be paid for services rendered to or for the Corporation
affecting one or more of its purposes) and no member, trustee, officer, or any
private individual shall be entitled to share in the distribution of any
corporate assets on the dissolution of the Corporation. No part of the
activities of the Corporation shall be carrying propaganda or otherwise attempt
to influence legislation, or participation in or intervening in any political
campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.
6. Pursuant to section 8610(a), the dissolution of the corporation may only take
place upon approval of the majority of all members or approval of the Executive
Board and approval of the members. Should dissolution of the corporation be
executed, the assets of the Corporation shall be distributed exclusively to
primarily another sister organization who supports the same purposes, and if no
such organization exists at the time of dissolution, than distribute to
religious, charitable, literary, or educational organizations which would then
qualify under the provisions of Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and
its regulations as they now exist or as they may hereafter be amended.
Article III Resident Agent for Service for the Corporation
The name and address in the State of California of this corporations’ initial
agent for service of process is Marwan Isshak 2563 Thunder Mountain Rd, Upland,
CA 91784.
Article IV Statement of Incorporation
Notwithstanding any of the above statements of purposes and powers, this
corporation shall not, except to an insubstantial degree, engage in any
activities or exercise any powers that are not in furtherance of the specific
purposes of this corporation.
Article V Membership
A. Membership shall be open to all Adyghes, and/or to any person who are
interested in the purposes of this organization and are willing to abide by its
By-Laws, providing they are not known to have ever engaged in activities that
subvert the organization and its members from the intended purpose of the
organization.
B. A member of the organization can be expelled for engaging in activities which
are in conflict with the By-Laws of the organization, or alienate the
organization’s interests and aims or engage in conduct judged to be contrary to
the dictates to the general membership or for behavior resulting in dissonance
among the members or is damaging to the reputation of the Adyghes. Such members
shall be provided with notice of the charges and opportunity to be heard by the
rest of the membership prior to expulsion. The General Membership must vote to
expel a member only by obtaining 51% of the majority vote to expel. Conversely,
the General Membership by a 51% vote can overturn that decision and reinstate
the membership status.
Article VI Structure
A. The Organization is comprised of the Executive Board and its General
Membership.
Article VII Executive Board and Elections
A. The Executive Board shall have the power to transact all the Organization's
business and initiate such studies as it deems advisable for the realization of
the purposes of the organization.
1. The Executive Board is accountable to the General Membership. All members
have the right to question any and all of the officers on any issues related to
the conduct of the functioning of the organization,
2. The Executive Board must develop annual goals and present them at the General
Membership Meeting once a year for ratification of the general membership,
3. The Executive Board shall prepare an annual budget for all its activities of
the organization.
B. The officers of the Executive Board shall be the President, Secretary,
Treasurer and 4 Directors selected by the President after his/her election to
the Executive Board. The President will name his/her Vice President from among
the 4 Directors he/she selects, as long as attendees meet the minimum membership
requirements for said position. The Vice-President shall assume and perform all
duties of the President during the absence or incapacity of the President as
well as perform any other duties assigned by the President.
C. The President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected by secret ballot and
by voting members who are in good standing and members of the organization for
the 3 months (minimum) preceding the election.
D. The President, the Secretary and the Treasurer’s term of office shall be for
two (2) years. Those holding the positions of President, Secretary and Treasurer
may run again for the same position or any other on the Executive Board as long
as they remain in good standing within the organization.
E. Elections are held during the month of January, or as soon as expedient
thereafter, every two years for the positions of President, Secretary and
Treasurer on the Executive Board.
Roles of the Executive Board:
The following defines the roles of the elected members of the Executive Board:
A. The President must:
• be Adyghe and knowledgeable in Adyghe history and traditions,
• serve as the designated spokesperson for the organization,
• lead the Executive Board in the planning activities for the organization,
• preside at all meetings of the membership and Executive Board.
• serve as ex-officio member of all committees.
The President's term of office shall be for two years.
B. The Secretary’s duties include:
• maintaining responsibility for all forms of correspondence within and outside
of the membership and community,
• preserve all records and communications including meeting minutes of the
organization’s election and general meetings and produce those minutes as
requested by members and the Executive Board,
• preserve all recorded documentation (except for financial records) pertinent
to the establishment and on-going maintenance of the organizations, including
maintaining the membership contact list,
• dispatch letters on behalf of the organization , reviews letters received by
the organization and mails notices for all meetings to the membership.
The Secretary’ term of office shall be for two years.
C. The Treasurer’s duties include:
• acting as custodian of the funds of the organization which shall be deposited
in a financial institution approved by the organization, including the receipts
and cash received via membership, donation or events,
• maintaining all financial records of the organization including records of the
membership fees and donations and produce those records as requested by members
and the Executive Board,
• overseeing all committee financial transactions and prepare a profit/loss
statement on said events,
• filing all pertinent tax statements with the State of California and the
United States on behalf of the organization.
The Treasurer’s term of office shall be for two years.
Article X General Membership Meeting
A. General Membership Meetings will be held a minimum of once a year. The
meeting can be called at the discretion of the Executive Board. The President of
the Organization shall call the General Membership Meetings by instructing the
Secretary to send the notifications to the Members with an agenda one month in
advance of the time of the meeting.
B. A special membership meeting may be called at any time by not less than 51%
of the general membership. If the membership calls a special meeting, the
Executive Board must be notified a minimum of one month in advance of the
meeting.
C. At all General Meetings, the Secretary records the proceedings and, upon
request, sends copies of the meeting minutes to the Executive Board. All reports
must be in writing and should be kept as part of the General Membership Meeting
records.
D. All General Membership Meetings shall follow the standard format as follows:
• Call to order
• Approval of previous minutes
• Report from the Executive Board (President or Vice-President)
• Old Business
• New Business
• Adjournment
Article XI Finances
A. Financial account(s), held in the name of the organization, shall be
maintained in a financial institution,
B. The account(s)’ records shall be maintained by the Treasurer.
C. The account(s) will require the signature of 2 members of the Executive Board
to withdraw monies from said account(s). The 2 signatories on account must
include the Treasurer plus either the President or Secretary.
Article XII Initiation Fees and Dues
A. The income of the Organization shall consist of initiation fees, annual dues,
donations, and revenue from parties or publications.
B. Initiation Fee of the organization will be $25 per person submitted with the
application to the organization. The initiation fee will be fully refunded in
the event the applicant is declined membership.
C. Dues of the organization will be paid on an annual basis in the amount as
follows, except as determined by the Executive Board:
• Honorary: $0 – nominated by the Executive Board and/or Advisory Council
• Family/Household: $60 annually
• The definition of family or household consists of one or more parents along
with their minor (under age 18) children
• Single: $30 annually
• Student/ Retirees: $ 15 annually
• The definition of student is one that has attained the age of 18 or older and
is a full-time student.
• The definition of retiree is a person who has attained the age of 65 or older
and is currently not employed or retired from employment.
D. Delinquency in payment of membership dues for 3 consecutive months prior to a
voting date shall result in the loss of voting privileges.
E. It will be the duty of the Treasurer to provide a list of members delinquent
in his/her dues to the Secretary who will send a notice to those members. New
members must have been paid members for at least 3 months prior to voting in any
election.
F. Failure to complete payment of all the dues of a calendar year by the last
day of that year will lead to loss of membership in the organization provided
the Treasurer has requested the Secretary to mail the delinquent member a
letter, certified return receipt requested, to that effect by November 1 of that
year advising the member that their dues must be paid for that year by December
1st.
Article XIII Election and Voting Rights
A. Nominations for candidates to run for positions on the Executive Board must
be received by the duly appointed Election Committee prior to the required
notice to members informing the general membership of an upcoming meeting.
Notice to members must be sent at least one full month prior to the Election
meeting.
B. Candidates for the position of President, Secretary and Treasurer must be
members in good standing for two full years prior to their candidacy for the
Executive Board.
a. In the event the position of President, Secretary or Treasurer should be
vacated prior to the completion of the two year term, the remaining elected
officers of the Board, namely the President, Secretary or Treasurer, will fill
the position with a member of the organization who is in good standing for at
least two years.
C. Appointees for the position of Vice-President must be a member in good
standing for two full years prior to their appointment.
a. In the event the position of Vice-President should be vacated prior to the
completion of the two year term, the remaining elected officers of the Board,
namely the President, Secretary and Treasurer, will fill the position with a
member of the organization who is in good standing for at least two years.
D. Appointees for the position of Board member to the Executive board must be a
member in good standing prior to their appointment.
a. In the event one of the positions of an Executive Board Member should be
vacated prior to the end of the two year term, the remaining members of the
Executive Board will fill the position with a member of the organization who is
in good standing.
E. Voting by proxy is prohibited. However, the member may vote in absentia by
requesting an absentee ballot for the current year from the secretary of the
organization. Absentee ballots must be postmarked to the organization’s official
mailing address no less than one week prior to the date of the election.
The quorum will be considered attained if 51% of the membership is present. If
no quorum is present at the scheduled time, the call to order will be delayed
for one month. If at the rescheduled meeting, 51% of the membership is still not
attained; a quorum will be considered attained regardless of the number of
members present.
Article XIV By-Laws and Amendments
A. Nominations for candidates to run for positions on the Executive Board must
be received by the duly appointed Election Committee prior to the required
notice to members informing the general membership of an upcoming meeting.
Notice to members must be sent at least one full month prior to the Election
meeting
B. Voting by proxy is prohibited. However, the member may vote in absentia by
requesting an absentee ballot for the current year from the secretary of the
organization. Absentee ballots must be postmarked to the organization’s official
mailing address no less than one week prior to the date of the election.
C. The quorum will be considered attained if 51% of the membership is present.
If no quorum is present at the scheduled time, the call to order will be delayed
for one month. If at the rescheduled meeting, 51% of the membership is still not
attained; a quorum will be considered attained regardless of the number of
members present.
Article XII By-Laws and Amendments
A. The Organization may adopt such By-Laws which are necessary to carry out its
purposes and functions.
B. Any points or subjects not addressed, covered, or explained in the By-Laws
will be referred to the Executive Board, who will present them to vote to the
General Membership at the next general membership meeting
C. The By-Laws may be amended, repealed or adopted by obtaining the approval of
51% majority vote of all members in good standing at a duly constituted General
Membership Meeting.
Article XV Ratification of By-Laws
The By-Laws shall be declared ratified if 51% of members present at a duly
constituted General Membership meeting vote to ratify it.
Original By-Law, created in 2007, were amended and ratified by general
membership vote on March 27, 2010.
