FILIPINO - AMERICAN CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

“Individual we are one drop, together we are an ocean”

Article I:

NAME OF ORGANIZATION

Article II:

MEMBERSHIP

Article III:

EXECUTIVE BOARD AND THEIR DUTIES

Article IV:

MEETINGS

Article V:

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS

Article VI:

THE ADVISOR BOARD

Article VII:

TERM OF OFFICE

Article VIII:

FUNDS

Article IX:

ELECTION

Article X:

AMENDMENTS

Article I: NAME OF ORGANIZATION

Section 1.1:

The organization shall be known as the Filipino American Cultural Organization (FACO), a non-profit organization.

Article II: MEMBERSHIP

Section 2.1:

Membership in the organization shall consist of members and elected officers.

Section 2.2:

Membership shall be voluntary and open to any person 18 years or older and of good moral standing. Prospective member must receive an endorsement from an active member who is current in paying dues.

Section 2.2.1:

During the election year, voting members must be current with their dues by the end of the month prior to the election month. Currently, it is by August 31st of the election year.

Section 2.3:

Membership and Dues should be reviewed every two years. Fiscal year will be from January 1 to December 31. The membership fee is $20.00.

Article III: EXECUTIVE BOARD AND THEIR DUTIES

Section 3.1:

The Executive Board consists of the officers President, Vice-President, Executive Secretary, Correspondence Secretary and Treasurer and five (5) Board of Directors and the immediate past president.

Section 3.2:

President – presides at regular, special and general meetings, plans and presents all orders of business, ensures that the rules of protocol for the conduct of meetings are followed, supervises the affairs and activities of the association, represents the association as leader and spokesperson in any important matters, implements the policies, rules, and regulations formulated by the Executive Board and/or association as a whole, signs all checks against the funds of the association, with the Treasurer as co-signer or another officer designated by the Board and performs the duties that are incidental and required of the office of the President.

Section 3.3:

Vice-President – assists the President in all matters pertaining to the association and assumes the role of the President in the latter’s absence and performs such other duties as may be assigned by the President.

Section 3.4:

Executive Secretary – maintains all documents and papers, keeps minutes of meetings, reads important announcement, and minutes of previous meetings, and performs other duties as may be assigned by the President.

Section 3.5:

Correspondence Secretary – is responsible for writing newsletters and all SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS, pertinent correspondence as required by the President, checks the association’s mailbox, assists the Executive Secretary as necessary, and performs other duties as assigned by the President.

Section 3.6:

Treasurer – receives and deposits funds for the association, disburses funds to defray authorized expenditures, maintains financial records, line items such as operation expense, charity expense, income donations(cash), items tangible values or in kind donations, collects dues from members, prepares financial reports for presentation as required, signs all checks issued against the funds of the association with the President as co-signer, and performs other duties as may be assigned by the President.

Section 3.6.1:

The treasurer should strictly enforce and follow all rules and procedures as stated in The FACO Rules and Procedures Manual. No exceptions shall be made without the express approval by the Executive Board.

Section 3.6.2:

Completes a detailed monthly Financial Report to the

Executive Board. The report should include all checks written out by the FACO to all payees and all checks received by the FACO for that month. The Report must also include all committee revenues and expenses for the month. Report must be completed and emailed to the executive board by 12 noon on the day of the regular monthly meeting.

Section 3.7:

Board of Directors – The Board constitutes five (5) elected and one (1) immediate past president (The ex-officio). Should a vacancy occur, the Executive Board has the power to vote on a replacement officer or board member by a simple majority vote. The Executive Board has the power to enact ordinances, rules, and regulations. The Executive Board has the power to discipline, reprimand, suspend, or relieve any of its members or its officers due to repeated abuse of power, neglect, abandonment, mishandling of the association’s funds, or three or more of unexcused absences from the executive board meetings.

A notification letter will be sent by the President on the second unexcused absence from the executive board meetings.

Section 3.8:

THE OFFICERS AND BORD MEMBERS MUST PRESENT A PROFESSIONAL AND FACO CODE OF CUNDUCT AT ALL TIMES AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ORGANIZATION.

Article IV: MEETING

Section 4.1:

The Executive Board Meeting shall hold a meeting every first (1^st) Monday of the month at a mutually agreed time and place. The President may change the meeting schedule and venue when circumstance so dictate.

Section 4.2:

An emergency board meeting may be called on by the President to address special issues that may require a special meeting. This includes, but is not limited to:

a) Items and issues on the agenda may be too big to discuss at the regular meeting.

b) Time-sensitive and crucial issues that may require immediate attention and Board approval prior to the next monthly meeting.

c) Other special circumstances

d) An emergency Board meeting may be called by the President and may not require any advanced notice if a quorum may be present to approve the emergency issue.

Section 4.3:

The General Meeting will be open to all members of the organization and will be held every other month of the year starting in February, April, June, August, October, and December. Meetings shall be held on every 3^rd Monday of the months mentioned above.

Section 4.4:

The committees shall meet at the discretion of the chairpersons.

Section 4.5:

Proud of our Common Goal.

Section 4.6:

The Pledge will be the part of board meeting practice core moral ethic as part each meeting

Pledge

I pledge allegiance to Filipino American Cultural Organization (FACO)

And to the ideals for which it stands.

The preservation of Heritage,

The Values of our Mission,

The Moral values we practice,

The joy of achievement,

The dignity of service,

The integrity of profession,

The sincerity of friendship,

The love of country.

I will put forth my greatest effort

To promote, uphold and defend these ideals.

For a larger fellowship in home,

in society, in business,

For country and for God

Article V: COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS AND MEMBERS

Section 5.1:

Appointment of a Committee Chairperson

Section 5.1.1:

The President shall assign committees as deemed necessary.

Section 5.1.2:

The President will nominate the committee chairperson(s) and will be provided with the committee’s set of rules and guidelines. The nominee will then be approved by the Executive Board in accordance with the FACO Policies and Procedures section.

Chairs for Standing Committees must be in place by the First Meeting held at the beginning of the new President’s term.

Section 5.1.3:

The chairperson will select the co-chairperson and members and the size of the committee to perform the task.

Section 5.1.4:

The committees shall submit written plans and budget after the first committee meeting, for approval of the Executive Board, in accordance with the FACO Policies, Rules and Procedures Manual. Projects and events that are not in compliance will not be considered by the Executive Board.

Section 5.1.5:

The chairpersons shall inform the President of any matter relevant to their committee.

Section 5.1.6:

Any Ad hoc committee shall be dissolved upon completion of the task.

Section 5.1.7:

The chairperson’s term of standing committee will expire by the end of the term of the appointing President.

Section 5.1.8:

The Audit Committee is required to conduct an audit of the organization every six months. Special audits may be conducted at the discretion of the audit committee chair and the President. Special circumstances may include an audit after a major event held by the FACO.

Section 5.1.9:

Any active member in good standing can volunteer to chair an event. Any member can nominate a peer for the position. All candidates will be considered. Final approval will be decided by the Executive Board, based on qualifications and/or experience in handling previous FACO events.

Article VI: THE ADVISORY BOARD

Section 6.1:

The FACO Advisory Board will be comprised of people who bring expert knowledge and skills that can enhance the FACO. They provide recommendations and valuable information but do not have any governing authority over the FACO. The Advisory Board does not have the power to vote on any issues unlike the Executive Board. Members of the Advisory Board are not required to be present at the Monthly Executive Board Meetings.

Section 6.2:

The Advisory Board may be composed of up to five (5) members. They may be members or non-members of the FACO. They must include various areas of expertise, preferably, but are not limited to Legal Counsel, Business Advisor and Accounting/Bookkeeping Specialist. They can also be former FACO Officers and Board of Directors.

Section 6.3:

The FACO Advisory Board will be appointed by the President as the need arises and it is subject to approval by a simple majority of the Executive Board. There is no time requirement to fill all five seats.

Section 6.4:

The Advisory Board members’ tenure expires at the end of the Presidential term.

Article VII: ELECTION COMMITTEE, ELECTION RULES AND NOMINATIONS

ADHOC Nominating Committee will consist of three (3) members.

The new system is as follow.

Select the ADHC Nominating Committee OF THREE

The president will select of her choice in committee
The directors will select their choice in the committee
The members will select as well as the third person in committee

The nominating committee will have meetings to discuss who, in their knowledge, is qualified for the new slate of officers.

Elections and Terms of Office —

One month before elections, members nominate candidates for president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and any open director positions.
The nominations may be presented by a nominating committee, by members from the floor, or both.
The candidate who receives a majority of the votes for each office is declared elected to that office.
If any officer or board member vacates his or her position, the remaining members of the board will appoint a replacement.
If any officer-elect or director-elect vacates a position, the remaining members of the board-elect will appoint a replacement.

The positions for the Executive board are:

President —

Vice President —

Treasurer —

Secretary —

Correspondence Secretary —

Directors —

Ex-Officio —

Section 7.1:

The ADHOC Committee will replace Election Committee Process. Committee will be formed and approved by the Executive Board by the 1st Monday of November of the CURRENT election year. alternates.

Section 7.1.1:

Committee selection criteria includes:

Section 7.1.1.2:

A member of good standing.

Section 7.1.1.3:

Cannot run for office, cannot nominate a candidate.

Section 7.1.1.4:

Cannot be related to any (siblings, parents, spouse) to any nominated candidates.

Section 7.2:

Qualifications of Candidates

Section 7.2.1:

A member of good standing non-Filipino descent must be at least five years member.

Section 7.2.2:

Must be of Filipino descent or married to a Filipino.

Section 7.2.3:

Bio data required for all nominees/candidates. Election Committee shall draft format of the biodata.

Section 7.3:

Nominations start January 1st and ends June 30th of the election year. No more nominations after June 30th.

Article VIII: TERM OF OFFICE

Section 8.1:

TERM

a. The term of an elected officer will be two (2) years starting on the first(1^st) day of January and terminating on the thirty- first(31^st) day of December of the second(2^nd) year. DUE TO COVID -19 PANDEMC UNPRECEDENT OF THIS YEAR 2020 PANDEMIC PRESIDENT TERMS LIMIT WILL BE EXTENDED TO YEAR 2021

b. CURRENT Officers may run for re-election AS THEY WISH. The President and Vice-President will run as one united Party, as opposed to.

c. In the event the President position becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall assume or serve the remaining term of the President.

d. Should any other elective position become vacant, the Executive Board of Directors shall determine a qualified and willing member to fill in the vacancy position

Article IX: FUND

Section 9.1:

GENERAL FUNDS:

The funds of the FACO shall be used to support programs and activities approved by the Executive Board.

Section 9.2:

PETTY CASH FUND: A petty cash should have specific amount

a) The President authorizes expenditures of an amount of $200.00 to defray any cost incidental to the operation of the association without board approval. The executive board should approve any increase the set amount of petty cash fund.

Section 9.3:

An annual budget will be presented to the Executive Board by the President by the February Board Meeting of each year. The Budget must be approved by a majority of the Executive Board for it to pass.

The annual Budget will include, but is not limited to:

a) All office and operational expenses for the year.

b) Budgets set forth for each standing committee.

c) All recurring charitable donations made by the FACO.

d) Other recurring annual expenses.

Section 9.4:

CURRENT BOARD FINAL YEAR TOWARD

a) TRANSITION TO NEW BOARD BUDGET MUST ACQUIRE THE FOLLOWING FUNDS BUDGET

b) MUST HAVE CURRENT MINIMUM BALANCE ACCOUNT OF $20,000.

c) AFTER ALL EXPENSES ARE PAID THE BALANCE BUDGET FOR OPERATION MUST HAVE MINIMUM OF $20,000.00 TO OPERATE THE FIRST YEAR

ANY FUNDRAISING ON CURRENT BOARD ARE DEDICATED FOR THE NEXT YEAR PROGRAMS EXPENSES SUCH AS:

a) SCHOLARSHIPS

b) ADOPTED PROJECT(S)

c) COMMITTEES FUNDRAISING CAPITAL

d) DONATIONS TO COMMUNITY

Section 9.4.1:

All recurring Charitable donations will be disbursed only once a year, preferably at the Annual June Event. Any other charitable donations that need to be disbursed is subject to Executive Board and Members Approval

Article X: AMENDMENTS

Section X.1:

No amendment shall be voted upon without due consent of the Executive Board.

Section X.2:

Amendments to the By-Laws may initiate by an active member through the President which in turn shall present any proposed amendment to the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall schedule a meeting and the member who initiated the proposed amendment shall be given thirty (30) days’ notice to expound its views.

Section X.3:

The Ad Hoc committee of five members will be formed to study and make recommendations regarding the amendments proposed.

Section X.4:

Amendments to the By-laws shall be passed and ratified by a majority vote of the Executive Board present in the board meeting.

Filipino Cultural American Organization BY LAWS revision 03.05.22

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