CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE HINDU ASSOCIATION OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
TAX ID #71-0839884

The Constitution and the by-laws of the Hindu Association of Northwest Arkansas (HANWA) shall govern the running of the Association.

ARTICLE I: NAME

The name of the non-profit corporation shall be The Hindu Association of Northwest Arkansas (HANWA). It is also referred to as the Association in this document.

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

This Association is organized exclusively for religious, charitable, cultural, social and educational purposes. Its objectives are:

• To promote an understanding of the Hindu way of life in the community of Northwest Arkansas.

• To establish and operate a permanent place of worship to meet the religious, spiritual, charitable, cultural, and social needs of the Hindu community.

• To organize and conduct religious, charitable, cultural, social and educational activities.

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1:

All persons interested in the objectives, as stated in Article II, are eligible to become members of the Association.

Section 2:

The Board of Directors shall recommend the annual dues to the general body for approval. Membership in the Association shall be on a calendar year basis.

Section 3:

Membership shall be available to individuals and families (family consists of husband, wife, and dependent children). A person wishing to become a regular member shall do so by filling a membership form and paying the annual membership dues of $101 at this time. Annual members who has a good standing for consecutive three years or more will be eligible for voting rights and standing for office positions

A full time student may become an Associate Member, gratis, by filling a membership form. Associate members shall have no voting rights.

Section 4:

There shall be special membership categories of Life Member, Patron and Trustees to recognize those who make substantial monetary contributions to the Association.

Life Member: Members who contribute $2,000 or more, in, at most, 2 consecutive calendar years, shall become Life Members of the Association. This status includes contribution made as temple sponsorship and or payments made as life membership dues in the past.

Patron: Members who contribute $3,500 or more, in, at most, 2 consecutive calendar years, shall become Patrons of the Association. This status includes contribution made as temple sponsorship and or payments made as life membership dues in the past.

Trustees: Top donor category consists of top 10 donor families considering the cumulative donations made to the HANWA from inception.

Upgrading to the next level of membership type would be done, contingent upon meeting the applicable rules of that membership type.

Consistent with the objectives of the Association, Life Members, Patrons and Trustees shall have the privilege to direct their contributions to support a particular cause or activity.
Details on ‘Recognition of Sponsors’:
Temple Project Sponsors will be recognized by having their names listed on the plaque that would be displayed in the main lobby of the temple. A separate handout with complete details on this is available with the Treasurer (Annexure 1).

Section 5:

Voting rights, which may not be exercised in absentia, shall be extended to regular members with minimum consecutive three year standing or life member or patron member or trustees and eighteen years or older, and whose membership dues have been received.

Any member who did not attend 3 consecutive general body meetings with out substantial cause or prior notification will automatically become silent member. To become an active voting member the individual should activate their active membership by sending a letter or email to the President or Secretary before two weeks of the general body meeting. This class helps to conduct meetings according to the by-law.

ARTICLE IV: BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1:

The management of the Association, and its affairs, shall be vested in the Board of Directors. The Board shall consist of 5 members and executive committee consisting of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer elected for 2 years by the general membership. Members of the Board of Directors may not be reelected to serve more than 2 consecutive terms.

Both Board of Directors and Executive Committee members will be elected from the general body.
For all purposes, the working year of the Association shall be the calendar year.

The Board of Directors shall

Section 2:

A member of the Board of Directors shall automatically cease to be the member of the Board, if

• He/she is not an active member of the Association. Or,
• He/she misses 50% of the Board meetings held in a calendar year. Or,
• He/she misses 3 consecutive meetings of the Board of Directors without substantial cause and prior notification.

Section 3:

The Executive Committee shall execute the policies set forth by the Board of Directors.

The term of the Executive Committee shall run concurrently with the term of the Board of Directors.

Every year, by end March, the Executive Committee shall prepare a yearly programs and activities calendar.

Every year, by end March, the Executive Committee shall prepare the budget, and present it to the Board of Directors for review and approval.

ARTICLE V: OFFICERS

Section 1:

The officers of the Association shall be Board of Directors and the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary from the Executive Committee.

Section 2:

The President and, in his absence, the Vice President, shall preside over Executive Committee, and General Body meetings.

At the behest of the Board, the President shall sign all written contracts for the Association.

The President shall be the official spokesperson of the Association.

In case, the position of the President falls vacant, the Vice President will succeed him for the remainder of the term.

Section 3:

The Secretary shall record minutes of the meetings and present them in the following Board of Directors or Executive Committee meeting for approval.

The Secretary of the Executive Committee shall provide information concerning the programs and activities of the Association to the general membership.

Section 4:

The Treasurer shall be responsible for setting up the accounting books; keeping all accounts, collecting revenue, and paying the bills of the Association as approved by the Board of Directors.

The Treasurer shall deposit funds of the Association in such depository as may be authorized by the Board.

The Treasurer shall prepare the annual financial report at the end of each year.

The Treasurer shall get the accounts of the Association audited annually by the end of the calendar year.

The Treasurer shall be responsible for all tax-related matters.

Withdrawal of funds would require joint signatures of the President and the Treasurer. In case the President and the Treasurer belong to the same family, the Vice President shall sign instead of the President.

ARTICLE VI: ELECTIONS

Section 1:

The Election Committee, as provided in Article IV Section 1, shall be responsible for conducting elections of the Board of Directors as well as Executive officers (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) among the Board of Directors.

The Election Committee shall solicit nomination of members in good standing as defined in Article-III, secure acceptance of nominated individuals, and present it to the general membership of the Association before November. Nominations may also be made in that meeting. Conduct election in the same general body meeting.


Section 2:

Election to the Board or Executive Committee shall be by secret ballot.

In case of a tie, the Election Committee shall have a run-off election at the same meeting.

ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS

Section 1:

The President shall call a general body meeting at least once in a calendar year. The general membership shall be informed of the meeting at least 30 days before the date of the meeting.

The President may convene special meetings of the general body to discuss urgent or important business of the Association.

One -fourth of the general membership shall constitute a quorum at these meetings. Five members of the Board and 3 members of the Executive committee constitute a quorum for their respectively meetings.

Agenda for the general body meeting, apart from other items, shall include:

• Election to the Board of Directors (Only in the Election year)
• Financial report by the Treasurer
• Other committee reports (if any)
• President's report
• Items submitted to the President or Secretary of the Association not less than 14 days before the date of the general body meeting and endorsed by five members.

Section 2:

The Board of Directors and Executive committee shall meet periodically to conduct its business as provided in Article IV, Section 1.

The Chairman and the President may convene special meetings of the Board or Executive committee to discuss urgent or important business of the Association.

Three members of the Board of Directors, by submitting a written request to the President, can convene a special meeting of the Board.

Section 3:

The Executive Committee shall meet at least once in three months or more as required.

Two members of the Executive Committee, by submitting a written request to the President, can convene a special meeting of the Executive Committee.

Section 4:

The Election Committee shall meet as required before the election date.

Two thirds of the Election Committee, by submitting a written request to the Chair of the Election Committee, can convene a special meeting of the Election Committee.

Two thirds of the Election Committee shall constitute a quorum at an Election Committee meeting.

Section 5:

Chair of a standing committee or an ad-hoc committee, depending on the nature of the assignment and charge, shall determine the frequency of the meetings.

Section 6:

Modern Edition of the Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of all meetings.

ARTICLE VIII: AMENDMENTS

Any proposed amendments to the constitution and by-laws shall be made available to the membership one-week before the meeting.
For amendment purposes, 51% of the membership shall constitute a quorum. Two-thirds majority is needed to pass the amendments.
Since many members are residents of other states, it may not be possible for them to attend the meetings to form the quorum (required two-thirds of the members).

ARTICLE IX: REMOVAL OF OFFICERS

The removal of officers of the Association may be initiated by submitting a written grievance, signed by at least 1/3 of the general membership, to the President of the Association. Within three weeks of receiving the grievance, the President or the Vice President, as the case may be, shall call a meeting. The Board of Directors shall constitute the Board of Hearing. If 5 or more members of the Board of Director vote for the removal of the officer, the officer would be deemed removed.
The Board of Directors shall recommend legal action, if any, to be taken against the officer removed.

ARTICLE X: SCOPE OF BY-LAWS

The by-laws of the Association shall always be subordinate to the constitution and laws of the State of Arkansas, and the United States of America.

ARTICLE XI: FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS

The Association shall be allowed to transfer property and/or mortgage or encumber property for the purpose of security payments of debts of the Association, and the President shall be allowed to sign for the said Association and the Secretary of the Association shall attest.

ARTICLE XII: DISSOLUTION

Upon the dissolution of the Association, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all the liabilities of the Association, dispose of all of the assets of the Association exclusively for the purpose of the organization or the organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, literary, or scientific purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organization under section 501 (c) 3 of the Internal Revenue code of 1954, as amended, or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law, as the Board of Directors shall determine. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by the District court of the county in which the principal office of the organization is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for said purposes.

ARTICLE XIII: LIMITATIONS

No part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributed to its members, or other private persons, except that the Association shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article II hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the Association shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the Association shall not participate, in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Not withstanding any other provision of these articles, the Association shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an Association exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) under section 170 (c) (2) of the Internal Revenue code.

Annexure 1: Recognition of Members and Sponsors

Founding Members and Temple Project Sponsors will be recognized by having their names listed on the plaque that would be displayed in the main lobby of the temple. A separate handout with complete details on this is available with the Membership Committee members and coordinators.

Annexure 2: Accounting Procedures

Necessary and needed books will be used and maintained to keep track of all receipts and expenses of the association.

Procedures to be followed:
1. Any payment of $50.00 and above to be made by the association has to be verified and approved by at least 2 office bearers and 3 directors.
2. Cash or Check received on behalf of the association has to be entered in the books and receipt has to be issued to the person making the contribution.
3. Cash collected by way of Bhajan - Aarthi, Fund Raiser events will be entered in the books.