By Laws

Section

ARTICLE 1 - NAME

1.1 The name of this organization shall be "Tamil Sangam of Central INDIANA” (hereinafter called TSCI)

1.2 The term 'Board' in this document invariably refers to 'the Board of Directors' of TSCI

1.3 The term 'EC' in this document invariably refers to 'the Executive Committee ' of TSCI

ARTICLE 2 - DURATION

2.1 The period of duration is perpetual.

ARTICLE 3 - OBJECTIVES

3.1 To cultivate, promote our Tamil Culture, Values and Knowledge to our generation, foster the exchange of ideas and understanding between the peoples of Tamil and other culture

3.2 To cultivate, promote, foster and develop the advancement of knowledge in Tamil language and literature

3.3 To promote fellowship and to provide, organize and participate in cultural, social, and community functions around Central Indiana.

3.4 The TSCI shall be non-profit, cultural, and secular organization.

3.5 Representation of any religion and/or caste would be avoided. However, TSCI would not restrict itself from supporting fundraising events organized by Tamil Community members. For TSCI to provide that support, it would need Three-Fourth majority from its Governing Body members.
3.6 TSCI would refrain from participating in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate running for a Government Office. However, this clause has a room to be overridden on
a Case by Case basis based on Three-Fourth majority from the Governing Body

ARTICLE 4 - OFFICE

4.1 The location of the office shall be decided by the Board of Directors

ARTICLE 5 – Organizational Structure

The Organization consists of two Major committees (Board of Directors and Executive Committee). The combined team is called as one general body (GB) of TSCI and referred as GB in this document.

5.1 Board of Directors

Board of Directors is the primarily responsible for the foundational work, legal enquiries, maintaining the nonprofit status of Sangam, monitor the functioning of the Tamil School (Responsibilities and functional procedures of Tamil School is defined in a separate document) and other Government related community assistance. In addition to the above, the board of directors also acts as the representatives of Tamil Members to Central Indiana and anywhere in the world. They are also responsible for deriving by-laws for the organization and solely have the right to change them with a voting-majority process (see in Policies/Rules section).

5.1.1 Officers

The Board of Directors of the Tamil Sangam for any fiscal period shall consist of the Officers and members and the total members of the board cannot exceed more than seven at any time.

  1. Chairman & President of the board
  2. Vice President
  3. Secretary
  4. Treasurer
  5. Joint Secretaries

5.1.2 Eligibility & Duration

To become a member of the board, an individual must be associated with Tamil Sangam activities in Executive committee level for at least 2 years or more. No officer shall be eligible for election to the same office for more than two consecutive two-year terms. Must be willing to do/perform any duties/roles needed. This is 100% pure volunteership and no monetary rewards. The President shall act as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall have and exercise authority in the management and functioning of the Tamil Sangam with the coordination of Executive Committee. The Board of Directors does not have authority to remove any member elected to the Board.  Such a removal requires a two-third majority vote of the general body. The term of Officers and members of the Board shall be for a period of two years. In case of retirement, resigning or permanent absence of any officer, the Board of Directors shall elect (with a voting process) a successor for the unexpired portion of the term.  Permanent absence is defined as absence from three consecutive meetings of the Board and Tamil Sangam function. Any vacancy in the Board must be filled within two weeks from the time it becomes open and during this period if any deadlock, such as no majority opinion, occurs in taking a decision on an issue, the President will be given an additional vote to resolve the deadlock.

5.1.3 Election

All the current members of the board are eligible to vote including the chairman. The election must be conducted by an authority who serves currently a member or an officer in Executive Committee in Tamil Sangam. (Preferably the President of Executive Committee) The Election officer cannot be a current member in board of directors. Nominations for all officers and board members shall be received by the Returning Officer prior to Election Day meeting.  No Nomination can be made on the floor.  Any unfilled/vacant position will be filled by the Board. The election can be conducted through an email procedure or by calling all the members into the office on a specific day. The election must be completed in the last month of a year to start the new term of the new board of directors.

5.1.4 Duties

President/Chairman:

The President shall call and preside at meetings of the Board of Directors. He/She shall sign all documents in the name and on behalf of the Tamil Sangam for any correspondence. He/She shall assume charge of duties of Secretary, Joint Secretary and/or Treasurer during their temporary absence. He/She shall enforce the By-Laws; perform all duties incident to his/her office and such other activities which may be assigned to him/her from time to time by the Board.

Vice President:

The Vice President shall perform all of the duties of the President during his/her absence, and any other duties assigned to him/her from time to time by the Board

Secretary

The Secretary shall operate under the general direction of the President/Board. He/She shall be responsible for recording and presenting the minutes of all meetings. He/She shall sign and attend to all correspondences and present them to the Board at its meetings.

He/She shall be the custodian of the records, papers, minutes, and documents of the Tamil Sangam other than those under the jurisdiction of the Treasurer. He/She shall file any certificates required by any statute, Federal or State such as annual property tax. He/She shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him/her by the Board.

For the smooth functioning of Tamil Sangam the President, and the Secretary should personally hand over a transfer document to his/her successor.  He/She shall hand over with this report all documents, checks, property papers, articles of Incorporation and any other documents pertaining to Tamil Sangam activities. The documents include (but not limited to) the list of Tamil Sangam properties, soft-copy of the members email addresses, website admin login information, newsletter email login information.

Joint Secretary

He/She shall perform all the duties of the Secretary in his absence and other duties assigned to him/her by the Board

Treasurer

The Treasurer shall make, countersign, and endorse in the name of Tamil Sangam all checks, drafts, notes, and other orders for any non profit filing application process and any other needs from Executive committee in the absence of their treasurer. Basically all the accounts of Tamil Sangam must be operated with a Joint account from the treasurer of both Board of Directors and the Executive committee. He/She shall present an up-to-date financial report at the Board of Directors meetings.

5.2 Executive Committee:

Executive Committee is primarily responsible for running the Sangam events for the duration of its existence. This committee will carry the objectives/goals of the Tamil Sangam and implement them by conducting as many events like, social, cultural & nonprofit community with the guidelines of BD. The committee is solely responsible for the event related decision, choosing the venue, membership maintenance etc. The committee can be comprised of the same headcount and job titles as in Board of Directors. EC must comply with the by-laws of TSCI all the time. In any deadlock situation of EC the BD will have the authority to resolve the situation. The deadlock could be anything like inability of the EC to conduct an event, degradation of performance and any other disputes.

5.2.1 Officers

The Executive Committee of the Tamil Sangam for any fiscal period shall consist of the Officers and total officers of the committee shall be minimum of 7 and a maximum of 10 at any time.

  1. President
  2. Vice President
  3. Secretary
  4. Treasurer
  5. Joint Secretaries (min of 3 – max of 6)

5.2.2 Eligibility & Duration

To become a member of the Executive Committee, an individual must be a member of Tamil Sangam for at least 1 year and must have paid the membership dues on-time. The member must be 18 years of old and must have good attendance/participation of Tamil Sangam events. Must be willing to do/perform any duties/roles needed. This is 100% pure volunteership and no monetary rewards. No officer shall be eligible for election to the same office for more than two consecutive two-year terms. The President shall act as head of the Executive committee. However President does not have authority to remove any officer elected to the EC.  Such a removal requires a two-third majority vote of the EC and an approval from the BD. The term of Officers of the EC shall be for a period of two years. In case of retirement, resigning or permanent absence of any officer, the EC shall elect (with a voting process) a successor for the unexpired portion of the term under the same guidelines for anew officer.  Permanent absence is defined as absence from three consecutive meetings of the EC and Tamil Sangam function. Any vacancy in the EC must be filled within a two months from the time it becomes open and during this period if any deadlock, such as no majority opinion, occurs in taking a decision on an issue, the President will be given an additional vote to resolve the deadlock.

5.2.3 Election

All the current members of the board are eligible including the chairman to vote for electing the office bearers of the Executive committee. The election must be conducted by an authority who serves currently a board member of Tamil Sangam. (Preferably the President) Nominations for all officers and board members shall be received by the Returning Officer prior to Election Day meeting.  No Nomination can be made on the floor. Any unfilled/vacant position will be filled by the Board. The election can be conducted through an email procedure or by calling all the members into the office on a specific day. The election must be completed in the last month of a year to start the new term of the Executive committee.

5.2.4 Duties

The responsibilities and duties mentioned below for the EC are only guidelines. Additional responsibilities can be added by revising this By-laws document as needed.

President

The President shall call and preside at meetings of the Executive Committee. He/She shall assume charge of duties of Secretary, Joint Secretary and/or Treasurer during their temporary absence. He/She shall enforce the policies/rules of TSCI. The president will be responsible for initiating any event related activities. He/She can host additional meetings as needed. He is also responsible to communicate all the issues with Board of Directors

Secretary

He/shall send mails to all members, notices of all  event functions held in the name of, or on behalf of the Tamil Sangam. He/shall arrange for Event places, and reserve auditorium for Tamil Sangam functions. He/She shall be responsible for recording and presenting the minutes of all meetings to the Exec Committee.

Treasurer

He is the operative owner for the bank account of TSCI and he/she shall maintain books of accounts and records of receipts, disburse transactions made by or on behalf of the Tamil Sangam in accordance with accounting principles approved by the Executive Committee.

The Treasurer shall make, countersign, and endorse in the name of Tamil Sangam all checks, drafts, notes, and other orders for the Payment of money, under the direction of the Board. He/She shall have charge and custody of, and be responsible for, all funds which the Tamil Sangam may receive and shall deposit such funds in the name of Tamil Sangam in such banks as are designated by the Board

Joint Secretary

He/She shall perform all the duties of the Secretary in his absence and other duties assigned to him/her by the Board

  1. FINANCE:

The sources of income for TSCI can come from the following

  • Membership
  • Donations
  • Fund Raising
  • Tamil School Registration fee

The TSCI account must be jointly operated by the both treasurers of the general body. It can be also possible to have checking and Savings accounts to serve the specific purposes as described below. The bank account which operated under TSCI must be able to distinguish the membership fee and others. All membership and Tamil School money must be utilized for the operational expenses of TSCI (includes Tamil School) and must be operated with a Checking Account. . t. Any donations, fundraising money must be deposited to savings account and must be utilized for any Tamil welfare outside USA.

  1. GENERAL RULES & Policies
  • TSCI should be treated as a secular organization for Tamils and other INDIANS around Central Indiana.
  • TSCI must support all the cultural, traditions and events that Tamils celebrate and follow.
  • Representation of any religion and/or caste would be avoided. However, TSCI would not restrict itself from supporting fundraising events organized by Tamil Community members. For TSCI to provide that support, it would need Three-Fourth majority from its Governing Body members
  • TSCI would refrain from participating in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate running for a Government Office. However, this clause has a room to be overridden on a Case by Case basis based on Three-Fourth majority from the Governing Body
  • TSCI must maintain the nonprofit status all the time. Any deviation from the status must not be allowed unless otherwise stated.
  • It can partner with other affiliations (or Sangams) to represent the TSCI in their community including other states of USA.
  • TSCI can also conduct fund raising events. The money generated by those events must be utilized properly for the Tamil welfare in India.
  • TSCI must at least conduct 4 events for the calendar year
  • Email is the primary communication to all the members.
  • Email communication shall enforce the content restriction. That is, Members may receive all the Tamil community related information from TSCI. Forwarding emails from other affiliations or nonprofit associations is completely acceptable.
  • For any events around Central Indiana the TSCI website shall have the latest update information.
      1. Guidelines for General Body

Voting process

    • 51% vote is needed to pass any resolution (eg., in a team of 7 committee members, 4 votes are needed to pass a resolution. In a team of 8 committee members, 5 votes are needed)
    • No reverse/revoking the decision within a month for the same issue unless it is called by the CEO or President
    • Individual responsible for initiating the voting process
    1. Communication
    • A quarterly meeting is preferred. Secretary must call for the meeting. Emergency meetings can be called from the individual officer if necessary.
  • Proper reply in voting is expected for any resolution
  • Every resolution must have a deadline to pass. If there not enough votes then the resolution is assumed as a failure
  • All the meeting minutes of the general body should be in the Google docs
  • President (or his representative) from EC is invited to all BD meetings to provide any feedback or input from the EC. He is the liaison officer between EC and BD

    10. DISSOLUTION OF THE TSCI:

 Upon dissolution of the TSCI, the Board of Directors shall utilize the Corporation’s assets for the payment of all obligations and liabilities of the Tamil Sangam. Any remaining assets will be disposed of in a manner consistent with the Sangam’s purpose as herein stated, either in the form of direct expenditures or by disbursement to one or more organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable, scientific, educational or religious purposes so as to qualify as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or any corresponding provision of a future law of similar import, or to the United States, or a State or Local Government, for a public purpose.

11. Others

  • Any other activities or changing these By-laws shall be determined by BD at any point of time during its existence with the proper voting.