INWFA BYLAWS
As of January 22, 2006
 
Article I 
Purpose

Our goals are to promote and educate the public about the domestic ferret, ferret care and their routine health, maintenance and vaccinations. We hope that together as a team, we will reduce the number of unwanted ferrets in the shelters, while being there for those ferret owners who need our assistance. We want to educate the public about the importance of domestic ferrets with hopes of changing their views about these species.

Article II 
Accountability

The Inland Northwest Ferret Association (INWFA) as a whole shall be directly responsible to the elected Board of Officers for all its actions. The Chairperson shall be the link between the INWFA members and the Elected Board Officers.

Article III 
Members: Officers: Voting: Executive Board: Meetings: Special Committees

Section 1. Members:
       The members of the INWFA shall include all persons paying membership dues for the current year. The membership year is from January 01 until December 31. To be current, dues must be in by January 31. Benefits of being a member include but are not limited to: 
 
       1.) Newsletter, (in progress)
       2.) Support of local shelters,
       3.) Reduced entry fees to INWFA shows, 
       4.) Discounted ferret supplies,
       5.) Voting privileges and input on all decisions of the INWFA,   
        6.) Eligibility to nominate and run for all Elected and Executive Board positions.
 
Section 2. Officers:
       Elected offices are open to INWFA members of good standing only. All nominations for offices must be seconded and nominated members have the right to refuse the post. Nominated members may only run for one position each term. Officers must attend 60% of all INWFA meetings. Only members in good standing of INWFA have voting rights. The Elected Board positions are defined as follows:
 
       (A) Chairperson: Duties to include but not limited to the following:
Presides over all meetings, appoints committee chairs, public spokesperson for INWFA, guides committees, projects, etc. The Chairperson will be the link between the INWFA members and the Board. The Chairperson does not vote at elections unless a tiebreaker is needed. 
       (B) Vice Chairperson: Duties to include but not limited to the following:
Presides at meetings in the Chairperson's absence, assists the Chairperson where necessary, guides committees, projects, etc. Works with the Chairperson to resolve any problems. 
       (C) Secretary: Duties to include but not limited to the following:
Maintains organization records, records meeting minutes, attendance and distributes minutes. Distributes announcements for upcoming meetings, events, etc. Collects all voting information and is responsible for all correspondence as delegated.
       (D) Treasurer: Duties to include but not limited to the following: 
Responsible for keeping accurate records of all receipts and disbursements, reports all details to the Board and INWFA members. Financial reports will be brought to each monthly meeting with a current balance and description of all entries available. 
 
Section 3. Election of Officers:
       Shall be held annually in November. Nominations and requests for any position will be announced in September. Nominees will be presented in e-mail for members that cannot attend. Members who cannot attend will be allowed to nominate members by the October meeting. Final nominations will then be presented with voting finalized in the November meeting. Elected officials will assume their duties on January 01. They will remain in office until December 31. Terms are one (1) year with the ability to run a second consecutive term. They can then run for a different position, but cannot run a third year for their current position. After an absence of one (1) year or more they can run again for their original position. 
 
Section 4. Voting:
       To be eligible to vote you must be a current paid member (Article III Section I).  Each member counts as one vote.  All votes are controlled by the Secretary. You must be present at the meetings to vote. Any member not able to attend the voting meeting will be able to vote by proxy. To vote by proxy, a member must have another member represent them at the November meeting. The member needing the proxy must inform the Secretary, in e-mail or phone call, of their intent before the meeting. The person designated as their proxy will get two (2) votes.  A member cannot accept more than one (1) proxy vote. The Chairperson will have their vote written in a sealed envelope given to the Secretary before voting begins. This vote is not to be opened unless a tiebreaker is needed. Votes are read by the Chairperson. At this time, voting will only be held at meetings.
 
Section 5. Executive Board:
       The INWFA Board shall include three (3) Executive Board positions: The Executive Board will help in deciding immediate emergency and non-emergency issues that may arise. Once again the Chairperson does not vote on these issues, but will read all votes. The Secretary will collect all votes with the Chairperson's vote collected ahead of time in a sealed envelope. The Executive Board will be selected at the November election meeting, nominated and seconded by all members present. The Executive Board must attend 60% of all meetings and must be present at the election meeting to be nominated.

Article III
Members: Officers: Voting: Executive Board: Meetings: Special Committees

 

Section 1. Meetings:
       (A) Meetings are held on the third Saturday of every month at 6:00pm. Meetings may be scheduled to a different Saturday as the need arises for conflict of events or other schedules. Meeting locations are to be announced each month. 
       (B) Elected Officers and Executive Board members must attend 60% of all scheduled meetings. Attendance will be taken at meetings by the Secretary. 
 
Section 2. Special Committees:
       Special Committees may be formed as the need arises upon recommendation of the Chairperson and approval of members present at the meeting. The Elected Officers shall determine the function and purpose of the committee, the Chair for the committee, as well as the length of time the committee shall serve. Special Committees will be accountable to the Chairperson.

  
 
Article IV 
Fiscal year, Checks, financial reports, Special Committee, Disbursement
 

Section 1. Fiscal year:
       January 1 through December 31.
 
Section 2. Checks:
       Checks shall be issued from a local bank.  Authorized signatures and activity on the checking account will be authorized for Elected Officials, Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.  Two signatures will be required on all checks and account transactions.  
 
Section 3. Financial Reports:
       Financial reports will be brought to each monthly meeting with a current balance and description of all entries. A full financial report shall be submitted by the Treasurer to the Board and the INWFA members in December. 
 
Section 4. Special Committee Reports: 
       All Special Committees will have financial reports submitted every meeting with detailed descriptions of all entries.
 
Section 5. Disbursement of Funds: 
       (A) All funds will be divided between actively participating ferret shelters/rescues and the INWFA. There will be an 80/20 split for all funds earned by participating in shows and all joint fundraisers; 20% going to the INWFA and 80% divided equally between all actively participating ferret shelters/rescues. This applies only to joint ventures where there is equal participation from all groups involved. 
       (B) Any monies earned through individual shelter/rescue activity such as food orders, adoption days, bake sales, other individual fundraisers, etc., shall be split 80/20; 20% going to the INWFA and 80% to the shelter/rescue doing the activity.
       (C) Funds earned through the adoption or sale of any ferret, regardless of the activity or the participating shelter/rescue/person, will go directly to the shelter/rescue/person who held ownership.
       (D) An actively participating shelter/rescue is defined as a shelter/rescue in good standing; representing and participating at meetings and fundraising on a regular basis. 
       (E) As the Association grows, and should more shelter/rescuesjoin, we will revisit these percentages and adjust them accordingly

 

These By Laws voted and approved on January 21, 2006

To be revisited and revised as needed until further notice