Mission Statement: To serve as an organization that will bring forth an interconnectedness among the Tamil community in New Jersey and to ultimately provide for the community of New Jersey as a whole.
Article 1 Principles of Existence
- The name of the corporation, a New Jersey (North Jersey) corporation shall be Thamizhargal Mandram NJ Inc, can also be referred to as “TAMNJ”.
- The term “Committee” used in this document refers to the committee members of Thamizhargal Mandram NJ Inc.
- TAMNJ shall serve the local and Tamil community in North Jersey and potentially the entirety of New Jersey.
- These bylaws can be amended any time with the majority vote conducted by the Executive board committee or founders committee.
- The principal office of the corporation for the transaction and meetings will vary throughout the committee members’ homes.
- The Corporation may also conduct business wherever it is qualified to do business.
- The purpose for which the corporation is created is for charitable grounds within the section 501(c)(3) of the IRS. Furthermore to collect and raise money for charitable purposes, to also expend for events within the organization and to either directly or through contributions to other agencies, organizations and institutions for similar purposes. Importantly to continue to develop and preserve the Tamil community in New Jersey, any money received as a gift will be pointed towards the directions of charities.
- The purpose of TAMNJ is to encourage and bring forth people of origin speaking Tamil language or even those who are interested in the Tamil culture to come together on equal grounds and bring awareness to this culture and promote it publicly. This will be effectively done through equal collaboration among the Tamil community.
- Important to note that TAMNJ will have no political or religious affiliations as we are open to anyone and anything. There shall be no discrimination whatsoever against anyone due to their religious beliefs,ethnicity, and sexuality.
- TAMNJ will be established as non-profitable and charitable as shown under section 501(C) 3. The main income will be from the membership fee, donations, revenue from events, and grants from members and donors.
- The General Body of TAMNJ shall consist of the (1) Executive Board committee members duly elected maximum of 9 and will be decided time to time basis (2) Active Members and in the future (3) Advisory Committee (Original Founding Members).
- It is to be strictly adhered to that everyone in the executive board will have equal power and influence on decisions made regarding the organization. Bias nor disrespect will be tolerated among the executive committee as there will be a system of checks and balances.
- TAMNJ will strictly follow the principles outlined throughout the articles in this constitution to ensure the organization is fairly run to avoid any controversy.
- TAMNJ shall ensure that the organization’s net earnings do not coincide with the benefits from the private shareholders of individuals from the executive committee.
- TAMNJ shall not further non-exempt purposes, specifically partake in activities that will benefit private interests.
- It is publicly established that the activities conducted by TAMNJ will be regarded as NTEE Code A99 (Arts,Culture & Humanities N.E.C.), specifically organizations that provide arts and humanities services to the community
Section 1. General Powers: The affairs of the TAMNJ shall be managed by the Executive Board committee.
- The Executive Board committee of TAMNJ for any fiscal year will consist of the officers and the founder.
- The Executive Board committee will have complete authority to manage and control all the activities, affairs ,funds, and property of TAMNJ.
- The Executive Board committee will be responsible for carrying out the purposes of TAMNJ and appropriately following the provisions and enforcing them to the members.
- The Executive Board committee will have full power to approve the membership applications to TAMNJ and to suspend or strip membership in accordance with the provisions of the bylaws.
- The Executive Board committee will have the authority to propose, collaborate, and select venues and host events/programs which will serve the purpose of the TAMNJ.
- The Executive Board committee shall have the authority to propose, collaborate, and select other organizations or agencies to provide donations and partake in charities from TAMNJ events.
- The Executive Board committee will have the power to propose any new project/event and will be thoroughly planned out and voted for approval.
- The General body will also have the ability to propose any new project/events to the executive board committee and will be voted on for approval.
Section 2. Board structure:
The executive board of committee will not be comprised of a president or vice president but will include
- Secretary
- Joint secretary
- Treasurer
- JointTreasurer
- Public Relations/Marketing
- IT and Tech affairs
- Youth Committee
- Social Media
THESE ROLES AT FIRST WILL BE DISTRIBUTED AMONG THE 9 EXECUTIVE MEMBERS AND WILL WORK IN COHERENCE.
Section 3. Term of Office: The original selection of the Executive Board committee during the creation of the organization shall consist of the founding members of the organization. The term will run for 2 years and there will be an opportunity for members to either be reelected or for new members to be elected.
Section 4 Vacancies: Any sudden vacancies will be handled by the Executive Board committee.
Section 5 Executive Board Committee Membership. If an executive member fails to continuously attend meetings and display interest and participation, they will be replaced at the caution of the Executive Committee.
Section 7 Regular Executive Board committee meetings. The Executive Board committee will have meetings that will be private which is strictly among the executive board and as well as meetings in which the general body can participate to address their comments.
Section 8 Future elections will be conducted at the general body meetings.
Section 9 Voting will be conducted privately.
Section 10 The Executive Board Committee will not receive any compensation for the services to the TAMNJ. Executive Board members will receive a waiver for entrance fee to events and programs.
Section 11 Executive Board Committee members will be allowed to resign at any time and must notify the rest of the Committee of their resignation.
Section 12 Confidentiality: The Executive Board Committee members cannot disclose any information about TAMNJ or future activities to any person unless the information is already made public knowledge.
Section 13 Anyone among the Executive Board Committee will be able to call for a meeting if necessary and will be conducted in person or if made available through the phone.
Section 14 Secretary and Joint Secretary.
- They will operate through the guidance from the rest of the Executive Committee Board.
- Will be responsible for quick synopsis of meetings.
- Bring forth any necessary paperwork for the Executive Committee Board.
- Be able to disclose any records, documents, official paperwork with the rest of the Executive Committee Board,
- Maintain the list of all members of TAMNJ.
- (Official tax records from federal and state will be handled by Eday (licensed practitioner).
- Work with treasurers in organizing membership drives to increase memberships.
- Responsible for reserving locations for TAMNJ events.
Section 15. Treasurer and Joint Treasurer.
- The treasurers will be responsible for any countersign and endorsements in the name of TAMNJ, such as checks, drafts, and other orders of payments with the guidance of the Executive Committee Board.
- Maintain official books of accounts, receipts, transactions, made by or behalf of TAMNJ in accordance with the “accounting” guidelines.
- Present consistent financial data reports to the Executive Committee Board during meetings.
- Present a complete written financial statement of the fiscal year report at the annual general body meeting.
- Exact costs of events such as money towards catering, music, performances, etc. will accordingly be reported to the general body in advance of ticket purchases or membership purchases.
- The above stated costs will also be information that must be shared to the rest of the Executive Committee Board.
- Perform any necessary duties in compliance with a role as a treasurer.
- Work with the secretary in organizing membership drives to increase memberships.
- Keep account of all annual bills for membership dues and accurate records of dues collected and fees collected for events.
- Keep track of donors/sponsorships received and sending receipts.
Section 16. Marketing and Public Relations
- Responsible for managing the name, likeness, and image of TAMNJ. (Brand Ambassador).
- Responsible for drawing attention towards the organization and welcoming the people. Responsible for bringing in donors and sponsors, organizing promotional events, potentially even working with the public media.
- Be the voice of the general body, any concerns and advice from the general body can be said through this team.
Section 17. IT and Tech affairs team.
- Responsible for creating and maintaining consistently TAMNJ website, IT Infrastructure, email and any other content.
- Bring forth any technology directions that can potentially assist with the marketing team and social media team.
- Will be tasked with being responsible for any tech components on event days, such as audio, video, and etc.
- Create a privacy policy and oversee it.
- Protect TAMNJ data and its security policies.
Section 18. Social Media Team
- Responsible for monitoring all social media platforms and being in charge of pictures and videos.
- Consistently uploading pictures and videos of event days.
- Advertisements for future events and flyers.
Section 19. Youth Committee
- Work with youth leaders in youth events.
- More to discuss….
Section 1. Eligibility of Membership: Membership can be given to all persons who are legal residents in the United States and are of 18 years or old in age. With the intention of being a part of the Tamil community in NJ.
- The Executive Committee Board are lifelong members of TAMNJ unless they remove their membership on their own.
- There will be three tiers of membership, single, family, or life membership (single or family price will vary).
- Annual membership will be valid for exactly one year starting from the date of purchase.
- Members will be able to exercise their membership benefits upon the approval of their membership.
- If a member continues to display unacceptable behavior, then a vote will be brought forth within the Executive Committee Board to decide if removal of membership of the individual is necessary.
- Members will have voting rights on event ideas and such.
- Individual/single members will have one vote while a family will be regarded as 2 votes.
- If a member wishes to join the executive board in the near future, they must be a full fledged member for at least 2 years.
- Members have the opportunity to leave the organization and its membership at any time.
- There will be no refunds of membership fees for both the general body and Executive Board Committee (circumstances will be present and will be decided if refunds in a certain situation can be given).
- Discounted registration fee for several TAMNJ events.
- Early bird discounts on ticketed events.
- Be able to freely network and engage with others in events.
- Be able to participate in TAMNJ events and truly be a part of the experience.
- Volunteering opportunities will be given as well.
- Take part in fundraising events.
- Be a part of a community that is making the initiative to enrich the Tamil culture in New Jersey.
Section 7 Membership Terms and Conditions
- Membership is open to all persons, legal residents in the United States and are 18 years or older.
- Membership fee and discounts are subject to change under the discretion of the Executive Committee Board.
- The Board has the power to change these terms and conditions if necessary.
- Annual memberships will begin on the date of purchase for a complete year.
- Voting rights