Chapter I – Introduction
The Policy Manual contains policies adopted by the Board of Directors of The Amherst Club. These policies are intended to assist in the governance of The Amherst Club. From time to time the Manual will be supplemented, amended, or changed by majority votes of the Board of Directors, to take effect at the close of the Board Meeting in which they are voted. To the extent that any policy or practice is deemed inconsistent with the Bylaws, the Bylaws shall take precedence.
Chapter II – Membership
1.Full Members: Those members who have all the rights described in the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, and the Policy Manual.
3. Associate Members:
(July 6, 2010): New members may join as Associates.
The fee of $30 a quarter entitles the Associate Member to one lunch per quarter. If the Associate Member attends more lunches, the charge would be on a per lunch basis.
For purposes of the Bylaws, including the establishment of a quorum, voting, and participation in the club’s service projects, an Associate Member shall be treated as a member of the corporation
(March 3, 2015): Changing from Full to Associate status.
A member may change status from Full to Associate by notifying the
Registrar before the beginning of the next quarter. Timing of the
change may then be left to the discretion of the Registrar.
(9/10/19): Leave of Absence
With board approval, a full member who
needs to be out of the area may take a leave of absence for 1 quarter, (3
months) per calendar year. Request must
be made to the Treasurer/Registrar prior to the start of the quarter, and
return must be as a full member.
May 6, 2014: Date of Membership.
The Board affirmed that the Policy on new
members is that membership dates from the date the new member is
informed of acceptance, by the President or the Membership Chair, and
the dues also date from that point of notification. Since the induction
of a new member is sometimes delayed, induction is not the onset of
membership.
Chapter III – Meetings of Members
1.Special Meetings: Special meetings of the members shall be called by the President, 2 or more directors, or any officer upon written application of at least ten percent (10%) of the members. Such a call shall state the time, place, and purposes of the meeting.
2. Consent in Lieu of Meeting: Any action by the members may be taken if a majority of members agree with action either written or by e-mail and filed with the records of the members’ meetings. Such consent shall be treated as a vote of the members for all purposes.
3. Prospective Member Lunches – (adopted December 9, 2008): The Club will pay for a prospective member’s meal one time and the member bringing the candidate for membership should contact the registrar in advance. The hospitality fund would be used to pay this guest fee. Amendment to Guest Lunches policy – (adopted August 4, 2010): No advance notice now needs to be given to registrar, The one time meal for prospective member program will continue for a 3 month period until November 25,2010. "The Board reaffirmed that the
club will pay for one lunch for a guest who is a potential member."
(adopted December 3, 2013).
4.Solicitation : The Amherst Club does not permit direct solicitation for contributions or sales at its weekly luncheons, except on behalf of the Club’s own charitable activities. Club members and guest speakers may bring and distribute brochures and other literature about their projects.
Petitions should be placed on a back table rather than circulated. They may be announced, but not promoted.
5. Snow Policy: (adopted February 8, 2011) The Club will not meet if schools are cancelled. The Club will meet if schools open late.
6. Announcements – (adopted November 13, 2006): Any announcement at the weekly luncheon should be limited to less than 30 seconds and should conform to a reasonable format of who, what, where and when only.
7. Member Seeking Backing of the Club – (adopted June 19, 2007): Members are welcome to make brief announcements about their participation in various events, and may ask other Amherst Club members interested in supporting their efforts to check further with them. A member interested in seeking the backing of the Club for a particular cause should contact the Club President for prior Board approval.
Membership Directory – (adopted February 2, 2010)- The Amherst Club Membership Directory may not be used to solicit for one’s own choice of charities or shared with anyone else to promote individual interests.
Chapter IV – Board of Directors
1.Special Meetings: Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the President or by two (2) or more directors, reasonable notice being given to each director.
2. A member in any category may serve on the Board of Directors.
3. Board Meeting Size (adopted September 3, 2013)
For purposes of the quorum and voting at Board Meetings, each committee shall normally be represented by one chair.
The notable exception shall be the Fundraising committee, which has a number of subcommittees and complex tasks. The co-chairs for a fundraising committee shall both be counted for the quorum and both have a separate vote.
Other committees with shared chair responsibilities are welcome to have those who share chair responsibilities attend Board Meetings, with only one chair present being counted as the committee's representative for the quorum and for voting.
This procedure above allows some variation under "normally" in the Bylaws, Article IV, Section 4.1
Chapter V
(Duties beyond the ByLaws mandate)
1. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall oversee and make regular reports on the following funds.
a. The operations account for regular revenue and expenses of the club
b. The raffle account, which supports both the hospitality fund (cards and flowers for members in need) and donations for such projects as the Trivia Bee, The Tree Initiative, etc.
c. The event account for revenue and expenses related to the club’s main fundraising event
d. The endowment fund, was established in 2004 on the 20th anniversary of the Amherst Club. This fund shall serve the Amherst Community into the future and is supported by contributions and bequests from club members and non-members.
e. Any other financial account or activity which might from time to time be established. Any existing account may be altered or eliminated by action of the Board.
2. Treasurer/Registrar: The Registrar with the concurrence of the President may appoint an Assistant Registrar to be responsible for taking attendance at all luncheon meetings and assisting the Registrar in other responsibilities.
3. Secretary: The Secretary shall be responsible for updating the policy manual.
4. (9/13/2017) Treasurer and Registrar duties will now be
blended into one office, Treasurer/Registrar
Chapter VI – Committees
1. Activities Committee: This committee shall plan social activities and events for members and their families. The Activities Committee will be responsible for the hospitality acknowledgments – cards, gifts, flowers – as appropriate. (adopted June 9, 2009)
2. Allocations Committee: The Allocations Committee, which shall be chaired by the Vice-President, shall solicit and review applications for charitable contributions by the club and make all decisions on the allocation of club funds for such purposes.
4/13/04 (amendment): The Allocations Committee will advise the Board of Directors on a year-round basis. Any off-season requests for funds (apart from a fundraiser) must be in writing and go first to the President who shall signal the Committee to meet to discuss and make a recommendation to the Board. The Committee will meet when an off-season application for a grant is received.
3. Archives Committee: The Archives Committee shall be responsible for collecting and archiving/storing all records of the Amherst Club and for making them available as needed. The archives shall be stored in a location secure from heat and damp that will protect paper and photos. Archival paper is not required for the following records.
The following items shall be entered in the archive of the Club:
a. List of officers (in list separate from minutes)
b. Membership forms (to be saved by the Membership Chair and handed to the Archivist)
c. Records of the luncheon meetings (to be forwarded to the Archivist by the recorder at any given lunch)
d. Minutes of the Board meetings (to be saved by the Archivist and/or the Secretary)
e. Annual and monthly reports by the Treasurer (to be saved and handed to the Archivist by the Treasurer)
f. Fund-raising projects and events (documentation to be saved by Chairs, etc., and handed to Archivist)
g. Copy of the Membership Directory (to be saved by the Archivist)
h. Requests for proposals for proceeds of current fund-raising projects (to be saved by the Allocations Chair or other relevant Chair)
i. Record of allocations (to be saved by Allocations Chair and handed to Archivist)
j. Records of fundraiser committee meetings, especially of those proceedings helpful to future committees working on this project
k. Two copies of the fundraiser program (to be saved by the Archivist)
l. Notes concerning one-time projects/donations, e.g. West Cemetery Mural, bench donated to Amherst Commons, etc. (to be saved by the committee chair and handed to the Archivist)
m. Items concerning the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts
n. Records of anniversary events (to be saved by the relevant persons and handed to the Archivist)
o. Copy of the Club logo (to be retained in the Archives after use)
All items handed to the Archivist shall be dated.
All of the above mentioned items are to be retained in the Archives indefinitely and not to be removed for disposal unless by decision of the Board.
A copy of the Archives policy shall be distributed to all new incoming Board members after election.
Board minutes shall not be attached to luncheon minutes in order to facilitate archiving.
The Archivist shall check electronic disks, etc., from time to time to assure that they have not become obsolete. If the current mode of storage is in danger of becoming obsolete, the information should be copied to the next generation of electronic or other storage items.
Items that are NOT to be retained are 1) records of attendance at luncheon meetings and 2) completed forms for nominations for membership.
4. Attendance Committee: This committee is responsible for keeping a record of luncheon attendance and reporting to the registrar weekly.
5. Fundraising Committee: The Fundraising Committee shall organize the primary event to raise funds for allocations to worthy community cause and to the Amherst Club Endowment Fund.
6. Luncheon Report Committee: This committee shall prepare and circulate a regular report of the luncheon, weekly, through which the membership is informed of the activities of the club.
7. Membership Committee
The Membership Committee shall oversee the process of nominating new members.
(The following was adopted by the Board on August 9, 2016)
a. The Membership Committee shall encourage members to invite candidates for membership and shall distribute The Amherst Club brochure and application forms to members.
b. The Membership Committee shall review applications for eligibility according to the criteria (see Bylaws, Article II, Section 2.1 Composition) and shall submit the completed application with the Committee’s recommendation to the Board for approval.
c. The Board may act by email on the new member application unless the Membership Committee or any Board member requests a meeting to discuss qualifications.
d. A favorable review by the Board signifies approval. Membership dates from the date of notification by the Membership Chair.
e. The Membership Chair shall inform the new member of the Board action. Contact information is sent to the Registrar by the Membership Chair.
f. The President shall welcome the new member. If a former member rejoins the Amherst Club, a new application must be filled out. The President welcomes the member back into the club.
2016-2017 The Board moved to an Open Membership
g. Membership resignation: Whenever a member indicates the intention to resign, whether to the President or the Registrar, that officer shall notify the Membership Chair who will talk to the member in order to understand the reasons for the resignation and explore possible alternative membership options. The membership Chair will report back to the Board. ( adopted May 11, 2010).
8. Nominating Committee: In preparation for each annual election, the Nominating Committee shall propose a slate of officers and standing committee chairs who shall, if elected, serve for one year beginning July 1st. The immediate Past President shall Chair the Nominating Committee.
9. Program Committee: The Program Committee shall obtain speakers or other programs for the weekly luncheon meetings and shall inform the Web Master and club members thru the google.group website about the speakers and subject matter.
10. Web Master: This officer shall maintain the Club website and be informed of upcoming programs, events and luncheon speakers.
OTHER
Dues increases:
Sept. 9, 2014 -- Full member: $115; Guest lunches and additional lunches for Associates: $14) (Associate remains unchanged at $30).
June 5, 2012 -- Full Member: $110, Partnership $125. (Partnership member category dropped July 10, 2012 except for existing Partnerships.)
October 1, 2009 – Full Member: $100, Associate Member: $30, Partnership: $115, (Welcoming member category ($70) dropped July 6, 2010)
(October 2016) - Club moved from weekly meetings, to meeting
only on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Therefore, dues changed to:
Full Member: $75, Associate Member: $30.
(May 9, 2017) After 3 Quarters of
non-payment of dues, a letter regarding termination options will be sent to the
member by the Treasurer/Registrar.
11/13/18:
In Memory of a deceased member donation of $100 would be sent to the
charity of their or our choice.
Updated October 2019.
Updated August, 2016.
Policies and amendments shall be dated
