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Constitution of the Sustainable Economic and Educational Development Society
Article I NAME
The name of the organization shall be the “Sustainable Economic and
Educational development Society, Inc.,”, hereafter referred to as SEEDS.
Article II CHARACTER & OBJECTIVES
a. SEEDS is a non-political, non-sectarian and non-profit
organization dedicated to promote educational and economic progress
and development of the very needy in the State of Orissa, India and
other parts of the world in general.
b. The group aspires to financially and technically support development
that is SUSTAINABLE (long-term, self-supporting, and environmentally
non-predatory), NON-VIOLENT (without brute force), DEMOCRATIC,
EQUITABLE (fair and just, more for the needy) and DE-CENTRALIZED (not
imposed from above, grass-roots, and local/native solutions).
c. The group, in spirit, supports development and education that
fosters awareness about rights and responsibilities among the people
it seeks to help as well as among its own members. Thus, we emphasize
“a participatory consciousness for sustainable and equitable
development.”
Article III ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION
Section I
SEEDS is incorporated under the laws of the United States (state?) and
is a non-profit organization. The articles of organization of the
SEEDS comprise of the Article of Incorporation and the By-Laws as
amended from time to time.
Article IV MEMBERSHIP
Section I Membership in the SEEDS shall be open to anyone
believing in the philosophy of the SEEDS, as set out in Article
II. The Executive Board maintains a list of all members available on
request to the members.
Section II The yearly membership fee, if any, will be decided once a
year by the Executive Board, which then would duly inform the
membership.
Article V OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section I The office bearers of the SEEDS shall be an Executive Board
of five Directors to be elected by a simple majority for a term
of 2 years. The Executive Board will elect from its own membership
a Secretary, a Treasurer and an Editor of SEEDS magazine/newsletter “ANKUR”.
Section II Powers and Functions of the Board of Directors:
a. The Executive Board shall collectively govern the operations of SEEDS.
b. The Executive Board shall present a plan of activities along with a
budget in the month of July every year.
c. All matters pertaining to SEEDS must be discussed and voted on by
the Executive Board by email, phone, USMail or face-to-face meeting.
A quorum of three is required. The membership of SEEDS must be
informed of important deliberations of the Executive Board by email,
phone, USMail or face-to-face meeting . Any decision by the Executive
Board must be reconsidered by the Executive Board upon request by
three or more members.
Article VI MEETINGS
The primary mode of discussion and voting amongst SEEDS members shall
be by face-to-face meeting, email, phone or post.
Article VII AMENDMENTS AND RULES OF BUSINESS
Section I
Any amendments to the SEEDS constitution or by-Laws can be proposed by
any five members by a petition either by US mail and/or email to the
Board of Directors. Board Directors will present the petition before
all the members either by US mail and/or email.
Section II
If 2/3rd of the members support the petition, the SEEDS
constitution will be amended.
BY-LAWS OF THE SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMET SOCIETY
By-Law I NEW MEMBERSHIP
Any person who provides volunteer work for or financial help to SEEDS
activities and projects automatically becomes a SEEDS “Supporter”. A
person who continues to be a supporter for at least two months may be
granted membership in SEEDS by the Executive Board. The privilege of
membership is accorded to any supporter who believes in SEEDS
philosophy, participates actively in deliberations and provides
longterm financial or volunteer support to projects sponsored by
SEEDS.
By-Law II ELECTION PROCEDURE
Only members on the list approved and maintained by the Executive
Board may vote. The Executive Board sends ballots to the membership
by appropriate means before election. For voting involving the entire
membership, a 21 day period will be allowed for electronic/mail
voting.
By-Law III
No part of the earnings of SEEDS shall go to the personal benefit of
any member, office bearer, or private individual except as
reimbursement for expenses incurred while conducting official SEEDS
business.
By-Law IV
Should SEEDS disband, after paying or making provisions for payments
of all the liabilities of the SEEDS, the remaining funds and assets of
the SEEDS shall go to such non-profit organization as have objectives
similar to this society. A decision to disband SEEDS must be passed
by two thirds of the members after due deliberation.
By-Law V DISCIPLINARY ACTION
Disciplinary action shall be taken by a 2/3rd majority of the
Executive Board against any member for gross misconduct. An Executive
Board member can be removed by a 2/3rd majority vote of the members.