Society Constitution Template

Submitted by admin on 10 March 2011 - 10:50pm

All societies are required to have a constitution that will serve as the societies’ legal documentation that governs the activities of the society. The Society Handbook explains what is required to be included in the constitution and a sample constitution is attached here for your reference. The society constitution must be in support of the SMUSA constitution and its vision and mission statements. For assistance with your society constitution please visit the SMUSA Society Coordinator.

CONSTITUTION OF THE SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY: SOCIETY ADAPTED

ON:

PREAMBLE

Any reference in this document to one particular gender does not imply the exclusion of the other.

ARTICLE I: NAME

1.1 The name of the society is the: Saint Mary’s University Society

hereinafter referred to as the Society.

ARTICLE II: OBJECTIVES

2.1 The objects of the society are:
(a) To promote the welfare

of:

and serve to further the academic, intellectual, cultural and social activities

of:

students attending Saint Mary’s University.
(b) To raise or actively acquire funds to be used for the purpose of effectively reaching and/or maintaining those objects aforementioned, and also for the purpose of providing or obtaining such equipment, purchases or tangible goods as deemed necessary and/or desirable by the members of the society.

(c):

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP

3.1 Membership in all SMUSA Societies is only open to students enrolled at the University.
(Option 1)
3.2 Membership in the Society shall be open to all full or part time students at the University.
(Option 2)
3.3 The Society may from time to time elect or appoint any person to Honorary Membership in the Society and that person shall be known as a non-voting member.
3.4 Each voting member shall have the right to one vote at all regular meetings and assemblies of the Society in all matters put to vote.
3.5 Membership in the Society may be terminated when the Secretary of the Society receives a hand-signed letter and the termination is approved by vote at a regular meeting of the membership.
3.6 Any member may be removed from membership of the Society by a two-thirds vote of the Society members at a meeting called for that purpose, to which proper notice has been given, and the member has been given a reasonable opportunity to be heard. The SMUSA Board of Directors shall have the right to disallow the appointment of any and all officers and members of elected or appointed positions within the Society.

ARTICLE IV: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

4.1 The following members shall compose the executive committee of the Society:
(a) President, who shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Society, and coordinator of all the activities and interactions of the Society. He/she shall be the official representative of the Society at all official functions.
(b) Vice President, who shall be the President’s alternative should the President be unable to act in his or her capacity for any reason and shall assist the President in all matters.
(c) Treasurer, who shall be responsible for keeping members apprised of the Society’s financial position and in conjunction with the President, shall be the main liaison with the office of the Society Coordinator of the Students’ Association.
(d) Secretary, who shall be responsible for maintaining accurate and updated records of members, taking the meetings minutes and distributing them accordingly.
4.2 The duties of the Executive Committee include carrying out the directives of the Society and acting in any other capacity as is deemed necessary to ensure the proper management of the Society. The duties are further defined in the By-Laws of the Society. The Executive Committee of the Society is required to submit to the Society Coordinator of the Students’ Association semester reports outlining those events that took place and reporting on the events that will take place in the semester to come. Also, the Executive Committee must provide any other report asked of them by the Society Coordinator or the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE V: MEETING

5.1 Meetings shall be called by the Executive as required and shall be held at a convenient time for all voting members to attend.
5.2 All members of the Society are entitled to receive forty-eight (48) hours’ notice in advance of the scheduled start of the meeting.
5.3 There shall be at least one meeting per year of the membership at which business including the election of officers, and if necessary, the amendment of these by-laws can take place. This is to be known at the Annual Meeting.
5.4 All meetings of the Society shall be chaired by the President or his/her alternate. In the case of a tie, the chairperson convening shall use his/her vote to break the tie. The chairperson may only vote otherwise in the event of a secret ballot.

ARTICLE VI: ELECTIONS

6.1 All members of the Executive shall be elected at the Annual Meeting of the Society.
6.2 Any post, with the exception of the President, which may become vacant in midterm, may be filled by someone appointed by the Executive. That person shall receive all the rights and privileges associated with the position and shall serve until the next Annual Meeting or until he/she resigns.
6.3 The post of President, should it become vacant, shall be filled by an election at the next general meeting of the Society.

ARTICLE VII: QUORUM

7.1 A quorum may be declared at any meeting of the Society provided fifty percent (50%) of the membership or 10 members are present, whichever is the less. This number is to include members of the Executive, including the presiding officer.

ARTICLE VIII: FINANCE

8.1 The Treasurer and President of the Society shall be held accountable for all the financial transactions of the Society and act as the main liaison(s) to the office of the Society Coordinator on behalf of the Society. The Students’ Association shall act as comptroller for the Society and can audit the books at any time.
8.2 All Societies must adhere to all financial regulations and guidelines that are outlined by the Students’ Association in the Society Treasurer’s Handbook.
8.3 All assets and funds received by the Society are inherently the property of the Students’ Association and shall be reported in the Report to the Students’ Association
8.4 The fiscal year of the Society shall be the same as that of the Students’ Association which is from May 1 to April 30.

ARTICLE IX: AMENDMENTS

9.1 The constitution of the Society may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the full membership at the Society’s Annual Meeting. All amendments to these by-laws are to be reported to the SMUSA Society Coordinator and must be ratified by the SMUSA Board of Directors before they become binding on the society.
9.2 Proposed changes to the constitution shall be sent to all members at least two weeks prior to a general meeting.

Article X: By-Laws

10.1 The By-Laws, appended to this Constitution shall describe the organization and functions of the Society, and the means by which members of the Society may elect the Society Executive and control the property and activities of the Society.
10.2 The Rules and Regulations of SMUSA and those of Saint Mary’s University, in which the Society operates, shall take precedence over any Society By-Laws.
10.3 Any Society By-Law contrary to the rules of SMUSA and those of Saint Mary’s University shall be invalid.
By-Law 1
(A By-Law section should be added to complete the constitution and could include By-Laws relating to membership, membership fees, executive members, executive member’s duties, repeal of executive members, liability and risk management, financial management, annual meetings, committees and By-Law amendments)
By-Law 2
By-Law 3
By-Law 4
By-Law 5
By-Law 6, etc.