The mission of SLO NightWriters is to advance quality writing, promote publication, and expand author recognition in a forum that nurtures a spirit of community for all its members.

Article I Passage of Bylaws

Section 1 The Board shall draft its bylaws, revisions and amendments and present them to the General Membership for approval.

Section 2 The Bylaws shall be presented to the general membership not less than 30 days before a general meeting.  Members shall vote on them in person at that meeting; no proxy or mail vote shall be accepted. Approval shall be by a simple majority (one-half of those voting, plus one). All members shall be promptly notified of the results of the vote.

Article II Membership

Section 1 Any person may apply for membership in SLO NightWriters.

Section 2 Annual dues for membership shall be set by the Board of Directors. Any person whose dues are paid up in accordance with organizational policy shall be considered a member in good standing.

Section 3 Application for membership shall be made to the Membership Director or the President.

Section 4 The Board is authorized to issue or deny membership to any member or applicant.  Denial of membership requires unanimous vote of the Board.

Article III Meetings

Section 1 The board of directors shall meet at a frequency sufficient to carry out the business of the board and to serve the general membership.

Section 2 General meetings are normally held monthly. The Board at its discretion may cancel meetings under unusual circumstances or schedule special meetings to uphold the mission of the organization. The board is required to schedule a special meeting upon the written, signed request of any 10 members of the organization. Notice of a special meeting shall be announced in the Newsletter at least 30 days before the scheduled date of the meeting.

Section 3 The general meeting scheduled in November shall include election of officers for the upcoming term.

Article IV Board Members

Section 1 The board of directors of this organization consists of both elected and appointed members.  The elected board members shall consist of: President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. Other members shall be appointed by the board and these shall consist of:  Programs Director, Membership Director, Publicity Director, Contest Director or Contest Committee, Newsletter Editor, Social Media Director, Critique Group Coordinator, Webmaster and the Historian.

Section 2 The term of each elected official shall be two years, renewable for one two-year term. In special circumstances, additional terms may be served with board approval.

Section 3 All board members, elected and appointed, shall have voting privileges.  No board member shall have more than one vote.

Section 4 New members shall become eligible to stand for elected or appointed board positions after six months membership in good standing.   

Section 5 New members shall be eligible for appointment to act in a board position in cases that are deemed emergencies by a majority vote of the board.

Section 6 All board members shall maintain up-to-date duty statements for their positions.  The board of directors shall approve all duty statements and changes.

Article V Method of Election of Officers

Section 1 The President shall initiate, with the approval of the Board, a nominating process for presenting a slate of candidates for the elected offices.

Section 2 The Officers shall be elected and installed at the general meeting in November by a simple majority of members in good standing present at the meeting.

Section 3 If the President cannot or does not fulfill his/her duties, the Vice President shall complete the term until the next general election.

Section 4 If an elected board member is unable to complete a term of office, the board is authorized to appoint interim (acting) officers until an election is scheduled.

Article VI Financial Accounting

Section 1 The board is charged with maintaining financial records, providing oversight of expenditures and the filing of necessary reports to those people or parties who have a bona fide interest in seeing them.

Section 2 The Treasurer shall provide an up to date financial report each board meeting.

Section 3 The board shall establish procedures for invoicing, members' dues, and for the receipt and processing of those dues.

Section 4 The board will agree upon a budget at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Section 5 The president and the treasurer shall have signature authority for access to the SLO NightWriters bank account.  The president and the treasurer shall not be the same person.

Article VII Official Publications

Section 1 The Board shall have final authority as to the form, format and content of all official publications, including the newsletter, website and social media sites if the subject matter could be contentious.

Section 2 The President will see and agree to all outgoing email to the membership before it is sent.

Section 3 The Webmaster will be responsible for sending out all email blasts.  In the event the Webmaster is unavailable, the President will take responsibility for this function.

Article VIII Dissolution of the organization and the Distribution of Assets

Section 1 The assets of SLO NightWriters are permanently dedicated to non-profit, exempt purposes.

Section 2 Upon final dissolution of this organization, and after satisfaction of all outstanding debts, any remaining assets of the organization shall be conveyed to another non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, preferably one engaged in the creative writing field. The then current board of directors shall select the appropriate organization.

SLO NightWriters Bylaws.pdf