ARTICLE I - MEMBERSHIP
1.1 Membership in the Canadian Federation of Poets is on an individual
or Federation Affiliate basis, and all members have equal
privileges and the same responsibilities to the Federation. To qualify
as a 'Federation Affiliate' this is determined by the president based on
core mission of the Affiliate.
1.2 Membership in the Federation may be attained in the following
manner:
(a) Full Membership: All poets are immediately accepted by receipt of
payment, however membership can be revoked at any time.
(b) Federation Affiliate Membership: You must qualify to become a federation/associate member.
(c) Members starting a Federation/Chapter: You must qualify to become a Federation/Chapter.
1.3 Honorary Life membership in the Federation may bestow from time
to time any persons
deemed worthy of membership in the organization an honorary life member
status by virtue of
their contribution to the Federation of their services over a period of
time or with respect to overall contributions to poetry. An honorary life member may have full privileges within the
Federation and may hold a position. Such membership shall be without fee.
1.4 All members of the Federation shall subscribe to and be governed by
the Constitution and Bylaws of this Society and by the following
standards of conduct and code of ethics:
(a) Members of the Federation shall strive for a consistently high
standard of poetic work and ethics in business and shall conduct themselves
in a professional manner at all times in keeping with the aims and goals
of the Canadian Federation of Poets.
(b) Members of the Federation shall so conduct themselves as to avoid
controversies with fellow members and will compete with them on an
honourable and fair basis and will at all times co-operate with other
poets in any effort directed to the betterment and advancement of
poetry.
(c) In the best interests of the Federation and of their own profession
or avocation, members shall be LOYAL to the Canadian Federation of Poets and be active in its work; and members shall willingly share
with fellow members information and the lessons of their experience.
1.5 The annual membership dues shall be determined by the
president.
1.6 A person ceases to be a member of the Federation and will cease to
be able to represent themselves as a member;
(a) by delivering his resignation in writing to the secretary of the
Federation or by mailing or delivering it to the business address of the
Federation; or
(b) on being expelled; or
(c) on having been a member not in good standing for six consecutive
months.
1.7 A member may be expelled at any time, with a refund of
any outstanding dues for any activity that is considered disloyal,
including posting of negative comments on any online source or in
person. It is effective immediately as deemed by the president.
1.8 All members are in good standing except a member who has failed to
pay his current annual membership fee or any other subscription or debt
due and owing by him to the Federation and he is not in good standing so
long as the debt remains unpaid.
1.9 All members in good standing shall be entitled take part in the
events and activities of
the Federation.
1.10 Membership in the Federation shall be effective from the date of
payment of initial membership. All memberships expire one year from the
end of the month of which they joined.
ARTICLE 2 - MEETINGS OF MEMBERS
2.1 The CFP is an online community that meets in the CFP forum
and is able to express any negative issues or dis-satisfaction directly
to the president to be responded to and addressed between any member or
members. There are no offline meetings or votes. If anyone
is not satisfied, there is no need to vote, simply ask for a refund and
leave.
ARTICLE 3 - VOTING AND REPRESENTATION
3.1 A member in good standing may contact the president directly
to discuss any matter of concern to them to come to the best conclusion
for all parties involved.
ARTICLE 4 -DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
4.1 The Board of Directors shall consist of the President/Executive Director and Vice-President who are employees of the Federation and elected Executive
Officers of the Federation plus the Chairpersons appointed by the Board
of Directors of the following standing committees:
Standards, Membership, Public Relations, Fundraising, and Education.
The Board of Directors may also appoint to the Board, at their
discretion, up to two (2) Members-At-Large.
4.2 The property and business of the Federation shall be managed by
the parent company, InnerSurf International.
4.3 If a director resigns his office or otherwise ceases to hold office,
the remaining directors shall appoint a member to take the place of the
former director. No act or proceeding of the directors is invalid only
by reason of there being less than the prescribed number of directors in
office if a quorum is present.
4.4 The Executive Officers of the Federation shall be the President,
Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary.
The immediate Past President of the Federation shall also be ex officio
an Executive Officer.
4.5 The Executive Committee shall consist of the
appointed
Officers of the Federation and shall be empowered to act on its behalf to conduct the business of the Federation
in emergencies.
4.6 The President may at any time and from time to time
appoint a member to fill a vacancy on the Executive Committee.
4.8 Every director or member of the Executive Committee of the
Federation or other person who has undertaken or is about to undertake
any liability on behalf of the Federation or any company controlled by
it and their heirs, executors, and administrators, and estate and
effects, respectively, shall from time to time and at all times, be
indemnified and saved harmless out of the funds of the Federation, from
and against:
(a) all costs charges and expenses which such director, member of the
Executive Committee or other person sustains or incurs in or about any
action, suit or proceedings which is brought, commenced or prosecuted
against him or in respect of any act, deed, matter or thing whatsoever,
made, done or permitted by him in or about the execution of the duties
of his office or in respect of any such liability.
(b) all other costs, charges and expenses which he sustains or incurs
in or about or in relation to the affairs thereof, except such costs,
charges or expenses as are occasioned by his own willful neglect or
default.
ARTICLE 5 - ELECTION OF OFFICERS
5.1 The Executive Officers are not elected, but appointed by the
president and founder.
5.2 Any Member shall be eligible to volunteer for a
position as long as he is a
member in good standing and has consented to the
position.
ARTICLE 6 - PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE
6.1 The directors may consult via email or phone.
6.2 The President shall be chairperson of all meetings of the directors,
but if at any meeting the President is not present within thirty (30)
minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, the First
Vice-President shall act as chairperson, and in his absence the Treasurer shall act as chairperson but if none of the three is
present the Directors present may choose one of their number to be
chairperson at the meeting, or adjourn the meeting until another time.
6.3 The Executive Committee may meet together or
communicate by phone or internet as necessary for the dispatch of business between Board
meetings and when Board members are unavailable. Resolutions passed by the Executive
Committee shall be ratified by the Board at its next regular meeting.
ARTICLE 7 - DUTIES OF OFFICERS
7.1 The President is responsible for all operations and success
of the Federation of Poets, and shall act in the best interest of its
mission, purpose, and strategic direction.
7.3 The Vice-president shall carry out the duties of the President
during his absence, and will have the particular responsibility of
co-coordinating the work of the various committees.
7.4 The Secretary shall be responsible for the correspondence of the
Federation; for notices of meetings of the Federation and directors; for
the minutes of all meetings of the Federation and directors; and for the
safekeeping of all records and documents of the Federation except those
for which the Treasurer is responsible.
7.5 The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection of accounts
receivable, the payment of accounts payable and other financial matters
pertaining to the Federation; for keeping an accurate account of all
monies received or disbursed from the account of the Federation; for the
preparation of an annual financial report for the Annual General
Meeting; for submitting interim financial statements at any time at the
request of the Board of Directors.
7.6 All cheques and other negotiable instruments drawn on the funds of
the Federation shall be signed by the president or treasurer.
7.7 The members of the Executive Committee shall not be
entitled to any remuneration as such. Persons considered employees of
the Federation will receive a remuneration by either the President.
ARTICLE 8 - STANDING COMMITTEES
8.1 Without limiting the generality of the foregoing there shall be in
particular the following permanent standing committees:
Membership, Fundraising/Public Relations, Contests/Awards and Education.
8.2 The Membership committee shall be charged with responsibility for
all matters pertaining to members, the general well being of individual
members and of the Federation as it relates to members.
8.3 The Fund-raising/Public Relations committee shall be in charge of fundraising and publicity/marketing/communication and public relations
activities.
8.4 The Contest/Awards committee shall be in charge of establishing contests, rules, regulations, dates, awards and
judges.
8.5 The Education committee shall be responsible
for all courses and workshops conducted by the Federation.
8.6 Contracts, documents or any instruments in writing requiring the
signature of the Federation, shall be signed by the President or the
Executive Director and one
other member of the Executive Committee and all contracts, documents and
instruments in writing so signed shall be binding upon the Federation
without any further authorization or formality.
ARTICLE 9 - CHAPTERS/FEDERATIONS
9.1 Membership in the Canadian Federation of Poets is on an individual
basis, however, the Federation recognizes that in areas far distant from
Ontario, members might want to join together and form Chapters/Federations for the
purposes of information gathering, joint communication and other local activities.
Formation of CFP Chapters is optional, member participation in Chapters
is optional and Chapters must be self-supporting.
9.2 The President will authorize a Chapter/Federation to be formed:
(a) When there is the required number of Active members involved. That
number is determined by the Board of Directors of the Federation from
time to time as they see fit.
(b) If the members agree to operate the Chapter in compliance with the
Constitution and Bylaws of the Federation and to follow its standards of
conduct and code of ethics.
ARTICLE 10 -
SEAL
10.1 The CFP does not have a seal. Activities are
under the umbrella of InnerSurf International and are supported by this
corporation as well, as in most times the CFP is not viable without it.
ARTICLE 11 -
BORROWING AND INVESTMENT POWERS
11.1 The CFP shall not borrow or invest. Being a poetry
organization, there isn't a great deal of profit, and if it gets into a
situation where it requires a loan, the organization will simply fold
and cease to operate.
ARTICLE 12 -
ACCOUNTANT
12.1 All CFP Funds are separated as a department, under InnerSurf
International, which supports activities such as website development and
hosting. Most CFP funds are allocated to Poetry Canada magazine
production, and advertising.
12.2 An accountant is determined by InnerSurf and is currently on
record as Barj Bedi, of Toronto, ON.
12.3 An accountant shall be informed forthwith in writing of appointment or
removal.
12.4 No director, employee, or member of the Federation shall be
the filing accountant.
ARTICLE 13 -
BYLAWS
13.1 On being admitted to membership, each member is entitled to and the
society shall provide them online access to the CFPChat area upon
signing, access to the CFP newsletter, and submission to all open calls.
ARTICLE 14 -
RULES OF ORDER
14.1 In all matters of procedure not specified in these Bylaws of the
Federation, Robert's Rules of Order shall apply.
March 1, 2004
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