Bylaws 2020

Grand Island Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (GIDCCW) 2020

BYLAWS of the Grand Island Diocesan Council of the National Council of Catholic Women

ARTICLE I

NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Grand Island Diocesan Council of the National Council of Catholic Women, hereinafter referred to as “GIDCCW”.

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE

      Section 1.        Purpose. The purposes of GIDCCW shall be the following:

 a. To unite and aid the Catholic women of the diocese in stimulating and advancing spiritual growth, leadership and friendship while pursuing goals of concern on issues of church and society in this modern world.     

 b. To be a medium through which Catholic women of the Grand Island Diocese may establish a closer relationship by understanding and sharing knowledge of NCCW programs as conveyed by the Province Director and Diocesan leaders.

c. To be a support to the representatives of regional, national and international organizations in the resolution of present day concerns.

d. To unite and be consistent with the Catholic Church and its teachings and with NCCW policies.

Section 2.    Affiliation. GIDCCW is an affiliated organization of the National Council of Catholic Women hereinafter referred to as “NCCW”.

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.Membership

a. All Catholic women over the age of 18 years are invited to join and participate in all of theactivities and events of the Council on the parish, deanery and diocesan level.

b. All Catholic Women’s organizations of the diocese are part of the GIDCCW.

c. Parish organizations must be current in payment of the annual contribution in order to exercise their right to vote.

                Section 2. Dues

a. Each parish is required to pay its own affiliation dues annually to meet the assessment of the National Council of Catholic Women.

b. It shall be the responsibility of the Treasurer of the Diocesan Council, to transmit to the National Council the dues for the Diocesan Council.

c. Each parish of the Grand Island Diocese shall participate in a voluntary contribution collection for the diocesan council and shall make a payment to the Diocesan treasurer by April 1 of each year.   A contribution will grant to the contributing parishes voting status for any and all the GIDCCW elections.

d. The Treasurer will maintain a list of all parishes eligible to participate in any election.

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS

Section 1.  Number and Title. The officers of GIDCCW shall be a President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.

Section 2. Election. Term of Office.  All officers of GIDCCW shall be elected by ballot of the members.     All officers of GIDCCW shall be elected for terms of two (2) years. Eachofficer of GIDCCW shall hold office from the close of the biennial convention at which she is elected until the expiration of her term or until she shall resign, be removed or otherwise disqualified to serve, or until her successor shall be duly elected and qualified. The president, president–elect and vice-president shall not be eligible to election for two consecutive terms. The president-elect and vice-president shall consent to having her name placed in nomination with the intention of moving up to the next office when their terms have expired.     The Secretary and Treasurer shall be eligible to election to the same office for two consecutive terms. They must be out one term before seeking re-election to the same office. Historian and Parliamentarian shall be appointed by the president; they may serve for two consecutive terms. They must be out one term before being eligible to be appointed to serve another term.

Section 3.  President. The President shall, in general, supervise and control all of the business and affairs of GIDCCW, perform all duties incident to the office of the president of a corporation, including but  not  limited to,   the execution, on behalf of   GIDCCW, of any contract or  agreement  approved   by  the   Board of Directors    and  have such other powers and    perform such other duties as may be  prescribed  in these bylaws or  by the Board of Directors from time to time.  The President shall preside at the annual meeting and all meetings of the members, the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee; she will act as chief representative of GIDCCW.   She shall be an ex-officio member of   all committees except the Nominating Committee.

Section 4.  President-Elect. The President Elect shall, at the request of the President, or in the President’s absence or during her inability to act, perform the duties and exercise the functions of the President, and when so acting shall have the powers and duties of the President. The President-Elect shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as are from time to time assigned to her by the Board of Directors or the President. Upon the resignation, death or incapacity of the President, the President-Elect shall become President. Upon completing her term of office, the President-Elect shall automatically become President. The President-Elect will serve a two-year term and then assume the position of President and serve a two-year term in that position.                    

Section 5. Vice-President. The Vice-President shall have such powers and perform such duties as are from time to time assigned to her by the Board of Directors or the President.   A vacancy in the position of Vice-President for any reason shall be filled by the Board of Directors for the balance of the term and then the position open at the next election cycle.  Upon the resignation, death or incapacity of the President -Elect, the Vice-President shall become the President-Elect for the remainder of the term and then her name may be placed in nomination for election to the office of President-Elect along with other candidates.

Section 6.  Secretary. The Secretary shall keep minutes of meetings and forward such notices as may be required pursuant to the provisions of these Bylaws. The Secretary         shall keep and file the books, reports. statements and such other documents and records as may be required or necessary for the conduct of GIDCCW’s business. The Secretary shall perform such other duties incident to the office of Secretary as may be assigned by the Board of Directors or President or otherwise set forth in these Bylaws.

Section 7. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall have charge of, and be responsible for all funds and    securities of GIDCCW and for all records pertaining to the same and shall, at the request of the President or any Director, render an account of all transactions and perform such other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall, at least annually, report to the Board of Directors and the membership on the financial condition of GIDCCW.

Section 8.  Removal and Resignation.  Any officer may be removed, with cause, by a majority of the Directors at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors. Any officer may resign at   any time by providing written notice to the Board of Directors and any such resignation shall take effect on the date of the receipt of such notice, or at any later time specified therein, and unless otherwise specified therein, the acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.

Section 9. Vacancies.  If the Secretary or treasurer become vacant by reason of death, resignation or removal of such officer, the Board of Directors shall elect a successor who shall hold such office for the unexpired term and until her successor is duly elected and qualifies.

Section10. Filling of Vacancies.  Vacancies occurring on the Board of Directors shall be filled by a majority of the remaining Directors. Each Director filling a vacancy shall hold office until the next annual meeting of the Board of Directors and until her successor is duly elected and qualifies, unless sooner removed in accordance with Section 8 of this Article.  If the Board of Directors accepts the resignation of a Director tendered to take effect at a future time, the Board of Directors may elect a successor to take office when the resignation becomes effective.

Section 11. Compensation. An officer may not receive any compensation for her services as an Officer.  Upon approval by the Board of Directors, reimbursement for expense, including travel expenses shall be allowed to an Officer in accordance with the expense reimbursement policy stated in the standing rules.

ARTICLE V

                    MEETINGS

Section 1. Membership meetings. The Biennial Convention will be held in the even years for the purpose of electing the new officers and conducting the GIDCCW business meeting.  In         odd years, institutes will be held in two locations for the purpose of providing education, operational and social activities. The location, date and time of these meetings will be set by the Board of Directors.

Section 2.A two-day Assembly for all women of the diocese shall meet annually at the call of the president.

            Section 3. The Board of Directors shall meet at the call of the president, and shall be notified at                              least two weeks before the date of such meeting.   Special meetings may be called by the                                   president when necessary.

             Section 4. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be subject to the call of the president.

ARTICLE VI

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1.  Management of GIDCCW. The management and control of the business affairs of GIDCCW shall be vested in the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall have jurisdiction over the affairs of the organization subject to the approval of the Bishop.

The Board of Directors may employ such agents as it deems advisable and shall have the powers necessary for the administration of the affairs of GIDCCW and to do such acts and things as are not prohibited by law, the Articles or these Bylaws. The Board of Directors shall establish Standing Rules and Special rules of Order for GIDCCW.

             Section 2.  Board of Directors Members:

  1. His Excellency, Bishop Ordinary (ex-officio)
  2. Spiritual Advisors, Diocesan and Deaneries (ex-officio)
  3. The elected officers of the Diocesan Council, namely, president, president-elect, vice-president, secretary and treasurer.
  4. Appointed officers of the Diocesan Council, (Diocesan Parliamentarian and the historian, appointed by the President.)
  5. Diocesan Commission Chairman (Spirituality, Leadership and Service)
  6. Deanery Presidents
  7. Advisory Board of Directors consisting of:
  8. Past two Diocesan presidents, if residents of the diocese
  9. Province Director, if resident of the Diocese
  10. Two most recent Province Directors of the Grand Island Diocese, who are residing and active within the Grand Island Council of Catholic Women.

Section 3.  The Board of Directors described above in sections c through g shall be the voting        delegates. The Spiritual Advisors serve as spiritual directors of the organization, with no                   voting rights.

ARTICLE VII

COMMITTEES

            Section 1. Executive Committee

  1. The Executive Committee shall be the President, President-Elect, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary.
  2. The Executive Committee shall be charged with the day to day management of GIDCCW.
  3. Action taken by the Executive Committee shall be regularly reported to the Board of Directors by the President or the Secretary.

             Section 2. Commissions

a.  There shall be three (3) Commissions: Spirituality, Leadership and Service. The Commission Chairpersons are appointed by the President. Term limits will be two consecutive 2 yr. terms.  A co-chairperson may be named to help with the various programsand she may hold this office for two consecutive two -year terms.

                         b.  Each Commission shall pass on the information provided by NCCW

  c.  Each commission person will prepare an annual report of activity for the July Province       meeting, and a report for the biennial convention. 

 Section 3. Finance Committee

   a.  The Finance committee shall meet early in the fiscal year to prepare a budget for the                                            coming year, and a follow up mid- year to review and make adjustments as required.

b.  Members of this committee shall be the immediate past president, immediate past                             treasurer, the present treasurer and the most recent past province director. (President serve as ex-officio member.)

c.  In years when a new treasurer takes over the records will be reviewed within the              month and certified as correct.

                         d. This budget and any adjustments should be prepared and presented to the Board of                                                Directors for the first meeting of the new year to help with the planning of programs.

            Section 4. Committees

     The Board of Directors may appoint such committees as it deems appropriate.       

ARTICLE VIII

NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS

       Section 1. Ballots. Officers shall be elected by paper ballot.

       Section 2. Nominating Committee. The candidates for the diocesan offices shall be chosen as                                follows:

a.  Each Deanery Board of Directors and the DCCW Board of Directors may submit to the chairman of the nomination and election committee, the name of qualified candidates for each eligible office at least 8 (eight) weeks prior to the biennial convention. 

b. A Nomination and Election Committee elected by the DCCW Board of Directors shall select a slate of candidates from the names submitted.  The slate shall be sent to the Spiritual Advisor for review.

c. The Nomination and Election Committee shall send the ballot to all eligible voting                                delegates.  This will be done via regular mail within six (6) weeks of the convention. Voting delegates will be members of the Board of Directors and a delegate from each dues paying parish.  Each parish will have one vote.                              .

  d. The ballots must be returned to the Nomination and Election committee one month prior to                       the convention.

ARTICLE IX

DEANERIES

       Section 1. Deaneries

a.  The Grand Island Diocesan Council of Catholic Women will follow the division into four        Deaneries as defined by Diocesan Deaneries for priests.

ARTICLE X

PROVINCE DIRECTOR

Section 1. Province Directors are chosen by the dioceses in the Omaha Province on a rotation basis.

                             a.  A Province Director candidate must be a past diocesan president in good standing with a                                permanent place of residence within that diocese.

  1.                   b.  Balloting will be done by paper ballot.

                             c. Letters will be sent by the nomination and election committee by April 15 to past presidents                        who have not been province director, to see if they would like to have their name placed in                                           nomination for the office of province director, If they choose to do so, they should send a                                resume to the nomination and election committee telling of their activities in the council and                                    in their church and community.

                              d.  A slate will be selected by the committee and a ballot sent to the voting members of the                                         Board of Directorsby May 15th.  Ballots must be returned by June 1st.

                             e.  The elected province director’s name will be announced at the province meeting, the third                                  Monday in July.

f.  The election will be in the year preceding her installation as Province Director.  This takes effect in 2023 and be implemented every 6 years.  She will be elected in June, be announced at the province meeting in July, begin shadowing the current Province Director in January, of the following year, and be installed at the National Council of Catholic Women Convention that Fall.

g. She shall not have expenses paid until she is installed as Province Director.

Article XI

Sundry Provisions

            Section l.  Quorum.  A quorum for transaction of business shall be as follows.

                                    a. Executive Committee-Three members

      b. Board of Directors – 25% of the members

c. Biennial Convention-One third of the voting delegates

Section 2. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of GIDCCW shall be the twelve calendar months period ending July 31st in each year, unless otherwise provided by the Board of Directors.

Section 3. Term of Office for officers of the Diocesan Council shall be from the close of the convention in which election occurs until close of the convention in which their successor is elected. All books and records must be turned over to the successor within one month of the change in officers.

Section 4. The Board of Directors shall establish Standing Rules and special rules of order for GIDCCW.

Section 5. Job Description A job description for each office will be prepared and made a part of the Standing Rules. This description will be prepared with input from prior officers, a detailed explanation of the tasks that must be addressed to be a successful organization.

Section 6. Parliamentary Authority, The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern GIDCCW except when inconsistent with these Bylaws, any special Rules of Order adopted by GIDCCW, or applicable law.

ARTICLE XII

AMENDMENTS

The Bylaws may be amended at any biennial convention by two thirds vote of the of the voting delegates, provided copy of the proposed amendment or amendments shall have been received by the voting delegates at least one month prior to the day of the convention and notice published in the official diocesan Catholic paper the preceding two weeks before the convention.

Proviso

These Bylaws were adopted by the Members at a duly notice meeting of the membership on

                       September 17, 2012.

The revisions were adopted by the Members at a duly notice meeting of the membership on     September 16, 2014

The revisions were adopted by the Members at a duly noticed meeting of the membership on September 14, 2018.

            The revisions were adopted by the Members at a duly noticed meeting of the membership on August

                                    15, 2020