POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL
THE ROYAL CITY MEN'S CLUB
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL
Policies and Procedures (P&P) are developed by the Board as a guide to the consistent management of the Club. These P&P are supplementary to the Constitution and By-law and do not in nay way override the Constitution and By-law of the Club.
The P&P that follow are in three parts.
A interpretations of clauses in the By-law with the relevant article or section of the By-law noted
B general operating policies
C privacy policy
PART A
OBJECTIVES
The Club is not a service club and does not engage in fund-raising in support of community projects. The Club may occasionally contribute to the community through discretionary donations to worthy causes utilizing funds surplus to the cost of the Club’s core operations. (Article 2.1)
MEMBERSHIP
It is an objective of the Club to have wide involvement of members in the operation of the Club. Members are encouraged to volunteer and are expected to accept invitations to serve on committees.
Active (Article 4.2)
As the Club is seeking new active members, members are encouraged to invite potential members to attend up to three regular meetings as guests. Guests may only attend three meetings unless an application for membership is filed.
Associate (Article 4.3)
Associate members are expected to revert to Active membership if they attend 6 or more Regular meetings per year.
Life (Article 4.4)
Life membership may be granted when a member has demonstrated exceptional service to the membership. It is a singular honour that will rarely be granted.
The Nominations Committee will recommend to the Board the names of members who should be considered for election to Life Membership.
Suspension and Reinstatement (Article 4.7)
Following approval of member fees for the next fiscal year, the President announces to members attending meetings in March, April and May that fees are due.
An electronic invoice for fees is sent to members via email where possible , or by regular mail. In addition a reminder notice is included in the April and May Newsletters noting that failure to pay will result in termination of membership.
As of June 1st the Treasurer prepares a list of members in arrears which is reviewed by the Board at its June meeting. Arrangements are made to phone all members in arrears to find out their intentions and offer appropriate options: Pay fees, Associate Membership, Resignation.
Fee payment status is again reviewed by the Board at its July meeting, and the memberships of those members still in arrears are suspended. Those members are advised that their membership has been suspended and that they have 30 days to make payment. Failure to pay will result in termination of membership.
Fee payment status is reviewed by the Board at its August meeting. The Board terminates the memberships of those members who failed to make payment during the 30 day suspension period.
MEETINGS (Article 6.1)
Regular
Regular meetings are held every other Thursday between 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
A moment of silence will be observed at the first regular meeting following the death of a member.
Media reporters must request, and with the concurrence of the speaker, may be granted permission by the President to attend and report on Club meetings.
Solicitation for funds or sales of products or other items for non-club events at Club meetings must have prior approval of the President.
NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE & ELECTIONS (Article 7.1)
The Nominations Committee should strive for continuity in the operation of the Club and balance within the Board based on the origin or work experience of candidates.
The Nominations Committee should request suggestions for its slate in the April Newsletter. The President should also make announcements as necessary at Regular meetings beginning in April.
FINANCE (Article 5.7)
Signing Officers
All cheques must bear the signature of two authorized signing officers. Signing officers shall be the President, Vice-president, Secretary, Treasurer and one other member appointed by the Board. The Treasurer is responsible for keeping signing officer authorizations up-to-date with the financial institution chosen as the depository for the Club’s funds.
Membership Fees (Article 8.1 and 8.2)
The annual membership fee for new members shall be based on the number of months remaining in the fiscal year after acceptance of the candidate’s application, multiplied by $7.00 to a maximum of $85.00.
An annual fee of $20.00 will be required for Associate Membership.
The Board may waive or return the membership fee of any member where circumstances warrant.
PROTECTION OF MEMBERS, OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS (Article 12)
Adequate insurance shall be carried to cover the Club and the members of the Board of Directors, individually and severally, against claims by members or a third party as a result of injury, damage, or loss arising from the Club’s activities or decisions, and the actions of individual Officers and Directors and of the Board as a whole.
PART B
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT
Committees
Committee chairs, chosen from existing Board members, are appointed by the President. The committee chair chooses the members of his committee.
In making appointments to Committees, consideration is given to continuity of experience by appointing one or more members for a second term.
Each Committee shall have a statement of its responsibilities, objectives and modus operandi. Copies of these statements shall be kept by the Secretary and given to each incoming chairman. The statements should be reviewed each year and updated as necessary.
Speakers Committee
Choice of speakers should be responsive to members’ interests.
The Speakers Committee should ensure that one or two members are available to speak should a scheduled speaker fail to arrive for a meeting.
Scheduled speakers are to be informed that they should not solicit funds, business, or votes in their talks.
When the Club pays an honorarium or expenses, the club will respect the wishes of speakers who volunteer to direct their honorarium/expenses to a local charity.
With the permission of the President, a Club member may briefly speak for an organization or cause in which he has an interest.
The Speakers Committee is responsible for programming for annual periods from September of the current year through August of the next year.
House Committee
The House Committee is responsible for acquiring and providing:
A place to conduct club meetings, an off-site location and facilities for the Christmas luncheon and other special events,
Refreshments for club meetings i.e. coffee, tea, cookies (and wash up cups and utensils afterward)
Physical assets for club use: e.g. Laptop computer, electronic projector, cables, power cord.
Services for speaker support: e.g. a sound system, power cord, laptop computer, projector screen, lectern.
The House Committee maintains an inventory of the physical assets of the Club in and provides it to the Treasurer for updating financial statements.
The House Committee apprises the Board on the acquisition and replacement of audio-visual equipment and other items used in the operation of the Club.
Events Committee
The Events Committee is responsible for:
Organizing the following Annual Social Events of the Club:
Anniversary Celebrations of the founding of the RCMC around April 1
Summer Picnic\BBQ (with a companion) near the middle of August
Christmas Luncheon (with a companion) around December 1
Valentine luncheon (with a companion)
Determining the preferences of the membership as to social events and activities. The Committee will organize, promote, foster, sponsor and encourage activities throughout the year as appropriate and at limited participation cost. Such events will not occur on regular meeting days.
Developing, maintaining and distributing a current schedule of Events
The Events Committee maintains records of each event to assist with preparations for similar events in the future. Such records contain reports by previous Events Committees, including event budget, financial records, notes on organizational problems and successes, and recommendations. A copy of the financial records should also be given to the Treasurer for his records.
In general, payments for tickets purchased for Club events shall not be refunded after a deadline as announced.
Widows of former members are eligible to attend social events.
All Club activities are expected to be financially self-supporting
The Club encourages the formation of groups of members with shared interests. These groups are self-governing within the bounds of Club by-laws, policies and procedures. Group activities are coordinated through the Events Committee Chair who represents groups at the Board level.
Communications Committee
The newsletter is used to communicate to the members information about the speakers programme, Club activities, social, sporting, and special events, and Board decisions. This is supported by announcements and reports at regular meetings.
The Club’s external relationships and communications are the responsibility of the President and the Secretary.
The committee will be responsible for the design and maintenance of the club website, but as it is a vehicle of communication, the President and Secretary will be responsible for monitoring the accuracy of its content and that it reflects the vision of the Club that they wish to portray. The chairmen of the various committees whose mandates correspond to the sections of the website: i.e. Membership, Events (activities, events), Speakers(meetings), and Communications (newsletter) are responsible for providing timely and accurate input to ensure that the website is a reliable source of up-to-date information.
Other General Operations
Membership
The Membership Chair is responsible for:
Monitoring applications of new members.
Designing for Board approval a membership application and application approval process, and implementing the approved process.
Maintaining a Roster of Club members,
Designing and implementing an effective Health of Members process,
Ensuring that membership data is not inadvertently lost through failure of electronic storage media, computer malfunction, etc.,
Providing a membership badge for each member which will be available and worn at meetings.
The Health of Members process includes sending/delivering get-well and condolence cards to members, their spouses and children, as appropriate.
With the Treasurer, monitoring payment of annual membership fees, keeping the Board informed.
A donation of $50.00 will be made to a designated charity in memory of a deceased member.
Member Fees
In general, the membership fee shall be set at a level to cover the operating expenses plus a reasonable margin to allow for unanticipated costs and accumulation of a reserve fund.
Recognition
A Certificate of Appreciation may be presented to anyone who has rendered notable service to the Club.
Archives
The Club appoints an Archivist to maintain in perpetuity the following information pertaining to the RCMC:
The President’s Annual Report to Members, which will include a photograph of Board Members for the current year
Minutes of RCMC Board Meetings, Notes from General Meetings, including the AGM
A list of members (name, badge number, date joined, current status)compiled each March by the Membership Chair
A paper copy of the original and most current Constitution and Bylaw
A copy of each issue of the RCMC newsletter
The Archivist will be responsible for obtaining these documents from the appropriate Board members.
The Secretary will be the liaison for communications between the Archivist and the Board.
Document retention will be reviewed by the Board and Archivist every three years.
Access to archival information is at the pleasure of the Board.
PART C
Privacy Policy
The Membership Committee collects, stores and makes available for Club use personal information from members. In this context and in compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, the RCMC has adopted the following privacy policy:
Our Commitment
The officers and directors of the RCMC value the trust of members and others with whom we deal from time to time. We are committed to the protection of privacy relating to any personal information collected in the operations of the Club.
Membership Information
The RCMC collects information about its members through its membership application form and through updates provided by the members as personal circumstances change. The information obtained includes the member’s name, residence address, phone/fax numbers and e-mail address. This information is published in the club roster and is used solely for communications by Club officers and directors and by individual members in order to fulfill the RCMC mandate of fellowship and life-long learning. This information will not be used for commercial purposes under any circumstance.
Unless an expressed objection is received from a member, the submission of a membership application and the subsequent delivery of update information by a member shall constitute approval by the member of the personal information appearing in the club roster. This consent will include the use and disclosure of the information for the purposes and in the manner set out above.
Retention of Information
The RCMC shall retain personal information provided by members only for so long as it is required for the purposes enumerated above. Once the information is no longer required for the stated purposes, or at the request of or a resignation of a member, the information shall be eliminated in a secure manner.
A member’s name will be removed from the Club Roster when they resign from the Club or do not renew their membership. If a member dies their name will be added to the “In Memoriam” screen of Membership.
Accuracy
The RCMC Club shall take all reasonable steps to maintain the accuracy of the personal information collected and retained.
Security
The RCMC shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the information provided is not used for purposes other than those for which the information was obtained.
Openness
The RCMC shall provide, upon request, information about its policies and practices respecting the management of personal information.
Access
Upon request, any member shall be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of his personal information and shall be given access to that information. A member shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended or deleted as appropriate.
Compliance
The Secretary shall be the Privacy Compliance Officer of the Royal City Men’s Club.
Effective Date:
The Policies and Procedures documented in this Manual are in effect as of October 2, 2018 as resolved by the RCMC Board of Directors.
The Policies and Procedures shall be reviewed from time to time and revised as required.