Bengali Association of Pittsburgh

Constitution
As revised in January 2018

Article I. Name and Objective

Section I.01 Name
The name of the organization shall be The Bengali Association of Pittsburgh, hereafter referred
to as “BAP” or “the Association”.

Section I.02 Character

BAP shall be a cultural, non-political, and non-profit organization registered in the state of
Pennsylvania.

Section I.03 Registered Office

The registered office of the Association shall be decided by the Executive Committee for every
fiscal year. A fiscal year shall begin on the 1st day of March and end on the last day of February
of the following year.

Section I.04 Vision

The vision of the Association is to become a leading beacon of Bengali language, literature, art
and culture in the states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.

Section I.05 Mission

1. To promote Bengali language, literature, art and culture
2. To create cross cultural interaction and appreciation of diverse cultures
 3. To engage in cultural exchanges with like-minded organizations
4. To participate in social welfare activities
5. To encourage participation of youth in the activities of the Association

Section 1.06 Policy of Non-Discrimination

The Association does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, religion, ancestry,
national origin, age, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, marital or familial
status, status as a protected Veteran, or any other legally protected group.

Article II. Membership

Any person, who is over the age of 18 and is interested in Bengali language and culture, may
become a member of BAP on payment of the membership fee. Membership shall be valid for the
current fiscal year and will be subject to subsequent renewals.

Membership types:
1. Single
2. Student (Full time student / Post-doctoral fellow)
3. Family - defined as the member, the spouse, dependent children and dependent parents
(living with the member at the same address or at a managed care facility)
4. Student family – defined as a family where either both adults are students (Full time
student / Post-doctoral fellow) or one adult is a student and the other adult is a
homemaker. It includes dependent children and dependent parents (living with the
member at the same address or at a managed care facility).

The Executive Committee shall decide the annual membership fee amount for each category of
memberships and the due date for that fiscal year. Information about the membership dues shall
be provided to the members of the immediate past year by the Executive Committee at least two
weeks prior to the due date.

Membership dues, once paid, shall not be refundable.

At least two thirds of the membership present in a duly convened general body meeting can
terminate the membership of any member whose activities are considered to be improper or
whose activities are considered to be detrimental or subversive to the mission of the Association.

List of current Association members shall be available to all current members upon request with
the stipulation that the list shall not be used for any corporate or personal profit or publicity.

Constitution of Bengali Association of Pittsburgh (http://www.bengali-pitt.org) P a g e |2

Section II.01 Eligibility to vote
Members shall be eligible to vote in the election of the Executive Committee, run for office
themselves, and participate in the voting to amend the constitution, provided they have been
members for at least 1 year on the day of the election or amendment.

A member and spouse under family membership or student family membership category shall be
allowed to cast one vote each. A single or a student member shall be allowed to cast one vote.
Dependent parents and children shall not have any voting privilege.

A vote can only be cast in person except in the case of General Body meetings that are not held
during Saraswati Puja. Electronic voting methods may be adopted by EC in these situations as
absentee ballots. However, EC shall ensure all BAP members are able to cast vote even if access
to an electronic voting mechanism is not available. If all votes are not cast in person, AC shall
audit the voting results before results are announced by EC.

Article III. General Body Meetings

Each year the annual general body meeting of the Association shall be held during Saraswati
Puja.

The Executive Committee may call additional general body meetings. All BAP members shall be
informed of the general body meeting at least ten days prior to the meeting.

A group of members with a signed consent from at least one third of the members may petition
the Executive Committee to call a general body meeting. The Executive Committee shall call the
meeting within thirty days of the receipt of the petition. If the Executive Committee fails to
convene such a meeting in due time, an emergency meeting may be called by one third of the
members by notifying the membership of the Association directly.

The secretary of the Executive Committee will be the officer in charge for calling the meetings.
The presence of one third of the members constitutes quorum. Minutes of the General Body
meetings shall be kept by the Executive committee.

Article IV. Executive Committee (EC)

Section IV.01 Composition
EC shall manage the activities of the organization for one fiscal year.

Constitution of Bengali Association of Pittsburgh (http://www.bengali-pitt.org) P a g e |3

All EC members must be a member at least for one full year prior to assuming the responsibility
of the EC. The only exception to this requirement will be if the EC member is a student at the
time of their serving in EC. Prior to assuming the responsibility, all EC members are required to
read and agree to abide by the constitution of the Association.

EC shall consist of no less than six and no more than ten members including three officers: a
President, a Secretary and a Treasurer, and the President-Elect (see below).

The President of EC shall select other committee members and officers, excluding the President-
Elect (see below).

The President-Elect of BAP shall be elected once a year at the annual general body meeting of
the Association members, which shall be held during Saraswati Puja. The President-Elect shall
take over as the President of BAP the following year. If the President-Elect is unwilling or
unable to serve as the President, an election shall be held to choose (i) a new President and (ii) a
new President-Elect for that year.

The President-Elect will serve as a member of the EC with the same responsibilities as the other
members of the EC.

In the event of a vacancy arising in EC, the Executive Committee shall nominate any eligible
member of the Association to fill that vacancy for the remainder of the term.

Section IV.02 Executive Committee meetings

The Executive Committee meetings shall be called by the secretary in consultation with the
president as necessary.

The presence of a minimum of five Executive Committee members including at least one officer
shall constitute the quorum.

A simple majority of the members present shall be enough to pass a resolution. In the event of a
tie, the presiding officer shall have the power to cast an additional deciding vote.

A Notice of an Executive Committee meeting shall be given to all members of the EC at least
seven days prior to the meeting. An emergency meeting of the Executive Committee may be
called with 24 hours’ notice by any officer or by any five members of the Executive Committee
by informing all members of the Executive Committee.

Section IV.03 Responsibilities

1. Manage the affairs of BAP within the purview of BAP constitution.
Constitution of Bengali Association of Pittsburgh (http://www.bengali-pitt.org) P a g e |4
 2. Act as the custodian of funds.
3. Ensure proper compliance of all governmental and other laws and statutes.
4. Organize cultural events, religious functions and social activities. The EC shall organize
at least five such events during the year:
(a) Anondoshondhaa, the inaugural cultural program typically held in May-June;
(b) Picninc, typically held in July-August;
(c) Durga Puja and cultural program, typically held in September-October;
(d) Saraswati Puja and cultural program, typically held in January-February;
and
(e) at least one of the following events:
(i) Bijoya Shonmiloni, typically held sometime after Durga Puja, in October-November,
or
(ii) Holiday Party, typically held in December.
5. Employ modern means to communicate efficiently and on time. The Executive
Committee shall make these by-laws and the contact information of the Executive
Committee members accessible to all members of the Association at all times.
6. Make the current version of BAP constitution available to its members on demand.
7. Able to create subcommittees as needed. EC shall be able to choose members of the sub
committees from current population of BAP members.
8. Maintain BAP archive and add following current year information for archival:
(a) Membership details.
(b) Financial information of EC and the Advisory Council.
(c) Minutes of all meetings and other historical details.
9. Keep minutes of the General Body meetings and all EC committee meetings. All minutes
of meetings kept by EC and provided to EC by Advisory Council shall be treated as
assets of BAP and shall be archived and made available to any member on demand.
10. Complete an audit of its finances and filing tax documents on time as required by law for
the fiscal year it serves.
11. At the start of the fiscal year, i.e., on or before March 1, the EC shall receive the details
of both tangible and intangible assets1 of the Association from the Advisory Council.
12. At the end of the fiscal year, i.e., on or before February 22nd, the EC shall hand over
details of both tangible and intangible assets to the Advisory Council.
13. EC shall strive to present a balanced cash neutral budget at the end of fiscal year.

1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset
Constitution of Bengali Association of Pittsburgh (http://www.bengali-pitt.org) P a g e |5
 (a) Responsibilities of the officers

(i) The President

1. Shall preside over all meetings of the Association including the Executive Committee
meetings.
2. Shall coordinate the work of the other Executive Committee members to further the
objectives of the Association.
3. Shall act as a spokesperson and represent the Association in inter-organizational matters
and shall keep other Executive Committee members abreast on those matters.

(ii) The Secretary

1. Shall record the minutes of all meetings of the Executive Committee as well as general
meetings.
2. Shall be responsible for all correspondence and non-financial record keeping.
3. Shall perform all other duties as delegated by the president.
4. Shall be familiar with all duties of the President and will work closely with the President.
5. Shall perform the duties of the President in his/her absence.
6. Shall fulfill the responsibilities of the President in the event the President is unable or
unwilling to serve.

(iii) The Treasurer

1. Shall serve as custodian of all the funds.
2. Shall keep a full and accurate account of the receipts and expenditures, make
disbursements in accordance with the budget as approved by the Executive Committee
and present an updated financial statement of the Association to the Executive Committee
when requested by the committee.
3. Shall present a financial statement to the general membership at the annual general body
meeting held during Saraswati Puja and at other times as decided by the Executive
Committee.

(b) Responsibilities of other Executive Committee members

1. Shall assist the president in organizing the social and cultural events, community service
activities, fund raising and other activities as decided by the Executive Committee.

Constitution of Bengali Association of Pittsburgh (http://www.bengali-pitt.org) P a g e |6

Article V. Advisory Council (AC)
Section V.01 Composition
The advisory Council shall consist of five persons - three of whom are to be elected from the
members of the Association who have served as an officer of BAP for at least one full term. The
fourth position shall be elected from any member of BAP, who is eligible to become a member
of the Executive Committee as defined in section 4.01. The fifth person shall be the immediate
past president. In case the immediate past president is not available to serve in the advisory
Council, any member of BAP may be elected, who is eligible to become a member of the
Executive Committee as defined in section 4.01.

In the event of a vacancy arising in the advisory Council, the vacancy shall be filled for the
remainder of the term by cooption from the eligible members of BAP. Each year, the Chair of
the advisory Council shall be elected by the members of the Council.

The current president of EC shall be added as a non-voting member to the AC.

No member of the Association may simultaneously serve on both EC and AC as voting

members.

AC shall be able to create subcommittees as needed. AC shall be able to choose members of the
sub committees from current population of BAP members.

Section V.02 Responsibilities

1. Uphold the vision and the by-laws of the Association.
2. Develop leadership within the Association.
3. Conduct the election process: The Council, with the help of the present Executive
Committee, shall conduct the election process by requesting nomination from members of
the Association for election of the President-Elect for the next fiscal year (see section 4.01).
4. Provide guidance to EC by providing Operating Procedures (OP). Advisory Council shall be
responsible for publishing and maintaining OP for the Association. OP and its amendments
shall be approved by a General Body meeting before becoming effective. These OP shall be
made available to EC for distribution and archival as necessary.
5. Approve purchase of capital assets exceeding $3,500. AC may suggest to EC for purchasing
of such assets as needed.
6. The Council is responsible for setting long-term goals, and periodically review the progress
in attaining the goals.
7. Receive comments and inputs from BAP members and help translate them into actionable
items and involve EC as needed.

Constitution of Bengali Association of Pittsburgh (http://www.bengali-pitt.org) P a g e |7

8. Audit results of voting in General Body meeting if absentee ballots are used.

After EC ends its current term, EC shall handover all items mentioned in the list to the Chair of
AC on or before Feb 22nd. AC shall ensure the completeness of the deliverables and hand over to
the new EC on or before March 1st. Any discrepancy shall be logged and archived by EC.

The Council shall have no responsibility for executive duties.

Section V.03 Election and Retirement

A voting member of the advisory Council may serve for a maximum term of three consecutive
years with the exception of immediate past president. The immediate past president shall serve
AC for only one year. Among the voting members, at least one member (excluding the
immediate past president) will rotate out each year, and the vacancy will be filled as defined in
section 5.01.

Section V.04 Meetings of the Advisory Council

The advisory Council shall meet at least once in a year. The Council’s meetings shall have a
quorum of three of its members. The chair shall convene and preside over the meetings of the
advisory Council.

Minutes of AC meetings shall be kept by AC. These minutes will be sent to EC for archival after
they are accepted by AC.

Article VI. Amendments

These by-laws may be amended or new ones adopted in a duly convened General Body Meeting,
only by at least two-thirds majority vote of the members present.

The Executive Committee may initiate any amendments it deems necessary for better
functioning of BAP.

The Advisory Council may also suggest to EC for consideration any amendments it deems
necessary for better functioning of BAP.

A group of members, with a signed consent of a third of the total membership, may petition the
Executive Committee for an amendment. The Executive Committee shall formally initiate the
amendment process within thirty days of the receipt of the request by notification of the
proposed amendment to all members and shall convene a general body meeting within thirty
days of the notification to discuss the same.
Constitution of Bengali Association of Pittsburgh (http://www.bengali-pitt.org) P a g e |8
Proposed by-law changes shall be communicated to BAP members at least two weeks prior to
the General Body Meeting where the proposed by-law changes are in the agenda for discussion.

Article VII. Finances

The Association shall follow US GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)2 guidelines
to record its finances.

The Association shall keep its funds in a bank. The Association shall maintain two categories of
accounts – Operating Account and Resource Account.

Only the president and the treasurer of the current Executive Committee may sign checks on the
bank accounts of the Association.

EC shall maintain all bank accounts on behalf of the Association. For day-to-day operations, EC
shall be permitted to withdraw money from Operating Account only.

The treasurer shall present an updated financial statement of the Association to the Executive
Committee when requested by the committee.

EC shall provide quarterly statements of all accounts to AC for review.

EC can withdraw cash from Resource Account only after obtaining written approval from the
AC. Procurement of capital assets with usable shelf life of at least 4 years and costing more than
$3,500 shall require approval from AC. EC shall submit a detailed proposal to the AC and
request approval prior to execution of such purchase. In case of a disagreement between AC and
EC on these matters, only a General Body Meeting can resolve the issues. Any revision of this
approval amount will also require approval of General Body in a duly convened General Body
meeting.

At the end of each financial year, after verification of completeness of all items delivered to AC
by EC, the cash asset, in the Operating Account, shall be transferred to the resource account. The
newly formed EC will withdraw $3,000 from the Resource Account and deposit into Operating
Account to begin their activities for that year.

The treasurer shall present a financial statement of the Association to the general membership at
the annual general body meeting held during Saraswati Puja and at other times as decided by the
Executive Committee.

2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_Accepted_Accounting_Principles_(United_States)
Constitution of Bengali Association of Pittsburgh (http://www.bengali-pitt.org) P a g e |9
The financial records shall be audited once at the end of the fiscal year.

If the Association disbands, the assets of the Association shall be transferred to an organization
or organizations with similar purposes chosen by the Association membership at a duly
convened general body meeting called specially for this purpose.

Constitution of Bengali Association of Pittsburgh (http://www.bengali-pitt.org) P a g e | 10