THE CHARTER OF IFNC
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CONTENT
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Section I - NAME
Article 1-1 Name
Article 1-2 Interpretation
Section II - OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES
Article 2-1 Objectives
Article 2-2 Strategies
Section III - MEMBERSHIP
Article 3-1 Eligibility
Article 3-2 Membership Category
Article 3-2A Financial Dues Membership
Article 3-2B Associate Membership
Article 3-2C Volunteer Membership
Article 3-3 Registration Requirements
Article 3-4 Regional Branches
Article 3-5 Membership Obligations
Article 3-6 Membership Privileges
Article 3-7 Voluntary Termination of Membership
Section IV - OFFICERS AND OFFICES
Article 4-1 Central Executive Committee
Article 4-2 Regional Executive Committee
Article 4-3 Committees
Article 4-4 Duties of Officers
Article 4-4A Duties of Regional Executives
Article 4-4B Duties of Committees
Article 4-5 Elections
Article 4-6 Tenure of Office
Article 4-6A Resignation
Article 4-6B Impeachment
Article 4-6C Oath of Office
Section V - GENERAL OPERATIONS
Article 5-1 Operations and Physical Offices
Article 5-1A Property of the Foundation
Article 5-2 Finances
Article 5-2A Fiscal Year
Article 5-2B Auditors
Article 5-3 General Assembly
Article 5-3A Quorum
Article 5-3B No Confidence Vote
Section VI - DISCIPLINE
Section VII - INDEMNITIES
Section VIII - DISSOLUTION
Section IX - AMENDMENTS
Article 9-1 Amendments to the Charter
Article 9-2 Supplementary Rules
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Section I - NAME
Article 1-1 Name:
This organization shall be known as International Foundation for
Nigerian Children, hereafter referred to as "the Foundation", or by
its acronym in Article 1-2.
Article 1-2 Interpretation
The acronym for the Foundation shall be IFNC.
In the charter of IFNC, wherever reference is made to any statute
or section thereof, such reference shall be deemed to extend to any
amendment to the statute or section as the case may be.
Definitions contained in this charter shall become effective as at
the date of its adoption by the general membership
ACTIVE Members or Members in Good Standing shall mean members who
have paid their membership dues, have a good record of positive
contributions towards the realization of the Foundation's goals and
objectives, and/or who regularly volunteer their services to IFNC.
A member not engaged in any service on behalf of the Foundation for
a maximum period of 90 days, and/or does not donate at the minimum
level of the applicable membership category, shall be considered
INACTIVE.
In this charter and in all other by-laws of the Foundation
hereafter passed, unless the context otherwise requires, words
importing the singular number shall include the plural number, and
references to persons shall include firms and corporations
Section II - OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES
Article 2-1 Objectives
The basic objectives of the Foundation are:
1. to initiate and promote all measures essential to the
improvement of the welfare of Nigerian children;
2. to supplement the basic material needs of Nigerian children in
the aspects of food, health-care, education, clothing, living
accommodation, and recreation;
3. to promote all efforts towards the containment of all
preventable childhood diseases in Nigeria;
4. to assist in the eradication of all childhood diseases arising
from nutritional deficiencies through supplementary or total
provision of regular balanced diets to Nigerian children
5. to promote measures essential to the provision of basic
infrastructures for quality and functional education for
Nigerian children.
Article 2-2 Strategies
The strategies to be employed in pursuit of the stated objectives
include but are not limited to the following. The foundation shall:
1. embark on a world-wide fundraising campaign, including direct
public solicitation, membership contributions, appeals to
grant agencies, child/community sponsorships and auctions, for
the provision of materials and services essential to the total
well-being of Nigerian children;
2. attempt to create tax-free investment portfolios, to ensure
sound financial base against periodic lean seasons in
fundraising receipts;
3. implement a massive public education campaign in Nigeria on
the basic essentials of child-care, personal and environmental
hygiene, and the sourcing of balanced nutritional diet from
readily available local ingredients;
4. collaborate with the Nigerian information media, in providing
regular public information on acute incidents of child-poverty
in remote Nigerian communities;
5. liaise and collaborate with various levels of governments in
Nigeria on ways to alleviate child-poverty and improve child-
welfare in their areas of jurisdiction.
Section III - MEMBERSHIP
Article 3-1 Eligibility
The membership of the Foundation is open to any person interested
in the welfare of children in Nigeria and in furthering the
objectives of the Foundation, irrespective of gender, race,
national origin, religion, or political affiliation.
Article 3-2 Membership Category
The Foundation shall have three membership categories namely,
Financial-Dues Membership (FDM), Associate Membership and Volunteer
Membership.
Article 3-2A Financial Dues Membership
Financial Dues Membership shall include both individual and
corporate citizens.
Individual donors who make a minimum yearly pledge of one hundred
US dollars (a minimum of CND-$100, GBR-50Pd, and NGR-N2000
respectively for donors in Canada, Britain and Nigeria) shall be
regarded as Financial Dues members.
A Corporate member shall be required to donate a minimum equivalent
of five hundred US dollars (a minimum of CND-$500, GBR-250Pd, and
NGR-10,000 respectively for donors in Canada, Britain and Nigeria)
shall be dollars (US-$1000.00) per annum.
Pledges from Financial Dues members may be redeemed at once or
paid in four quarterly installments. The minimum amount of donation
necessary to qualify as a member may vary according to regions and
within regions, depending on prevailing standard of living and
general level of income. The Central Executive Committee on the
advise of regional boards shall determine from time to time the
equivalent amount for specific countries within the various regions.
Article 3-2B Associate Membership
Unregistrable minors below 18 years of age who regularly volunteer
in the service of the Foundation shall be regarded as Associate members.
Adults who offer occasional donations or/and services to the
Foundation may be accepted as Associate members provided they
maintain a minimum record of service and/or donation of once in any
six months period.
Article 3-2C Volunteer Membership
These members shall be those who regularly volunteer their services
to IFNC, in addition to, or in lieu of, regular monetary donations.
Volunteer members shall be the pillars of IFNC, who volunteer in
the running of all facets of the Foundation's affairs.
Article 3-3 Registration Requirements
Only the prospective Volunteer members shall be required to
register formally. The other category of membership shall be
registered automatically based on the degree or level of
contributions. All membership applications shall be made through
regional boards. Application for membership, composed
electronically or otherwise, shall be addressed to the applicable
regional secretary. Each application shall be reviewed by the
relevant regional board, to ensure the applicant's eligibility, and
approved by a simple majority of board members. In the absence of
a regional branch, the application shall be made to the Secretary-
General of the Foundation. Such applications shall be forwarded to
the Membership Committee for approval.
Article 3-4 Regional Branches
Wherever possible, the recruitment of members shall be conducted on
a regional basis. The constituent regions of the Foundation shall
be:
1. Africa - to consist of Africa, excluding Nigeria
2. Americas - to consist of North-America (excluding
Canada), Caribbeans, and South America
3. Asia - to consist of Asia proper, Middle-East, and Oceania
4. Canada - to consist of Canada
5. Europe - to consist of Europe
6. Nigeria - to consist of Nigeria
The activities of regions shall be primarily directed by a regional
board of executives, in accordance with the guidelines in section
IV of this charter. The Central Executive Committee may merge two
or more regions together or create new regions, in consideration of
membership size and the Foundation activities in respective regions.
Each regional branch shall consist of a minimum of ten members.
Wherever possible, regional branches shall be registered within
their respective regions. The regional guidelines developed for the
purpose of such registrations shall not conflict in anyway with
this charter. Specifically, a clause in every regional by-laws shall
clearly state the subordination of regional branches and their
executives to the Central Executive Committee of the Foundation.
Article 3-5 Membership Obligations
A. Apart from volunteer activities, members may be called upon
from time to time to provide some services on behalf of the
Foundation, provided such services are within their reasonable
means.
B. Every member must abide by all rules and regulations of the
Foundation.
C. No member shall accept for personal disposition gratuity from
external sources for services or duties performed on behalf of
the Foundation.
D. Apart from the annual donations, the Foundation shall
encourage Corporate members to adopt, wholly or partly,
selected operational areas in Nigeria. A Corporate member who
adopts a Nigerian community shall provide materials and funds
for the Foundation operations in the adopted community. Two or
more Corporate members may join in the adoption of some
territories.
Article 3-6 Membership Privileges
A. All members are eligible to join the on-line general assembly,
the IFNC-Net, or attend periodic off-line general meetings.
Corporate members may appoint representatives to the IFNC-Net
or to off-line general meetings. All on-line members shall
receive quarterly electronic newsletter. All members, except
those in the associate and INACTIVE category, can vote and be
voted for in any election or referendum.
B. Financial Dues members whose E-Mail addresses are not
readily available shall regularly receive the print versions
of the Foundation quarterly newsletter and the annual report.
C. Corporate members that wholly adopt a Nigerian community may
reference the adopted communities in corporate advertisements,
subject to the approval of the Central Executive Committee.
Article 3-7 Voluntary Termination of Membership
A member who wishes to terminate his/her membership normally,
without any grievance, shall write to the applicable regional
Secretary, or to the Secretary-General in the absence of a Regional
body. The Regional Secretary, or the Secretary-General, shall
acknowledge the formal notice within fourteen days. This formal
acknowledgement shall constitute an official approval of
termination.
When a member expresses grievances against the Foundation in a
formal notice of termination of membership, the regional Secretary
shall inform the applicable regional board (or the Membership
Committee in the case of the Secretary-General) of the termination
notice and the grievances. The applicable board shall deliberate on
this matter. If the board agrees that a valid grievance exists, it
shall establish a grievance committee of three members or more to
look into the complaints and submit recommendations on prevention
of a recurrence of similar grievances. The Secretary shall write to
the aggrieved member to appeal for his/her cooperation with the
grievance committee. If at the end of the grievance committee's
investigation, the aggrieved member still insists on voluntary
termination of membership, the Secretary shall allow the
termination to proceed normally, as described in the previous
paragraph.
A member who maintains an inactive status for a period of twelve
months shall be considered to have terminated his/her membership
voluntarily. The name of such member shall be removed from all
databases of the Foundation, as well as from the list of
subscribers to the IFNC-Net. After six months as an inactive
member, the applicable Regional Secretary (or the Secretary-
General) may notify such member of his/her inactive status and be
requested to update his/her membership.
Section IV - OFFICERS AND OFFICES
Article 4-1 Central Executive Committee
The Central Executive Committee, hereafter referred to as "the
CEC", shall consist of the following members:
1. President
2. Vice President (General)
3. Vice President (Fundraising)
4. Coordinator of Nigerian Affairs
5. Secretary-General
6. Assistant Secretary-General
7. Treasurer-General
8. Financial Secretary-General
9. Public Relation Secretary
10. Ex-Officio Members
The Ex-Officio Members shall consist of a minimum of two
representatives, from each region where a regional branch exists,
the chairpersons of all standing committees, the Legal Adviser and
the Listserver Administrator of IFNC-Net. The actual number of
respective regional representatives shall be determined, from time
to time, by the Central Executive Committee. Where a regional
branch exists, the regional representatives shall consist of the
regional chairperson and other member(s) appointed by the consensus
of the regional board. Where no regional branch exists, the Central
Executive Committee may appoint regional representatives, who shall
oversee the IFNC activities in their region.
Article 4-2 Regional Executive Committee
The regional executive committee shall consist of the following
officers:
1. Chairperson
2. Secretary
3. Treasurer
4. Ex-Officio Members
The number of regional officers may be expanded by the general
consensus of respective regional members. The Ex-Officio members of
the regional board shall consist of representatives of important
districts and key special interests, to be determined by the
general consensus of regional members.
In Nigeria, the Coordinator of Nigeria Affairs shall also be the
regional Chairperson. A Vice-Chairperson to be elected by the
Nigerian members shall assist the "Coordinator".
Article 4-3 Committees
The following committees which serve some basic needs of the
Foundation shall be standing committees:
1. Computer Resource
2. Education
3. Election
4. Finance
5. Fundraising
6. Health and Nutrition
7. Implementation
8. Legal Advisory
9. Membership
10. Public Relations
11. Rules
Apart from the standing committees, the Foundation shall set up Ad-
hoc committees for specific objectives whenever necessary. Whenever
possible, every committee shall reflect the regional spread of the
Foundation in its membership. For this purpose, the executive
officers who are committee members by virtue of their position on
the CEC shall not count as regional members. All members of every
committee, unless otherwise stated in this charter, shall be
appointed by the CEC from a pool of volunteers, whenever possible.
Many standing committees shall act as departments which oversee the
various aspects of the Foundation objectives. Some of these
committees shall be chaired by elected members of the CEC. However,
the Computer Resource, the Election, the Rules, and the Legal
Advisory Committees shall be chaired by persons elected or
appointed by the common consensus of the respective committee
members. In addition, the chairpersons of the Computer Resource
Committee and the Legal Advisory Committee shall be respectively
known as the List Administrator and the Legal Adviser.
Article 4-4 Duties of Officers
Every officer of the Foundation, both regional and central, and
every committee member is expected to possess valid E-Mail
addresses before appointment into office and throughout the tenure
of office. Any officer or key functionary without a valid E-Mail
address for more than a month has to resign his/her appointment.
A. The president shall:
1. be the chief executive of the Foundation.
2. preside over general meetings of the Foundation and the CEC
meetings.
3. supervise and coordinate world-wide activities of the
Foundation.
4. act as a signatory, with the Treasurer-General and the
Financial Secretary-General, to all financial transactions of
the Foundation.
5. be the chief representative/spokesperson of the Foundation at
all external events, including conferences, media appearances,
and electronic or print advertisements. The president may
delegate this duty to any officer or functionary of the Foundation.
B. The Vice President (General) shall:
1. act for the president in the absence of the latter.
2. discharge other duties that may be assigned at the discretion
of the president.
3. be the chair of Health and Nutrition Committee.
C. The Vice President (Fundraising) shall:
1. oversee all fundraising activities of the Foundation.
2. ensure that the annual fundraising targets adopted by the CEC
are realised
3. be the chair of the Fundraising Committee.
D. The Coordinator of Nigerian Affairs, hereafter referred to as
"the Coordinator", shall:
1. be a resident of Nigeria who oversees the implementation of
the Foundation objectives in Nigeria.
2. ensure that the activities in the Foundation territories
closely follow the guidelines set by the CEC.
3. be the chair of the Implementation Committee.
4. oversee the research and assessment of the most needy
communities to be adopted by the Foundation.
5. be assisted by the Vice-Chairperson of the Nigerian Branch.
E. The Secretary-General shall:
1. keep minutes of all meetings of the Foundation and those of
the CEC.
2. be responsible for all correspondence of the Foundation.
3. maintain a constant liaison with regional secretaries.
4. be responsible for the preparation and distribution of
periodic reports of the Foundation.
F. The Assistant Secretary-General shall:
1. act for the Secretary-General in his/her absence.
2. discharge other duties that may be assigned at the discretion
of the Secretary-General.
3. oversee all matters pertaining to membership registration,
status, welfare, termination, and all other membership
related matters.
4. chair the membership committee, on behalf of the Secretary-
General.
G. The Treasurer-General shall:
1. collect all funds on behalf of the Foundation and deposit them
to the Foundation's account in a timely manner.
2. act as a signatory, with the President and the Financial
Secretary-General, to all the Foundation's financial transactions.
3. be a member, along with regional treasurers, of the Finance
Committee.
H. The Financial Secretary-General shall:
1. maintain a proper record of all financial transactions of the
Foundation.
2. act as a signatory, with the President and the Treasurer-
General, to all the Foundation financial transactions.
3. chair the meetings of the Finance Committee.
4. publish quarterly and annual financial reports of the Foundation.
I. The Public Relation Secretary shall:
1. be responsible for all public relation matters of the Foundation.
2. announce meetings and agenda at the directive of the CEC
3. chair the meetings of Public Relations Committee.
Article 4-4A Duties of Regional Executives.
I. The chairpersons shall:
a. be to their regions what the President is to the Foundation.
b. be the regional chief executives
c. preside at all regional meetings, including the regional board
meetings.
d. supervise and coordinate all the activities of the Foundation
in the respective regions.
e. be ex-officio members of CEC, and follow the directive of the
CEC pertaining to their respective regions.
II. Other regional executives shall follow the guidelines
applicable to their respective counterparts in the CEC.
Article 4-4B Duties of Committees
I The Central Executive Committee shall:
a. be responsible for managing the world-wide affairs of the
Foundation.
b. design and implement programs to accomplish the overall
objectives of the Foundation as stated in Section 2-1.
c. enact policies and initiate activities necessary for the
smooth running of the Foundation.
d. formulate the job descriptions or terms of reference of all
committees, in addition to the guidelines stipulated in this
charter.
e. review and oversee the activities of all organs and committees
to ensure conformity with the overall interests of the
Foundation.
f. present to the general assembly an annual balanced budget
proposal at the beginning of every fiscal year.
The CEC shall in most cases endeavour to make decisions through
general consensus. However, whenever any matter has to be decided
by a vote, two-thirds of the executive officers shall count as a
majority in the CEC.
II The Computer Resource Committee shall:
a. maintain a central database for world-wide activities of the
Foundation.
b. keep a current record of members of the Foundation all over
the globe.
c. keep a record of world-wide assets, resources, and general
financial activities of the Foundation.
d. keep a record of programme implementation in Nigeria.
e. maintain a website to promote the activities of the
Foundation, to solicit for funds, and to attract new members
and volunteers.
f. maintain a regular liaison with the various organs and
officers of the Foundation world-wide for the purpose data
collection and retrieval.
g. maintain a listserver, which shall serve as the primary
general assembly of the Foundation members.
h. be chaired by the Listserver Administrator
III. The Education Committee shall:
a. be responsible for formulating IFNC's policy for children
education.
b. monitor the education activities of the Foundation in Nigeria
to ensure compliance with the Foundation objectives.
c. monitor the educational supply needs in the Foundation
territories in Nigeria
IV The Finance Committee shall:
a. ensure that accurate records of the financial transactions of
the Foundation are kept.
b. prepare and submit audited annual financial reports to the
general assembly
c. be chaired by the Financial Secretary-General and include the
Treasurer-General and all regional treasurers as members.
V The Election Committee shall:
a. be responsible for reviewing, drafting and enforcing all
electoral policies of the Foundation.
b. conduct all elections and referenda according to the existing
approved rules.
c. be responsible for reviewing the qualification of candidates
for executive vacancies.
VI The Fundraising Committee shall:
a. be responsible for all fundraising plans.
b. monitor the global fundraising activities of the Foundation.
c. monitor the needs in the Nigerian Foundation territories for
incorporation in fundraising drives.
d. be chaired by the Vice-President (Fundraising).
VII The Health and Nutrition Committee shall:
a. devise the blueprint for the Health and Nutrition needs in the
Foundation territories in Nigeria.
b. closely monitor the implementation of Health and Nutrition
programs to ensure compliance with the Foundation policies.
c. monitor the medical supply needs in the Foundation territories
in Nigeria.
d. be chaired by the Vice President (General)
VIII The Implementation Committee shall:
a. formulate the most effective means of implementing the
Foundation policies in the Nigerian areas of operation.
b. continuously gather data on material requirements in
designated or proposed territories of the Foundation in
Nigeria.
c. be chaired by the Coordinator and be constituted by a majority
of Nigerian residents. The Vice-Chairperson of the Nigerian
branch of IFNC shall be a member of the implementation
committee.
d. designate two Nigerian resident committee members as treasurer
and financial secretary, who shall act as signatories along
with the Coordinator in all implementation-related financial
transactions in Nigeria. These three signatories shall present
quarterly financial reports to the CEC, for circulation in the
general assembly.
IX The Legal Advisory Committee shall:
a. be responsible for advising the Foundation on all legal
matters.
b. be chaired by a legal practitioner known as the Legal Adviser,
who shall advise the CEC on all legal matters.
c. appoint a member, preferably a legal practitioner, to serve on
the Rules Committee as an adviser on legal affairs.
X The Membership Committee shall:
a. be responsible for membership recruitment.
b. see to the general welfare of members.
c. be responsible for membership registration, status, and
termination, and all other membership-related matters
addressed to the Secretary-General office.
d. be chaired by the Assistant Secretary-General.
XI The Public Relation Committee shall:
a. be responsible for all public relation policies.
b. prepare all media advertisements and liaise with media
organizations.
c. be responsible for formulating and implementing public
education campaign world-wide in support of the Foundation
objectives.
d. be chaired by the Public Relation Secretary.
XII The Rules Committee shall:
a. conduct disciplinary hearings and make recommendations to the
Foundation. Disciplinary hearings against any member of the
Rules Committee shall be undertaken by a specially constituted
ad-hoc committee.
b. be responsible for reviewing, drafting and enforcing rules.
c. ensure that the conducts of the general assembly follow the
provision of this charter and other approved rules of the
Foundation. The Chairperson of the Rules Committee shall
similarly ensure that the CEC follows the charter and all
approved rules in its conducts.
Article 4-5 Elections
All active members shall be eligible to vote or be voted for any
office of the Foundation. The Foundation organ responsible for
organising elections is the Election Committee. The Election
Committee shall begin the announcement of vacancies a minimum of
six weeks before the election date. The announcement shall clearly
state the available vacancies, method of nomination, the deadline
for nominations, as well as the election date.
In addition, the Election Committee shall review all candidates for
a particular office or vacancy and publish the result to all
members of the Foundation, giving reasons for disqualifying any
candidates. This result shall be made available not later than two
weeks before the scheduled date of election.
The Election Committee may publish a list of on-line eligible
voters, obtainable through the Computer Resource Committee.
Otherwise, prospective voters shall be responsible for ascertaining
eligibility by contacting the Computer Resource Committee. The
Election Committee shall nullify the votes of inactive members and
other ineligible voters. The names of ineligible voters and the
reasons for the ineligibility shall be clearly stated in the
published results of the election.
Article 4-6 Tenure of Office
The officers of CEC listed Article 4-1 shall hold office for a
period of two years, after which they may be re-elected for only
one additional term. No executive officer shall hold the same
position for more than two consecutive terms.
The term of standing committees shall be one year, but committee
volunteers may be re-appointed repeatedly without limit.
Article 4-6A Resignation
Any official of the Foundation may resign from a position by
submitting a resignation letter to the President at least thirty
days before the effective date of resignation. The president shall
within seven days of the receipt of this letter submit it to the
CEC for approval. The president shall announce such resignation to
the general assembly after the approval of the CEC. When the date
of resignation is more than six months before the expiry of a
tenure, the CEC shall mandate the election committee to declare a
vacancy and conduct a by-election. When the date of resignation is
six months or less to the end of a term, the CEC shall appoint one
of its members to act in the capacity of the vacant position for
the remaining term of office.
When the resignation is that of the President, he/she shall submit
a letter of resignation to the Secretary-General who shall, within
seven days of the receipt of the letter, submit it to the CEC for
approval. The approval must be announced to the general assembly
within 24 hours. The Vice President (General) shall become the
President on the effective date of resignation. Similarly, the
Assistant Secretary-General shall assume the post of Secretary-
General on the resignation of the latter officer. The replacement
of the Vice- President (General) and the Assistant Secretary-
General shall follow the procedure described in the previous
paragraph.
Article 4-6B Impeachment
An elected official or a committee member may be removed for
misconduct while in office, if any three active member of the
Foundation jointly submit a written allegation of misconduct
against an officer, a committee member, or any combination of
officers and committee members, to the rules committee. The rules
committee shall notify the accused official of the alleged
misconduct within seven days. The official involved shall be given
14 days to submit a defense to the committee. The time limit may be
extended at the discretion of the committee, if an accused person
submits an application for extension.
The Rules Committee shall investigate all allegations against the
accused official and formally present its findings, verdict, and
recommendations to the general assembly within a reasonable time.
A simple majority vote of the general assembly is required to
ratify the verdict and recommendations of the Rules Committee.
Article 4-6C Oath of Office
Every official of the Foundation shall take an oath of office
before the assumption of duties. The oath shall be administered by
the Chairperson of the Election Committee. A copy of the general
oath shall be circulated in the general assembly.
Section V - GENERAL OPERATIONS
Article 5-1 Operations and Physical Offices
A. The Foundation shall principally communicate with members
through the listserver to be maintained by the Computer
Resource Committee. The listserver shall also serve as the
main assembly of the Foundation members world-wide.
B. The Foundation shall maintain a permanent Headquarters in the
United States. It shall also maintain regional and district
offices worldwide, on the basis of need.
C. The Foundation shall publish a quarterly electronic newsletter
on its activities to be circulated on the IFNC-net and placed
on IFNC's web page. A print version of this quarterly shall be
mailed to Financial Dues members whose E-Mail addresses are
not readily available.
D. The CEC shall conduct an electronic meeting at least once a
month. The minutes of the CEC meetings or of Regional
Executive Committee meetings shall not be available to the
general membership but shall be available to members of the
CEC or of the applicable Regional Executive Committee
respectively.
Article 5-1A Property of the Foundation
I. The members of the CEC and other officers of the Foundation
shall see that all necessary books and records of the
Foundation required by the charter of the Foundation or by any
applicable statute or law are regularly and properly kept.
II. In case of death, resignation, retirement or removal from
office of any officer of the Foundation, all books, papers,
vouchers, money, records (electronic or otherwise), and other
property of whatever kind in the person's possession shall be
delivered to the President, or to the applicable regional
chair, in cases involving regional officers.
Article 5-2 Finances
A. IFNC shall maintain one bank account in the city where the
headquarters is sited. In the absence of a headquarters, the
account shall be maintained in the city where the Treasurer
resides. In Nigeria, the account devoted to implementation
shall be maintained in the city where the Coordinator
resides. If a Nigerian office of IFNC exists, then the
bank-account shall be held in the city where the office is
sited.
B. The President, the Treasurer-General and the Financial
Secretary-General shall present a quarterly report of IFNC's
finances. This report must include a separate Section on
IFNC's finances in Nigeria, a report which shall be prepared
by the Coordinator with the Treasurer and the Financial
Secretary of the Implementation Committee.
C. An audit of the Foundation's account shall be made annually.
The report of the annual audits shall be formally presented to
the general assembly.
Article 5-2A Fiscal Year
Unless otherwise ordered by the CEC, the fiscal year-end of the
Foundation shall be the 31st day of March of every year
Article 5-2B Auditors
At each annual meeting, an auditor shall be appointed by the
general membership to audit the accounts of the Foundation for
report to the members at the next annual meeting. The auditors
shall hold office until the next annual meeting provided that the
officers may fill any casual vacancy in the office of the auditor.
The auditor may not be an officer or employee of the Foundation. A
two-third majority of members must give consent before an auditor
is appointed from an affiliate of the Foundation.
Article 5-3 General Assembly
The general assembly deliberations shall be conducted principally
through the IFNC-Net and/or its subsidiary where applicable. It
shall be the highest organ of the Foundation.
The appointments of volunteers into committees must be ratified by
a simple majority of the general assembly. If the assembly
disapproves the constitution of a committee, the CEC shall
reconstitute the committee, giving considerations to particular
objections raised in the general assembly.
Article 5-3A Quorum
No quorum shall be necessary to discuss general matters. However,
on matters which require voting, half of the on-line active members
shall constitute a voting quorum. In all matters of voting, it
shall be permitted for regional boards or representatives to submit
votes on behalf of members without access to E-Mail facilities.
Article 5-3B No Confidence Vote
Apart from the impeachment procedure described under Article 4-6B,
the general assembly may remove any officer or combinations of
officers of the Foundation through a "no confidence vote". For this
purpose, the petitioners need not levy any particular misconduct
other than a general dissatisfaction with the performance of the
official or officials involved.
A minimum of ten active members shall be required to move a vote of
no confidence against any officer or the entire CEC. The
petitioners must include a minimum of two active members from at
least half of the regions which constitute the Foundation, for the
motion to be considered. The vote of no confidence shall pass with
the support of two-third of active members in the general assembly.
If the "no confidence vote" is against a member or members of
Election Committee, then a separate ad-hoc committee shall be
specially constituted to oversee the votes.
If the "no confidence vote" is against the CEC as a body, and the
motion is approved by the required majority, a caretaker committee
approved by the general assembly shall be immediately constituted
to assume the duty of the executive members of the CEC. A "no
confidence vote" against the CEC shall not affect the ex-officio
members.
Section VI - DISCIPLINE
Any member of the Foundation who violates or infringes on any
provisions of this charter or other approved rules shall be liable
to disciplinary action. Any three active members or the executive
committee may submit a written allegation to the Rules Committee,
which shall follow the procedure outlined in Article 4-6B. The
verdicts and recommendations of the Rules Committee shall be
ratified by a simple majority of the general assembly.
It shall be considered a gross misconduct for any regional board to
present name(s) of off-line member(s) in a vote, unless by a
specific request from the member(s) concerned. Any officer found
culpable shall be required to relinquish his/her post.
Any officer or committee member who is found guilty of fraud or
theft shall be dismissed from the Foundation.
Section VII - INDEMNITIES
Every officer of the Foundation or other person who has undertaken
or is about to undertake any liability on behalf of the Foundation
or any company controlled by it and their heirs, executors, and
administrators, and estate and effects, respectively, shall from
time to time, be indemnified and saved harmless out of the funds of
the Foundation, from and against:
1. all costs, charges and expenses which such officer or other
person sustains or incurs in or about any action, suit or
proceedings which is brought, commenced or prosecuted, made,
done or permitted by him, in or about the execution of the
duties of her office or in respect of any such liability;
2. all other costs, charges and expenses which she sustains or
incurs in or about or in relation to the affairs thereof,
except such costs, charges or expenses as are occasioned by
her own wilful neglect or default.
Section VIII - DISSOLUTION
Upon dissolution, all assets of the Foundation shall be donated to
one or more charitable organizations with objectives similar to
those of IFNC.
Section IX - AMENDMENTS
Article 9-1 Amendments to the Charter
The charter may be amended, in any Section or Article, once in one
calendar year, preferably in the fourth quarter of the Rules
Committee' tenure. Any amendment to the charter requires a joint
application signed by a minimum of three active members. The
members wishing to carry out amendments shall state the desired
changes in writing to the Rules Committee. Within the first nine
months of its term, the Rules Committee shall compile a list of
such amendments and present them for formal deliberations in the
general assembly in the tenth month. After a reasonable time
allowed for discussion, which may lead to modifications or outright
withdrawal of some proposed changes, the amendments shall be tabled
for voting. All proposed amendments favoured by a two-third
majority shall be implemented in the charter.
Article 9-2 Supplementary Rules
The guidelines in the charter shall be augmented by supplementary
rules which derive from the operational experience of the
Foundation. Supplementary rules may be proposed and voted on at any
time. A proposal from the general assembly shall require three
active members who shall state the proposed rule(s) in writing to
the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee shall within a reasonable
time present the proposal to the general assembly for deliberation
and voting. All proposals to be included in the list of
Supplementary Rules must pass by a two-third majority. Apart from
general members, any committee including the CEC can submit a
proposal based on the experience acquired in its area of operation.
Such proposals shall be similarly presented for deliberation and
approval by the Rules Committee.