NAWIC PACIFIC SOUTHWEST REGION FUND POLICIES
This Fund is to support the financial needs of the Region and to assist the NAWIC Region Director and Director-Elect with expenses not reimbursed through the NAWIC National Budget.
Amendment(s) to the Policies may be made at meetings during which official business is conducted by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting members present and eligible to vote. However, the proposed amendment(s) must have been circulated to all Region Chapters at least forty-five (45) days prior to voting. Amendment(s) that are editorial in nature do not require a vote. The Region Fund Policies shall not conflict with the Association’s Bylaws or Standing Rules.
Dissolution. In the event of the dissolution of this Fund, any monies remaining after all outstanding expenses have been paid shall be distributed to NEF (NAWIC Education Foundation) and/or NFSF (NAWIC Founders Scholarship Foundation) as decided by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting members present at the Region meeting.
ADMINISTRATION:
A. The Fund shall be administered by a Trustee Committee. This Committee shall consist of three (3) members, in good standing, who shall serve without compensation.
B. To ensure continuity, the Trustee terms shall be staggered. Upon adoption of these Policies, the members present shall immediately elect three (3) Trustees to serve a one-year, two-year, and three-year term, respectively. Thereafter, each year, one (1) Trustee shall be elected to a full three-year term by a majority of members present at the Region Spring Forum.
C. A Trustee shall be elected by a majority of voting members present at the Region Spring Forum. No two (2) members shall be members of the same Chapter and Member-at-Large are eligible to serve. One (1) of the three (3) Trustees must be a Past NAWIC Director. When there is only one nominee for a Trustee position, the Secretary may be instructed to cast the elective ballot.
D. A Trustee’s term will commence October 1st.
E. The Trustees shall choose amongst themselves which Trustee shall serve as Guardian. In the event the Guardian resigns, the Trustee Committee will elect a new Guardian.
F. If circumstances occur which dictate the necessity for replacing a Trustee prior to the end of her term, the remaining Trustees shall select a replacement Trustee to serve until the next Forum. A replacement Trustee shall be elected by a majority of members present at the next Region Spring Forum. A Trustee so elected shall begin service immediately and shall serve to completion of the term of the Trustee whom she is replacing.
G. The Guardian shall make arrangements for a Fidelity Bond for the Trustee Committee sufficient to cover said Fund. The cost of the Bond will be paid from the Fund and be a budgeted expense.
H. The Guardian shall file all necessary tax returns/forms by the deadlines established by the IRS.
I. The Trustees have the fiduciary duty of accounting, maintenance and distribution of funds as prescribed herein.
J. The Guardian shall maintain complete accounting records which are to include Chapter names, contributions received and disbursements made, along with supporting documentation for all.
K. Payment of expenses not budgeted, must be approved by majority vote of the Trustee Committee. Decisions of the majority of the Trustee Committee are final.
L. The Guardian will present a written report of Income and Expenses for the Fiscal year at Fall Conference and for year-to-date at Spring Forum.
M. Any Trustee failing to perform the duties as outlined herein can be asked to resign by the other two (2) Trustees with approval of the Director.
N. The funds shall be maintained in a checking account specifically designated as “NAWIC Pacific Southwest Region Fund. Signatories on this account shall be the three (3) Trustees; checks can be issued with one (1) signature. All three (3) Trustees are to have complete access to the login and password information for the bank account. The balance of the Fund shall be ongoing.
O. The Guardian will close Fund accounting records on September 30th of each year. There will be an Audit of the accounting records performed before the Fall Conference of each year. The Director shall appoint two (2) members as an Audit Committee to perform the Audit. The Audit Committee will present an Audit Report at the Fall Conference or next official meeting of the Region.
P. This Fund shall serve as a clearing house for all Region events. When the event is hosted by a Chapter, this fund must be used. While it is recognized that Region events should not be held as a fundraiser, there can be, on occasion, a Net Income from the event. Should there be a Net Income as a result of a Region event, the following formula shall be followed: 40/60 split with 40% of the net profits sent to the host Chapter and 60% remaining the NAWIC Pacific Southwest Region Fund.
Q. The following outside resources are approved for use by a Region to provide assistance for the execution of the event with registration, fund collection, etc:
a. Paypal
b. Venmo
c. Zelle
d. Eventbrite
e. Square
Should the Region utilize the approved outside resources, all three (3) Trustees are to have access to the account login and password information.
A Region wishing to utilize any other outside resource, approval must first be obtained from the NAWIC National Board.
Items A – Q under Administration cannot be changed by the Region. These items are set by the NAWIC National Board of Directors.
MISCELLANEOUS:
A. The Trustees shall be responsible for initiating a Budget, in conjunction with the NAWIC Director and/or NAWIC Director-Elect. The Budget shall be sent to all Chapters within the Region no later than September 1st of each year. The Budget will be presented at Fall Conference, at which time the voting members in attendance will vote to approve or amend.
B. The monies for the Fund shall be provided through contributions made by the Chapters in the Region, as well as Members-in-Large, based on a minimum of $4.00 per membership as of November 1st of each year, payable by December 1st. Contributions to recognize new membership received throughout the fiscal year shall be made by July 31st. Checks should be made payable to “NAWIC Pacific Southwest Region Fund” and forwarded to the Guardian.
C. As needed, special fund raising projects involving any Chapter may be initiated to benefit the Fund.
D. Contributions to the Fund shall not relieve Chapters of extending courtesies to the Director when said Director is invited to a Chapter function, nor eliminate the standard practice of providing lodging when required.
E. Requests for disbursements, whether reimbursement or for deposits, shall be made electronically (via email) with Request for Reimbursement form and supporting documentation in electronic format [e.g. PDF, MS Excel, or MS Word document] attached.
F. Disbursements shall be made within 30 days of receipt of the request, and in no case shall the disbursement be made beyond the end of the fiscal year.
G. It shall be the mutual responsibility of the Trustee Committee and the Director to use discretion in the use of the Fund.
H. The members in attendance at a Region conference may decide to expense funds for a one-time purpose by a 2/3 majority vote.
I. Director’s Expenses
- Request for reimbursement by the Director shall be submitted first to the NAWIC Office using the reimbursement form provided. After refusal from the NAWIC Office, the Director shall submit to the Guardian:
i. Prepayment of major travel expenses (air fare and lodging);
ii. Final expense statement with receipts to be filed within thirty (30) days after the expense has been incurred, or within thirty (30) days of denial from the NAWIC Office;
iii. Expenses incurred anywhere in the Region and not covered by other means.
- Reimbursement shall be limited to any Regional activity expenses that the Director incurs in the performance of her duties such as:
i. Visits for Chapter business meetings and/or special meetings;
ii. Joint conferences involving the Region other than Forums or Fall Conference;
iii. Other administrative costs if proceeds do not cover reimbursement to the Director. Expenses for Chapter social functions or events shall not be covered by Allowable Expenses.
- Director’s mileage to Chapter meetings when not reimbursed by the chapter. Mileage allowed will be set by the current IRS ruling at the time the mileage expense was incurred.
- As per the recommendation of NAWIC, the NAWIC Pacific Southwest Region Director should visit another Region Forum within NAWIC to observe and participate in said Region. Approved expenses should not exceed the budgeted amount of said travel to another Region.
Major expenses shall be paid as far as: most suitable transportation, coach airfare or current IRS standards, and most suitable lodging, unless provided by the Chapter.
- Expenses Not Allowed
i. Director’s travel expenses for attending Chapter social events.
ii. Director’s mileage to Forum and Conferences, as this is included in the event budgets.
iii. Director’s personal gifts to individual members.
J. Memorials
- Flowers or a memorial donation shall be made on behalf of the NAWIC Pacific Southwest Region in the case of death of a Past Director for the Region, or Regions 8 or 12.
- Flowers or a memorial donation shall be made on behalf of the NAWIC Pacific Southwest Region in the case of death of a spouse or significant other of a Past Director for the Region, or Regions 8 or 12.
K. MEMBERSHIP AWARDS
Award #1. This award will be at the discretion of the Region Director and Region Membership Chair.
Award #2. This award will be based upon a count of total new members as of March 31st.
L. RETENTION AWARDS
This award will be given to the Chapter that has the highest percentage retainage as of the official membership record of November 1st each year.
M. REGIONAL AWARDS
Winner(s) of regional contests will be announced and presented at Forum.
Additional awards can be given at the discretion of the Director and other Committees; as long as items have been addressed in the Budget at the beginning of the fiscal year.
N. NEF FIRST TIMERS AWARD
A Ladder Club pin will be given to a First Timer at Annual Planning Conference and Forum. A random drawing of all First Timers in attendance will determine the recipient. $100 will be included in Fall Conference and Forum budgets to cover the cost of the pin.
O. REGIONAL BLOCK KIDS COMPETITION
a. All Chapters in the Region are encouraged to participate in the NEF Block Kids Competition.
b. Should a Chapter wish to submit their first (1st) place winner to the regional competition, an entry fee of $25.00, made payable to NAWIC Pacific Southwest Region Fund, must be included with the entry.
c. The Pacific Southwest Region Block Kids chair shall make arrangements for judging any Chapter’s submission that have met all requirements of the competition as determined by NEF, along with the receipt of the $25.00 entry fee.
d. Winners of the Pacific Southwest Region NEF Block Kids Competition shall receive the following valued prizes, with the determination of the actual prize left up to the PSW Regional Block Kids chair:
1st Place $50.00
2nd Place $25.00
3rd Place $10.00
e. The PSW Regional Block Kids chair is responsible for sending all Chapter entry fees to the Trustee of the PSW Region Fund, along with a check request for all the winning prizes.
P. DESIGN DRAFTING COMPETITION
a. All chapters in the region are encouraged to participate in the NEF Design Drafting Competition.
b. Should a chapter wish to submit their first (1st) place winner to the regional competition, an entry fee of $100.00, made payable to NAWIC Pacific Southwest Region Fund, must be included with the entry.
c. The Pacific Southwest Region Design Drafting chair shall make arrangements for judging any chapter’s submission that have met all requirements of the competition as determined by NEF, along with the receipt of the $100.00 entry fee.
d. Winners of the Pacific Southwest Region NEF Design Drafting Competition shall receive the following cash prizes:
1st Place $750.00
2nd Place $400.00
3rd Place $200.00
e. The PSW Regional Design Drafting chair is responsible for sending all chapter entry fees to the Trustee of the PSW Region Fund, along with a check request for all the winning prizes.
Q. DIRECTOR’S GIFTS
a. A gift will be given to the Director at the end of her term and will be presented at the final conference in her term. The cost of the Director’s gift is not to exceed $300.00. In the event the Region Fund does not have available funds, a request will be made to each Chapter asking for a contribution toward the gift.
b. The Director and/or Director-Elect and National Officers from the Region will be recognized at the Annual Conference with the current method of recognition used on a national level.
R. FALL CONFERENCE
The Region will hold a Fall Conference each year. Business pertaining to the Region may be conducted at Fall Conference.
S. LENGTH OF REGION MEETINGS (NUMBER OF DAYS)
The length of region meetings will be determined by the Director and the Planning Committee.
T. These policies will be reviewed annually by the Region at Fall Conference.
ADOPTED: NAWIC Pacific Southwest Region
DATE: 10.03.2020 Robin Fulton Meyer, Guardian
10.30.2021 NAWIC Pacific Southwest Region Director’s Fund