Constitution of Habitat for Humanity at the University of Minnesota Campus Chapter

Article 1 – General

Section 1: The official name of this student group shall be Habitat for Humanity at the University of Minnesota Campus Chapter

Section 2: The student group shall operate as a chapter of the non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity International.

Section 3: The student group shall abide by the applicable rules and policies set by Student Unions and Activities office of the University of Minnesota defined in the Student Group Policy Handbook.

Section 4: This student group shall exist for the following purposes:

To provide University of Minnesota students with volunteering opportunities with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and other non-profit organizations in the affordable housing sector.
To provide a forum for speakers within and outside the University community concerning topics of affordable housing.
To provide general education, awareness and advocacy events and opportunities to students, faculty and staff of the University of Minnesota concerning affordable housing and homelessness.
To build and rehabilitate houses in partnership with Habitat affiliates and homeowners.
To raise funds for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and other Habitat for Humanity affiliates.

Article II – Membership

Section 1: Voting membership shall be open to everyone in the group that has paid membership dues. Dues will be determined by an executive board majority vote. Voting membership status will give individuals priority on volunteering events including build preference and early trip sign-up, a welcome letter, and a chapter t-shirt. Voting Membership is only valid for one academic year, and would need to be renewed yearly.

Section 2: No more than 1/3 of the voting membership shall consist of non-students.

Section 3: General membership shall be open to everyone that has not attained Voting Membership status.

Section 4: Membership is open to all people without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, color, gender, age, disability, veteran status, political affiliation or sexual orientation.

Article III – Officers

Section 1: The officer positions of this student group will consist of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Collegiate Challenge Coordinator, Marketing Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator, Education and Advocacy Coordinator, Fundraising Coordinator, Web Tech Officer, and Freshman Representative. Additional officer positions may be temporarily added when needed by a ¾ vote of the current executive officers. Any of these positions may be Co-Chaired if ran together during elections or newly elected officer approves of partnership.

Section 2: All officers shall be enrolled at the University of Minnesota throughout their time of service. They shall be enrolled in no fewer than 6 credits. Exceptions to this requirement are permitted for graduate students upon receipt of a letter from the Director of Graduate Studies of the student’s department certifying that the student is actively pursuing a degree.

Section 3: Officers shall be elected through a majority vote comprised of the Voting Membership present during spring election. When only one nominee is up for a position, no majority vote is needed. In the event of no nominees for a position, the position will be filled and voted on by current academic year executive board needing a majority vote.

Section 4: Officer duties shall include:

President shall preside over and facilitate all meetings; serve as executive officer member over all operations; supervise all activities; serve as the group visionary; serve as liaison between U of M HFH and all other Habitat affiliates, between U of M HFH and Habitat campus chapters, between U of M Student Groups and advisors and U of M HFH; shall delegate responsibilities to individual officers; shall be responsible for knowing or discovering policies relating to Habitat; help plan yearly board retreat; shall write and submit HFHI annual report, shall help prepare Student Services Fees application, SAO group re-registration and coordinate the YLC Conference.
Vice President shall perform duties of the President if s/he is absent; help the President perform his or her duties; handle all weekly mass e-mails; check chapter e-mails on a regular basis; maintain membership roster; shall help handle individual board member conflicts; shall help plan yearly board retreat.
Secretary shall record and maintain minutes of the proceedings of the board and all members; files/sort/display chapter memorabilia, including chapter photos, press articles, and archives; maintain contact with Alumni and organize Alumni events and newsletter; recruit members and shall maintain knowledge of all event documentation in preparation for the board transition.
Treasurer shall provide safekeeping of all funds; is responsible for maintaining all financial records of the chapter; receive all money due and payable to the chapter; deposit all money in the chapter account; distribute funds authorized to be paid by the chapter; file a financial report the Twin Cities affiliate once a month or when requested; check mailbox for new checks that chapter may receive; prepare yearly budget with estimated incoming; outgoing funds; prepare event budgets; shall seek additional funds/materials in the form of grants and donations.
Collegiate Challenge Coordinator shall be responsible for reserving sites for winter and/or spring Collegiate Challenge with CCYP department and reserving 15 passenger vans or mini vans for trips; shall select and train trip leaders; help leaders with the planning of trips; work with the treasurer and fundraising coordinator to manage payments for trips; shall be responsible for e-mail communication with people interested in trips; shall devise and execute a marketing strategy for trips; plan a Global Village trip when applicable; shall plan additional fundraising opportunities available for trip participants.
Marketing Coordinator shall coordinate all public relations; provide resources necessary to promote organization through flyers, posters, ads, newsletters, business cards, etc.; shall be responsible for writing all press releases and acting as the media contact; promote chapter events through volunteer fairs and other events; maintain and update all social media sites; create and organize Explore U materials; document events and meetings through photography; work with Education Chair to raise awareness of Habitat on campus and in the community.
Volunteer Coordinator shall manage and respond to email inquiries about volunteering with TCCC; reserve spaces for volunteers on workdays with TC Habitat for Humanity; recruit volunteers through sign-up sheets at meetings or via email; arrange transportation and/or carpools to the build site; send reminder emails/makes reminder phone calls to volunteers; keep record of volunteers’ hours; shall plan and execute a fall and spring Mega Build, shall execute at least one network build, shall investigate similar volunteer opportunities for members outside of Habitat when necessary.
Education and Advocacy Coordinator shall educate members, campus, and the community about Habitat and the need for affordable housing; direct the annual Shantytown event in the fall; educate community about the mission of HFHI and the U of M Habitat; plan educational activities on affordable housing for members at the general body meetings; shall be responsible for the planning and organization of Act! Speak! Build! Week; shall seek additional funds/materials for educational events in the form of grants and donations.
Fundraising Coordinator shall be responsible for seeking/creating new fundraiser activities; responsible for the planning and the implementation of all fundraisers; work with other board members and volunteers to help with the fundraiser; shall be responsible for making all reservations relating to the fundraiser; shall plan and oversee the Golden 5k and Muddy Sunday.
Web Tech Officer shall design, construct, and maintain the U of M Habitat web page; post updates and Habitat information when needed; be knowledgeable of the workings of how to create and update a web page; maintain executive board web-based files.
Campus Outreach Coordinator shall develop partnerships and maintain communication with organizations on campus; create or direct other student groups to opportunities for direct involvement and partnerships; attend MSA forums and report to board, strongly encouraged to join the grants committee within MSA; stay informed of relevant on-campus events; continually work toward developing a strong relationship with Twin Cities HFH and reaches out to other chapters when applicable; plan and execute the Mystery Bus Tour.
Freshman Representative shall handle general meeting attendance and update the master contact spreadsheet, shall prepare a summary newsletter each semester; work, when applicable, with other board members to assist and execute events; develop and provide a connection with Freshmen and explore new opportunities for their involvement within the chapter; recruit Freshmen members.

Article IV – Committees

Section 1: Committees may be established to carry out special assignments. All members may sit on, attend, and contribute to all committees. Committees must be overseen by an executive officer.

Article V – Meetings

Section 1: General Body Meetings shall take place biweekly on campus. Special general body meetings shall be called at the discretion of the Executive Board. Meetings shall take place regardless of the number of members present.

Section 2: Executive Board meetings shall be held biweekly opposite of General Body meetings. All officers shall be in attendance for executive board meetings. Should any officer have three (3) or more excused absences (as determined by the President) from an executive board meeting, that officer shall meet with President and Vice President about officer expectations. If felt that officer cannot meet these expectations, they will be asked to resign. In the case that the officer does not resign, impeachment process would be needed. Should any officer have two or more unexcused absences (as determined by the President) from an executive board meeting, that officer shall forfeit their officer position.

Article VI – By-Laws

Section 1: By-Laws may be proposed by the membership and may be adopted by the majority vote of those present at the meeting when a quorum is present. Quorum is established as twenty-five percent of voting membership.

Section 2: Amendments to the constitution may be proposed by any member of the group. Such proposals shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Committee for a first reading to the membership at a General Board meeting prior to the proposed amendment being voted on.

Section 3: Duly proposed amendments shall be submitted to a vote of the voting members provided a quorum is present. A majority plus one vote in favor shall be required for adoption of such amendments.

Article VII – Dissolution

Section 1: Dissolution of the group may take place if a four fifths vote by the entire board is in favor of dissolution. Proper documentation must include reasons for dissolution, discussion notes, and full list of how board members voted on the matter.

Section 2: In the event that the group is to be dissolved all remaining funds will be donated to Habitat for Humanity Twin Cities affiliate.

Constitution Ratified: September 10, 2014

Witnessed by:

SignaturePosition

1.______

2.______

3.______

4.______

5.______