WAMCARE Bylaws

I. Name

1. The name of the organization shall be Worldwide Association for ME/CFS Awareness and Research (WAMCARE).

II. Board of Directors (B.O.D.)

1. The Board of Directors shall serve without pay and consist of 4-7 members.
2. Board members shall serve for 1 year and may be re-elected.
3. Board Member/s: In order to be eligible for nomination to the Board, an individual must have been a contracted volunteer for at least 1 year and have shown outstanding commitment to the organization and its mandates.
4. Founding members: the original four Board members shall have lifetime membership rights and may stay on as advisers to the Board for the duration of their lifetime, but will have to be re-elected to the Board every year.
5. Vacancies shall be filled by recommendation from the Chair or Vice-Chair, with a majority vote by all Board members.
6. Board members who fail to participate in at least 8 regular monthly meetings per year by either attending the meetings or by sending in reports, votes and/or comments on agenda items and/or fail to fulfill their allocated duties may be dismissed from the Board by a majority vote of the remaining Board members.
 

 III. Officers

1. The Officers of the Board shall consist of a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer, as well as any other Officer Roles created by the Board. Officers shall be nominated and elected by the voting membership.
2. Elected Officers will serve a term of 1 year.
3. (a)The Chair shall preside at all Board meetings, appoint committee members, and perform other duties as associated with the office. (b)The Vice-Chair shall assume the duties of the Chair in case of the Chair’s absence. (c)The Secretary shall be responsible for the minutes of the Board, keep all approved minutes in a hard copy minute file, and send out electronic (email) copies of minutes to all Board Members. (d) The Treasurer shall keep record of the organization’s budget and prepare financial reports as needed.

IV. Committees

1. The Board may appoint standing and ad hoc committees as needed.

V. Meetings

1. Regular meetings shall be held monthly, on the 1st Tuesday of the month, at 8:00 PM GMT (12 PM PST, 3PM EST).
2. Special meetings may be held at any time when called for by the Chair or a majority of Board members.
3. Agendas for pre-scheduled meetings shall be provided at least 1 week in advance, excluding holidays.
4. Annual Electronic General Meetings will be held to determine where funds are to be allocated and to vote on Board Members and issues that are pertinent to the entire membership.

VI. Voting

1. (a) A majority of board members constitutes a quorum. (b) In absence of a quorum, no formal action shall be taken except to adjourn the meeting to a subsequent date.
2. When there are 4 members of the Board, only a quorum can pass a motion (i.e. a majority of 3/4, whether or not the 4th member is present).
3. When there are more than 4 members of the Board, passage of a motion requires a simple majority (i.e. 1 more than 1/2 the number of Board members present).

VII. Conflict of Interest

1. Any member of the board who has a financial, personal, or official interest in, or conflict (or appearance of a conflict) with any matter pending before the Board, of such nature that it prevents or may prevent that member from acting on the matter in an impartial manner, will offer to the Board to voluntarily excuse him/herself and will vacate his seat and refrain from discussion and voting on said item.

VIII. Fiscal Policies

1. The fiscal year of the board shall be 1/1 to 12/31 (Jan 1 to Dec 31).  

IX. Protection Policies

1. The organization refers to a group of people, not a name or any individual regardless of role. Thus the Board and/or the organization shall only be dissolved or disbanded by a majority vote by the Board of Directors in accordance with Voting Bylaw VI.
2. All copyrights shall be in the name of Worldwide Association for ME/CFS Awareness and Research (WAMCARE) and be held jointly by the Board of Directors to prevent any individual from using them for personal gain or another organization.

IX. Amendments

1. These by-laws may be amended by a majority vote of Board members in accordance with Voting Bylaw VI above, if a copy of the proposed amendment(s) are provided to each Board member at least 1 week prior to meeting.

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