Hope’s Angels
Constitution
Article I: Name and Purpose
Section 1: The name of this organization shall be Hope’s Angels.
Section 2: The purpose of this organization shall be:
A. To provide assistance to those living in low-income households,
and/or urban/poverished communities.
B. To promote the value of service learning to all students at
McNeese State University.
C. To provide students the opportunity to accumulate valuable and
practical knowledge through their committee planning and event
execution work.
D. To develop various society’s youth into professional, future leaders
and well-rounded individuals.
E. To encourage, cultivate, and inspire these youth.
Article II: Membership
Section 1: Membership and participation in Hope’s Angels is open to all
students at McNeese State University.
Section 2: “No person will be denied membership on the grounds of race,
color, or national origin, be executed from participation, be denied the
benefits of, or be subject to discrimination as defined by the Civil Rights Act
of 1964.”
Article III. Officers: Title of office, duties of office, selected.
Section 1: The officers of the Executive Board shall consist of an Executive
Director, Assistant Director, Administrative Chairperson, Fundraising
Chairperson, Marketing Chairperson, Public Relations Chairperson, and
Sponsorship Chairperson. The term of office shall be for the Fall and Spring
semesters.
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Section 2: In order to be eligible for officer of the Executive Board,
candidate shall be a McNeese State University student, who is part-time or
full-time during the fall and spring semesters of their tenure. These students
must maintain a minimum of a 2.5 cumulative grade point average.
Section 3: To remain active in status, an Executive Board member shall:
A. Maintain at least a 2.5 semester Grade Point Average.
B. Be in good standing with the University.
C. Maintain meeting attendance.
i. 1 unexcused meeting is a warning.
ii. 2 unexcused meetings is probation.
iii. 3 unexcused meetings is automatic dismissal
from the Executive Board.
Section 4: The duties of the officers are as follows:
A. Executive Director:
i. Preside over all meetings of the Executive
Board.
ii. Be responsible for coordinating the selection
process for the other Executive Board positions.
iii. Be responsible for leading the Executive Board
throughout the planning and execution of
events and service projects.
iv. Maintain a complete and up-to-date file which
should include the following:
a. Current Hope’s Angels constitution.
b. Current copy of overall budget and
individual budget.
c. All monthly reports submitted by the
Assistant Directors.
d. Current correspondence and materials
received from the university and other
programs.
e. Any other correspondence or records
pertaining to the duties of this position.
v. Be responsible for maintaining contact between
the Executive Board, McNeese State University
administration and students, and the Lake
Charles community.
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vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
Perform all duties of the Assistant Director in
his/her absence or inability to serve, or at
his/her call.
Delegate responsibilities of a chairperson to
other members of the Executive Board in
his/her absence or inability to serve, or at
his/her call.
Coordinate informational presentations to
University/community groups and
organizations.
Perform all other duties as they may arise
pertaining to this position.
B. Assistant Director:
i. Attend all Executive Board meetings.
ii. Assist the Director in closely monitoring the
progress of Executive Board members and remind
them of details associated with their position.
iii. Manage the official Hope’s Angels office area.
iv. Report directly to the Executive Director and keep
the Executive Director up to date on any Executive
Board members not fulfilling their responsibilities.
v. Be willing to assist the Executive Board whenever
necessary.
vi. Perform any such duties that may pertain to his/her
position.
vii. Maintain a complete and up-to-date file which
should include the following:
1. Goals, timeline and strategic plan of entire
Executive Board
2. Reports and minutes from meetings with chairs.
3. Current copy of individual budget.
4. Any other correspondence and records pertaining
to this position.
C. Administrative Chairperson:
i. Attend all Executive Board meetings.
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Coordinate all logistics associated with any Hope’s
Angels events (e.g. reserving rooms on campus,
tables, chairs, electrical needs, etc.
iii. Serve as the official liaison between Hope’s
Angels and any facilities that might be in use by
the Executive Board.
iv. Must be fully aware of all campus policies and
procedures for reserving space and resources on
campus and make this information known to the
Executive Board so that everything is processed in
a timely and appropriate manner.
v. Keep the Executive Board members up to date on
their remaining balance each meeting.
vi. Is in charge of handling all of the finances of the
organization in accordance with the appropriate
University Policies.
vii. Work with Advisor to complete all paperwork for
monetary support from McNeese State University.
viii. Responsible for taking minutes at each meeting
and provide these to all Executive Board members
no later than the following day.
ix. Regularly check and manage the Hope’s Angels email account.
Maintain a complete and up-to-date file which should
include the following:
a. Reports and minutes from all Executive
Board meetings. Current copies of entire and
individual budgets.
b. All correspondence with campus and
community facilities
c. All contracts and correspondence pertinent
to securing the location of the event
d. Any other correspondence and records
pertaining to this position
x. Perform any such duties as may be assigned or that
pertain to this office.
ii.
D. The Fundraising Chairperson Shall:
i. Attend all Executive Board meetings.
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ii. Be responsible for developing and executing a
fundraising strategy.
iii. Is in charge of handling all of the finances of the
organization in accordance with the appropriate
University Policies.
iv. Be responsible for coordinating the fundraising
committee and overseeing its planning and execution
of all other fundraising events for the program and the
participants. These events include, but are not limited
to, the Hope’s Angels events, side events and canning.
v. Perform any such duties as may be assigned or that
pertain to this office.
vi. Maintain a complete and up-to-date file which should
include the following:
a. Records and minutes of all Fundraising
Committee meetings.
b. All monthly reports given to the Director.
c. Current copy of individual budget.
d. Records of how many letters were sent
out by whom.
e. All contracts and correspondence with
any sponsors.
f. All other correspondence or records
pertaining to this position.
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E. The Marketing and Public Relations Chairpersons Shall:
i. Attend all Executive Board meetings.
ii. Be responsible for developing and implementing a
campus and community public relations campaign.
iii. Be responsible for campus and community publicity
of the program which shall include, but not be limited
to, maintaining a web site, designing and distributing
brochures and other handouts, establishing a
relationship with the campus and community media,
decorating the bulletin board, developing and utilizing
a theme, and providing creative publicity support to
the entire Executive Board.
iv. Maintain a complete and up-to-date file which should
include the following:
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v.
a. Records and minutes of all Public
Relations Committee meetings.
b. All monthly reports given to Director.
c. Current copy of individual budget.
d. Copies of any correspondence, reports,
contracts or records pertaining to this
position.
Perform any such duties as may be assigned or that
pertain to this office.
F. The Sponsorship Chairperson Shall:
i. Attend all Executive Board meetings.
ii. Be responsible for coordinating the Sponsorship
Committee.
iii. Keep records of past donors and amounts given.
iv. Share corporate proposals with businesses on a regular
basis and encourage them to become a corporate
sponsor of Hope’s Angels.
v. Be responsible for keeping advisors and Directors
informed of the corporate donor program.
vi. Maintain a complete and up-to-date file which should
include the following:
a. Records and minutes of all Sponsorship
Committee meetings.
b. All monthly reports given to Director.
c. Current copy of individual budget.
d. Copy of businesses visited and the outcome
of the visit.
e. Any other correspondence and records
pertaining to this position.
vii. Perform any such duties as may be assigned or that
pertain to this office.
Section 5: All Executive Board members are to submit a monthly report to
the Director summarizing their accomplishments from the past month,
listing their goals for the upcoming month, and containing any other
information pertinent to his/her particular position.
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Section 6: Outgoing Executive Board members are responsible for
thoroughly training the newly selected student for his/her position within
two (2) weeks after spring semester finals.
Article IV: Meetings
Section 1: Executive Board meetings will be held twice a month on Monday
at 3:00pm in a location designated by the Executive Director. Executive
Board members must be excuses by the Director for any absences.
Section 2: Special meetings can be called by the Executive Director. Any
other member may request a special meeting, to be approved by the
Executive Director. Special meetings will be held by appointment.
Section 3: In order for both Executive Board meetings and committee
meetings to be deemed official, a majority of the members plus one (1) must
be present. This number will denote a quorum.
Section 4: The procedures used to conduct all meetings shall be Robert’s
Rules of Order.
Article V. Selection of Officers
Section 1: The application for Director will be available immediately the
first week of April. These applications shall be due no later than two (2)
weeks.
Section 2: The Director shall be chosen through an application/interview
process which will be conducted by the outgoing Director, faculty advisor, a
Student Activities Coordinator, and by Executive Board members from the
previous year who are not applying to serve on the Executive Board for the
following year.
Section3: The newly selected Director, will then accept applications for a
two (2) week period for the remaining Executive Board positions.
The remaining Executive Board vacancies will be filled in the same manner
as described above. The newly selected Director will participate in this
selection process.
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Section 4: In the event of a tie, the position will be decided up by the
Director.
Section 5: The officers shall be elected in the Spring Semester and shall take
office in the Summer.
Section 6: An officer is not allowed to hold more than one position.
Section 7: Officer may be re-elected after reapplying to the position.
Article VI. Elections and Nominations
Section 1: Annual interviews are to be held during the last month of the
academic year.
Section 2: Applications are to be taken at the beginning of April, and then
an interview and election will be conducted. The outgoing Executive
Director will count the ballots and a majority will decide the new officers.
Article VII. Removal of Officers
Section 1: A person is eligible to be removed from Office if the Executive
Director feels as if they are not fulfilling their responsibilities.
Section 2: A person removed from office is still eligible to apply for a
position for the upcoming year.
Article VIII. Officer Vacancies and Replacement Procedures
Section 1: To fill a vacant position an emergency election will be held at the
next general meeting. If the position is needed to be filled sooner; the
Executive Director or the Assistant Director will call for a sooner meeting
for the sole purpose of elections.
Section 2: All vacancies on the Executive Board will be filled within the
immediate two (2) weeks following the vacancy by an application/interview
process which will be conducted by the Executive Board members.
Section 3: The Executive Director reserves the right to appoint a
replacement for Internal or External Director from current Executive Board
members without an application and interview.
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Section 4: The term of a replacement officer shall be the reminder of the
term.
Article IX. Finances
All money belonging to this organization shall be deposited into their
Student Organization Account, and then deposited into the organizations
outside bank account. All payments done through the school must use the
appropriate University Processes per The Office of Campus Activities.
Article X. Amending the Constitution
Section 1: To amend the constitution; the members of the executive board
will create an idea of the change, and it will be voted on at the next general
meeting. Any member can submit ideas for changes in writing to the
Executive Director to be talked about at the next executive board meeting.
Section 2: Amendments are handled on a case by case basis. A majority
vote is required to change the constitution.
Section 3: After amending the constitution, the new copy should me
submitted to the Student Union Office.
Article XI. Advisor
Section 1: The advisor of the organization will be selected by the Executive
Director, and must be a faculty/staff member of McNeese State University.
Section 2: Maintain contact with all members of the Executive Board.
Section 3: The faculty advisor shall serve on a volunteer basis and be
approved by the Department of Student Involvement and leadership. The
faculty advisor must be a full-time faculty member of McNeese State
University.
Article XII. University Policy
This organization is to abide by all University policies as laid out by the
Student Union Office.
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Article XIII. No Hazing Statement
This organization will not participate in any activities which could be
regarded as hazing. “Hazing” refers to any activity expected of someone
joining a group (or to maintain full status in a group) that humiliates,
degrades or risks emotional and/or physical harm, regardless of the person's
willingness to participate
Article XIV Non-discrimination Statement
Hope’s Angels does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age,
religion, national origin, gender, marital status or disability
Updated: Fall 2013
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