Bengali Cultural Society, Cleveland, OH
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Bengali Cultural Society, Cleveland, OH
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Constitution

BENGALI CULTURAL SOCIETY, CLEVELAND, OHIO

(bylaws as approved at the GBMs on November 23, 2025 and on April 11, 2026)

**ARTICLE I

NAME OF THE ASSOCIATION**

The name of the Association shall be Bengali Cultural Society, Cleveland, Ohio.

**ARTICLE II

MISSION OF THE ASSOCIATION**

Section 1. The mission of the Association shall be to promote the Bengali culture, literature, traditions and heritage amongst the members of the association and to advance friendship and cultural exchange with other similar organizations in the United States.

Section 2. The Association shall foster all possible scopes and opportunities for its members and their families and friends to learn the Bengali culture, literature and traditions. The Association shall organize and sponsor various festivals and cultural activities to achieve these objectives.

Section 3. The Association shall be a non-profit organization and shall exist as an incorporated organization of its members.

Section 4. The Association shall be a non-commercial, non-sectarian and non-partisan entity, and the name of the Association or the name of any office bearer of the Association shall not be used in any partisan interest if not related to the objectives of the Association.

**ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP AND DUES**

Section 1. The membership of the Association shall consist of each individual of age 18 and over (in the case of an individual membership) or all individuals of age 18 and over in a family (in the case of a family membership), regardless of their ethnic origin, religion, race and gender, as of the day when the individual or the family pays the membership dues, provided that they agree to abide by the constitutional bylaws of the Association. The membership dues must be paid in full before the start of the election process of next year’s Executive Committee. Further details about membership eligibility are provided in Appendix B.

Section 2. At the beginning of the year, the Executive Committee shall inform the members of the dues for the year. Members/member families may elect to make a one-time payment towards regular annual events, for an amount approved by the general body.

Section 3. Any changes in this one-time annual payment amount will have to be suggested by the Executive Committee during one of the last two general body meetings of the calendar year along with the rationale behind it. It will require the approval of the general body before implementation in the following year.

**ARTICLE IV

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE**

Section 1. An Executive Committee shall be elected for one calendar year by general membership to carry out all activities to fulfill the mission of the association.

Section 2. The Executive Committee shall consist of the following office bearers:

The President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurers (two)
Cultural Secretary
Youth Coordinator

Section 3. If necessary, two office bearers for any position of the Executive Committee (except the President) may be elected by the general body for convenience of the operation of the Committee.

Section 4. Responsibilities of the Office bearers:

The President shall: (a) be responsible for the overall function of the Executive Committee along with all of its fiduciary responsibilities, (b) preside over and conduct all Executive Committee and general body meetings, (c) coordinate the activities of other office bearers to achieve the goals of the Association, and (d) be the spokesperson for the association to communicate with other similar organizations in the United States to exchange ideas and further the cause of the Association.

The Vice-President(s) shall: (a) act as an aid to the President, and (b) carry out the duties of the President in his/her absence.

The Secretary(-ies) shall: (a) be responsible for correspondences of all matters of the Association to its members, (b) record the minutes of the Executive committee and general body meetings, and (c) perform other duties delegated to him by the President, the Executive Committee or the membership as a whole.

The Treasurers shall: (a) be responsible for the financial operation of the Association, (b) keep an accurate account of all revenues and expenses for all activities throughout the year, (c) be, in addition to the President, authorized to sign the Association’s bank checks by virtue of their ex-officio positions (neither a treasurer nor the president is authorized to sign a check payable to himself/herself or members of his/her household), (d) present a detailed financial report at the last general body meeting of the year and at least a brief financial overview at all other general body meetings called by the Executive Committee or the general membership (except possibly at an emergency general body meeting).

The Cultural Secretary(-ies) shall: (a) be responsible for all cultural and festive activities throughout the year, (b) plan and organize various events to promote the Bengali culture and traditions and create opportunities for nurturing/showcasing local artistic talents, (c) if financially feasible, invite well-known artists or groups of artists from outside for performances, and (d) coordinate all these activities with the Youth Coordinator(s).

The Youth Coordinator(s) shall: (a) be responsible for all activities related to young adults and children of the Association, and (b) coordinate these activities with the Cultural Secretary.

Section 5. In the event of a vacancy in the Executive Committee, the Executive Committee shall select, after consultation with the Board of Trustees, an individual from the general membership or reshuffle the current portfolios of the Executive Committee members to fill the position for the remainder of the term.

Section 6. The Executive Committee shall meet as often as necessary to carry out the activities of the Association. The quorum for the Executive Committee meetings shall be the simple majority of the committee members. Any member of the Association may attend the Executive Committee meeting at the request/invitation of the Executive Committee but shall have no voting right.

**ARTICLE V

BOARD OF TRUSTEES**

Section 1. A Board of Trustees consisting of three members elected by the general membership of the Association shall be responsible for overseeing the overall operation of the Association. The Board shall not have the authority to formulate any policy but may bring any controversial action by the Executive Committee (deemed inappropriate by the Board itself or brought to its attention by the general membership) to the general body meeting(s) for deliberation. The Board of Trustees shall have the authority to enforce any decision regarding the Executive Committee’s actions taken by the general membership following proper procedures in GBM (refer to ARTICLE VI for the definition of ‘proper procedures’).

Section 2. Each Trustee shall be elected for a period of three years. The term of one trustee will expire each year, and a new one will be elected at the time when a new Executive Committee is elected but separately from the Executive Committee election (refer to ARTICLE VIII for the election procedure). In the first year, three trustees will be elected for a one year, two year and three-year term, respectively.

Section 3. In the case of a vacancy in the Board of Trustees, a Trustee shall be selected from the general membership by the other members of the Board of Trustees to serve the remainder of that calendar year. An election of this Trustee position will be held at the time of the next annual election for the remainder of the term.

 

**ARTICLE VI

GENERAL BODY MEETING**

Section 1. Normally there shall be at least three general body meetings (GBMs) each year called by the Executive Committee, and one of these meetings should be held near the end of the year (preferably in December) for the purposes of providing a final, detailed update on the Association’s finances and formally introducing the newly elected Executive Committee to the general members. The Executive Committee or the Board of Trustees or one third of the membership may call an emergency general body meeting at any other time regarding an urgent matter. These meetings may be held in person, online, or in a hybrid format that combines both in-person and virtual participation.

Section 2. Notification of the general body meeting shall be given by the Executive Committee to the membership of the Association at least two weeks prior to the meeting. At least a forty eight-hour notice must be given to the members for emergency meetings.

Section 3. The quorum for the general body meeting shall be thirty percent (30%) of total membership.

**ARTICLE VII

NOMINATING COMMITTEE**

Section 1. Every year a temporary Nominating Committee shall be formed by the current Executive Committee to conduct the election of the office bearers at least one month prior to the election of the next Executive Committee. The Committee shall consist of three members – a Chairman and two members – selected by the Executive Committee.

**ARTICLE VIII

ELECTION PROCEDURES**

Section 1. The election of the members of the Executive Committee and one Trustee shall be held at a general body meeting with a quorum at the end of the year preferably in December. Each member of the Association shall have the right to vote and to contest for any position of the Executive Committee.

Section 2. At least one month prior to the election, the current Executive Committee shall send out a nomination form to each family and each single member of the Association seeking nominations for office bearers for the next year’s Executive Committee and a Trustee. Normally the Youth Secretary shall be a young adult of the Association. Interested members will fill out the nomination form with proposed names of those who have consented to accept nominations for the positions of the respective office bearers, and send the form to the Nominating Committee at least one week prior to the election date.

Section 3. The Nominating Committee shall present for voting all valid nomination proposals to the general body meeting held at the end of the year preferably in December. Additional nominations may be sought from the floor at the time of the meeting. An Executive Committee and a Trustee shall be elected by simple majority votes of the members present at the meeting.

**ARTICLE IX

AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS**

Section 1. The bylaws of the constitution may be amended at a general body meeting with a quorum and by two thirds majority votes of the members present at the meeting.

**ARTICLE X

FINANCES AND ACCOUNTING**

Section 1. The Association shall open a checking account and a savings account at a local bank to keep all its funds.

Section 2. The President and/or the Treasurer of the Association shall be authorized to sign all bank checks and carry out pertinent financial transactions for the Association.

Section 3. The Treasurer shall keep all financial records and make two financial reports annually to the general body. In the last of these two reports, which will be the annual report, the Treasurer shall have the records examined by an accountant and present it at the general body meeting at the end of the year preferably in December.

**ARTICLE XI

TRANSITION**

Section 1. The outgoing Executive Committee shall transfer to the incoming Executive Committee all official materials at a joint meeting of both committees within a week after the election.

**ARTICLE XII

DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION**

Section 1. In the event the Association is dissolved, the Board of Trustees shall, after paying all of the liabilities of the Association, disburse the remaining assets of the Association to non-profit, tax-exempt charitable, scientific or religious organizations, as they see fit.

APPENDIX A

The regular-scheduled events of the Association are:

  • Saraswati Puja
  • Baishakhi (An early-summer cultural event)
  • Summer Picnic
  • Durga Puja
  • Lakshmi Puja
  • Bijaya Sammilani
  • Winter Holiday Party

APPENDIX B

The following provisions supplement ARTICLE III (MEMBERSHIP AND DUES), ARTICLE VI (General Body Meeting) and ARTICLE VIII (Election Procedures)

B1. Members’ list: The BCS members list shall be published to all members on the same day as the nomination form is distributed by the Executive Committee. This date shall also serve as the cutoff for voter eligibility in the election of a new Executive Committee and Trustee, with no new memberships allowed beyond this point. It is the responsibility of the Executive Committee to verify membership validity before publishing the list. The membership cutoff date for other general body meetings and voting processes shall be the day on which the event takes place.

B2. Voting members for general body meetings and elections:

i. Members with a valid BCS individual membership on the cut-off date in B1 are eligible voters if they are adults (18 years or older).
ii. Members with a valid BCS family membership on the cut-off date in B1 are eligible voters if they are adults (18 years or older) and meet at least one of the following conditions:
a) The adult permanently resides at the same household address.
b) The adult is claimed as a dependent for tax purposes by a household member.
c) The adult or his/her spouse paid the membership fees.