CHARTER OF THE WATERLOO REGION CHINESE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION (WCCA), Inc

NAME

The name of this corporation shall be the Waterloo Region Chinese Canadian Association, hereafter referred to as WCCA. The Chinese name is 
滑铁卢地区华人联合会.

CORPORATION STATUS

This Association is a non-profit, non-religious, and non-political organization.

MISSIONS

The missions of the Association are:

  • To serve and represent the interests of the Waterloo region ethnic Chinese community;
  • To enrich the quality of life and social standing of Chinese Canadians;
  • To nurture professional development and business opportunities;
  • To help our future generations and newcomers to develop their full potential;
  • To preserve and promote Chinese culture and heritage;
  • To enhance the contributions of the Chinese community to the society.

MEMBERSHIP

Anyone interested in the goal of the Association shall be eligible for membership in one of the membership categories as specified in the Bylaws.

BYLAWS

Bylaws shall be established to govern the Association. The Bylaws shall not conflict with the Charter and shall require the approval by the voting membership.

AMENDMENTS

This Charter and the Bylaws may be amended by a 2/3 majority vote of the voting members who participate in the voting. Amendments may be proposed by at least 10 in number, and must be signed and presented to the governing body of the Association according to the Bylaws. 

BYLAWS OF THE WATERLOO REGION CHINESE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION (WCCA), Inc

ARTICLE I – MEMBERSHIP

A. Membership Categories

Regular members include voting members and members-at-large.

  • Voting member: Individuals who live in the Region of Waterloo, paid the one-time membership application fee, have a valid email address with updated membership information for the voting year.
  • Member-at-large: Individuals who live in the Region of Waterloo, paid the one-time membership application fee, but either without a valid email address or without updated membership information for the voting year.

B. Membership Application

Any individual who has an ethnic Chinese origin or connection and shares the goals of the Association can apply for membership. Membership application shall be submitted to the Membership Committee for approval.

C. Privileges

All regular members shall participate in discussions of Association related issues and activities organized by the Association, and be eligible for reduced fees for activities organized by the Association.

Voting members shall be eligible to vote in an election or on other Association matters, and be eligible to serve on committees or as Association officers (defined below).

ARTICLE II – BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A. Structure and Functionality

The Board is responsible for overall policy and directions of the Association, and delegates the responsibility of routine operations of the Association to the Executive Committee.

The Board shall consist of no fewer than 5 but no more than 7 members. The Board shall have two officers: a Chair and a Vice Chair. The President of the Association is a member of the Board of Directors and serves as Vice Chair of the Board.

The Board shall meet at least twice a year to discuss matters of general importance to the Association, to approve officers appointed by the President, to review activity reports and financial statements from the Executive Committee, and to examine rules and regulations set by sub-committees of the Executive Committee. Special meetings of the Board may be called by the Chair or by two or more members of the Board under special circumstances.

The Board also serves as the Nomination Committee for the President of the Association during the election year for the President.

B. Terms, Eligibility and Election

All Board members shall serve three year terms, but are eligible for re-election. Voting members of the Association with at least one year of service on the current or past Executive Committee are eligible to serve on the Board.

Candidates for Board of Directors shall be nominated by the members of the current Board of Directors. A preliminary vote might be taken among the members of the Board to determine the candidates.

Election of new Board of Directors shall take place every three years. The terms of Board of Directors shall expire at the end of August and candidates for the new Board of Directors shall be announced by September 1 of the election year.

Election shall be conducted through a secure online system or by email. A majority YES vote among participating voting members is required for a candidate to be elected. Names of candidates, their background information, and results of the election shall be announced through the email list of voting members and published on the Association’s website. 

Election of members to Board of Directors shall be handled by an Election Committee appointed by the Executive Committee and chaired by the Secretary.

ARTICLE III – OFFICERS

A. Executive Committee

The day-to-day business of the Association is operated by the Executive Committee (EC) consisting of President, several Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and the Chairpersons of all sub-committees(e.g., Membership, Sponsorship, External Affair and Public Relations, Professional Development and Business, Communications and Publications, Women Club, Sports and Recreation, Choir, Folk Music Ensemble).

The affairs of the Association shall be charged to the Executive Committee chaired by the President. The Executive Committee is entrusted with all affairs of the Association.

The Executive Committee shall be entrusted with the power to develop rules and regulations for events and activities pertinent to specific sub-committees, such as membership, sponsorship, business club, sports club, external affair and public relations, and communications. The Executive Committee shall also be entrusted with the power to appoint special committees and study groups to deal with urgent needs and special problems that may arise. The Executive Committee shall be entrusted with the power to appoint the Election Committee.

The President is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Association, represents the Association in external affairs, and works with members of the Executive Committee and special events coordinators in carrying out all the functions of WCCA.

The Secretary shall assist the President to maintain a record of all committee motions and resolutions, minutes of all committee meetings, and shall periodically report to members of the Association on all new committee resolutions. The Secretary, together with the President and the Treasurer, shall produce an annual report. During election years for the President or Board of Directors, the Secretary shall be the Chair of the Election Committee and, together with members of the Election Committee appointed by the EC, responsible for publicizing the candidate information, organizing the voting process and summarizing and reporting the election results to the members of the Association.

The Treasurer shall handle the financial operation of the Association and, together with the President and Vice Presidents, make budget plans. The Treasurer, with the President of the Association, shall submit an annual financial report to the Board of Directors at the end of a fiscal year (July 31).In the case of special events(e.g. Summer Party) or activities(e.g. Sports Festival), the Treasurer, with the Chairperson who is responsible for that event, shall submit a financial report to the Executive Committee at the conclusion of that event. The Treasurer, in consultation and working with a professional chartered accountant, shall handle tax and audit related matters of the Association. The Treasurer, together with Chairpersons of sub-committees, shall manage the equipment and assets of the Association.

The Chairperson of the Membership Committee shall be responsible for membership recruitment, membership information maintenance, and membership service and benefit management.

The Chairperson of the Sponsorship Committee shall be responsible for sponsorship recruitment, maintain an efficient network with and provide adequate services to all sponsors of the Association.

The Chairperson of the Professional Development and Business Committee shall be responsible for organizing professional development and business related programs.

The Chairperson of the External Affairs and Public Relations Committee shall be responsible for the relations between the Association and other organizations, community groups and all levels of government.

The Chairperson of the Sports and Recreation Committee shall be responsible for organizing and managing sports and recreation related events and activities. The Chairperson of the Communications and Publications Committee shall be responsible for event reporting, media coordination, newsletters composition and distribution, production of special publications of the Association, and document archiving.

The Webmaster shall be responsible for the routine maintenance and updating of the Association’s website (www.waterloocca.com). B. Terms, Eligibility, Election and Appointment of Officers

The terms of the President and other members on the Executive Committee are all for three years. The President and other members of the Executive Committee can be re-appointed to multiple terms. The terms of the officers on the Executive Committee expires by the end of August of the election year.

The position of President shall be filled through an election. An election committee shall be established by the Executive Committee and approved by the Board of Directors.

The candidate for the President is nominated by the Board of Directors, with the Vice-Chair of the Board overseeing the nomination process. Voting members of the Association with at least one year of service on the current or past Executive Committee are eligible to be a candidate. The candidate should be in a good position to represent and serve the Chinese communities and has no conflict of interest between running WCCA activities and promoting his/her own businesses.

Name of the candidate for the President and his/her background shall be announced in April and released through the email list to all voting members. A majority YES vote among participating voting members is required for the candidate to be elected. Result of the election shall be made available no later than July 31.

All other officers on the Executive Committee, including Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Chairpersons of sub-committees, are appointed by the President and approved by the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE IV – ELECTRONIC NEWS FLASHES AND WEBSITE

The Executive Committee shall be responsible for setting policies on the creation, use and maintenance of email lists and postings on the Association website (www.waterloocca.ca) or through emails. The Executive Committee shall appoint one or several webmasters who have access and the authority to post news items on and/or update the content of the website.

ARTICLE V – MEMBERSHIP FEES

The membership fee schedules shall be determined by the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE VI – WCCA OPERATION FUNDS

The Operation Fund is set aside each year for the annual budget of the Association to support day-to-day operation and the projected activities of the year. Both the EC and the Board of Directors must approve the yearly budget.

Part of the Operation Fund that support the day-to-day operation shall be held in a bank checking account, with the Treasurer as authorized signatory, and with the President as single signatory alternate.  The financial management and oversight of WCCA shall follow WCCA’s Financial Management Policy established to ensure financial integrity, accountability, and effective use of resources in support of our mission.

ARTICLE VII – IMPEACHMENT OF THE PRESIDENT

The Charter and the Bylaws may be amended by the affirmative votes of at least 2/3 of the members voting. There shall normally be no more than one ballot each year on charter and bylaw amendments.

Proposed amendments shall be announced through the Association’s email lists and on the Association’s website at least 60 days prior to the vote.

Amendments may be proposed, by at least 10% of the VOTING MEMBERS but not less than 20 (twenty) in number, to the President who shall refer the proposed amendment to the Board of Directors for evaluation. The Board of Directors shall present the supporting statement for the amendment provided by the petitioners in the Association electronic news mail prior to the vote.

At the same time, the Board of Directors shall present the result of its evaluation and its reasons for or against the proposed amendment.

ARTICLE IX – DISSOLUTION

The Association will be automatically dissolved if a president has not been elected 24 (twenty four) months after such election is due by Article III of the Bylaws so that the normal functions of the Association are ceased. Upon dissolution, the balance of the financial account of the Association shall be donated to a charity organization.