|
|
Trust Bylaws
(As amended June 13, 1999)
Printable (PDF) version of the Trust bylaws
ARTICLE I
Name. The name of this trust is the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville Trust.
ARTICLE II
Purpose. The purpose of this trust is to provide for the benefit of the church an officially approved program for the care, investment, use and spending of gifts and bequests made to the church.
ARTICLE III
Trust Corpus. The trust corpus shall consist of current and future funds or assets received by the church as memorials, gifts, or bequests, and shall not include funds received as operating funds or building funds not intended for the trust. Funds received by the trust which are to be used for a designated purpose to fulfill the wish of the donor shall have that purpose carried out by the Memorials and Gifts Committee of the church. Due recognition shall be made to all contributors to the trust fund.
ARTICLE IV
Business of the Trust. Business of the trust as outlined in Article VII may be conducted at special congregational meetings. Notice of a special meeting shall be published in church publications and announced from the pulpit at least two weeks in advance of the meeting.
A special meeting may be called at any time by a majority vote of the Board of Directors, or of the trustees or on application by petition to the Clerk by not less than twenty-five (25) voting members of the congregation, provided the purpose of such special meeting is stated in the notice of said meeting. Date, time, and agenda of any special meetings shall be selected by the Board of Directors and announced by the Clerk. No business except that stated in the notice shall be transacted at such a meeting.
ARTICLE V
Administration. The trust shall be administered by five trustees who shall be members in good standing of the church and who shall be elected at the regular annual meeting of the church members or a special meeting called for that purpose. All trustees (except those initially elected at the inception of the trust) shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee. A trustee may not serve on the Board of Directors during his or her term as a trustee. Any trustee appointed by the members may be removed by the members and a successor may be appointed. A majority of the members present at any such meeting shall be required for election. A vote of three-fourths of the legal voting members present and voting at a special congregational meeting called for that purpose shall be required for removal.
ARTICLE VI
Trustees
A. Each trustee shall serve for a term of three (3) years or until his or her successor is chosen. A trustee can serve two full terms of three years each and is not eligible for reelection until after an interval of two years. The initial trustees serving as herein provided shall have their terms staggered by agreement among them, so that one trustee shall serve a term of one year, two trustees shall serve a term of two years, and two trustees shall serve a term of three years.
B. A quorum shall consist of three trustees. All actions must be approved by a majority of those trustees present.
C. In the event of death, incapacity, resignation, removal or failure to act of any of the trustees, or the dropping of membership in the church by any of the trustees, then there shall be a vacancy in the office of trustee and the vacancy shall be filled by the Board of Directors until the next annual meeting of the church.
D. No trustee shall receive compensation for his or her services, but all reasonable expenses incurred by any trustee may be paid out of the trust fund. The trustees need not furnish bond, unless a requirement for bonding is adopted by a resolution of the congregation.
E. Officers of the Trust shall be a Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. Trustees shall select the officers at their first meeting after the annual meeting of the church. Officers shall serve one-year renewable terms.
ARTICLE VII
Powers and Responsibilities of Trust Officers
A. The trust corpus shall be turned over to the trustees for management and safekeeping, and they are hereby given full power to manage, rent, invest, sell, mortgage, indenture, land, or otherwise invest or reinvest all or any of said funds or assets. However, the trust investment policies shall be consistent with the limits imposed by the State of Tennessee for non-profit trusts. The corpus may be managed for income or growth or both. The trustees may keep and maintain any gift, devise or bequest in the form in which it is originally received. The trustees shall adopt and publish policies regarding the receipt and recognition of bequests and gifts to the trust.
B. The trustees may authorize the expenditure of principal and interest of the trust corpus for the purposes and use of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville as in their discretion seems fit, except in any case where the donor of the gift, devise or bequest expressly directs otherwise. The trustees may expend principal or interest as directed by the Board of Directors and congregation of the church as expressed by resolution of said bodies at a meeting called for that purpose.
C. In the event that the trustees cannot agree with a directive issued to them by the congregation of the church with regard to the expenditure of funds as provided in Paragraph B above, then they shall submit the issue to a special congregational meeting at the earliest opportunity. The trustees shall then make expenditures in accordance with a directive voted by three-fourths of the legal voting members of the congregation present and voting.
D. The trustees shall before the end of April of each year prepare and present a written report listing and describing all assets of the trust, including a statement of all receipts and disbursements since the last such report. Also, the Board of Directors of the church may, by resolution, demand a report at any time, and the trustees shall respond thereto within thirty days of receipt of said demand. The Board of Directors may authorize an audit of the trust at any time, and the Board of Directors shall audit the trust at least every two years.
E. All checks or vouchers of the trust shall be signed by two of the trust officers. Trustees shall not be obligated to see to the further handling or disbursing of any funds or other property paid or delivered by the trust officers. Any of the trust officers may receive on behalf of the church any gift, devise or bequest made to the church, and a receipt signed by any trust officer shall constitute the official receipt of the church.
F. The trustees shall keep records of their acts and doings. The trustees shall see to their own organization. One member shall be elected Chair. One member shall be elected Secretary, and the Secretary shall maintain minutes of each meeting of the trustees. One member shall be elected Treasurer and the Treasurer shall maintain records of gifts, bequests, income and expenditures of the trust.
ARTICLE VIII
Amendments. These bylaws may be amended at an annual or special meeting as provided in Article IV. Proposed amendments to the bylaws shall be published in church publications and posted in the church at least two weeks before a meeting.
|
