POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
OF THE SAN FRANCISCO PENINSULA BRANCH
OF THE CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB
Approved June 17, 2023
ARTICLE I: NAME
Section 1 : The name of the organization is the San Francisco Peninsula Branch (SFP) of the California Writers Club (CWC).
ARTICLE II: MISSION STATEMENT
Section 1: The objective of the San Francisco Peninsula Branch of the California Writers Club (herein referred to as “the branch” or SFP) is to provide a forum for educating both members and the public in the craft of writing, and to market member’s work. This is served by the monthly public meetings, workshops, and seminars of each of the branches, which are open to all writers and are conducted for the purpose of educating writers of all levels of expertise. California Writers Club networks with and is a model for other groups and agencies involved in similar pursuits.
Section 2: The branch shall support the statewide organization in a manner that upholds the bylaws and policies and procedures of said organization. Furthermore, the branch will participate as appropriate to the furtherance of the rich literary tradition of the California Writers Club.
Section 3: The branch supports all genres, writing styles and related professions such as editing, publishing, photographic journalism and provides an environment where members may obtain critique of their efforts, attend workshops, and share experiences.
ARTICLE III: DEFINITIONS
Section 1: Executive Board – the elected positions of the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. They conduct the business of the SFP branch.
Section 2: Directors – appointed by the president and approved by the executive board. Positions are past president, membership chair, CWC state board rep, and NorCal board rep and Publicity Chair. Voting privileges are determined by Executive Board. More directors can be appointed by the president at any time, as long as the number of members does not exceed nine.
Section 3: Committee chairs – non-voting members of the board, appointed by the president and approved by the four elected officers, who lead club activities, such as outreach, communications, and writing education. These are short term positions. [See list below.]
Section 4: CWC Central Board - is the governing organization of California Writers’Club branches, which operate under its bylaws and policies and procedures. The SFP branch president nominates a central board representative to attend central board meetings.
Section 5: NorCal Group - comprises fourteen of the Northern California CWC branches of the twenty-two branches. The president nominates a representative to attend quarterly meetings.
Section 6: Bylaws - are the basic rules or the constitution that describe the SFP branch.
Section 7: Policies and Procedures - a tool for CWC SFP members that includes and expands upon the bylaws, as well as describing in detail how club positions and activities are conducted.
Section 8: Teller - a position appointed by the president, t0 distribute, collect, and count ballots.
ARTICLE IV: MANAGEMENT
Section 1: - Corporate Powers - The corporate powers of the branch shall be vested in the four elected officers: president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.
Section 2: The term of office is one year for all executive board members and directors. The president’s term shall last no longer than two years.
Section 3: Directors - The president appoints a board of directors whose voting membership shall be not more than a total of nine people.
Section 4: The web manager and parliamentarian shall have non-voting seats on the board.
Section 5: Non-voting members shall attend board meetings as necessary and should be given adequate notification of the meeting if they are needed.
Section 6: The president may, subject to approval by the board, appoint an officer pro-tem or a director pro-tem to fill vacancies on the board. Such pro-tem appointments expire at the end of the term to which the original officer or director was elected.
Section 7: Conducting Business – Rules of Order: parliamentary procedure, generally known as Robert's Rules of Order, shall be the guideline for the conduct of business of the club in all cases in which they apply and as long as they are consistent with the constitution and bylaws of the SFP club. In case of conflict or contradiction between editions of the rules, the latest edition available at a meeting shall be used.
Section 8: Conducting Business in an Emergency - In an emergency, the president may poll the board by telephone or email to handle urgent matters and act according to the majority received by such poll. The board shall affirm the actions of the president at the next meeting.
ARTICLE V: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: Membership in the San Francisco Peninsula Branch shall conform to ARTICLE 1 Section 1 of the Bylaws of the California Writers Club, and the policies and procedures of the CWC Central Board. Questions of membership requirements shall be referred to the CWC Central Board.
Section 2: Each member shall pay dues according to the policies and procedures adopted by the CWC Central Board. www.calwriters.org
A. Membership categories are: active, student, dual, supporting, emeritus, life, patron, courtesy, economic hardship.
B. SFP membership chair and/or accreditation committee considers and approves applications and materials for potential active members. The membership chair creates new member records and any changes to existing member records in the Membership Records Management System (MRMS), thereby informing the state membership chair.
C. Active members are writers who produce fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays or other creative writing of quality and meet the following minimum production requirements:
1. A fiction writer, nonfiction writer, poetry writer, and/or a photojournalist shall have had a book published by a publisher of standing within the past ten (10) years; a book currently under contract; publications or acceptance within the past three (3) years of not less than three (3) stories, articles, or columns in a periodical or periodicals of general circulation.
2. A writer of stage plays, screenplays, radio plays, television plays, or videos, shall have had a publication, performance, production, or production in development within the past ten (10) years.
SFP may consider a self-publisher or writer who publishes their material under their own imprint or a writer who publishes their material electronically eligible for active membership.
Professional presentation of writing style
Professional presentation, as refers to graphics and interior formatting.
Plans for distributing published materials.
3. Active members shall have the right to vote, serve as directors, hold offices, and represent SFP on the central board.
D. Student memberships are offered to writers from the ages of fourteen (14) through twenty-two (22), or any writers who are verified full-time students at an accredited school. No writing submission shall be required. Student members will not be eligible to vote or hold office.
E. Dual membership allows an existing member of a CWC branch to join one or more additional branches without having to re-qualify for their membership level at any additional branches they join. Regardless of how many branches to which a member belongs, the member will have only one vote in statewide issues.
F. SFP may accord emeritus membership to active members who have made significant contributions in the field but may no longer be actively writing. Emeritus members may vote and hold office.
G. SFP shall accord life membership only to active members. Life members shall be exempt from any further payment of dues but otherwise shall have all the duties and privileges of active membership.
H. SFP may accord patron membership to persons or organizations that contribute to the branch in either outright gift, substantial yearly contribution, or significant service. Patron members shall have no vote nor hold office unless they are active or associate members.
I. SFP may petition the central board to grant honorary memberships to person(s) who are of such eminence that the CWC in honoring them honors itself. If approved by the central board, honorary members shall not pay dues, hold office, or vote.
J. SFP may accord courtesy membership of one year to unpaid speakers as an acknowledgment of such services. Courtesy members shall not hold office, or vote. When a courtesy membership expires, they may be designated as an active or associate member upon payment of renewal dues.
K. SFP may offer hardship memberships on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the board. Hardship memberships shall not constitute more than five percent of the branch's membership.
ARTICLE VI: OFFICERS
Section 1: The president, vice president, secretary and treasurer shall be elected at the general membership meeting in June. All duties and terms of these officers are outlined in these policies and procedures.
Section 2: The president shall prepare agendas and preside over meetings of the branch board of directors and the general membership, incorporating the advice and consent of the branch board, and conducting the affairs of the club in accordance with the bylaws of both the state CWC and the SFP.
A. Except for the annual nominating committee (see Article XI Elections), the president shall appoint such committees and chairpersons as necessary to conduct the affairs of the club. Such appointments end when the business of the committee is finished or at the end of the term of the president who made them
B.The president shall be on file as a signer on any/all financial accounts.
C. If the president resigns or cannot perform the required duties, the board of directors shall confirm the vice president as president or select another board member as president pro-tem, whichever serves the branch best, until the end of the current term.
D. The president shall be limited to two consecutive terms in that elected office.
Section 3: The vice president shall assume the duties of the president in their absence.
A. In addition, the vice president is responsible for monthly meeting speaker programs.
B. In the absence of both president and vice-president, the president shall appoint a chair pro-tem for a specified amount of time.
Section 4: The secretary shall keep minutes for all meetings, handle incoming and outgoing correspondence and maintain electronic administrative files for the San Francisco Peninsula Branch. The minutes are to be posted on the website once they have been voted on by the board.
Section 5: The treasurer shall keep proper books of account and report the financial status of the branch at each called meeting of the branch board, of which a vote of acceptance must be made. They shall receive all funds of the branch and pay out funds necessary to keep the club running (i.e., website, speakers’ fees, meeting fees). Any funds received for the organization shall be promptly deposited in an account set up for that purpose.
A. The treasurer shall normally sign all regular fund checks issued by the branch. The president is designated as an alternate signer for San Francisco Peninsula Branch checks and any checks over $200 require two signatures.
1. The treasurer shall prepare and submit in a timely manner all financial quarterly reports required by the CWC Central Board. The state membership chair and/or state treasurer are two who need to receive these reports. The information necessary for this transaction is listed on the state MRMS which is the state-wide CWC Member Record Management System.
2. The treasurer shall assist the membership chairperson in preparing the membership reports for the CWC Central Board.
3. The treasurer along with the president shall be responsible for any changes to the bank signature card(s).
4. The treasurer shall oversee any additional accounts opened by the San Francisco Peninsula Branch, i.e., Fault Zone anthology, San Mateo County Fair.
ARTICLE VII: DIRECTORS
Section 1: The directors shall include the past president, the CWC state representative and the Membership chair as standing voting members. There will be no more than seven voting directors appointed by the president and approved by the vice-president, secretary and treasurer.
Section 2: Additional voting board members may be appointed by the president at the president’s discretion, with the approval of the vice-president, secretary and treasurer. Examples include the NorCal representative, the publicity chair, and the newsletter editor.
ARTICLE VIII: REPRESENTATIVE TO THE CWC CENTRAL BOARD
Section 1: The president shall appoint one branch member in good standing to represent the branch at the tri-annual meetings of the California Writers Club Central Board. The representative is responsible for communication between the branch and the Central Board.
Section 2: If the representative cannot attend a meeting, another branch member may be appointed to attend in their place with a proxy letter or email.
ARTICLE IX: REPRESENTATIVE TO THE NORCAL GROUP
Section 1: The president shall appoint one branch member in good standing to represent the branch at the meetings, four times per year, to the California Writers Club NorCal Group. The representative is responsible for communication between the branch and the NorCal Group.
Section 2: If the representative cannot attend a meeting, another branch member may be appointed to attend in their place with a proxy letter or email.
ARTICLE X: COMMITTEES
Section 1: The branch president is a de facto member of all branch committees.
Section 2: Award Committees
A. The president may create and appoint chairpersons, subject to approval of the board, for all necessary committees formed to propose nominees for awards such as the Louise Boggess Award and the Jack London Award. Such appointments end when the business of the committee is finished.
Section 3: Ad Hoc Committees.
A. The president, with the approval of the branch board, may appoint other committees and chairpersons as deemed necessary to conduct branch-sponsored events such as conferences, writing groups, or other programs. Examples would include, but are not limited to Program chair, Newsletter Editor, Webmaster, Publicity Chair, Hospitality chair, Fault Zone anthology, Critique groups, Historian, New Member Outreach, Advertising & Promotion, Shut Up and Write, Writers Helping Writers and Special Events/workshops,
1. All such events shall support the mission of the branch.
B. The chairperson of each committee shall be appointed by the branch president, subject to approval of voting members of the branch board.
C. Responsibility and authority of each chairperson may vary, but in general, the chairperson is authorized to recruit as many volunteers as necessary to plan and manage the event and is responsible for preparing plans and budgets which are subject to the approval of the branch board.
D. The branch board may authorize the provision of seed money for a conference or program. All funds in the conference/program account, whether provided by the branch or raised from external sources, are the property of the branch and may revert to the branch account when the conference or program is ended.
E. As deemed necessary, subcommittees may be clustered under one “umbrella” committee chairperson. For example, subcommittees of publicity, fundraising, website, newsletter, and others may be clustered under a single outreach committee chairperson. The chairperson would coordinate input from the subcommittees and represent them on the branch board.
Section 4 : Written Policies, Procedures and Job Descriptions.
A. The branch policies and procedures manual explains branch protocol.
B. All committee chairs shall prepare and maintain electronic job descriptions, policies and procedures pertaining to their responsibilities. These shall be kept on the branch’s Google Drive.
ARTICLE XI: ELECTIONS
Section 1: In March of each year, the president shall appoint a board member as committee chair for the nominating committee. The committee shall have no more than three branch members in good standing to present nominations for elections. The news of the formation of the committee and the name/contact information of the chairperson shall be posted in the April branch newsletter so that members interested in open positions can inform the nominating committee.
Section 2: No member wishing to run for office may serve on the nominating committee.
Section 3: The board of directors shall submit a list to the nominating committee of the positions which the branch needs to fill.
Section 4: All nominations, either on the slate or from the floor, shall be presented with the consent of the nominee.
Section 5: The slate of officers (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer) shall be presented at the May general meeting by the nominating committee and published in the branch newsletter at least two weeks before the June general membership/election meeting. Nominations are considered closed as of the May general meeting.
Section 6: The chair of the nominating committee shall turn over the list of nominees to the Parliamentarian to conduct the election at the June general membership meeting in accordance with parliamentary procedure (i.e., Roberts Rules of Order) as well as the Central Board policies and procedures.
Section 7: At the membership/election meeting in June, the Parliamentarian will announce the candidates, in accordance with parliamentary procedure (i.e., Robert’s Rules of Order) and the CWC central board policies and procedures.
A. The Parliamentarian shall give each candidate five minutes to speak to the membership before the teller distributes the ballots, if ballots are being used. A voice vote of the general membership can also be taken. The Parliamentarian will announce the results.
B. In the event that two or more candidates contest a position, the Parliamentarian shall conduct an election by written ballot. The Parliamentarian shall appoint a teller to distribute, collect and count ballots.
C. The teller shall tally, and the Parliamentarian shall announce the results of the vote.
Section 8: The incoming and outgoing officers and directors shall meet within thirty days after the election to affect an orderly transfer of responsibilities. At the September general membership meeting, the incoming president shall introduce the incoming officers and directors.
ARTICLE XII: MEETINGS
Section 1: Except for special meetings, the branch shall have regular meetings throughout the year at a place and time determined by the president.
Section 2: Branch board meetings shall be at the discretion of the president.
A. Board meetings are open to observation by any member of the branch. If a non-board member wishes to speak at a board meeting, the member must file a request with the president with a written notice to the secretary at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled meeting.
Section 3: Special meetings must be called by the president or three voting members of the board of directors, unless the meeting is a committee or subcommittee meeting.
Section 4: In an emergency, the president may poll the board by telephone or email to handle urgent matters and act according to the majority received by such poll. The board shall affirm the actions of the president at the next meeting.
Section 5: All branch and committee meetings may take place virtually provided all in attendance can see and hear each other. Outcomes from those meetings may be communicated or stored virtually.
ARTICLE XIII: QUORUM
Section 1: A quorum for a meeting of the branch board shall be a minimum of three voting members in attendance.
Section 2: Unless otherwise stated in these bylaws, a simple majority of a quorum will determine the outcome of a vote.
Section 3: No quorum is needed for a general membership meeting unless otherwise stated in these bylaws.
ARTICLE XIV: AMENDMENTS
Section 1: Amendments to these bylaws shall require that the proposed amendment be submitted for approval by the board or by written petition of any five (5) branch members in good standing to the board.
A. Proposed amendments shall be published in the next branch newsletter and voted on at the next regular monthly branch meeting.
B. A simple majority of the members present at the meeting is needed to pass the amendment.
C. The amendment shall take effect immediately following the vote, unless otherwise stated.
Section 2: Any amendment to the California Writers Club bylaws or policies and procedures of the CWC Central Board will automatically be included in the San Francisco Peninsula Branch bylaws.
ARTICLE XV: BRANCH ROSTER
Section 1: The branch roster may be used from the state CWC Member Record Management System (MRMS) for mass mailings only when those mailings pertain to the business of the organization, including but not limited to email and paper mail.
ARTICLE XVI: PRECEDENCE
Section 1: In the event of a conflict between this document and the bylaws of the California Writers Club or the policies and procedures of the CWC Central Board, (available at calwriters.org/documents), the state document will supersede this document.
ARTICLE XVII: PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
Section 1: Robert’s Rule of Order (parliamentary procedure) will serve as the governing resource for any issues not specifically covered in these bylaws, in the bylaws of the California Writers Club and the policies and procedures of the CWC Central Board.
Section 2. Virtual communication of all written documents complies with Robert’s Rules of Order.
Section 3: The president may appoint a parliamentarian for the purposes of implementing Section 1.
-END-
Affirmation
Policies and procedures adopted by action of the board of directors of the San Francisco Peninsula Branch on April 10, 2023.
