Student Bar Association

Article XII

Student Organizations

 

Section 12.1           Obtaining a Charter: Any external student organization that seeks to gain the sanction and support, financial and otherwise, of the GRSBA, must obtain a charter from the Board of Directors.

(a)        The founders of an organization must contact the Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services to obtain forms for filing Articles of Incorporation. The phone number is (517) 373-1820. Articles of Incorporation must be filed with the Department of Consumer and Industry Services.

(b)       The founders must contact the Internal Revenue Service for an application request for an Employer Identification Number (SS-4 Form). A request must be completed and sent to the IRS in Cincinnati, OH 45999 (or call 1-800-829-1040). A number will be assigned and sent to the founders of the organization.

(c)        The founder must draft Bylaws which should include at least:

(1)       The name and purpose of the organization;

                                  (i)                  Membership and dues description;

                               (ii)                  Scheduling of meetings and how they are to be conducted;

                             (iii)                  Description of Officers, their duties and their qualifications;

                             (iv)                  Procedure for Amendments to the Bylaws; and

                               (v)                  Procedure for Impeaching Officers.

                             (vi)                  A dissolution clause.

(2)       Formatting similar to the SBA bylaws

(d)       Membership Requirements

(1)       The organization seeking a charter must be supported by:

(i)          at least ten interested students of at least four must be willing to serve as officers.

(ii)       A Cooley faculty advisor

(e)        The organization must contact the GRSBA President, so that the issue of chartering a new organization may be put on the agenda of the Board of Directors meeting. The organization must submit the articles of incorporation and the bylaws to the GRSBA President. At the Board of Directors meeting, the founders shall have a representative present to make an oral presentation to the Board of Directors as to its purpose and goals and be prepared to answer questions about the organization’s purpose, finances and other relevant questions. The Board of Directors shall then determine, by the usual method of motion, debate and vote, and by any criteria or procedures it may in the future adopt, whether GRSBA support of the organization is in the best interest of the student body and should, therefore, be granted a charter. The founders will need a majority vote of the Board of Directors in order to receive its approval for chartering of the new organization.

Section 12.2  Granting a Charter:

(a)       After approval, the GRSBA will provide the new organization with a three-ring binder. All the above-mentioned documents must be kept in this binder on file in the GRSBA Office. Copies of the minutes of all meetings and a list of activities that the organization is planning or has done in the past must also be kept in this file.

(b)       The organization will be assigned a mailbox in the GRSBA Office. Notices from the GRSBA’s internal committees and any outside information sent to the organization will be placed in this mailbox.

(c)        The organization will be required to draft a budget each year to be submitted with the re-chartering packet. The Budget & Finance Committee requests that at least 50% of an organization’s finances are provided by the organization itself. At the conclusion of the budgeting process, each organization will be required to submit the dates of their major events for the budget year to the Budget and Finance Director.  An organization must be placed on the agenda five (5) days ahead of time to request funding from the GRSBA by contacting/emailing the Secretary or the request for funds may not be heard until the following meeting.

(1)        A general description of what the funds are to be used for must be included.

(2)       A good faith estimate of total cost of the project.

(3)       A total of requested funds must be included in the

(d)       Each organization must do the following:

(1)       Submit the following information to the GRSBA Office Administrator by January 15, when changes occur, when an organization is newly chartered or re-chartered:

(i)          Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of at least four officers;

(ii)       Signature from a faculty or staff member agreeing to serve as the advisor;

(iii)      Organization’s official constitution/bylaws (used for interpretive purposes);

(iv)     Signed statement, which is provided by the GRSBA, agreeing to abide by the School’s anti-discrimination policy; and

(v)       Signed statement, which is provided by the GRSBA, agreeing to abide by the established accounting procedures.

(2)       The financial officer of each organization must attend a training session (organized by the GRSBA Treasurer and the Associate Dean of Enrollment and Student Services) before disbursement of funds can take place.

(3)       The president or chairperson(s) of each organization must attend a training session (organized by the Associate Dean of Enrollment and Student Services) on running an organization and organizational behavior.

(4)       In order to receive standing funding, an organization must comply with the (re)chartering regulations and comply with Section 12.3.

 

Section 12.3           Standing Funding: In order to be eligible for standing funding an organization must submit a complete accounting of all funds received the previous term from the GRSBA including receipts or evidence of the expenditure. 

(a)        Standing Funding is discretionary funding by the GRSBA subject to change by the Executive Board as needed. 

(b)       The GRSBA reserves the right to deny Standing Funding for organizations that are not active or otherwise in compliance with the Bylaws, particularly subsection 12.2(d).

 

Section 12.4           Effect: The granting of a charter shall be effective immediately and shall remain in effect until the fourth week of Michaelmas Term when the Board of Directors will authorize renewals. Upon the renewal of a charter, the charter will be effective for a period of one year subject to the annual review by the Board of Directors. The granting of a charter will give an organization eligibility to submit a request for financial support to the Budget & Finance Committee. The Budget & Finance Committee shall recommend an allocation for any chartered group based on the group’s needs; the constraints of the overall GRSBA budget; and the internal procedures of the committee.

 

Section 12.5  Renewal of Charters: The charters of all student organizations shall be eligible for renewal by the Board on an annual basis. The Board shall address the renewal of all charters no later than the fourth week of Michaelmas Term. It shall be the responsibility of the Board to renew charters, and no organization’s charter will lapse by failure of the Board to act. Charters shall be renewed by a simple majority vote of a quorum of the Board.  It shall be the responsibility of the chartered organization to renew their Articles of Incorporation annually with the State of Michigan. If the Board fails to renew a charter, the group in question may make a presentation to the Board in support of its renewal. This procedure shall be set in motion annually by the Vice-President of the GRSBA.

 

Section 12.6           Revocation of Charters: The Board of Directors may at any time revoke the charter of a student organization if the Board of Directors shall determine that the organization in question fails to serve the best interest of the student body or fails to meet any criteria the Board of Directors may adopt for a chartered organization. Upon a motion in the Board of Directors, and a majority vote of a quorum, the organization in question shall be given notice and an opportunity to be heard at the next regular Board of Directors meeting. Thereafter, upon a vote of a supermajority of the Board of Directors the organization’s charter shall be revoked.

 

Section 12.7           Re-Chartering: Any organization whose application for initial charter has been denied; or whose charter renewal has been denied; or whose charter has been duly revoked, may reapply for charter under the terms of §§ 1 and 2 of this Article in the term following the aforementioned rejection.

 

Section 12.8  Appeal: Should the proposed organization fail to obtain a charter from the Board of Directors, its members may cause a referendum of the student body to be held in accordance with the following procedures. The proposed organization must obtain a petition of thirty student signatures calling for a referendum. Upon presentation of the petition to the GRSBA, the Elections Committee shall hold a referendum at its discretion but no later than three (3) weeks after the filing of the petition. Voting will be held for two (2) consecutive days and may be held in conjunction with a general election if circumstances so permit. In order to be successful on appeal, the results of the referendum must be that the affirmative votes are in the majority and that the total affirmative votes number at least five percent (5%) of the registered student body. Upon the achievement of such a result the organization shall be granted a charter.

 

Section 12.9           Reimbursements:  The Treasurer shall only reimburse a Student Organization when presented with a valid reimbursement request from an officer of record.  An officer who signs a reimbursement request certifies that the funding was approved in a manner authorized by the Student Organization’s governing documents.