STANDING RULES
TOWPATH QUILT GUILD, INC.
(Revised and Approved ____)
Section 1:
Towpath Quilt Guild accounting year is September 1 to August 31
All funds raised at the Quilt Show and other fundraising activities go to the Guild’s general fund and any donations made from the Guild’s general funds must be approved by the Board of Directors.
Section 2: Membership
Annual dues are $35.00 due the 1st of September each year, $30.00 if paid before the 1st of September
and $15.00 after March 1st. Dues may be changed by a majority vote of the members at the June meeting.
Guests pay $5.00 and may attend three meetings annually before they are required to join. Guest payments will be deducted from their annual dues upon joining the Guild.
When dues are paid, a Nametag membership card is issued, which is to be worn at meetings and workshops. A drawing for a fat quarter or other quilt-related item is held for those attending the meetings, with the requirement that the member must be wearing a nametag.
Membership is open to all with an interest in quilting and related activities. New members may choose to have a mentor at the time of joining. An information packet is provided to new members with a fat quarter included.
Members of the Board of Directors are the elected officers (Executive Board) and committee chairmen. The Board is responsible for overall policy and direction of the Guild. The out-going President or Co-Presidents will serve one year on the Board as a non-voting Advisor.
All Guild members are also members of Quilters’ Consortium of New York, Inc., (see Section 3) as long as the Guild remains a member.
Section 3: Consortium Delegate and Alternate
The Guild is a member of the Quilters’ Consortium of New York State, a network of approximately 25 guilds established for the purpose of sharing thoughts and ideas on quilting.
The President or Co-Presidents appoint the Delegate and Alternate to attend the Consortium meetings. They are responsible to prepare a brief description of Guild activities to present at the Consortium meeting and to inform the Guild of Consortium activities. The Delegate(s) will be reimbursed for lunch and mileage (according to government guidelines) to attend the meetings.
Section 4: Meetings
Board Meetings: Guild Board meetings are held the 1st Tuesday of the month except January, February, July and September. The President or Co-Presidents shall call a meeting, in August, of all incoming and outgoing Board members to plan the year’s activities and distribute packets containing Standing Rules, By-Laws, Job Descriptions, Budget and any other necessary information. All Guild members may attend Board meetings as non-voting members.
A “Monthly Minder” sheet is available at each regular meeting. It lists events and happenings of the coming month and any reminders as appropriate. It is also published on the Guild’s website. Advertising is not allowed in this document. The Monthly Minder is prepared by the Co-Vice Presidents.
Regular Meetings: Regular meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday of the months: September, October, November, March, April, and May. January is the Service Project, February is workshops, June is the annual meeting and picnic, and July or August are workshops. The regular meetings begin at 9:30 with a social time and library time, and the meeting begins at 10:00. A program or lecture is usually included in the regular meeting. Advertising is not allowed at this meeting.
Annual Meeting: The Towpath Annual Meeting is the June membership meeting and Picnic. The minutes of the previous June Annual Meeting are read or made available and approved. The officers for the coming year are elected by the membership and sworn into office.
Canceled Meetings: Meetings canceled for snow or other weather-related closing will follow the Fayetteville Manlius School closings.
Section 5: Programs and Workshops
Programs are funded by the Guild for all members. The Program Committee is responsible to select programs, which may be a lecture, workshop or both. The Program Chair and Committee are responsible for all arrangements for the lecture and/or workshop.
When workshops are offered, member costs for a workshop must cover the teacher’s fee. Members may sign up for each workshop and payment is expected at time of sign-up. No one is guaranteed attendance or receives a class handout until payment has been made. No refunds will be given after the cut-off date as stated on the sign-up sheet, unless the class is canceled.
If a Program Committee member is coordinating the workshop, that member may attend the workshop at no cost. The hostess will be reimbursed if entertaining the instructor at lunch and or dinner.
Section 6: Events
February Workshop: The February Workshop is open to all Guild members at no cost.
Paid Guild members teach various workshops. This workshop is normally held at the same location as Guild meetings, currently the United Methodist Church in Fayetteville. Members may be asked to bring goodies for morning coffee.
National Quilting Day: The Guild observes National Quilting Day. This observance varies from one year to another. The Guild may present some type of quilting activity for the public that may include demonstrations or information about the Guild and its service projects and if allowed by the venue, tickets for the Guild raffle quilt may be sold. The Guild may choose to observe National Quilting Day as a Quilt Guild Event.
June Picnic: The June picnic is the Annual Meeting. The minutes from the previous June meeting are read or made available and approved by the membership. During the meeting, the items made for the annual Service Project are presented to the designated recipient organization. This is a luncheon meeting that is either potluck or catered. If catered, there will be a per-attendee charge.
Summer Workshop: The Summer Workshop is held to provide members an opportunity to get together during the summer. There is a per member charge for the workshop to pay for teachers and facility use including an open sew. Non-members may attend with an additional fee.
New Member Hospitality Tea: Twice a year a New Member Hospitality Tea is scheduled and invitations go out to new members. It is held the third Tuesday in October and the third Tuesday in April. This tea is usually held in a Guild member’s home. It is hosted by the Hospitality Committee. Veteran members are also invited to welcome new members and give the new members an overview of what Towpath Quilt Guild is all about. New members and veteran members get to know each other at this tea.
December Holiday Party: The party begins at the General meeting time and typically includes morning goodies, lunch, various activities such as games, a silent auction, sale of donated items, or outside entertainment. Lunch may be potluck or catered. There is no charge for the potluck, but if a caterer is used, there will be a per member charge.
State Fair: The Guild annually hosts a table at the State Fair for three to four days. The purpose is to support the Towpath Guild's Mission: “to promote awareness and provide opportunities in the art of quilting”. The table is staffed daily by two or more volunteer Guild members, who work on various quilting techniques or demonstrations, and provide membership information about the Towpath Quilt Guild. During Quilt Show years, raffle quilt tickets are also sold. The chairwoman is responsible for contacting and making arrangements with the State Fair and organizing the volunteers.
Section 7: Optional Activities
Monthly Block Raffle: If offered, members who wish to participate in the block raffle make one or more of a chosen block. For each block, the member’s name is entered in a drawing to win all the blocks. More than one name may be drawn depending on the number of blocks made, as determined by the Block of the Month Chairperson.
Mystery Quilt: If offered, members may participate in a mystery quilt pattern, steps of which will be distributed on a monthly basis. A nominal fee may be charged.
Monthly Fat Quarter Raffle: If offered, members who wish to participate in the fat quarter raffle bring one or more fat quarters of a predetermined color and/or theme. For each fat quarter, the member’s name is entered in a drawing to win fat quarters. More than one name may be drawn depending on the number of fat quarters submitted, as determined by the Chairperson.
Monthly Raffle Basket: If offered, members may purchase one or more $1.00 tickets to win the monthly raffle basket of “goodies”. This is intended to be a “break-even”, fun activity.
UFO Club (Unfinished Objects): If offered, members may choose to enroll in this club for the current year. The member will list a certain number of UFOs and pay a minimal charge. Upon completion of each item listed, the member will be reimbursed a portion of the amount paid. The names of participants who complete all listed items will be placed in a drawing for prizes to be determined by the Chair of the Club. Any non-reimbursed money will be turned over to the general operating fund of the Guild.
S.C.R.A.P.S: ‘Service Coordinator Representing All Projects Sewn’ including knitted and crocheted items. Guild members who participate in various projects for charity groups or other entities in need of bedding, clothing, etc., may share their patterns for others’ use. A SCRAPS Coordinator maintains a notebook of photos, patterns and related information which is available to members at any time.
Recycle Shop: If offered, a shopping venue for members may be provided through donations of quilt-related items by members. This “store” is set up in the church sanctuary for meetings in the months so designated by the chairperson or co-chairpersons. New or gently used quilting notions, patterns, UFOs and unwanted fabric are solicited on a time-line provided by the chair. Money realized from this is to be added to the Guild’s general operating fund.
Trunk Sale: If offered, a Trunk Sale may be held. This is for members who wish to sell gently used, in good condition, quilting items out of their trunks. A per trunk fee is charged to members who participate. The date and time is determined by the Chairperson. As with the Recycle Shop, fees from this are donated to the Guild’s general operating fund.
Section 8: Quilt Show
The quilt show is held in odd-numbered years. The Quilt Show Chair or Co-Chairs and the Quilt Show Planning Committee Chairs are responsible for planning and implementing the Quilt Show. This is the only Towpath Quilt Guild fundraiser.
All funds raised at the Quilt Show go to the Guild and any donations made from those funds must be approved by the Board.
In even-numbered years a Raffle Quilt Committee Chair is selected and members volunteer to serve on the committee that designs and makes the raffle quilt for the Quilt Show. Towpath Quilt Guild individual members are required to sell a minimum of 30 raffle tickets. This is the only requirement of membership. Tickets are also sold at a variety of venues in the area. Members are encouraged to help identify venues at which to display the quilt and volunteer to sell raffle tickets at these venues.
Section 9: Library
The Guild library is a benefit of Guild membership. Members may sign out 1-3 books per month, due back at the next Guild meeting. In November and May members may sign out up to 5 books that are not due back for 3 months (the time between meetings).
Guild members are encouraged to request books to be purchased for the library.
When the library is culled and when donated books are not put in the library, they are offered to the members at a discount.
Section 10: Newsletter
The Guild newsletter “Along the Towpath” is e-published quarterly and is available to Guild members as part of their dues. For members without email, the newsletter will be sent via mail.
Guild members are encouraged to submit articles of interest to the newsletter editor.
Businesses may advertise in the newsletter for a small charge, which may be changed by the Board of Directors. Guild members may advertise three (3) lines once per year for no charge. This is the only authorized means of advertising.
No copyrighted material will be published without permission.
Section 11: Website
A website is maintained to keep members informed of ongoing activities as well as immediate events. When possible, pictures of events are shown. The current newsletter, By-Laws, and Standing Rules are available. A Members Only section is available with the use of a password that is annually changed.
The Website Liaison is responsible for submitting all information to the web master. No copyrighted material/pictures/patterns will be accepted unless there is written permission of the artist/designer, etc. No advertising will be placed on the website.
Information to be published on the webpage is submitted only to the Website Liaison. The Website Liaison will contact the Co-Presidents with questions about any information submitted.
Section 12: E-mail Liaison
Requests for Guild-wide distribution of internal Guild information will be submitted to the E-mail Liaison person. A complete and up-to-date listing of all members and their e-mail addresses will be maintained. When sending a Guild wide e-mail the members e-mail will be blind copied. A member of the executive committee will be designated as the back-up E-mail Liaison. No advertising will be disseminated through this method.
Section 13: Scholarships
The guild awards scholarships each year at the September meeting. Scholarships are good for one year, from September to August and are not to be used for Towpath Guild workshops. Members who are eligible may submit their names for the drawing to be held in September. To be eligible, a member must be in at least their second year of Guild membership and have served on a committee or been a Board member. If a scholarship winner has not committed to using the funds allocated by January 1st, those funds are relinquished to the alternate. Scholarship recipients may take a physical class or on-line class. Scholarship recipients must share their experience at a designated meeting/workshop no later than the September meeting of the following year. The scholarship winner will be reimbursed for the class up to the full scholarship amount by submitting a receipt to the Treasurer.
Last year’s recipients are not eligible for the next year’s drawing.
The Co-Vice Presidents shall be responsible for overseeing the Scholarships.
Section 14: President’s or Co-Presidents’ Gift
The immediate past President or Co-Presidents are responsible for the outgoing President’s or Co-Presidents’ quilt/sewing-related gift(s). Input will be sought regarding the type of gift desired, and members may be asked to contribute accordingly. Funds may be requested of the Board.
Section 15: Memorial Gifts
A memorial gift will be sent to a designated charity when a Guild member passes away. The Corresponding Secretary will request a check for $25 from the Treasurer to be sent to the designated charity with a request that the family be notified of the donation. If no charity is designated, the Guild will forward a memorial gift to a quilt-related entity.
Section 16: Inventory
Co-Vice Presidents will inventory Guild property stored in the church in odd-numbered years. A completed list will be given to the Church, Presidents and Treasurer.