Bylaws
Minot Quilt Guild – “Prairie Quilters” Members
We’ve started the year off with a bang and the momentum keeps sewing forward. We’ve decided to change the Bylaws for the guild after obtaining the latest updated version of Robert’s Rules. We discovered that changes need to be made in several areas of the Bylaws to ensure the guild and its 501(c)3 nonprofit status are safeguarded. There is a long list of items from a previous treasurer’s position where a bunch of files, check registers, government tax filings, etc. are missing and the treasurer’s laptop was factory reset (erased) so no information is/was available for the last two treasurers to look through.
If an audit were conducted by any State or Federal government official today, we would fail and more than likely lose our 501(c)3 status and be informed that we need to dissolve the guild/corporation. I DO NOT want this to happen. We as a guild need to get the suggested changes made to the Bylaws to show good faith that we recognize these errors and moving forward we have rules set in place, so we are never this vulnerable again.
It was brought up by a guild member at the Board Meeting on Thursday, February 20th that we are not a business, just people who love to Quilt. In 1996, when the guild decided to change its status to a 501(c)3 nonprofit due to having too much money and paying taxes on that money, it became a corporation/business that must follow all state and federal rules for nonprofits. It was also decided to adopt Robert’s Rules of Order as our guidelines for the Bylaw’s. It was suggested to maybe revert back to the way things were before establishing ourselves as a 501(c)3, if that was the case we would have to dissolve the nonprofit status that the guild currently has, after all the financial burdens are paid out, any monies, equipment, fabrics, etc. that are left, the guild/corporation would have to donate/give everything to other 501(c)3 charities, it cannot be sold or distributed to current guild members.
On March 6th we will be holding a ballot vote to approve the changes that have been sent to you (January 2025) and a copy of the Bylaw suggested changes are listed below in the attached files. All suggested changes will be highlighted in yellow, pink or blue. If you are unable to make it to the guild meeting and would like to cast your “Yes or No” vote via email, you will need to email myself at [email protected] and Susan Melgaard at [email protected], we both need to receive them via email. If you wish to mail in your vote, please mail it to Minot Quilt Guild, PO Box 306, Minot, ND 58702-0306. Your email & mail-in vote must be received 24 hours prior to the Guild Members meeting on Thursday, March 6th at 7pm for your vote to be counted.
Michelle Myers / President