BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I

The name of this organization shall be the Friends of the Philadelphia City Institute Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

ARTICLE II Purpose

Section 1. The Friends of the Philadelphia City Institute Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia shall be a voluntary non-profit organization of persons whose purpose it is to help promote and provide for fuller utilization of all physical and cultural facilities of the Philadelphia City Institute Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

A. To promote knowledge of the resources, services, needs and values of the library.

B. To secure the support of the community in augmenting services not provided for in the City Budget.

C. To stimulate gifts of books, magazines, collections, endowments and bequests.
D. To provide more cultural activities for our community.
E. To develop better citizenship through better reading.
F. To support the budget request of the Free Library of Philadelphia and any desirable legislation.

Section 2. Said organization is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational and scientific purposes, including for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue code.)
No part of the net receipts of the organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees and officers.
The organization is authorized to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in this article.

No substantial part of the activities of the organization shall be lobbying, or attempting to influence legislation. The organization shall not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.

The organization shall not carry-on activities prohibited to exempt oganizations by Section 501(c)(3) or 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or by corresponding provisions of any future United States Internal Revenue code.

Section 3. Upon the dissolution of this organization, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code or corresponding section of any future federal tax law or local government, for a public purpose.

ARTICLE III Membership

Section 1. Membership in this association shall be open to all individuals and organizations interested in the purpose of this group.

Section 2. Each dues-paying member shall be entitled to one vote. ARTICLE IV
Governing Body

Section 1. The governing body consists of four officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary) who comprise the Executive Committee, at least three members at-large and chairs and co-chairs of standing committees. All seven are voting members and four is a quorum. The PCI Branch Manager will be a non-voting member.

ARTICLE V
Officers and Members-at-Large
Section 1. The officers of this organization shall be a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary.

Section 2. Officers and Members-at-Large shall be nominated by a Nominating Committee. This committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.

Section 3. Officers and Members-at-Large shall be elected for two-year terms, with two-year extensions possible. There is a term limit of 6 years total for officers. Terms will be staggered among the officers.

Section 4. Should any officer or Member-at-Large be unable to complete his or her term of office, the Executive Board shall appoint a successor to serve until the next annual meeting.

ARTICLE VI Duties of Officers

Section 1. President: to preside over and conduct meetings, to appoint all committees, except as limited herein, and to be ex-officio a member thereof.

Section 2. Vice President: to perform the duties of the President in the absence to the President and to assist the President as requested.

Section 3. Treasurer: to keep and maintain the financial records of the organization and to cooperate with the Director and Budget Officer of the Free Library of Philadelphia with respect to the solicitation and receipt of dues, contributions and gifts.

Section 4. Secretary: To record attendance at all meetings and to take minutes of all meetings.

Section 5. Members-at Large shall be assigned such duties as the President determines, subject to the approval of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VII Standing Committees

Section 1. There shall be a standing Membership committee. All other committees are ad hoc. Other committees may be created by the President with the approval of the Executive Board.

Section 2. Chairs or Co-Chairs of the standing committees shall be appointed annually by the President with the approval of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VIII Meetings

Section 1. A special meeting of the membership may be called at any time by the Executive Board, with written notice of its purpose being mailed to the membership at least three weeks in advance.

Section 2. Meetings of the Executive Board shall be held quarterly. Special meetings may be called by the President. A majority of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum. All Board meetings are open to members of the Friends of the Philadelphia City Institute Branch.

ARTICLE IX Dues

Section 1. Dues shall be payable as each person becomes a member and annually (or by monthly installments) thereafter.

There shall be four classes of membership: Student ......................... $5.00 Individual......................$25.00 Household/family............ $35.00 Sponsor...................... $100.00 or more

ARTICLE X Fiscal Year

Section 1. The fiscal year shall run from July 1st through June 30th. All funds shall be deposited to the Friends of the Philadelphia City Institute Branch and shall be disbursed by the Treasurer as authorized by the executive officers or the Executive Board.

ARTICLE XI Amendments

Section 1. Amendments to these By-Laws may be made at any board meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present, after notification in writing to each member at least three weeks before the meeting at which voting is to take place.

Section 2. A revised draft of the bylaws will be distributed via email. Those without email addresses will be sent the draft document via standard mail. There will be a stated, limited time period for membership responses. If there are no objections, it will be assumed that approval has been granted.

ARTICLE XII

Parliamentary Procedure

Section 1. Robert’s Rules of Order, revised, when not in conflict with these By-Laws, shall govern the proceedings of the organization.

Adopted June 14, 1997

Amended February 9. 2005

Amended December 2014

Amended April 2021