Bylaws

(Adopted: October 5, 2021)

Membership:

Qualifications to Join:

  • Must have a local business license
  • Business must fit into a category not currently occupied by another Member
  • There is no category for network/ multi-level marketing businesses

Requirements to Join:

  • Must attend 2 meetings
  • Application:  Fill out application and give to the Club Mentor.  Voting:  Done by show of hands at the meeting following the date the prospective member’s application has been submitted and check  received .  The prospective member is asked to skip this meeting.  A unanimous vote of those present and voting at the weekly meeting at which a vote on membership is taken is required.
  • Fees:  There is a $25 application fee to be submitted with the Membership Application.  Then  a prorated portion of the $100 annual dues and of the current quarter’s quarterly dues of $65 is due after acceptance of the prospective member’s Application by vote of the membership

Membership Dues and Renewals:

  • Annual Membership Dues is $100.00 to be paid in January of each year, along with Quarterly Dues as follows:
  • Quarterly Dues of $65 per quarter – Paid within thirty days of the start of each quarter (i.e. by January 30, April 30, July 30 and October 30 respectively), without further notice.  If dues are not paid by then, membership will lapse.  Membership can be reinstated if dues are brought current within fifteen (15) days thereafter.  Otherwise, membership is cancelled.
  • Exceptions:  We want members to succeed and stay in the group.  If you have an individual problem paying in a timely manner in any instance and need an extension of time, please talk with the President or a Board member.
  • New Members: New Members will be charged an Application Fee of $25 to be paid with their Application for Membership.  They will also be charged a prorated portion of the Member Annual Fee and of the current quarter’s quarterly dues, to be paid within ten days following the vote accepting their Application for Membership.

Attendance:

The Goal is for all members to attend at least half of the meetings per quarter. Membership will be cancelled when member fails to attend 50% of available meetings in any quarter. 

Leave Of Absence:

Members can request up to 60-day leave of absence for work volume, health or similar reasons upon submitting written notice to the Board.  The Board must approve the amount of time requested. Dues for any Member on an approved Leave of Absence must still be paid while on leave, but no fines will be assessed for matters such as no visitation, no guest during membership drive month, etc.  The Member’s position is guaranteed for a maximum of 60 days.  Thereafter, if another individual in the category wants to join the group then the individual on the leave of absence needs to make the decision to return to the group as an active participant or forfeit his/her seat. 

Referrals:

The goal is for everyone to bring referrals weekly

  • A minimum of two referrals per month (inside or outside) is required.  If not, your membership will be up for review
  • The definition of an inside referral is: Business between 2 members that has already been conducted and paid for in the category they represent. (It should be past tense i.e. already purchased a pair of skates, not I need a pair of skates.) Credit for an Inside Referral is taken after money has changed hands.
  • The definition of an outside referral is: A “Warm Lead”, namely referring a non-Member who has expressed a need for a product or service provided by a member to that member’s business. Credit for an Outside Referral is taken when the referral is given to another Member.

Visitations:

Each member is required to visit one other member (as assigned) per month

  • Visitation schedule will be made by the Vice President & will be given out monthly. Visitations are required and should be completed by the last meeting of each month.
  • Failure to complete your monthly visitation will require a $20 donation to the SRN treasury and will be billed by the Treasurer if not paid by the first meeting of the month following the month of the missed visitation.   However, if the Member assigned to visit is not able to reach or make reasonable arrangements for a meeting with the Member being visited after two attempts, the fine is waived.
  • The definition of a visitation is:  Visiting another member at his/her place of business, other agreed location, or by Zoom or phone to familiarize yourself with the other Member’s business, products or services offered and to explore ways to more effectively refer business to the Member visited 

Guests:

Definition of a qualified guest is an individual with a business who is eligible for membership. Thus, the category that the guest is interested in must be vacant. Other people are welcome to visit the group, but the member will still be responsible for donating $1.00 if they do not have another qualified guest at the meeting.

Donations:

Below is a list of infractions that will require you to donate to the SRN treasury

When Meeting In Person:

  • Forget to wear group name tag to weekly meeting – $1.00
  • Not bringing a guest to each weekly meeting – $1.00
  • Not bringing a referral to each weekly meeting – $1.00

Other:

  • Cell phone  going off in a meeting, including in a Zoom meeting, and/or taking a call during a meeting – $10.00
  • Not completing visitation for any month(before the first meeting of the following month)  – $20.00
  • If any member does not bring a qualified guest during a Board designated Membership Drive, the Member donates $20.00 to the SRN treasury.

Officers:

President:

  • Supervise the entire group and Board members
  • Preside over weekly meetings, begin at 7am and ending promptly at 8:00am
  • Handle ethics issues
  • Preside over monthly Board meetings
  • Provide leadership, motivation and encouragement to the group
  • Call for committee reports in the meetings
  • Send out termination letters
  • Distribute awards each month
  • Review the checking account statements and other financial information provided by the treasurer
  • Sign checks issued by the Club on its checking account

Vice President:

  • Produce the next month’s visitation schedule before the last meeting of each month and distribute to all Members
  • Substitute for the President when he/she is not available
  • Keep track of completed visitations

Secretary:

  • Take minutes of each board meeting and report to group at the following meeting
  • Monitor/ collect referrals given and report to the President each month;  review referrals for duplicates
  • Track Guest visits during Board designated membership drives
  • Order or purchase any supplies needed by the Group from time to time, including Card Caddies and Name Tags
  • Send any correspondence necessary
  • Maintain a copy of the original of minutes, current By Laws, each new member application and other SRN documents

Treasurer:

  • Keep financial records, including a record of all SRN dues payments
  • Maintain, review and balance SRN checking account
  • Notify group members with a quarterly invoice, and with a verbal reminder at a regular meeting(s), of the quarterly dues
  • Send renewal invoices out to members in January
  • Consult with Social Chairperson regarding budget for each social

Support Teams:

Social Chairperson:

  • Plans and organizes quarterly socials, for the members and a guest, at SRN expense.  Chairperson must consult with the Board to approve the idea (location, theme, food,  budget)
  • Consult with Treasurer regarding the operating budget for each social

Membership Team:

  • To consist of one or more people, including a Mentor
  • Remain after meetings or be otherwise available to prospective members to answer any questions and make sure they understand the membership process
  • Provide assistance to prospective members in completing the application
  • Schedule mentor lunch when a new Member has joined the group
  • Award business card caddy at new member’s 1st meeting

Program Director:

  • Organizes speakers for each week
  • Gives report each week to announce speakers for the next week(s)
  • Call or e-mail next speaker to confirm speaker for upcoming week

Board of Directors:

  • Composed of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary
  • Support Teams may be called in for support if necessary
  • Board meetings are to be held monthly, date, time and location are to be determined by the President 
  • Any member of the group is welcome to attend the Board Meeting; you do need to let the Secretary know for seating and reservation purposes. 
  • If the Board meetings are held at a lunch location, payment rules will be determined by the Board, and announced to the Membership, from time to time.

Ethics Team:

Composed of the Board of Directors (President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer) As Needed if an Ethics issue arises

  • Team Chairperson is the President
  • Maintain confidentiality
  • Goal is to diffuse any issues before a written complaint is made
  • Types of conduct which is of concern and may be addressed:

Conflicts of interest, failing to follow up on referrals, poor performance of work on referrals, being unprofessional

Summary of Agenda for Each Meeting:

  • Pledge of allegiance
  • Introduction of guests
  • Group mission statement
  • Definition of a referral
  • Introduction of Board members and presentation of board reports
  • Mystery greeter
  • Passing of business cards & referrals
  • 10-minute speaker
  • Encore for last week’s speaker
  • Report on successful referrals, interactions/ assistance within the Group and/or Visitations
  • 30-second commercials by each member and the 3 for 3 donations

Ongoing Promotions/ Awards/ Incentives:

Most Referrals Award: $25: Given Monthly:  The Member who has given the most qualified referrals each month receives a $25.00 reward.  In the case of a tie, each member will receive a $25 award.  At least three referrals given during the month are required for a Member to be eligible for this Award.

Two or More Referrals: Drawing: $20 – Given Monthly:  All Members having two or more referrals in the preceding month (other than the winner(s)of the Most Referrals Award for that month) are automatically entered into a random drawing for a $20 award.  The President will decide each month how many $20 awards will be randomly drawn from the “pool”, based on the number of entries.

Perfect Attendance Award: $20 – Given Monthly:  All members who have had “perfect attendance” at all meetings in the preceding month and who have further completed their assigned visitation. 

Guest Promotion Award: $10 – Per Qualified Visitor During the Month (Given Monthly With Other Awards):  Awarded to each Member for each visit by a qualified guest. If a qualified guest from a business visits twice, both visits of the same person or business will count.  If more than one person from the same prospective business visits, only one will be counted as a guest. 

Membership Drives:

Membership drives are designed to put an emphasis on expanding the group and encouraging the members to bring guests. At least one Membership drive shall occur each year. During a Membership Drive, the Board may announce promotions for prospective members. During the Membership Drive period, to be determined by the Board, each Member will be required to bring at least one qualified guest. If any Member of the group does not bring a qualified guest, the member donates $20.00 to the SRN treasury.

If circumstances exist that prevent a member from participating and bringing a guest during the promotion period, the member can request an extension in writing.  The request for extension must be made in writing to the Board of Directors no later than the board meeting during the promotion month.  No extensions will be given beyond 30 days from the end of the promotion period.

Guests:

Definition of a qualified guest is an individual with a business license who is eligible for membership, i.e. in a then open category, meaning there must be no conflict (or no substantial conflict) with the business of any current member of the group, and no multi-level style business is eligible. Other people are welcome to visit the group, but the member will still be responsible for donating $1.00 if they do not have another qualified guest at the meeting, and a non-qualified guest will not entitle a Member to the $10 Guest Promotion Award.

No Political Activity/ Commentary:

The Mission of the Spokane Referral Network is to develop business for other Members, to build confident relationships among the Members and to educate each other on each Member’s areas of expertise. SRN does not engage in any political activity (policy advocacy or candidate support), and it is requested that likewise Members not engage in political commentary at the meetings or SRN functions. The Group has no political purpose and does not wish to foster any spirit of conflict or dissention among the members. It is requested that Members respect the differing views of all Members and refrain from engaging in political commentary or discussion.

Amendment:

The Bylaws may be amended or repealed by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board of Directors, acting at any meeting of the Board at which a quorum is present.

Termination of Membership:

Determined by the Board of Directors following an additional Board meeting, attended by the entire board when there are violations of these By-laws, pending ethics or unacceptable conduct violations or continued probation violations.

…THE END …

Adopted: October 5, 2021 By Vote of the Majority of the Board of Directors