You can use the following as a template as a guide for your own affiliated atheist society constitution, adapting it as required to suit the rules and regulations of your own college.

[Name of Institute] Atheist Society Constitution:

Name:

  1. The name of the society shall be [Name of Institute] Atheist Society (hereby referred to as ‘the Society’).

Objectives:

  1. The objectives of the Society shall be to promote atheism and reason over superstition and supernaturalism, and to promote an ethical, and secular society.
  2. The funds of the Society shall be applied for the purpose of furthering these objects.

Membership:

  1. Membership shall be open to all students, staff and graduates of [Named Institution] (hereafter referred to as ‘the College’)
  2. The Society shall not discriminate in its actions against any person on the basis of gender identity, age, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, religious or non-religious belief, social status, political views, or any other grounds.
  3. Individuals shall be considered members of the Society – and so have the right to vote in society elections – if they have paid the appropriate fee, registered with the Honorary Secretary of the society and attended at least 2 meetings during the session.

Committee:

  1. There shall be a Committee of the Society which, subject to this Constitution and to decisions of 
General Meetings of the Society, shall be the governing body of the Society.
  2. The Committee shall consist of:
    • The Auditor
    • The Secretary
    • The Treasurer
    • The Public Relation Officer
    • The Events Officer
  3. All the members of the Committee shall be elected at the A.G.M. of the Society held in the Spring Semester. Their term of office shall be from the end of the semester in which they are elected until the same time the following year. The Annual General Meeting of the Society – advertised at least one full week in advance – shall be held in the second term. The Agenda shall include Minutes, Auditor’s Report, Secretary’s Report, Financial Report, and the election of Officers and Committee. The Constitution may only be changed at the Society A.G.M., and a two-thirds majority vote is required to do so.
  4. Meetings of the Committee shall be convened by the Auditor or by requisition of any 2 members of the Committee. Notice of any such requisitioned meeting shall be given to all members of the Committee at least 48 hours before the time of such meeting. There shall be at least two meetings of the Committee in each semester. The quorum for any meeting of the Committee shall be 3 members.
  5. Members shall only be entitled to stand in committee elections if they have attended at least 4 meetings during the college year.

Officers:

  1. There shall be an Auditor who shall be the chief officer of the Society. The Auditor shall be entitled to represent the Society at meetings of the Societies Council, preside at all General Meetings of the Society and at all meetings of the Committee. At meetings of the Committee the Auditor shall have a deliberative and a casting vote.
  2. To be eligible for nomination for election to the position of Auditor of the Society, a person shall have been a member of the Society for at least one full academic year prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting at which the election is to be held.
  3. There shall be a Secretary of the Society. The duties of the Secretary shall include:
    • recording the Minutes of all meetings of the Society and of its Committee
    • undertaking the correspondence of the Society as directed by the Auditor and the Committee.
  4. There shall be  a Treasurer of the Society. The duties of the Treasure shall include:
    • manage all aspects of the Society finances.
    • prepare accounts for auditing as per College rules and regulations.
    • Submit a record of finances to the Financial Officer of Atheist Ireland in time for inclusion in the organisation’s A.G.M.
  5. There shall be a Public Relations Officer. The duties of the Secretary shall include:
    • managing social media and advertising of society activities.
    • communicating the objectives of the Society the wider college community.
  6. There shall be a Events Officer. The duties of the Secretary shall include:
    • organise society events and invite speakers to give talks on issues relevant to the societies aims and objectives.

Affiliation:

  1. The Society is affiliated with the advocacy group Atheist Ireland and is considered to be a branch of that organisation, as such it will, in all its actions, events and activities, uphold the ethos and policies of that organisation.
  2. Individuals who join  the Society are not automatically members of the advocacy group Atheist Ireland, but are instead affiliate members. Full membership of Atheist Ireland can be obtained by registering with Atheist Ireland and paying the appropriate annual membership fee.
  3. Affiliate members of Atheist Ireland shall have all the benefits of full membership but shall not be entitled to vote at Atheist Ireland AGM.
  4. Through affiliation Atheist Ireland will support the Society. The manner of this support will be in keeping with the rules and regulations of the College.

« Writing a Constitution

0 Comments

No comments!

There are no comments yet, but you can be first to comment this article.

Leave reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.