New Bylaws
After months of discussions and editing, the board has prepared a new set of bylaws that will govern ECAO moving forward. These bylaws were completed December 2020 through board collaboration. You can see it below.
Ethiopian Community Association in Ottawa Region
INTRODUCTION
(መግቢያና መንደርደርያ ሃሳብ)
The Ethiopian Community Association in Ottawa (ECAO) was established in 1985. Throughout the years it has helped many Ethiopians in the process of integrating into Canadian society. We appreciate the volunteers, professionals, and individuals who have committed their time, energy, and knowledge to form the association. We, the newly elected Board Members of the Ethiopian Community Association in Ottawa, are the continuation of that great work, which has been handed down from our brothers and sisters who participated and led this community in the past years.
Our main goal is to start meaningful and functional ways of bringing the community together so that services needed by our community are provided with the language they are familiar with. Through the spirit of solidarity, we will continue to support the diverse ethnic and cultural communities of Ethiopians in Ottawa.
Not only are we working to unite the community to continue shining among fellow Canadian citizens but we are also focused on engaging in meaningful dialogue within our community to address historical differences that led us to division in the past decade. By initiating such dialogues, we believe we can eliminate or reduce the amount of differences we have among ourselves.
In the effort of reforming the previous bylaws that governed this association, we are committed to collaborating with the members of our community to create a new bylaw that aligns with the needs of our community in Ottawa. We believe effective policies that understand the current political situation in Ethiopia helps the Ethiopian community in Ottawa in our present day.
Our long-term goal is to build an Ethiopian community center in Ottawa which can directly provide services that the Ethiopian community needs. As newly elected Board Members, we are committed to doing this work for years to come.
Our Constitution
The name of the association is the Ethiopian Community Association in Ottawa.
ECAO is a non-political and non-profit organization.
ECAO does not tolerate discrimination on the bases of differences in beliefs, identites and disability.
The purpose of the association is to provide services and programming that will enhance the quality of life of Ethiopians living in Ottawa.
Below includes a brief but not limited list of ECAO’s ongoing objectives:
To promote community unity and respect.
To identify community needs and develop programs with the collaboration of members, agencies and government as necessary.
To raise awareness of and provide relevant news and information to Ethiopians living in Ottawa.
To advocate for Ethiopians in Ottawa who need assistance with government services and applications.
To include the voice of Ethiopians in Ottawa when engaging with local municipalities concerning neighborhood plans, land use proposals, developments and public projects within our city.
To plan, administer, operate and maintain the necessary organizational structures to achieve the purposes and functions of the association.
Our Vision
To create a united and peaceful community of Ethiopians living in Ottawa. A community that gathers together for holidays, concerts, sports, meals, in times of celebration and times of adversity, supporting one another.
Our Mission
To provide direct social services for newcomers and the diaspora.
Our Values
We value honesty, fairness, equality, common sense, participation and cooperation.
Definitions and References
“Ethiopians in Ottawa” “members of the community” or “Ethiopian community” refers to individuals who are Ethiopians, Ethio-Canadians, and people of Ethiopian descent currently living in the city of Ottawa, Canada.
“Board” refers to the Board of Directors of the Association who are made up of Ethiopians living in Ottawa. This is an unpaid voluntary position.
“Committee” refers to a subgroup of volunteer members of the community who are working together for a common purpose under the supervision of the Board, for example a fundraising committee or youth committee.
“Director”or “Board Member” refers to an individual who is elected or appointed to the Board by the community.
“ECAO” refers to the Ethiopian Community Association in Ottawa.
“Trustee” refers to an individual who is elected or appointed to be a Trustee by the community or the Board.
Membership
The ECAO membership is open to Ethiopians, Ethio-Canadians, and people of Ethiopian descent in Ottawa. This includes Kanata, Stittsville, Gloucester, and Orleans. Ethiopians living at the Gatineau border are also welcome to join.
Members are required to pay a nonrefundable annual membership fee of 30$ CAD subject to change with inflation.
Members must be registered and in good standing to vote on ECAO decisions and elections. A member in good standing is one that consistently attends AGMs, and voting meetings as well as pays the annual membership fee.
To qualify for membership an individual must be dwelling in the Ottawa region for a minimum of 60 days.
Members who move out of the Ottawa region will remain a member for the duration of the calendar year.
Voting Process
In-Person Voting: Each voting member shall be issued a voting card upon entering an in-person meeting.
Virtual Voting: Each voting member may vote verbally or by raising a hand. For election voting there will be a ballot box.
Every member has one vote and votes are counted and announced at the end of the meeting.
For general voting if there is a tie, the motion is defeated.
For elections if there is a tie, the Board can cast a vote to break the tie.
Annual General Meeting
The Board will choose a Board Member to host the meeting, usually the President.
AGMs are held once a year.
The advertisements and invitations to the AGM will include date, time, location and must be sent out 2 weeks prior to the AGM date.
The business of the AGM shall include:
The President’s report of the year’s activities.
The Finance Director’s report and the audited financial statements.
Any important news/achievements from the other Board Members.
When necessary to fill a vacant Board position voting can be held if time permits.
Proceedings at a Regular Meetings (Non-AGMs)
There are two types of regular meetings: Board Meetings and Community Meetings.
The President hosts both meetings (Board and Community). If the President is not present, the Vice President hosts the meeting. If both are not present, the remaining Board Members appoint a host to the meeting.
The Board can use their discretion on when to postpone, reschedule or cancel meetings.
Community Meetings should happen maximum two times a year or whenever the collaboration of the community is required to vote on a subject matter.
Invitation to the Community Meetings must be sent out no later than two weeks prior.
The community quorum shall be more than one-half (1/2) of all community members present at the meeting.
Board Meetings should occur at a regularly scheduled day and time either weekly or bi-weekly depending on the urgency of the matters.
The board quorum shall be more than one-half (1/2) of all directors.
The business of a regular meeting shall include:
Welcoming guests.
Reviewing the agenda.
Reviewing the minutes from the last meeting.
Dealing with unfinished/unresolved items from the last meeting.
Discussing the new agenda.
End the meeting.
If the quorum is not present within 30 minutes after a set time, the host will cancel the meeting and reschedule it for another day.
Board Positions
Board Positions:
President
Vice President
Finance
Secretary
Treasurer
Government Liaison
Public Relations
Youth Coordinator
Volunteer Coordinator
General Board Member
Human Resources
Events Manager
Election of the Board
To apply for a Board position with ECAO, an individual must:
Be an Ethiopian living in the Ottawa region.
Be 20 years of age or older on the day their term starts.
Be legally competent (mentally capable of making their own decisions).
Elections are held on an ongoing basis as not all Board Members begin or end their term at the exact same date.
Board Members must commit to a 4 year term.
During either a Community Meeting, AGM or ECAO event, elections may be held to vote a new individual into a General Board Position.
Voting by proxy is not permitted.
If there is a tie vote, the existing Board is able to cast one vote to break the tie.
In the event that only one individual applies for a Board position, and there are no other interested applicants, the existing Board can use their discretion and appoint a new Board Member.
In the event that an election has low public attendance the election will be rescheduled.
ECAO is required to share Board vacancies and job descriptions with its members as soon as the position becomes vacant or is created.
Newly Elected Board Members
Once elected, the new General Board Member may be assigned a specific role by the existing Board based on their educational background and experience. They may also keep their General Board Member position and provide overall support to the Board.
As of January 2022, Board Members must serve a period of 4 years. If they are unable to complete the 4 years, an election will be held to fill their place and they will be required to train the new Board Member.
Prior to the end of their term, all Board Members are required to create a Handbook document detailing their job responsibilities to help the new individual filling their role make a proper transition. This Handbook should provide important passwords, duties, details of long-term projects and important contacts.
Power of the Board
The Board has the power to:
Make executive decisions on programming and services offered by the Association.
Advocates on behalf of the community with all levels of government.
Establish bylaws, board policies, and procedures.
Develop and implement initiatives to support and promote the Ethiopian community.
Create and/or lead committees and any subcommittee the board deems necessary.
Monitor performance against the annual budget.
Protect the interests of the Association and community.
Keep notes and statistics for the purpose of grant applications.
Promote association activities by visible leadership and participation within the community.
Loss of Membership
The Board may revoke membership (alongside voting power and ability to apply for Board positions) if a registered member commits any of the following acts:
Fails to remain in good standing.
Publically slanders/libels the ECAO.
Comprises ECAOs confidentiality.
Purposefully Damages ECAO property.
Disrupts meetings or functions of the ECAO.
The Board must make every effort to resolve any membership issues and revoking membership should only be considered as the last option.
Removal of Directors
The board may remove any director before the end of that director’s term by 70% majority vote if a registered member commits any of the following acts:
Publically slanders/libels the ECAO.
Comprises ECAOs confidentiality.
Purposefully Damages ECAO property.
Disrupts meetings or functions of the ECAO.
The Board must make every effort to resolve any internal Board issues and removal should only be considered as the last option.
Affiliations
Upon approval of the Board, the ECAO may affiliate/collaborate with organizations aligned with the interests and values of the ECAO. For example a local food bank or municipal government.
Committees
The Board may create and supervise committees as required to assist and advise the Board with respect to accomplishing goals and tasks that require group work.
The association may have between 1-3 standing committees at a time with no limit on the number of volunteers per committee.
The committees have the discretion to call their own meetings, conduct research, and use ECAO resources to accomplish their tasks while regularly reporting back to the Board.
Some of the intended committees are: Youth Committee, Fundraising Committee, and Events Committee.
Board Member Job Descriptions
President:
Shall regularly attend Board and Community meetings and contribute their ideas to the discussion.
Shall be responsible for preparation of all board agendas prior to every meeting.
Shall act as the official spokesperson for the ECAO.
Shall regularly check ECAO email and respond to phone calls and voice messages.
Shall coordinate the overall functioning of the board and delegate duties accordingly.
Shall share signature power for the bank account of ECAO alongside the Finance Director.
Vice President:
Shall perform all the duties of the President in the absence of the President.
Shall transition into the role of President once the previous President’s term is over.
Shall regularly attend Board and Community meetings and contribute their ideas to the discussion.
Shall network with members of the community and be a second point of contact aside from the President.
Secretary:
Shall regularly attend Board and Community meetings and contribute their ideas to the discussion and keep accurate minutes.
Shall read aloud the minutes from the previous meeting in the current meeting to update all present parties when necessary.
In the absence of the Secretary, the Board will appoint one Board Member to record minutes.
Finance Director:
Shall regularly attend Board and Community meetings and contribute their ideas to the discussion.
Shall provide financial information and reports upon request of the Board and during AGMs.
Shall document all financial transactions by ECAO.
Shall save financial information by completing database backups.
Shall prepare reimbursements upon receiving receipts for ECAO office and program expenses.
Shall share signature power for the bank account of ECAO alongside the President.
Treasurer:
Shall regularly attend Board and Community meetings and contribute their ideas to the discussion.
Shall be responsible for receiving and counting monies paid to the Association and depositing funds into the ECAO bank account. This role works in collaboration with the Finance Director.
Shall present a full detailed account of receipts and disbursements to the Board whenever requested.
Public Relations:
Shall regularly attend Board and Community meetings and contribute their ideas to the discussion.
Shall be responsible for the creative direction of the online presence of ECAO and marketing materials (posters, pamphlets etc.).
Professionally responding to emails and phone calls from the public while preserving the confidentiality of ECAO. When asked any questions from the media/press The Director of PR must always bring the subject to the Board for discussion and only the President will act as spokesperson to the media.
Analyzing ECAO’s media presence to better find ways of engaging the community.
Government Liaison:
Shall regularly attend Board and Community meetings and contribute their ideas to the discussion.
Shall research and propose available government grants to the Board for discussion.
Shall recruit and supervise the fundraising committee and assist with grant applications on behalf of ECAO.
Shall fill out government forms, write letters, and prepare presentations for government officials.
Shall establish and maintain effective relationships with government representatives.
Youth Program Coordinator:
Shall regularly attend Board and Community meetings and contribute their ideas to the discussion.
Shall develop and maintain relationships with Ethiopian youth across Ottawa.
Shall engage youth through email, telephone and social media as needed.
Shall develop youth programming and help plan youth events.
Shall recruit and supervise the youth committee.
Shall build relationships and make referrals to other youth organizations in Ottawa.
General Board Position:
Shall regularly attend Board and Community meetings and contribute their ideas to the discussion.
Shall support other Board members in accomplishing tasks and/or take on a specific job duty according to their talents and experience.
Events Manager:
Shall regularly attend Board and Community meetings and contribute their ideas to the discussion.
Shall be responsible for planning the logistics of ECAO events.
Shall recruit and supervise volunteers for the Events Committee.
Shall help setup and take down decorations and technology for ECAO events.
Amending the Bylaws
These bylaws may be updated, edited, changed or amended at a Community Meeting.
The bylaws may be amended up to 2 times a year during a Community Meeting.
Suggestions and feedback about the bylaws from the community can be submitted to the Board who then decide if they will move forward with amending the bylaws.
ECAO’s Email Policy
The community’s email account will be accessible for all board members. Each board member is responsible for protecting the association’s confidentiality and dignity.
The association’s email is not a personal account. It is used to advance and promote the association’s values, vision and goals.
Any document created within the community’s email account is deemed as the ECAO’s property.
All board members are encouraged to check emails every week.
The President and Director of PR are required to check the email every week.
The President is expected to respond to all incoming emails first.
The Director of PR will respond to emails when the President is unable to respond or busy.
The Director of PR is required to inform the President about the details of any important emails that require a public statement, or a specific question for the President.
Any emails that require the Board’s involvement shall be shared with the Board by the Director of PR either during a meeting or through telephone.
Maintaining the Office
Only the Board and Bronson Centre staff may have keys to the ECAO office. Every individual that enters the office must sign their names in the office sign-in sheet.
Fax machines, telephone, and photocopy machines are to only be used for ECAO programs and services, not personal use.
If a Board member is conducting office hours or inviting a guest from the community into the office space, their guest's names must also be documented in a sign-in sheet.
Keeping office hours are encouraged but not mandatory.
When and if in-person office hours are permissible in the city of Ottawa, at least one Board member is required to keep office hours per month.
Trustees
We define trustees as the backbone of the community office and the health of our association.
They supervise the implementation of the ECAO’s programs and services in accordance with the Bylaws.
They also ensure that assets are used for the intended purpose and that the assets are kept in properly.
Trustees can be appointed or elected by the Board or nominated or nominated by our community members.
The trustees are entrusted on the properties of our association, which is owned by the community.
Upon a transition of governance, all materials shall be handed over from the Board to the Trustees with a detailed report shared to witnesses.
Trustee Responsibilities
The Trustees shall have a meeting with the community Board Directors once every two months.
In case of an emergency virtual meetings can be arranged to discuss important information.
If there are materials that need to be repaired or replaced, Trustees have the authorization to place orders to help the office of ECAO continue running.
Trustees will serve the ECAO for four year terms, and may end their terms early if they wish.
Existing Trustees are responsible for training newly elected Trustees and equipping them for community service.
Accountability
Trustees are accountable to the Board of Directors.
For efficiency of process, Trustees are mainly accountable to the President and Vice-President of the Board.
In case of unexpected and unprecedented incidents like loss of office space, the Trustees are responsible for cataloging and storing all ECAO office inventory (such as furniture, electronics, and files) until an office space is made available.
There is no maximum number of Trustees.
100.The position of Trustees should represent the diverse community of Ethiopians living in Ottawa.
101.Trustees must have experience excellent references and have served the local community in some capacity.
102.Trustees must have lived in Ottawa for more than 10 years.
103.Trustees must share the values of equality, unity and peace within our community.
