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Our mission statement is an important guide for the direction of our community and membership. As part of our mission statement, we highlight a few significant issues that differentiate our organization. We may have strong core beliefs about political, economic, security, administrative, environmental and social welfare reform.

Constitution Guyanese American Civic Association, Inc. A New York State not-for-profit Corporation PREAMBLE We, civic-minded Guyanese Americans, in order to organize and perpetuate a representative, effective and responsible non-profit organization to facilitate and advance the civic interest of Guyanese American communities, do hereby establish a New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation called Guyanese American Civic Association Inc. (GACA) Whereas the Guyanese American Civic Association Inc. is registered as a New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation, in accordance with the New York State Not-for-Profit Laws, a Constitution shall be the supreme document on the basis of which GACA must function and operate. AND whereas, the initial members of the Guyanese American Civic Association Inc. have subscribed to the formulation of a required draft Constitution by the efforts of an interim committee comprising of initial members, be it resolved that the initial Annual General Meeting of the Guyanese American Civic Association Inc. held on February 26, 2012 shares the fundamental positions and principles of as outlined in below draft Constitution and hereby mandates the elected Board of Directors to further improve and develop said draft Constitution in accordance with provisions therein. AND be it further resolved that the initial Annual General Meeting on this the 26th Day of February 2012 hereby adopts this presented draft Constitution as GACA’s first ever Constitution elaborated in eleven (11) Articles with eighty-four (84) Sections as follows: ARTICLE 1.0 General Provision Section 1.1 - Name The organization hereby constituted will be called Guyanese American Civic Association Section 1.2 - Short name
The shortened name shall be GACA hereinafter referred to as the
Organization Section 1.3 - Address The address of the Organization shall be 88 03 80th Street Woodhaven, NY 11421 or at such other place(s) as shall be decided upon by the Board of
Directors or the Annual General Meeting (AGM) Section 1.4 - Not-for-profit GACA is nonprofit organization established not for any profit or personal financial gains of its directors, officers or members. Nothing contained herein, however, shall be deemed to prohibit payment of reasonable compensation to employees and independent contractors for services provided for the benefit of the Organization. Section 1.5 - Corporate entity GACA exists in its own right, separately from its members
and shall continue to exist even when its members, directors or officers change. Section 1.6 – Assets, Liabilities and Revenue GACA’s revenue and assets shall be used to promote the Purpose and achieve the objectives of the Organization as described below in Article 2. Section 1.7 - Property rights Members or office bearers of the organization do not have rights (real or personal) over the assets of the Organization Section 1.8 - Investment The organization’s funds shall only be invested with registered financial Institution(s) or in securities which are listed as a prominent licensed entity. Section 1.9 - Bank withdrawals GACA shall open and maintain a bank account. Checks for withdrawals from the organization’s bank account, must be signed by two of the three authorized signatories.
Section 1.10 - Fiscal year The fiscal year of the organization ends on calendar year Section 1.11 - Records The Organization shall keep records of its decisions, assets, liabilities and reports which shall be available to the lawful authority monitoring the conduct of not-for-profit corporations in accordance with the provisions of the law and to members, upon request, for inspection at any reasonable time ARTICLE 2.0 Purpose and Objectives Section 2.1 - The Main Purpose and Objectives of GACA include the following: a. To assist in the establishment of Guyanese American Civic Center in the State of New York. b. To encourage community and social development among people of Guyanese and American heritage. c. To foster greater interaction among Guyanese residing in the United States and Guyanese elsewhere. d. To study social, economic and political realities affecting people of Guyanese heritage and to advice and make recommendations for improvements. ARTICLE 3.0 Membership Section 3.1 – Membership Membership is open to anyone of age who subscribes to the GACA Constitution and objectives of the Organization and agree to adhere thereto. Section 3.2 - Application Application for membership must be submitted on the prescribed form to the Board of Directors Section 3.3 - Determination The Board shall determine all applications at its earliest meeting
after receipt. Section 3.4 - Fees There shall be a one-time admission fee to join the Organization. There shall be an annual due payable on admission and thereafter on the anniversary date of membership. Dues shall be determined from time to time by the AGM. The initial admission fee is set at $10.00 and the initial annual due is set at $10.00 per year. Section 3.5 - Rights and Privileges Members in good standing are eligible to hold office and to vote at meetings Section 3.6 - New members Individuals may qualify for membership rights and previleges upon the approval of their application and the payment admission fee and annual dues. Section 3.7 - Honorary members The Board may recommend and confer honorary membership to anyone subjected to the ratification of the following AGM. ARTICLE 4.0 Meeting Section 4.1 – Annual General Meeting An Annual General Meeting of members in good standing shall be held each calender Year for the purpose of electing directors, presentation of reports, discussion and formulation of policies and for the transaction of such other business as may be appropriate before the meeting. Section 4.2 – Venue The Annual General Meeting of members shall be held at the principal office of the Organization or at a venue, date and time designated by the Board of Directors (venue date and time of initial AGM shall be decided upon by the interim committee) Section 4.3 – Special Meeting Special meetings may be held at the request of the Board or by one third of all members of good standing submitting a written request for same to the Secretary of GACA or the President of GACA with a copy to the current members of the board of directors. Section 4.4 – Notice Written notice of Annual General Meetings shall be provided to all members and shall state the agenda, date, time and venue for the meeting. Notices may be deemed effective when deposited in ordinary US mail, properly addressed with paid postage paid, by email no less ten (10) days before the meeting date. The current address on file for each member shall be deemed the proper address to which notices and correspondence shall be considered properly mailed. Emails, facsimile and telephone calls shall also be considered useful methods for confirmation of receipt of notices. Section 4.5 – Eligibility Members’ eligibility to attend meetings shall be determined on the basis of the records in the Members’ Register. Eligible members shall be in good standing. Section 4.6 – Quorum A simple majority of members shall constitute a quorum at an Annual General Meeting Section 4.7 – Agenda The agenda for the annual meeting shall be prepared by the Board of Directors and shall include the following: Chairperson's report Treasurer's report Changes or Amendments to the Constitution Election of Board of Directors and Trustees (The duty of trustee shall be to audit and check on the finances of the organization) Section 4.8 – Nomination Directors Members of GACA may submit nominations to the Board of Directors one week prior to the Annual General Meeting to the Secretary.
Section 4.9 – Record A record of those present as well as the apologies sent by absent members shall be kept. Section 4.10 – Decisions Decisions at the AGM shall be made by a simple majority of those present, including Constitutional changes Section 4.11- Casting vote In the case of a tie-vote, the Chairperson of the meeting shall acquire and use a casting vote Section 4.12 – Vote Decisions may be taken by secret ballot, or by the show of hands or by acclamation, as determined by the AGM. Section 4.13 – Chairperson The President of the Board shall preside at the Annual General Meeting. In the absence of the President, the Board members present shall select from among themselves, a Chairperson for the meeting