Larimer County Republican Women Bylaws

ARTICLE I – NAME

The name  of this organization shall be the Larimer County Republican Women, aka LCRW.

ARTICLE II – OBJECTIVES

  1.  To foster and encourage loyalty to the Republican Party and to the principles. 
  2. To promote an informed electorate through political education.
  3. To increase the effectiveness of women in the cause of good government through political participation.
  4. To encourage participation in the Colorado Federation of Republican Women (CFRW), National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW) and the Republican Party organizations.

ARTICLE III – POLICIES

Section 1.  AFFILIATION.  To be affiliated with CFRW, NFRW and to conform to the provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws of these organizations.

Section 2.  PURPOSE.  To exert every effort to carry out the purposes of the Republican Party as set forth in the platforms adopted by the State and National Republican Conventions and as an organization shall endorse only the policies set forth and endorsed by the Republican Party.

Section 3.  ENDORSEMENT POLICY.  

  1. LCRW as a whole and any Executive Board members shall not publicly endorse any candidate for public office in any contested Republican race.
  2. Examples of contested races are primaries, runoff elections, and special elections, and/or non-partisan elections when more than one Republican is in the race.  
  3.  Examples of endorsements include precinct walking, phone banking, sending emails, signs in yards, donating funds or attending or hosting fundraisers, social media posts and showing support at caucuses or assemblies.
  4.  Individual members of LCRW, not on the board, may work for the candidate of their choice in contested Republican primaries, but not in the name of LCRW, CFRW or NFRW.
  5.  An officer of LCRW, who is a candidate or whose spouse or family member is a candidate shall be exempt from this rule, however, they may not do so in the name of LCRW or by utilizing the logo or stationery of NFRW or CFRW.

Section 4.  SPLIT TICKET.  Neither LCRW nor an individual member shall advocate a split ticket, support an opposition candidate or act against the NFRW or CFRW policies and bylaws.

Section 5.  OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.  LCRW shall not affiliate with any political organization which is not officially recognized as working in concert with the CFRW, NFRW and the Republican National Committee

Section 6.  DETRIMENTAL ACTIVITIES.  To refrain from any activity that would be detrimental to the public image of the LCRW, the Republican Party, and Republican Candidates or Republican Officials.

ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.  PRIMARY MEMBERSHIP.

  1. Any Republican woman who believes in the philosophy of the Republican Party and supports its objectives and policies and is a Registered Republican shall be eligible for membership.                                                                                                                                                                         
  2. LCRW shall have a minimum of 10 members to meet CFRW requirements. 
  3. A member in good standing shall be a member who has paid the required dues for the current calendar year as stated in the LCRW Standing Rules and is not a primary member of another Federated club.
  4. Members are eligible to vote after ninety (90) days of Active Membership.
  5. Active Members may hold office, make motions, vote, and serve as a delegate to CFRW and/or NFRW Conventions.

Section 2.  ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP.  

  1. A woman who is a primary member of another Federated Women’s Club, who supports the objectives and policies of LCRW, shall be eligible to become an associate member upon payment of required dues as stated in LCRW Standing Rules.  
  2. Associate members may not hold office, vote or be counted in determining the number of delegates to NFRW or the CFRW meetings or conventions.
  3. Republican men may be Associate Members but may not make motions, hold office, vote or be counted in determining the number of primary members.
  4. Associate dues remain with the club.  Associate Members will not be reported to CFRW or NFRW.

Section 3:  REMOVAL FROM MEMBERSHIP.

LCRW will follow CFRW and NFRW policies on removal from membership.

ARTICLE V –  DUES

Section 1. FISCAL YEAR.  The fiscal year shall be from January 1 through December 31.

Section 2. MEMBERSHIP DUES.  Membership dues shall be payable no later than January 31, and shall be delinquent March 1.  Dues collected in the fourth quarter may be applied to the following calendar year’s membership.

Section 3.  SERVICE CHARGES.  LCRW shall pay CFRW dues and NFRW per capita dues, and the annual service charges on behalf of its members, with the first payment of the year to be made no later than January 31 of each year.

ARTICLE VI – OFFICERS

Section 1.  ELECTED OFFICERS. The elected officers of this organization shall be President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.

Section 2.  ELIGIBILITY.  A nominee for any office must be an active member in good standing for ninety (90) days prior to nomination.

Section 3.  TERMS.  The offices of President, Treasurer and Secretary shall be elected in even numbered years and the offices of First and Second Vice Presidents shall be elected in odd numbered years.  Elections shall be conducted at the November meeting of each year unless otherwise agreed to be the membership.  No member shall hold the same office more than two consecutive terms.  

Section 4.  VACANCIES.  A vacancy in the office of President shall be filled by the First Vice President.  All other vacancies in elected office shall be filled by appointment by the Executive Board within 45 days of the vacancy,

Section 5.  NOMINATING COMMITTEE.  At least thirty (30) days prior to an election, a nominating committee of at least two to three (2 to 3) Active Members shall be appointed by the President.

Section 6.  ELECTION.  Officers shall be elected by majority vote using a secret ballot unless there is only one nominee for the office.  In that case, the election shall be by voice vote.  A majority of all votes cast shall constitute an election.

Section 7.  DUTIES OF OFFICERS.

    1. PRESIDENT:  Shall preside at all meetings of the organization.  She may preside at executive Board Meetings or may designate another officer to preside.  She shall appoint all committees.  She shall be an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.  She may call special meetings of the Executive Board when deemed necessary. She may also appoint Assistants to Officers.
    2. FIRST VICE PRESIDENT:  Shall perform the duties of the President in her absence and such other duties as assigned to her by the President.  She shall have charge of the Programs.
    3. SECOND VICE PRESIDENT:  Shall perform the duties of the President in the absence of the President and the First Vice President and such other duties as may be assigned to her by the President.  She shall keep charge of Membership Recruitment/Outreach, and all Social Media.
    4.  SECRETARY:  Shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the organization, including Executive Board Meetings when deemed advisable.  She shall be responsible for correspondence under the direction of the LCRW Board.
  • TREASURER:  Shall be custodian of all monies of LCRW and shall deposit them in a bank approved by the Executive Board within three (3) business days of receipt.  She shall pay such amounts as authorized. She shall bring written Financial Reports as requested to regular LCRW and Executive Board meetings.  She shall keep a complete membership record.  She shall submit dues, annual service fees and reports to CFRW as required.  

Section 8. COMMITMENT: All Officers agree at the time of their election to fulfill their duties as stated above to the best of their ability. If any Officer is unable to fulfill the assigned tasks or is absent from more than three (3) consecutive Executive Board Meetings (in person or by ZOOM), without prior arrangements, the Board shall request a Letter  of Resignation and the vacancy shall be filled as listed in Article VI, Section 4 of these Bylaws.

ARTICLE VII – EXECUTIVE BOARD

  1.  The current officers and the immediate Past President shall constitute the Executive Board.  The Executive Board shall have general supervision over the conduct of LCRW.  The Executive Board shall have authority between meetings to transact LCRW business.
  2. A quorum shall be a majority of the Executive Board and shall meet all requirements imposed by the CFRW and NFRW.

ARTICLE VIII – DELEGATES

  1.  All Delegates and Alternates to the CFRW or NFRW Conventions shall be Active Members in good standing in the calendar year in which such member is nominated.  Exceptions shall be voted on by the membership.
  2. All Delegates and Alternates to any convention shall be elected by the LCRW membership.
  3. Payment for registration fees to CFRW conventions and Board of Directors Meetings and NFRW Biennial Conventions shall be paid by LCRW for the club President or for her representative.

ARTICLE IX – MEETINGS

  1.  The Executive Board shall set the regular meetings of the organization.  There shall be no less than ten (10) monthly meetings or activities per year, of which no less than six (6) shall be business meetings.  Meeting days and places will be stated in LCRW Standing Rules and amended as needed.
  2. Members present shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE X – PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

Robert’s Rules of Order: Newly Revised shall apply to all questions of procedure, except where they conflict with these Bylaws.

ARTICLE XI – AMENDMENTS

These Bylaws may be amended by two-thirds (2/3) vote at any regular meeting of LCRW, provided that notice of the proposed amendment(s) shall have been sent to each member thirty (30) days prior to the date of the regular meeting.

ARTICLE XII – DISSOLUTION

LCRW may only be dissolved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote at any regular or special meeting of LCRW, provided that Notice of Dissolution has been submitted in writing at least thirty (30) days prior and has been sent to all members of LCRW.  In the event of dissolution, the Executive Board shall, after payment of all LCRW liabilities, distribute the remaining assets to CFRW.  No funds shall be distributed to any member or officer of LCRW.  The right to use the name of LCRW shall revert to CFRW.  The President of LCRW shall notify the Secretary of State and follow the procedures listed on the SOS website. She shall also close-out all accounts used under the LCRW name.

These Bylaws were amended and adopted by LCRW on 10/03/2023.