Kulanu Toronto Constitution

Kulanu Toronto Constitution- Feb 12, 2005

Preamble: The name of our organization is Kulanu Toronto. Kulanu Toronto is based in Toronto , Ontario , Canada and is a subsidiary of Hillel of Greater Toronto. Kulanu Toronto was born out of Hillel of Greater Toronto on the downtown campus at the University of Toronto .

Purpose/Mission Statement: Kulanu Toronto is a not for profit organization that is been established to serve the religious, cultural, social, and intellectual needs for the Jewish LGBTT2IQQ community of the Greater Toronto Area.

The following guiding principles help support our mission statement and objectives: - Although Kulanu Toronto was born out of Hillel of Greater Toronto (Hillel of Greater Toronto is a Jewish organization that serves the Jewish student populations at the University of Toronto , Ryerson University , and York University ), our mission is to broaden our membership to Jewish LGBTT2IQQ persons of all ages.
- We embrace diversity in both the Jewish and LGBTT2IQQ communities
- We treat each other with respect and dignity
- We are inclusive of all gender identities, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and religious backgrounds. Allies and partners are also welcome to our events and programming.
- We are non political and non ideological, thus we provide an atmosphere that is comfortable for all Jewish LGBTT2IQQ persons
- We promote our resources and services through outreach programming to the greater Jewish community
- We are a group that promotes tolerance, dignity, and acceptance. Homophobia and any prejudice or discrimation is not acceptable.
- We aim to reduce anti-Semitism within queer communities and reduce homo/bi/transphobia within Jewish communities
- We aim to encourage and support the development of members’ LGBTT2IQQ and Jewish identities.

Membership: A “Member” is defined as a person who freely joins the Kulanu Toronto listserv and attend programming and events. “Membership” is also defined by a small optional annual fee of $15.00 that will help with Kulanu Toronto's programming over the course of the year. This “membership” fee allows members to attend events and programming at reduced costs. A database or roster of members will be kept by the executive committee for reference during events and programming. “Members” do have voting rights if they are considered an “Active Member”. An “Active Member” is defined as a “Member” who has attended the past 2 events before the election. “Active Members” can vote. “Members” and “Active Members” are not required to sign up to the listserv. There will be a separate list of “Members” who have paid the annual membership fee and there will also be a list of subscribers who have joined the Kulanu listserv. Subscribers of the Kulanu listserv are not obliged to be “Members” of the Kulanu organization. For “Members” who cannot afford to pay for events and various programming, Kulanu Toronto will create a discretionary fund to aid “Members” and others who wish to attend our events but cannot afford it. Attendees have the opportunity to become “Members” at each event, to pay membership fees, and receive a discount price for such events.

Executive Committee Positions: Kulanu Toronto will have a maximum of 6 positions. The positions are outlined below:
- LGBTT2IQQ Liaison : (1 year position) This person is the Kulanu Toronto representative that is the contact person between Kulanu Toronto and other LGBTT2IQQ groups in Toronto (e.g. Rye Pride, LGBTOUT, TBLGAY)
- Hillel Liaison : (1 year position) This person is the Kulanu representative that is the contact person between Kulanu Toronto and the University of Toronto , other campus Hillel groups, and other Jewish groups in the GTA. This position will have signing authority.
- Kulanu Toronto Coordinator/Chair : (2 year position) This person is the director and key representative of Kulanu Toronto. He/She is the chair of all Kulanu Toronto meetings and committees. He/She, along with the executive committee, plan, coordinate, develop, and implement programs as well as make strategic decisions and plan and develop a short and long term vision for the group. This position will have signing authority with the treasurer. The Kulanu Toronto Coordinator, along with the executive committee will have ultimate decision making power.
- Outreach/Communications Coordinator : (2 positions, 1 year each) The Outreach/Communications Coordinator is responsible for the following:
- Web site/listserv development, creation, and maintenance- Creation of posters and publicity materials
- Promotion of events to the general public- Media/writing articles for the public
- Placement of ads for newspapers and other media venues - Treasurer (2 positions): This position is responsible for all of the financial book keeping of the organization, and, in the future, is responsible for giving out tax receipts if donations are made to Kulanu Toronto. In the future, this position may be responsible for management of the Kulanu Toronto trademark (logo or branding), as well as obtaining a charitable donation number. 2 people will have signing authority.
- Women’s Coordinator: This position is reserved for a woman (or trans woman) and she will be responsible for all women’s programming and events. As well, in collaboration with the executive committee, the women’s coordinator will help develop, plan, and implement programming for womyn over the course of the year.
- 0ver 30 coordinator: This position is reserved for a person over the age of 30 years old. They will be responsible for collaborating with the executive committee to help develop, plan, and implement programming for people over the age of 30 years old. Each executive committee member of Kulanu Toronto should be pro-active and communicate with “Members” of the organization on a regular basis and invite to give us feedback about programming as well as share their skills with us as we are always looking for more assistance with writing articles, web site content development, web site design, program planning and implementation, poster and publicity development, and other tasks.

Anti-Oppression and Gender Equity Statement: Kulanu Toronto respects all of its members. We are an inclusive organization that embraces diversity in both the Jewish and LGBTT2IQQ communities. Kulanu Toronto is a positive space for all members of the LGBTT2IQQ community as well as the Jewish community at large. We aim to treat each other with respect and dignity. We are inclusive of all gender identities, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and religious backgrounds. Allies and partners are also welcome to our events and programming. Our posters and publicity materials always include a disclaimer that covers part of anti-oppression statement. If an incident arises that conflicts with the anti-oppression statement, it will be brought to the attention of the executive committee members. The executive committee reserves the right to cancel a membership and ban people/persons from future Kulanu Toronto events and programming. An “incident” could be defined as disruptive behaviour, oppressive behaviour towards the group or towards one “Member” or “Active Member” of Kulanu Toronto. The Executive Committee will attempt to communicate with people involved in the incident to decide the appropriate course of action.

Election Procedures: As elections are held at the end of the academic school, an email will be sent out to “Members” with a list of the position postings in March or 6 weeks prior to election. Members can nominate themselves or apply for position thru submitting an email outlining candidate statement for their nomination. We will make candidate statements public on kulanu website and send out through email in beginning of email. Nominations must be submitted during 6 week nomination period. If only one candidate for position
– there will be yes/no vote, secret ballot.

We will announce results after meeting. Members of the executive committee who are not running for positions will count ballots. Three people will be counting ballots. Election will take place at a kulanu event and candidates are strongly encouraged to be at election event and to make a brief statement. There will be an Election party to follow.

Voting Procedures: There will be a call for nominations on the Kulanu Toronto listserv. Interested candidates will send in one paragraph about why they want the position. To be eligible to be on the executive committee, one needs to be a “Member”. Having “Members” can help protect against hostile takeovers by groups. Being a member is necessary but not sufficient for voting. Voting members need to have been active in Kulanu Toronto. The concept of an active member is defined above. See Membership. Voting members must be members and have been two events (the executive will be responsible for determining if members have been to at least 2 events during the last academic year).

Finances: We will open a Kulanu Toronto bank account in the near future. Three members will have signing authority. They include the Treasurer, Kulanu Coordinator and one other executive committee member. We accept donations, however because we are not a charitable organization yet so we cannot give tax receipts at this point in time. At this point in time (Feb 2005) we do not have an operating budget so a breakdown of our annual budget cannot be illustrated.

Activities/Programming: Kulanu Toronto provides an array of social, cultural, religious, and educational programming and events. Below are some of programming and events we have offered since the Fall of 2003
- Shabbat dinners
- Summer BBQ’s
- Pub nights/nights out
- Events specifically design for Women (Women’s Events)
- Education/limmud sessions
- Discussion groups
- Movie night/media presentations
- Jewish Holiday celebrations/events
- Guest speakers regarding LGBTT2IQQ and/or Jewish issues

At present (February 2005)  Kulanu Toronto does NOT provide programming, services, and resources in the following:
- We do not offer match-making services for our “Members”, “Active Members”, and Executive Committee Members.
- We do not assert or represent any political position regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict
- We do not offer support groups, peer counselling, or individual or group therapy

Conclusion: The following document can be amended, if necessary, on an annual basis. The document has been evaluated and discussed by all of the executive committee members and is available for public access on Kulanu Toronto’s World Wide Web Site located at http://www.kulanutoronto.ca
All members have agreed to the policies, procedures, and statements in this document.

Document prepared by Alycia Fridkin and Mark Aaron Polger, February 16, 2005
Date Revised: June 25, 2005, by Mark Aaron Polger