ESTATUTOS

ARTICLE I. NAME AND PURPOSES
1.1 NAME
a. The name of the corporation, henceforth referred as NACAO, shall be:
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLOMBIAN-AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS, INC.
b. NACAO shall be a non-profit, non-partisan, non-religious private umbrella organization.
1.2 Mission
To support and strengthen Colombian American community based organizations as means to promote the socio-economic empowerment of Colombians and Colombian-Americans in the U.S.A.
1.3 NON PROFIT PURPOSES
a. NACAO is a Non profit Corporation under the laws of the State of Georgia. It is not formed for monetary profit. No Member of the Corporation has any vested right, interest or privilege in or to the assets, property, functions or activities of the Corporation.
1.4 INTERNAL REVENUE CODE 501 (c) (3)
NACAO is organized exclusively for social purposes as specified in Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
1.5 NON DISCRIMINATORY POLICY
NACAO is organized to promote and strengthen the Colombian-American community in the U.S. It shall not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, economic status, educational level ideological orientation and /or sexual orientation, age, in its admissions, policies and programs.

ARTICLE II MEMBERS
Members shall consist of Colombian-American Non-profit organizations, which are legally incorporated under the State in which they operate, and have the adequate revenue code, or any Colombian-American organization that is not legally incorporated but, that has a minimum of 10 members and that has been operating for at least one year and that must be supported by the regional representative.
Colombian-American Non-profit organizations are Non profit organizations that provide services to Colombian immigrants, the Colombian American community and the Colombian community.
Organizations and independent individuals can integrate the regional umbrellas.

ARTICLE III. STRUCTURE
3.1 The structure of NACAO shall be organized as
3.2 NACAO shall be composed by The General Assembly, Board of Directors, Committees, Overseers, Officers, Staff, and Volunteers. An external and independent Board of Advisors may advise NACAO.
3.3 GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General Assembly is composed by NACAO’S members. The General Assembly will meet once a year at the National Convention. The location of the convention shall rotate according to the regional areas. The place shall be decided at the previous Assembly.
3.4 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Regional members elect each member of the Board of Directors at their respective regional autonomous meeting. The Board of Directors (henceforth referred to as BOD) shall serve for a one period and can be re-elected for an additional term.
There shall be no more than one representative per region serving at the BOD.
The BOD represents eleven geographical areas in the United States, which are: 1) San Francisco, (Alaska, North California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming); 2) New Orleans (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) 3) Los Angeles, (Arizona, Southern California, and New Mexico); 4) Florida. (State of Florida) 5) Atlanta (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee); 6) New York, (Connecticut, Pennsylvania and NY state) 7) New Jersey (New Jersey State), 8) Chicago (North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin; 9) Washington (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia); 10) Boston, (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont); 11) Houston, (Oklahoma and Texas).
Each Board member is responsible for voicing the concerns of the organizations of his/her region. Each one collects and selects, with the help of the regional organizations, the projects to be presented at the National Convention. Each one is responsible to oversee the implementation of the projects in his/her area. Each BOD member is responsible to collect all the information required and present the regional members at the national assembly.
Paragraph: Due to the change of structure the term of the Regional Coordinators is ended. Every regional area should elect or ratify it representative as a Regional Director, 90 days after this By Laws be approved. In the mean time the current coordinators will continue executing their functions.
3.5 COMMITTEES
The Board of Directors can create as many committees as the organization needs to develop its mission.
Any person can be a member of a committee. If a person is a member of two committees he or she can vote once, and can only be a part of the directive of one of them.
Each committee should define its structure, but every one has to have a Coordinator.
The committees should inform every decision and projects to the general assembly at the yearly meeting. It should agree with the mission and purpose determine on the first article of this by laws. The committees should proceed according with the structure defined on Article III, 3.1.
The Legal and Communications Committees should depend on the BOD and they are supportive committees.
The Legal Committee should have a member of each geographical area and at least one member of the BOD. The mission of this committee is to review, discuss and detailed these bylaws. This work shall be done based on the General Assembly decisions. Always looking for the development of the organization based on the agreement of its members about the Colombian American community needs.
Also this committee is responsible for the establishment of functions and management manual.
3.6 OFFICERS AND STAFF
The Board of Directors elects the officers to perform the day–to-day operations of the organization.
The Executive Director and its staff may receive reasonable compensation for services they perform on behalf of the organization.
The BOD will hire the executive Director.
With the approval of the Board of Directors, the Executive Director has authority to hire staff to carry out day-to-day operations of the organization according to the goals and objectives of the organization.
The BOD will present an operating budget to the General Assembly for annually approval.
Volunteers may participate in organizational activities as defined and approved by the Executive Director.
3.7 OVERSEERS
The general assembly should elect four overseers for a period of one year.
3.8 EXTERNAL ADVISER.
The general assembly should elect and External Adviser for a period of one year.
Previous to 2003 Assembly the BOD should elect External Adviser. His/her period would finish when the assembly elects a new one.

ARTICLE IV MEETINGS
The General Assembly will meet once a year during the period, which is approved at the previous assembly.
The BOD should meet at least three times for year. One of them should call Pre convention. The Coordinators of the committees and members of the convention organization committee must attend this meeting. They will have voice but no vote.

ARTICLE V ELECTIONS
The Board of Directors should elect among it’s members a General Director a Secretary and a Treasurer. The General Director should be the legal representative of the organization.
The BOD by simple majority can make all the decisions.

ARTICLE VI QUORUM
The quorum of the General Assembly is 75% of its members.
The quorum of the BOD is 75% of its members.
At every meeting (General Assembly, BOD, Committees) of NACAO the secretary of the meeting should draw up and execute the agenda and keep detailed records. The minute should be submitted to the organization secretary no later than a week after the meeting.

ARTICLE VII VOTING
Each member organization has the right to one vote. If the organization is at the assembly it will have one more vote.
The regional umbrella organizations have the right to two votes.
Paragraph: It is up to the umbrella organization to give one of its votes to the individual members.

ARTICLE VIII – PRINCIPAL OFFICE
The principal office of the Corporation shall be in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area.

ARTICLE IX – DISSOLUTION
9.1 The dissolution of the Organization is only possible with the approval of three fourths of the General Assembly members.
9.2 The Board of Directors is in charge of the dissolution.
9.3 Upon the dissolution of NACAO assets remaining after payment, or provision for payment, of all debts and liabilities of the corporation be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 or shall be distributed to the Federal Government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. Such distribution shall be made in accordance with all the applicable provisions of the laws of this state.