Bylaws of the Museums at the Crossroads Consortium

 

Article I - The Consortium

Section A: The Museums at the Crossroads, henceforth referred to as the Consortium, consists of the following institutions: The Anita Purves Nature Center, the Early American Museum, the Champaign County Historical Museum, Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum, the Parkland College Art Gallery, the Orpheum Children's Science Museum, the Spurlock Museum, and the William M. Staerkel Planetarium.  These institutions are located in Champaign County in the state of Illinois.

 

Section B: Mission Statement & Goals

The Consortium was created to raise awareness of the presence of member museums and related institutions and their contributions to Champaign County.

• Goal A:  To promote museum attendance and support
• Goal B:  To promote an understanding of museums as learning environments.
• Goal C:  To promote and facilitate an environment of mutually beneficial collaboration between consortium members and related cultural institutions.

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Article II - Membership

Section A: Benefits of Membership

• Member museums have the right to one vote per museum at each Consortium meeting.
• All members are entitled to share in joint promotions, grant projects, public displays and other Consortium business.

 

Section B: Responsibilities of Consortium members

• Each Consortium member has the responsibility of providing a representative for each Consortium meeting.
• Each Consortium member is expected to support the mission and goals agreed upon by the Consortium and to participate in Consortium meetings, activities and promotions.

 

Section C: Adding members

• Members may be added to the Consortium if the potential member is nominated by a current Consortium member and news of that nomination appears in the minutes for the meeting and in the agenda for the upcoming meeting. For purposes of admitting new members, six affirmative votes of current consortium members are required.
• New member candidates must make every effort to meet the professional museum operating standards as defined below, adapted from the American Association of Museums and the Museum and Library Services Act, and each must have a mission that is compatible with the Consortium's mission:

 

1. Be a legally organized not-for-profit institution or part of a not-for-profit institution or government entity.
2. Be essentially educational in nature
3. Have a formally stated mission
4. Have one full-time paid or unpaid professional staff member who has museum knowledge and experience and is delegated authority and allocated financial resources sufficient to operate the museum effectively.
5. Present regularly scheduled programs and exhibits that use and interpret objects for the public according to accepted standards.
6. Care for and own or use tangible objects, whether animate or inanimate, and exhibit these objects on a regular basis through facilities that it owns or operates.
7. Be open and providing museum services to the general public for at least 120 days a year.

 

Section D – Membership dues

• There are no membership dues at this time.

 

Section E: Affiliate membership

• Groups or institutions with missions and goals related to those of the Consortium and desirous of creating mutually beneficial relationships with the Consortium may become affiliate members. 
• Affiliate groups or institutions must be viable organizations based in Champaign County
• Potential affiliate organizations will be considered by the Consortium through a formal application process. 
• Affiliate status may be renewed annually, but can be reviewed at any time.   
• Affiliate members will be non-voting members.
• Affiliate members will enjoy the following benefits:
• Web site link on the Consortium website
• Calendar listing for events on the Consortium website
• Listing in the Consortium brochure with the first update after affiliate acceptance
• Participation in Consortium-wide events and joint programming
• Listing in the Educator’s Resource Guide
• The ability to propose genda items for the monthly Consortium meetings
• The ability to add the phrase “an affiliate member of the Museums at the Crossroads Consortium” to signage and publicity while affiliate status is intact
• Affiliate members would adhere to the following responsibilities & expectations:
• Active participation in Consortium events
• Attendance at the monthly Consortium meetings
• The placement of a return link from the affiliate’s website to the Consortium website

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Article III – Consortium Business

Section A: Fiscal Year

• The Consortium’s fiscal year will be concurrent with the calendar year.

 

Section B: Meetings

• The Consortium shall conduct monthly meetings with cancellations possible if made at least 24 hours in advance if a majority of museums cannot attend.
• An agenda will be distributed by the president or a person appointed by the president at least 48 hours prior to a meeting.  The agenda will clearly state specific items that will be discussed at the meeting.
• Minutes will be taken at the meeting by the president or someone appointed by the president and distributed to representatives of each museum either by print or electronic media.
• Visitors or non-members are welcome at the monthly meetings, though any visitors wishing to participate in Consortium business should notify the president at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.  Visitors and their business will be noted on the agenda.
• Special member’s meetings may be scheduled as needed. 

 

Section C: Voting

• Though multiple representatives from one museum may attend a meeting, only one vote per museum is allowed when a vote is required on a motion.  The representatives must decide who will vote for their museum.
• Voting can be in person, email or fax.  If a vote is taken via email or fax, every member museum has to respond within five working days of the initial posting.  If, after that time, every museum has not responded, the motion will be added to the agenda of the next monthly consortium meeting. 
• Issues to be voted upon, either in person or via electronic means, shall be decided by a majority of museums.  
• Items to be voted on will appear in the meeting agenda.
• Five member museums must be present for a vote to be taken.
• Though their input is important and encouraged, affiliate members receive no vote. 

 

Section D: Consortium Finances

• A treasurer will be appointed by the president (with the majority approval of the membership) and have the responsibility for monthly financial reports.  These reports will be given at the monthly meetings. 
• All proposed contractual agreements must appear on the meeting agenda and be approved by a majority of the museums.  The Consortium president will authorize all contractual agreements.
• For collaborative projects requiring the distribution of Consortium funds and/or grants, a Memorandum of Agreement that outlines the shared duties, responsibilities, and mutual benefits to Consortium members, will be developed and signed by participating museums.

 

Section E: Letterhead and Consortium Correspondence

• Use of Consortium letterhead is strictly confined to Consortium business.
• Written communications on Consortium letterhead, beyond normal Consortium business, must be approved by the membership as no written documents that conflict with the mission and goals of the individual member museums will be distributed.

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Article IV– Officers

Section A: Consortium President

• The only officer elected by the member museums will be the President.
• The duties of the president will be to:
• Act, or appoint someone to act, as contact person and media spokesperson for Consortium activities and business.
• Collect items for the meeting agendas and distribute said agenda 48 hours prior to the meeting date.
• Oversee the monthly meetings.
• The President-elect must be a representative of the one of the member museums in the Consortium.

 

Section B: Officer Elections & Appointments

• The Consortium president may be nominated by any museum representative. A vote will be taken at the November meeting (unless that meeting is canceled in which the election will occur at the next meeting). The successful candidate will be elected by a simple majority of the museums present at the meeting. The Consortium president will serve for the upcoming calendar year.
• The president may appoint a secretary to take meeting minutes and to assemble the meeting agenda to send to the other museum representatives.

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Article V– Amendments to the Bylaws

• Changes to these bylaws may be made by a majority vote of the museums as long as the proposed change appears in the agenda before a monthly meeting.
• Amendments must be submitted to the membership in writing 30 days prior to the meeting in which they will be voted on by the museums.

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