BKFORGE BYLAWS
BKForge’s bylaws are guided by our vision and mission and reflect our core values. As a grassroots organization, we feel it is important to share our bylaws publicly for transparency and to revisit our bylaws on a periodic basis to hold ourselves accountable.
Vision Statement
We envision a New York City and State where health equity and gender justice are fully realized.
Mission Statement
We advance reproductive health and gender equity through advocacy, action and collaboration, grounded in racial, environmental, and economic justice.
Leadership
BKForge leadership consists of a collaborative, nonhierarchical group of co-chairs. There will be no more than 10 active co-chairs at any given time to ensure that we remain nimble and our leadership structure reflects the frequent “rapid response” nature of our work.
As a group, co-chairs share a variety of responsibilities, including:
planning and leading meetings, events, and actions
attending events and meetings as representatives of BKForge
participating in coalition activities as representatives of BKForge
setting our organization’s legislative agenda
creating materials for membership and/or for the public (e.g., fact sheets, public statements, open letters to elected officials)
supporting operations (e.g., website maintenance, weekly digest emails, social media)
Co-chair terms are one year, with no term limits. On an annual basis, each co-chair will determine whether they want to commit to another year-long term in BKForge’s leadership. Co-chair commitments should be considered as serious as professional commitments. Co-chairs who need to take a temporary break because of competing priorities are welcome to do so; they should just clearly communicate their availability with as much advance notice as possible. For planning purposes, co-chairs taking a break will not be considered “active.” If a co-chair needs to leave leadership (as opposed to taking a temporary break) before the annual check in date, they should provide at least 6 weeks (ideally 8 weeks) notice.
New co-chairs are approved through a vote by all current co-chairs, and require unanimous approval. Any actively engaged BKForge member can become a co-chair based on regularly attending meetings/events, serving as an ongoing committee lead, and/or leading or being an active participant on a planning committee for an event or action from start to finish (e.g., Political Action Party, community forum, canvassing or tabling event, etc.). We welcome anyone interested in becoming a co-chair to approach a current co-chair and express their interest.
Co-chairs can be removed if they act in an egregious manner that undermines the organization’s ability to function or contradicts BKForge’s mission and values. If a BKForge member or fellow co-chair raises concerns about a particular co-chair, then the remaining co-chairs will discuss and vote on whether to remove the co-chair in question. A majority vote of current, active co-chairs will result in removal.
Co-chairs will be mindful of potential conflicts of interest that arise when a co-chair or that person’s relative or business (a) stands to gain a financial benefit from an action that BKForge takes; or (b) has another interest that impairs, or could be seen to impair, the independence or objectivity of the co-chair in discharging their duties to BKForge. Potential conflicts of interest include situations such as:
A co-chair or co-chair’s relative works for a candidate who has requested that BKForge promote an upcoming event.
A co-chair or co-chair’s relative is a member of the board of a nonprofit organization that BKForge is considering fundraising for.
A co-chair or co-chair’s relative has ownership, investment, or other vested interest in a third party that BKForge is considering dealing with.
Co-chairs will disclose all potential conflicts of interest to the rest of the co-chairs to the best of their knowledge as soon as they become aware of them. The other co-chairs will determine whether there is in fact a conflict of interest; if so, then the conflicted co-chair shall recuse themselves from all decisions related to the relevant action by BKForge.
Voting
Co-chairs will vote in order to determine BKForge’s action in a variety of areas, including signing onto advocacy letters and co-sponsoring events spearheaded by other groups. Votes can take place either remotely or in person. For transparency, the results of each vote will be recorded and will be made available to any members who inquire.
Below are the basic voting procedures for common instances:
Sign-on letters: BKForge will sign onto letters once all active co-chairs who are in town have agreed. If the turnaround time is quick (i.e., same day), then 50% of co-chairs should agree. We can make exceptions based on the urgency of the request and any individual co-chair’s assessment about how much disagreement there may be about the letter. (For example, if there is a 2-hour turnaround on a letter saying we support a bill already on our legislative agenda, then the co-chair receiving the request can assume our signature would be uncontroversial).
Co-sponsoring events: We will agree to co-sponsor events once all active co-chairs who are in town have agreed. If the turnaround time is quick, then 50% of co-chairs should agree. We can make exceptions based on the urgency of the request and any individual co-chair’s assessment about how much disagreement there may be about the event. The co-chair who is securing agreement to co-sponsor should also ensure that the co-chairs discuss who can attend the event, and that our ability to publicize, attend, and otherwise support the event is clearly communicated to the event sponsor(s).
Drafting letters in the name of BKForge: Letters written in the name of BKForge should be agreed by all active co-chairs. Again, in the case of a short turnaround, 50% should agree.
Drafting letters with individual BKForge member or co-chair names signed: The procedures are as above, but every person whose name is on the letter should agree to the letter, or agree in advance to have their name included.
Advocacy Work
Our legislative, activist, and community priorities will be guided by the principles in our mission statement. We will employ a number of tools to accomplish our goals including but not limited to lobbying elected officials and candidates, spearheading or participating in advocacy campaigns, and joining coalitions. We will also hold educational meetings and forums when necessary.
Committees
Committees will be created on an as needed and case by case basis and can be short term or long term. Co-chairs and members will determine when it is necessary to assemble a committee. Any member can join a committee.
Each committee will require a chair that is responsible for calling meetings, facilitating meetings, delegating tasks, etc. If a member decides to take on the role of committee chair, then a co-chair must be on the committee to work closely with them. The co-chair will serve as a liaison between the committee and the other co-chairs. The co-chair on the committee may also be required to take on the responsibilities of chairing the committee if the member fails to do so.
Financial Policies
All donations and expenses will be tracked, and co-chairs will regularly share updates about recent expenditures at general meetings. Typical expenses include: meeting/event space rental; postcards and postage; supplies for meetings, events, and actions (e.g., AV rental for speaker panels, printing costs for flyers and fact sheets); a paid Zoom account for virtual meetings; travel expenses for canvassing/lobbying trips to Albany and nearby locales (e.g., train fare to Long Island).
No donations to BKForge will go towards monetary contributions to outside entities. If BKForge undertakes fundraising for external organizations or political candidates, those donations will be tracked separately from BKForge’s own finances. Donations to those fundraising initiatives will always go towards the identified groups and campaigns and never towards BKForge operations.
Amendments to Bylaws
Co-chairs can vote to adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws through a majority vote. While co-chairs can choose to examine bylaws at any time, they are required to review all bylaws each year during the Annual Review.
Annual Review
Each summer, the co-chairs will solicit member feedback and meet to reflect on the previous year and discuss the upcoming year ahead. The check-in discussion will be centered around holding ourselves and our work accountable to the mission and vision statements. Each co-chair will also decide if they want to recommit to another year-long term as co-chair. Additionally, the Annual Review will include an examination of our bylaws to ensure they still reflect our values, are relevant to the work we do, and are up to date.