Austin International Folk Dancers
Organizational Manual
(For a complete list of bylaws see appendix 2)
Contents:
History of Folk Dancing in Austin
Organizational Structure & Legal Status
This manual is intended to assist the AIFD Board of Trustees, programmers, teachers and other volunteers in conducting the group’s activities. Although the Board is ultimately responsible for the operation and health of the group, non-elected volunteers are critical to its success, including programming at weekly dances, teaching dances, setting up and taking down of equipment and implementation of plans for parties and other special events. All of these activities must be carefully planned, approved by the Board and executed in a responsible manner in order to comply with the statutory requirements of AIFD’s Charter, achieve maximum enjoyment for its members and enhance the health of the organization.
As described by one of the pioneers of folk dancing in Texas, folk dancing “for so many of us means a separate and very special world, a festival atmosphere full of music and dancing, costumes, customs and songs of countries and peoples far and near.” Austin International Folk Dancers has embodied that vision and has always attracted people of all ages and from all walks of life.
Folk dancing in Austin began in 1946 or 1947 in physical education classes taught by Anne Pittman and Marlis Swenson at the University of Texas Women’s Gym and in evening dancing at the YMCA. Leon McGuffin led international folk dancing from 1950 to 1956 at the University of Texas Student Union (located at West 23rd St. and Guadalupe St.), purchasing all of the records himself. In 1956, Bert Nagle and George Lowrey began leading international folk dancing at a variety of facilities, including the City’s Zilker Club Hut (located in Zilker Park), Austin Athletic Club (now closed; located at West 12th St. and North Lamar Blvd.) and Hancock Recreation Center (located at Hancock Golf Course at East 41st St. and Red River). This was possible because George was Assistant Director of Recreation at the City’s Parks and Recreation Department (PARD). Other facilities used by the group included Hillel and the YMCA. Around the same time, Bob and Mary Helen Bunten led Scottish Country dancing at the University of Texas and Manfred and Bertha Holck led round dancing at Hancock Recreation Center. From 1956 through 1958, the international folk dance group met primarily at the Zilker Club Hut. In 1959, the group moved to the fire station at West 10th St. and Blanco Street. From 1960 to 1964, the group met every Friday night, beginning with the Student Union’s “Junior Ballroom” (now the Quadrangle Room), then danced primarily at the Austin Athletic Club. During that time, it also used the First Unitarian Church and Hancock Recreation Center occasionally. In 1965, the group decided to alternate every other Friday at the “Junior Ballroom” with every other Saturday at Hancock Recreation Center. By 1968, the group stopped meeting at UT and began meeting every Saturday night at Hancock, continuing to the present time. George continued as leader of the international folk dance group until 1961, when he moved to Denton to teach at Texas Women’s University. Art Hare and Bobbi Gillotti had been assisting him and continued leading the group after George left.
On February 9, 1962, the constitution for Austin International Folk Dancers (AIFD) was signed and AIFD became an unincorporated, but formal, group operating under the oversight of the “Austin Recreation Department.” There were six elected officers of AIFD, with the President being the leader of the group. However, the “program director” still exercised primary influence over the operations of the group by virtue of being in charge of all programming, teaching and performances.
In 1971, the “executive committee” of AIFD became empowered to appoint assistant program directors to assist with programming and teaching. In addition, the responsibility for “exhibitions” was transferred from the program director to the executive committee, who appointed a person to oversee that task. In 1973, when no one was willing to run for the office of program director, the Bylaws were amended to split that office into two offices – program director (programming and group equipment) and teaching director (teaching and teacher training) – and those offices were then filled.
On May 28, 1976, AIFD became incorporated as a 501(c) (3) educational corporation, retaining its existing structure but gaining non-profit status, which has continued to the present. A chart of AIFD’s history through 1969, prepared by Bobbi Gillotti, is shown in Appendix I.
In 2005, Franklin Houston prepared a manual for reference and use by the Board and became the unofficial Board manual custodian.
When the group digitized its recordings and began using a notebook computer in 2007, the responsibility for operation and maintenance of the computer shifted to one or more members of the group who had expertise in that area. By 2009, a Board-authorized, non-voting position of music librarian was in place.
AIFD is incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the State of Texas under charter number 197064-01, file number 38203601 (a copy of the Articles of Incorporation & Bylaws is included in Appendix II). This is based upon a determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), although AIFD does not currently have a copy of that letter. AIFD’s Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the IRS is 23-7426747. To obtain a replacement of the 501(c) 3 determination letter, call (877) 829-5500 (toll-free), press “4” until a person answers and request a replacement letter. The IRS will need to know the group’s EIN and its name and address. In 10-14 business days, it will provide (without charge) an affirmation letter that includes all information necessary for proving tax-exempt status. An affirmation letter is often preferred because it has a more recent date than the original determination letter. To get a replacement of the actual 501(c) 3 determination letter, file Form 4506-A. It is also free and takes 60 days to get a copy of the actual determination letter.
AIFD has the following status under federal law:
AIFD has the following status under State law:
AIFD has a sales tax-exempt account set up with Office Depot. The account number is 58615103 (service is a little quicker if this number is presented when making a purchase) and the contact person with Office Depot is Elizabeth Acquavella, RetailTaxExemption@officedepot.com, telephone 1.800.848.8100, fax 561.438.2405. Since other retail stores require additional procedures, it may not always be feasible to avoid paying sales tax. However, if non-trivial recurring purchases are anticipated, AIFD should set up the necessary account. In any case, Board members should keep a copy of the exemption certificate on their person, in their belongings, on an electronic device and/or in their car to facilitate its use when unanticipated purchases for AIFD become necessary.
Any purchaser for AIFD needs to submit the receipt for their purchase to the AIFD Treasurer. If the IRS chooses to audit AIFD, it will require proof (for up to 7 years) that purchases made without paying sales tax were for AIFD purposes.
The above rights and responsibilities make it extremely important that Board members and the registered agent conduct AIFD business with due regard for all laws and regulations. State requirements and forms are available at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/index.shtml.
AIFD maintains a list of individuals who wish to receive mailings and emails about the activities of AIFD. In addition, one or more Board members develops a list of “members” to send to Texas International Folk Dancers (TIFD) in order for AIFD to be covered under TIFD’s liability insurance policy. Based upon that reporting, the “membership” of AIFD has been reported as follows:
Year AIFD Membership
2003 128
2004 107
2005 105
2006 75
2007 81
2008 73
2009 75
2010 92
2011 41
2012 36
Around 2004, a proposal from the AIFD Board to more explicitly define a “member” and charge a $5 annual membership fee was presented to the membership, but was not adopted. The informal membership policy has continued to the present.
Folk dance groups that are affiliated with TIFD may obtain liability insurance through a commercial policy issued to TIFD. The policy has two main sections – commercial property coverage and commercial general liability coverage. The property coverage section only covers TIFD’s portable dance floors used at Texas Camp and the storage buildings for those floors. The general liability coverage section protects TIFD and affiliated groups from liability resulting from damages caused by those insured group or their members to outside parties. In particular, the policy does the following:
To be eligible for coverage under TIFD’s insurance policy, AIFD must do the following:
TIFD affiliated groups are sent renewal notices in November of each year. Insurance premiums charged to those groups are adjusted annually based upon insurance rates established by the carrier. The TIFD General Fund pays the liability premium, which is collected from affiliated groups in January (premiums are paid to the insurance carrier in February). Property insurance is paid solely by TIFD, as it is not associated with the affiliated groups.
The group membership application is shown in Appendix IV.
The principal governing body of AIFD is a seven-person Board of Trustees (generally referred to as Board members). Six are elected directly by the membership each year in May and the seventh member is a member of a preceding Board as selected by the preceding Board. The term of office is one year. Newly elected Trustees take office at the first Board meeting following elections. Outgoing Trustees leave the Board at that same time, although it has been customary for them to attend that meeting to provide continuity in leadership and to share experiences with new Trustees. Each Trustee is elected to a specific position, the duties of which are shown in the Bylaws.
The Non-Profit Corporation Act of the State of Texas requires that AIFD have either an individual or a domestic or foreign corporation authorized to transact business or to conduct its affairs in Texas serve as AIFD’s Registered Agent. Any correspondence to or from the Texas Secretary of State's office goes through the Registered Agent. Although this type of activity is infrequent, each occurrence is critically important to maintaining the group’s non-profit, tax-exempt status. Chuck Roth was the designated person for many years. Franklin Houston assumed that responsibility in June of 2007. The primary role of the Registered Agent is to submit AIFD’s Periodic Report of a Nonprofit Corporation (Form 802) with the Texas Secretary of State upon request (typically every 4-6 years) and within the statutory timeframes in order to maintain nonprofit corporation status with the State of Texas.
The Board may appoint individuals to assist it with various tasks. Current appointees include the Registered Agent, music librarian (see “AIFD MUSIC LIBRARY & MUSIC LIBRARIAN” under ), Board Manual custodian and web site administrator.
The Board is required by the Bylaws to meet monthly. Any person may attend those meetings, but only Board members may vote on official actions of the group.
Business Meetings
A business meeting is required by the Bylaws to be held in May of each year to elect the Board of Trustees. Other meetings may be called by the Board or by members in accordance with the Bylaws or as may be authorized by Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes, both of which prescribe certain requirements for such meetings, such as a voting members list, a meeting quorum and a secret ballot for Trustee elections.
The Board sets policies regarding AIFD operations. Policies enacted through May 2012 which are still being followed are as follows:
The Board is required by the Bylaws to document its decisions in Board meeting minutes. Transfer of tangible assets or acquisition of real property (land and associated structures, equipment and improvements) must be approved by the membership, as referenced under Article V of the Bylaws. State statute does not have this requirement for transfer of tangible assets (unless the group ceases to conduct any activities) and also does not have this requirement for acquisition or sale of real property.
In addition to face-to-face monthly meetings, the Board communicates at other times primarily by email, which includes review of meeting minutes and also review of documents from Board members with assigned action items. Beginning in 2012, review of documents requiring Board action began to be posted on Google Documents in a shared AIFD folder, which avoided the need to comment on and revise documents through email and also avoided the need to keep links for individual documents.
Board members can access the site by copying and entering the following link: documents.google.com. Those with a gmail account enter their username and password. Those who do not have a gmail, AOL, hotmail or Yahoo account click on "Use a different email" and create an account using their current email address. Those wanting to set up a gmail account (Note: access does not require use of an @gmail.com email address) click on "Sign up for a new Google Account" on the top right and select one of the options for creating an account.
AIFD obtains its webhosting, storage and other online services through an Internet service provider (ISP). Dreamhost provided those services quite satisfactorily at a reasonable cost for several years, but when it crashed several times in 2013, selection and retention of an ISP became a non-trivial task for the Board.
Contact Information
AIFD utilizes different electronic and physical addresses, depending on the activity, as follows:
Emails sent to “@aifd.cc” are forwarded to the personal email addresses of the appropriate Board members or Board-appointed persons. The AIFD Webmaster (webmaster@aifd.cc), working with Board members, is responsible for setting up and testing email forwards from @aifd.cc addresses. Conversely, Board members may send emails using an address displaying their AIFD office rather than their personal or work address.
Web Site Information
The AIFD web site has evolved over a number of years to contain a comprehensive collection of information about AIFD and links to internal documents and related activities. Documents that are essential to the operation of the group are listed under the “Contact and Board” tab.
Background
During the summer of 2012, the AIFD Organizational Manual (a Microsoft Word document created and maintained by Franklin Houston) was migrated to the Internet. The reasons were as follows:
1. Increase access to and usability of the Manual.
2. Facilitate maintenance of the Manual.
3. Eliminate elements in the Manual that are available elsewhere on the Internet.
4. Allow elements of the Manual to be referenced by other websites.
The Manual is available in two formats. One is a PDF copy of the Word document and is located on the AIFD web page under {Contact & Board > AIFD organization manual (pdf) (opens in new page)}. The other is a text version of the same Word document and is located on Google Drive under {AIFD Board > Training and references > AIFD Manual (new – under development)}. Dance notes for dances taught at AIFD began to be added to Google Drive under {AIFD Board > Dances and Songs > Dance Notes (under development) > Dance Notes loaded onto Google Docs}. Most of the dance notes were added onto the FTP server under {manual.aifd.cc > Dance_Notes}, which is a subdomain of the AIFD web site.
Viewing
Accessing the Manual and dance notes through a web browser allows viewing, but not modification, of the contents.
1. Everyone has read-only access to the PDF copy of the Manual by going to http://aifd.cc/contact/ and clicking on {AIFD organization manual (pdf)}.
2. Everyone has read-only access to the text version of the Manual by going to http://aifd.cc/contact/ and clicking on {New AIFD organization manual (under development)} or by going to Google Drive (https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1WKg7lNBiAgl0gfnc3JCXidQ3CcjgVxS4iYheXb-oEyE).
3. Everyone has read-only access to dance notes on Google Drive (currently only one dance) by going to https://drive.google.com/?authuser=0#folders/0B7E8mParNHFZMDl3ejRCSmpYd2s.
4. Everyone has read-only access to PDF copies of other dance notes by going to http://aifd.cc/contact/ and clicking on {Dance notes} under either the {Links} or the {Contact & Board} tab.
Updating Procedures
1. The Manual’s editor, in collaboration with the Webmaster, chooses where to create, store and/or link to documents in the Manual, based on what is most suitable without creating redundancy. For example, a form that is designed to be printed and used at Saturday night dancing might best be created and maintained as a PDF, whereas a description of Board responsibilities might best be created and maintained on Google Docs. Other documents, such as those maintained by Texas International Folk Dancers, should only have a link and should not have a document that is maintained by AIFD.
2. The Editor and other contributors to the Manual must have edit/update permission from the Webmaster and need to have a working knowledge of Google Docs and FTP (e.g., FileZilla).
3. Whenever a document in the Manual is added, replaced or deleted, the person making the change must notify the Manual’s Editor and must also notify the Webmaster, who will ensure that there is an appropriate link on aifd.cc.
4. A similar procedure is used to update AIFD’s dance notes.
Those with edit privileges to the Manual or dance notes may access the server in one of several ways.
1. FileZilla (PC’s and Mac’s)
Install the FileZilla application and then open it. The server’s web page will open. Enter the server address name (“aifd.cc”) under Host. The default protocol identifier of ftp:// is prepended to the server address name if none is entered. Then, enter the Username (“aifdarchive”) and the Password (which is changed periodically for security reasons). Once access is obtained, bypass this procedure on future logins by doing the following:
Now access the music library without going through the login procedure, as follows:
2. Windows Explorer (PC’s only)
Close the server window when finished.
3. Finder (Macs only)
Additions or Changes to Web Site Documents
Cataloging Web Site Documents