To: Chapters of the Middle Western Province

From: Charles Wesley Morgan, III - Bylaw Committee Chairman
         Middle Western Province
         Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

Subject: Proposed Amendments

Attached (below) are two items that will be matters of business on the agenda at our 81st Middle Western Province Council Meeting. In accordance with the Bylaws of the Middle Western Province, any proposed legislation must be submitted to chapters not less than 45 days prior to the next Council Meeting. Please review these proposals and be prepared to vote on each of them at the Council Meeting. If you have any questions prior to the meeting in Lincoln, please feel free to contact me at your leisure.

Yours in the Bond,

Charles Wesley "Ceedy" Morgan, III
Bylaw Committee Chairman
Middle Western Province

Article III - Organization and Government - Section 4

NOW READS:
The Province Board of Directors shall consist of nine (9) members as follows: the Province Polemarch, who shall be Chairman, the Senior Province Vice Polemarch, the Junior Province Vice Polemarch, the Province Keeper of Records and Exchequer, and five (5) other members elected from the floor of the Council, two (2) of whom shall be Undergraduate Chapter members elected to one year terms and three (3) of whom shall be Alumni Chapter members elected to staggered three year terms with one elected each year. The Province Board of Directors shall have the power to supervise and act upon all Fraternity matters which arise between consecutive sessions of Province Council. The immediate Past Province Polemarch shall be an ex-officio member of the Province Board of Directors to vote only in the absence of a regular member of the Board of Directors.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT (in ALL CAPS and BOLD):
The Province Board of Directors shall consist of nine (9) members as follows: the Province Polemarch, who shall be Chairman, the Senior Province Vice Polemarch, the Junior Province Vice Polemarch, the Province Keeper of Records and Exchequer, and five (5) other members elected from the floor of the Council, two (2) of whom shall be Undergraduate Chapter members elected to one year terms and three (3) of whom shall be Alumni Chapter members elected to staggered three year terms with one elected each year. ALUMNI CHAPTER MEMBERS ELECTED FROM THE FLOOR OF THE COUNCIL TO A THREE YEAR TERM SHALL BE INELIGIBLE TO SERVE MORE THAN TWO CONSECUTIVE TERMS OR PORTIONS THEREOF. The Province Board of Directors shall have the power to supervise and act upon all Fraternity matters which arise between consecutive sessions of Province Council. The immediate Past Province Polemarch shall be an ex-officio member of the Province Board of Directors to vote only in the absence of a regular member of the Board of Directors.

RATIONALE:
Limiting the terms of the member-at-large positions on our Province Board of Directors will afford more members the opportunity to serve in that capacity. It is implicit in this proposal that if a member is appointed to serve the balance of another member's term, the appointed member would only be eligible to serve one full term as an elected member following the portion of a full term that he had served as an appointed Board Member. Hence, no member could serve more than six consecutive years under any circumstance. However, nothing would prevent such a member from serving non-consecutive terms that may exceed six cumulative years.

Chapters may establish a local foundation or other legal entity for the purpose of owning real property or to facilitate funding and implementation of a fraternity program upon the advance approval of the Province Board of Directors. Any such foundation or other legal entity shall submit an annual report of its financial condition and/or its activities to the Province Board of Directors not later than sixty days following the close of its fiscal year.

RATIONALE:
There now exists an estimated $8 million of aggregate assets in the several local chapter foundations across our province. Recent experience has shown that such foundations may present a risk to not only the foundation, but also to the local chapter, the Middle Western Province, and the fraternity-at-large. The fundamental intent of this legislation is to provide a level of oversight that will address those risks. Part and parcel of this proposal is also that there will be no restrictions regarding the "establishment" of any existing foundations in the province, with the single exception of the Kansas City Alumni Foundation. However, all foundations must comply with the annual reporting provision of the legislation.

A primary reason that some chapters have given consideration to the establishment of a foundation has been the benefit derived from having a tax-exempt entity through which they may solicit contributions for scholarship, Guide Right, or other community service projects. While that ultimate goal is commendable, the establishment of a separate foundation at the local chapter level may be ill-advised. Kappa Alpha Psi has already established a tax-exempt foundation to which chapters are required to make an annual contribution, and through which chapters are encouraged to solicit contributions from corporations, individuals and other foundations.

Further, because the fraternity's policy prohibits local chapters from directly soliciting funds from specific corporations, chapters may expand the list of sources from which they may obtain funding by utilizing the established procedure of jointly soliciting funds from the largest corporations with the assistance, expertise and established track record of the Kappa foundation. In any such successful solicitation effort, the minimal transaction fee of the Kappa Foundation enables the foundation (OUR foundation!) to grow, while at the same time providing a means by which the local chapter may achieve funding goals for its local programs. Chapters need not bear the expense nor suffer the red tape and uncertainty of establishing a local foundation when we have already accomplished these things through our Kappa Foundation.