Charter

The Freedom From Religion Foundation Metropolitan Chicago Chapter (FFRFMCC) is established to serve as a local arm of the national Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and welcomes as members any individual who is a member in good standing with the national organization.

Mission Statement

The mission of the FFRFMCC is:

1)    To support the mission of the FFRF at the local level:

  • Promote and uphold the constitutional principle of separation of state and church
  • Educate the public on matters relating to non-theism

2)    To perform the following:

  • Act as a social organization for freethinkers to meet, gather and converse with other like-minded individuals
  • Community outreach to increase membership of the national FFRF
  • Work to encourage atheists, agnostics and skeptics to be open about their non-belief

Organization

The FFRFMCC will perform all activities within the greater metropolitan Chicago area, including the counties of Cook, Du Page, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will of the State of Illinois.

To become a member of FFRFMCC, a person must first be verified as a paid member of the national FFRF.

The FFRFMCC will operate as an independent non-profit association. However, both the chapter and its members, while acting as representatives of the FFRFMCC, must conduct themselves in accordance with FFRF rules, regulations and bylaws.  This, most importantly, will include no organized participation in activities that would be related to supporting a specific political party, campaigning for specific political candidates, or lobbying for local, state and federal legislation.

Financial Requirements

FFRFMCC dues are:

  • Individual Annual Membership – $15.00 (Eligible for One Vote)
  • Household Annual Membership – $20.00 (Eligible for Two Votes)
  • Student Annual Membership – $5.00 (Eligible for One Vote)
  • Individual Lifetime Membership* – $200.00 (Eligible for One Vote)
  • Household Lifetime Membership* – $250.00 (Eligible for Two Votes)

Household memberships consist of up to two adults and any number of their children under the age of 21.

*Those seeking Lifetime Memberships with the FFRFMCC must have first attained Life Membership status with the National Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Annual memberships run from January 1 to December 31.

Non-dues paying individuals will be allowed to attend meetings and participate in certain authorized events and activities, but will not be considered members or have full benefit of membership such as voting privileges.

As an officially approved chapter of the national FFRF, the FFRFMCC will establish itself initially as an unincorporated not-for-profit association.

Authority

The FFRFMCC will be governed by a Board of six (6) members, consisting of:

  • Two (2) Executive Officers
    –     Executive Director
    –     Associate Executive Director

The Executive Director, upon any appointment, must be approved by the Executive Committee of the national FFRF in order for the chapter to be officially recognized by FFRF.

Each Board member will serve a term of two (2) years, and terms will be staggered such that one-half of the Board positions are eligible for election in any given year.

The Executive Director and Associate Executive Director are nominated and elected by governing Board members to serve a term of one (1) year.

If a Board member is unable to complete his or her full term, the Board will appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the term.

The purpose of the Board is to address chapter business, as well as issues raised by the chapter membership to determine what actions, if any, should be taken. As the governing body, only the Board members, with the exception of the President, can vote regarding such issues/actions.  In the event of a tie, the President will cast the deciding vote.

Committees will be formed as necessary to assist in achieving chapter objectives.  Committee Chairs will be assigned by the Board.  Committees will be comprised of member volunteers approved by the Board and the Committee Chairs.

In the election of Board members, only dues-paying members in good-standing are eligible to run or vote.  The membership base will elect the Board.

The FFRFMCC Board will establish, maintain and amend bylaws under which the organization is governed.

Three (3) Board meetings per year are to be held on the second Monday of the months of March, July and November.  Board meetings are open to all official FFRFMCC members, with the exception of closed-door sessions.

Membership Conduct

As members of the FFRFMCC, each individual shall:

  1. Respect the constitutional precept of the separation of state and church.
  2. Recognize everyone’s individual right under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution to exercise their religious or non-religious freedoms.
  3. Not conduct any activities resulting in bigotry, intolerance or violence.Any member(s) suggesting an activist response involving the violation of an individual’s civil rights through hateful speech, violence, or destruction of personal, private or public property will be asked to leave.
  4. Live, survive and thrive on respect, and by demonstrating that to others, make our message of the morality of non-theism apparent to all.
  5. Promote rationalism by acting and behaving rationally.