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Policies/Procedures

Pastel Society of New Hampshire Policies and Procedures

A. Membership

Dues: annual dues are $40 for an individual membership, $50 for sponsors, and anything more for benefactor status.

Anyone paying dues is a general member in good standing. If someone pays after the 18th of November of any given year, they will be considered paid through the following year. Members will receive a thirty-day reminder to renew dues. The 30-day reminder will be sent on or about February 1st that advises members that their member privileges will be dropped unless dues are paid within 25 days. Upon payment of dues, member privileges will be reinstated. Anyone needing an exception can request approval from the president.

 

Scholarship:

When appropriate, and at the discretion of the president and treasurer, scholarship money is available for any member whose situation prevents him or her from being able to pay dues.
 

Benefits of Members:

  • Opportunities to network with other pastel artists and supporters of pastel in and around the state of New Hampshire, and to promote, share and learn about the pastel medium in a creative environment.

  • Quarterly newsletter, which is full of information about pastels, exhibits, workshops, grant opportunities, society  and members' news.

  • Membership meetings, which include demonstrations, guest speakers, critique sessions, painting workshops, and discussions of art-related topics. At the discretion of the Board, PSNH may charge a nominal fee for paid speakers and demonstrators, and may invite non-members to the speaking portion of the meeting.

  • Exhibition opportunities in an annual members’ show, and an annual national juried exhibition, at a discounted rate.

  • Inclusion  in the showcase of members’ pastel paintings on our website, displaying two works per artist.

  • Member discounts on workshops given by PSNH.

  • Links to other pastel societies and their members through membership in the International Association of Pastel Societies.

Membership Lists:
The PSNH membership mailing list will be used solely for PSNH related business. No other use is permitted without special approval from the Board of Directors.

Signature Membership:
A member in good standing may apply to become a Signature Member after earning 10 points from the following categories:

The earning of points is retroactive to 2009.

  • Best of (PSNH Juried) Show (includes jury into show pt.)    . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 points

  • Second place (PSNH Juried) Show (includes jury into show pt.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 points

  • Third place (PSNH Juried) Show (includes jury into show pt.)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3 points

  • Any award (PSNH Juried) Show (includes jury into show pt.)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2 points

  • Juried into Annual PSNH Juried Show      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 point

  • Best in PSNH Members Show      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 point

  • Juried into another national pastel show (including Pastel Journal Top 100) .. . . .. . . . . . 1 point

         

Signature member applicants must apply for signature membership.
The applicant must keep records and send copies of all documentation of all earned points to the vice president who will be responsible for Pastel Society of NH Signature Member recordkeeping.
The applicants must be members of PSNH while earning all points.

The applicant must have served on the PSNH Board or have been a chair or co-chairperson of a committee for at least two years before becoming eligible for signature membership. PSNH members who are also members of other IAPS governed societies that have served on the board or a committee of that member society for two years are exempt from having to serve on the PSNH Board or committee. Proof of service with a member society must be signed by a member of that society's executive board and submitted with all other documents.
Once approved they must remain in good standing to maintain signature status.
 

Benefits of Signature Members:
May use the initials "NHPSA (NH Pastel Society Signature Artist) on their artwork, publications, and biographies as long as they remain a member in good standing.
May organize and participate in shows only for Signature Members.
May display additional artwork on the PSNH website in the "Signature Circle Members" section.
May receive a discount in application fees for some PSNH shows.

Responsibilities of Signature Members:
Promote pastel painting, mentor and assist newer members.
Participate in a demo or presentation for a members meeting.
Offer critique at paint-outs or PSNH functions.
Organize and participate in Signature Members Show.

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B. Board of Directors Duties and Meetings

The Board of Directors will be comprised of the following:
PSNH officers and executive committee: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and a member-at-large.
Board meetings will include: directors and PSNH committee chairpersons: exhibitions, hospitality, member activities, membership, newsletter, retreats, social media/publicity, technical advisor, web administrator, and workshop.
Meetings are open to all members as non-voting attendees.

Board Voting Procedures:  Ideally, all board business will be conducted at a meeting where a quorum is present. However, there will be instances where procedural matters need to be addressed in-between meetings. In those cases, the president is authorized to communicate with board members by email or voting application to obtain a vote on the matter. Committee heads should forward the information and request  a non-meeting vote to the president, who will contact the members of the board, receive their votes, and report to the board on the results. Major issues, including contract ratifications and significant budgetary modifications, must be voted on at a board meeting and not by using a non-meeting voting procedure. All votes will be forwarded to the secretary for recordkeeping.

Contracts:  All contracts and/or future commitments for funds must be approved by the board (not individual members, officers, committee members, or committee heads), regardless of whether the funds for that expenditure are in the approved budget. All documents for contracts and/or future commitment for funds will be signed only by the president, with the original being kept by the president and copies sent to the secretary and treasurer.

Annual Meeting:  As part of preparation for the annual meeting, the president will send out the duties to all the committee chairs and request that they read over the duties and make any changes if necessary. The committee chairs must return duties changed or not to the vice president who will update the policies and procedures accordingly.

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C. Committee Chairs - Duties and Procedures

Committee chairs may recruit members of their committee to work with them and may call meetings of their respective committee to discuss all items pertinent to their committee. The request to meet will be sent also to the president, who is an ex-officio member of the committee. Committee chairs will report all business pertaining to their respective committee's meetings, duties and accomplishments directly to the president.  All reports should be copied to the president. When a committee chair has an agenda item for a regular or a special meeting of the board or for a membership meeting, that agenda item will be communicated to the president to be put on the agenda. All committee chairs are expected to attend board and members’ meetings and prepare reports for board meetings. The chairs and their committee members' duties follow.

Exhibitions:

Chairperson(s) are responsible for all aspects of the members show and the open juried show. They work with the president to get all necessary jurors and investigate venues for next year’(s’) show(s).

Member Show and National Juried Show duties:

1. Create detailed prospectus to be published on website and online jurying platform

2. Coordinate with online jurying platform with price list, judging, violations, contact list

3. Select and contract juror(s) (National-in conjunction with Workshop)

4. Prepare and print artwork labels in coordination with venue

5. Purchase and prepare certificates and folders

6. Coordinate volunteers for delivery, hangup and pickup

7. Coordinate volunteers for refreshments

8. Develop poster/banner per venue contract

9. Assist with awards with jurors/ mail awards to those who weren’t in attendance

10. Compile juror comments

11. Assign responsibilities for soliciting awards

12. Update bio books

13. Submit expenses to treasurer

14. Coordinate with directors and venue regarding liquor liability insurance if alcohol is being served. Obtain liquor policy of venue in writing, if serving.

15. Contact any entrant and maintain all records of correspondence if entry is in violation of the prospectus.

16. Post awards listings to website

17. Mail thank you letters to supporters

18. For members’ shows: confirm all entrants dues are current

19. For national show: arrange for shipping agent to receive and return shipped works

20. For national show: update acceptance and rejection letters to be sent through online jurying service

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Member Activities:

  • Develop entertaining or informative activities for online member meetings.

  • Schedule seasonal paintouts/plein air opportunities or social activities throughout the year.

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Membership:

  • Receive membership applications through checks and Paypal (on WIX).

  • Keep a current list of members’ personal information and fees paid in spreadsheet program.

  • Inform board of new member enrollment.

  • Send checks collected to treasurer.

  • Enter all enrollment activities in MailChimp.

  • Send out renewal acknowledgements in MailChimp.

  • Send out personal acknowledgements to new members.

  • Send out renewal reminders on MailChimp in November, December and February and/or March as necessary.

  • Revise the membership form annually.

  • Send out messages from board members on MailChimp. Edit as necessary. (This can be shared with other board members who are MailChimp administrators)

 

Newsletter

The newsletter chair is responsible for preparing the newsletter and emailing it to all members. The newsletter is written quarterly.

 

Retreats:

The retreat chair will be responsible for creating and scheduling a member retreat every other year, those years when there is no IAPS convention. The chair will coordinate with the board regarding schedule and pricing. The chair will also consult and coordinate about member activities and workshops for possible hybrid events and to avoid conflict with other scheduling. The retreat chair will submit a brief report to the board post retreat about the event and suggestions to improve the experience.

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Social Media

The publicity/social media chair will post announcements, member activities, Society activities and news of interest to society members and friends on the Society’s Facebook and Instagram pages, send out email with announcements of show calls, show openings, and other news and celebrations of PSNH and its members.

The chair, in conjunction with the technical advisor, will submit ads and announcements of national interest to the IAPS Globe, the IAPS website and if determined to be beneficial, Pastel Journal or any other professional art publication.

Technical Advisor:

Create, edit or update content for advertising, public service announcements, PSNH shows, and merchandise sold by the Society as a benefit or promotion to members. Assist as needed in other content creation. May, with the president, serve as liaison to IAPS. Consult as needed with other chairs on software decisions or processes.

 

 Web Administrator:

The chair/committee is responsible for maintaining and updating the Pastel Society of NH's web site including the following:
Index: post letter from the president and upcoming events.
Meetings & events: provide dates, links and programs details
Members Gallery: add new members and display two photos of their work.
Signature Members Circle: features a listing of all signature members with links from each artist's name to a separate page featuring the artist info and four images.
Check web email answering appropriate requests to assist requests requiring more detailed assistance and/or forward to the appropriate board chair.
Interact with treasurer for all web site billing questions, PayPal procedures, shop sales and/or adjustments.

Interact with membership chair for new and renewing member forms

Build and maintain detailed workshop information, forms and payment

Keep member discount codes and member policies up to date

Coordinate with retreats chair about retreats pages

Keep the Shop page up to date

Publish show information, links to online show submissions and official prospectuses, coordinate with various chairs on Society workshops, meetings and activities.

Design virtual gallery for exhibitions with separate winners gallery.

Workshops:

Arrange with outstanding artists to conduct workshops.
Receive and answer contacts from workshop applicants.
Coordinate with the webmaster and treasurer regarding fee submissions. Assist in arrangements for workshop leader: budget, travel arrangements, hotel, personal needs.
Forward pertinent information to social media chair for promotion and advertisement.
Summarize the outcome of workshops (how many attended, income vs. expenses).
If attending a workshop, assist in organizing the day depending on the needs of the workshop leader.
If the workshop leader is presenting a PowerPoint, help to facilitate the event: ordering equipment, helping with publicity.
Participants may reserve a space in the workshop by paying in full online or by check. Cancellation policy is to be determined by the board; extreme hardship at the discretion of the workshop chair. If workshop is full and there is a cancellation, a cancellation fee may be  reserved at the discretion of the board, but determined beforehand. Contact liability insurance policy issuer with dates, venue, and any other required information. If alcohol is to be served, board approved liquor liability policy must be obtained.

 

D. Monetary Procedures

Budget: Each fall, the Treasurer will prepare, with the guidance and input from each of the committees, a detailed annual budget of anticipated revenues and expenses for the following calendar year. This projected annual budget will be approved by the board at a board meeting and subsequently by the membership at the annual meeting. During the subsequent year, each committee will be able to expend those specific funds in keeping with the approved budget. This annual budget serves as a guideline of expenses for the subsequent year and it is understood that, as a working organization, there may be fluctuations or changes. The president may instruct the treasurer to pay invoices that exceed budget guidelines within a limit of $100.00. Changes above $100.00 or determined to be major by the president and treasurer must be approved by the board.

 A receipt must accompany all requests for reimbursement.Independent accountant will prepare the tax return.

E. Amendment Procedures

Proposed amendments to the By-Laws and Policy and Procedures will be presented and discussed by the board. They will be sent to the board a week in advance of the meeting.

F. Exhibitions

There will be two shows sponsored by the Pastel Society of NH each year: a non-juried members show and a juried national show.

G. Costs: The entrance fees for each show will be determined by the Board.

H. Scholarships

Scholarships are available for workshops for PSNH members and residents of New Hampshire. The financial structure is as follows: the first $100.00 of the workshop is paid by the recipient, the balance is covered by the scholarship. The scholarship committee will consist of three revolving Board members with one carry over from the previous year that will chair the committee. There is a standard application form, which is updated for each workshop. All applications are reviewed by the Scholarship Committee. The names of the scholarship applicants and recipients are to be kept confidential.

I.Commissions

PSNH will collect the commission fee and will pay the venue the agreed upon percentage. The remainder of the commission fee will be deposited in the PSNH treasury. The normal commission fee to be collected is 40% and will be adjusted if the venue charges more.

J. Awards

Awards may be given at the annual Meeting. Categories used in the past are as follows: the President's Award--given to the non-Board member who has made extra special effort throughout the year; the Director's Award--given to the Board Member who has gone above and beyond for the Society.

Updated May 2023

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