Membership

ASSOCIATION CHARTER :

· NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

Dharma Association of North America, also referred by its acronym DANAM. DANAM is organized exclusively for cultural, educational, religious, or scientific purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c ) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

· MEMBERS

Members shall be those persons nominated by a Trustee, elected to membership by a
unanimous vote of those Trustees present at any meeting of the Board of Trustees, and who qualify by acknowledging, in writing to the Secretary, their support of the mission and objectives of DANAM, and their acceptance of the such membership, and whose payment of applicable membership dues, unless waived, is in good standing. A member may resign by giving written notice to the Secretary. The members shall elect Trustees at the Annual Meeting of the members to be held in January or February of each year. The presence of majority of the members shall constitute a quorum.

· TRUSTEES

The Board of Trustees shall consist of not less than three (3) Trustees. The term of office of
Trustees shall be for one to three years, with options to continue for further terms; Trustees shall be elected at the Annual Meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members present in person, to serve until their successors are elected and are qualified by acknowledging in writing to the Secretary their acceptance such position. A Trustee may resign by giving written notice to the Secretary. Any vacancies occurring in the Board of Trustees shall be filled by an affirmative vote of the majority of the remaining Trustees, though less than a quorum of the Board of Trustees, to serve the remainder of the term of that position. The Trustees shall elect a Chair of the Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees shall hold an Annual Meeting immediately following the Annual
Meeting of the members and such other meetings as the President or Chairman may deem necessary. A majority of the number of Trustees shall constitute a quorum.

The Trustees shall not receive any compensation for their services; but shall be entitled
to receive compensation for their travel and reasonable living expenses while attending meetings of the Board of Trustees or other meetings on behalf of DANAM, with approval by the Board.

· OFFICERS
The officers of the DANAM shall be a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer; the offices of President and Treasurer can be held by one and the same person. Officers shall he elected by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Trustees present in person at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees. The term of office shall be one year or until removed by the Board of Trustees. No officer shall be compensated for his/her services, however, they will be entitled to reimbursement for travel on behalf of DANAM.
President: The President shall be a Trustee of DANAM. The President, as agent of the Board of Trustees, shall conduct the day-to-day affairs and business of the DANAM.
Secretary: The Secretary shall keep the minutes and other records of the Board of Trustees meetings and shall maintain a list of all members of the Corporation.
Treasurer: The Treasurer shall maintain the financial records of the Corporation.. The Treasurer shall submit a complete written financial report to the Annual Meeting of the membership.

CURRENT ORGANIZATION :
DANAM’s application for attaining the IRS Code 501(c )(3) tax-exempt status is currently pending approval by the IRS.

· MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
For DANAM to be effective in accomplishing its mission and objectives, your cooperation, support, participation, advice and communication is essential and is therefore solicited. We would like for you to become associated with DANAM, either as member, donor, or ‘friend of DANAM’. To do so, send us the following information about yourself and others in the community, via online application or e-mail at contact@danam-web.org, or postal mail at DANAM, 17 Lessie’s Drive, Poquoson, VA 23662, USA:

*click here for online application*

(i) Name, postal and email addresses, telephone/fax numbers (home, work, mobile);
(ii) I would like to become (mark as appropriate): Member (annual)___ (life)___; DANAM Associate,____; Friend of DANAM,___ ; Donor,____ .
(iii) My brief bio-sketch listing (2-page limit) of professional and community services activities, honors and awards, and education and publishing/speaking activities, is attached.
(iv) I have identified the following needs of our community that DANAM should address, listed in the order of priority:
(v) I would like to assist DANAM in achieving its objectives in the following way(s):
(vi) I would like to participate in, or start, a DANAM Chapter in our area:

· DUES:
Make checks payable to: Dharma Association of North America, or DANAM.
The 2004 dues are as follows:
Member: Annual- $200; Life- $2,000.
DANAM Associate: $ 40.
Friend of DANAM: $ 20.

· DONORS & SPONSORS:

We have been encouraged by the donation pledges of financial and/or in kind support by a few generous benefactors, sustainers, patrons, trustees and event sponsors for defraying the operating costs of DANAM. Each donor (business, foundation, family and individual) will receive a Certificate of Recognition, and be recognized in DANAM Newsletter (‘Dharma Setu’, first issue in early 2004), in promotional brochures, and at DANAM events. The donors will receive invitations to special Donor events.
Annual Pledge Donors:
Trustee - $1000

Sponsor - $2000

Sustainer - $3000

Benefactor - $5000

Donor - $10,000

Major Donor - $25,000

Guarantor - $50,000

Major Guarantor -$ 100,000

Other:
Event Sponsors: Event Sponsors - $ (based on each event)

· ELECTED TRUSTEES
The current Board of Trustees of DANAM consists of the following elected Trustees for the term 2003-2004. Additional Trustees are being solicited for staggered terms.

Dr. Rajinder Gandhi, M.D., Saddle River, NJ, Chairman, Board of Trustees
Dr. Adarsh Deepak, Ph.D., Poquoson, VA
Dr. Dilip Sarkar, M.D., Norfolk, VA
Mrs. Jyoti Gandhi, Saddle River, NJ
Mrs. Kamini Pahuja, Richmond, VA
Dr. Mahendra Kawatra, Ph.D., Long Island, NY

· ELECTED OFFICERS
The following members were elected as the Officers of DANAM for the term 2003-2004:

President: Dr. Adarsh Deepak, Ph.D.
Secretary: Dr. Dilip Sarkar, M.D.
Treasurer: Mrs. Meera G. Rao

PATRONS

Dr. Arvind Sharma,
Birks Professor of Religion, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

BOARD OF DISTINGUISHED VISITING SCHOLARS (BDVS)

The following is an initial list of distinguished scholars who have kindly agreed to become members of Board of Distinguished Visiting Scholars (BDVS):

Dr. Rita Dasgupta Sherma,

Chair ( BDVS), Senior Research Associate, Berghoffer Institute, NY; Visiting Assistant Professor, Dept. of Asian Studies, Binghamton University, NY; Chair, Council for Hindu Studies, School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, USA

Dr. Anantanand Rambachan,Professor of Religion, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, USA
Dr. Arindam Chakrabarti, Professor of Philosophy, University of Hawaii, USA
Dr. Sangeetha Menon, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore, India
Dr. Rajeshwari V. Pandharipande, Director, Program for the Study of Religion,
Professor of Religious Studies, Linguistics, Sanskrit & Comparative Literature,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Dr. Subhash Kak, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, & Professor of South Asian Cultures Program, Louisiana State University, USA
Dr. Trichur S. Rukmani, Chair, Hindu Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Dr. Graham Schweig, Department of Religion and Philosophy, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Virginia, and Senior Editor, Journal of Vaishnava Studies , USA
Dr. Arvind Sharma, Birks Professor of Religion, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Dr. Ian Wicher, Department of Religion, University of Manitoba, Canada

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