Our By Laws

The official name of the coalition is Community First Coalition of El Paso (CFC). CFC is a grass roots, non-partisan network of organizations and leaders whose purpose is to empower the community to undertake initiatives and take actions beneficial to the community.

Section 1. Mission.

Our mission is advance equality and empower communities by bringing about improvements in social, economic, and political conditions in El Paso through collaborative planning, policy advocacy, and community action. The focus will be on

Section 2. Vision.

We believe government must work for the benefit of the entire populace and that concerned citizens who are informed, engaged and active participants in civic affairs will achieve transparency, accountability and true representation of all communities in government.

The Coordinating Committee shall consist of five members whose principal role will be to manage the general operations of the coalition as follows:

Presiding Coordinator shall be in charge of providing notice and scheduling meetings, preparing an agenda with input from others and presiding over CFC meetings;

Membership Coordinator shall be in charge of recruiting, providing orientation, and developing an active membership;

Secretarial Coordinator shall be in charge of preparing and sending out minutes of steering committee and general meetings;

Historian & Archival Coordinator shall be in charge of maintaining an archive of the coalition’s events, activities, writings, publications, videos, and all other items and records produced by or about the coalition;

Development/Social Media Coordinator shall be in charge of managing CFC resources and social media. Other coordinators shall assist with social media duties.

Section 1. Terms and Elections.

Coordinators shall be selected/elected in January by majority vote of the steering committee and shall serve for a term of two years. Terms will be staggered, by agreement or by lot.

Section 2. Rotation of duties.

The duties of spokesperson for CFC and for facilitating general, steering, and coordinating committee meetings shall rotate among the five coordinators as often as deemed appropriate by the coordinating committee

The Steering Committee shall consist of representatives of constituent organizations and at-large individual members of the coalition who can provide needed expertise and experience. The steering committee shall determine the actual social, economic and political issues that will be addressed by the coalition. Steering committee members shall participate actively and may also serve as chairs of, or liaisons to, task forces formed to address the particular issues/causes constituting the CFC agenda.

Section 1. Terms and Election.

Representatives who are appointed by constituent organizations shall serve on the steering committee pursuant to their organization’s rules and are therefore not subject to this section. Individual at-large members may be selected by invitation or by election of a majority of the steering committee in January for four-year terms. If individual at-large members fail to respond or participate in three meetings, they will be removed as steering committee members.

Section 2. Meetings & Quorum.

Steering committee meetings shall be held at least every other month. A quorum will be required when the agenda contains items relating to elections or substantive CFC issues. A quorum shall consist of at least 50% plus one of the steering committee membership.

To address particular issues/causes, the steering committee may create task forces where the substantive work of CFC shall occur. Each task force shall have a well defined focus and goal, so as to afford it the best opportunity to affect positive change for the community.

Section 1. Formation.

Once the Steering Committee identifies the need for a task force, it may vote to call forth a task force made up of interested constituent organizations and individuals that will be charged with identifying leaders, recruiting additional organizations and individuals, developing strategies and proposing actions to the membership to achieve the stated need. Each task force may select its own Chair and co-chair for the task force.

Section 2. Liaisons.

Each task force shall be assigned a liaison from the Steering Committee. The Liaison will, as appropriate, work to help identify leaders, provide support and guidance, and report back to the Steering Committee on the task force’s progress.

Section 3. Dissolution or Reassignment.

Once a task force has achieved its assigned goal, or can no longer make progress to accomplishing that goal, the Steering Committee may choose to dissolve the task force, or assign it a new goal.

Membership is open to community organizations and individuals who subscribe to the mission and vision of the CFC and who commit to participate collaboratively in its activities. General members shall attend general meetings, support the work of the coalition and help to disseminate CFC views on social, economic and political developments. General membership meetings shall be held at least once a quarter.

Section 1. Constituent Organizations.

Any organization whose purpose and mission is consistent with CFC and who expresses a desire and willingness to become a constituent organization is welcome. The constituent organization shall name one of its members as representative on the CFC steering committee. Constituent organizations may at any time opt out of specific decisions or initiatives taken by CFC when deemed in the best interests of the organization. The relationship will continue by mutual agreement until one party informs the other of its desire to separate.

Section 2. Public Statements & Policy Positions.

CFC members shall not make public statements on behalf of the CFC or represent the policy positions or interests of the CFC without advance approval from the presiding coordinator or coordinating committee member unless it is a matter of urgency and the member holds a position of leadership and is well acquainted with CFC policies.

[Section 3. Dues.

CFC members will be encouraged to pay annual membership dues of $30 on a voluntary basis.]

The Bylaws shall be amended by majority vote of the Steering Committee upon the recommendation of a bylaws committee duly appointed for that purpose.