[Non-Policy Explanatory Note: As reported by the Tenant Resource Center, according to Madison General Ordinance 3.23(4)(d)4 a landlord who checks conviction records must use a written, uniform inquiry process and retain all applications for at least two (2) years along with a record of reasons for rejection, recorded in a uniform manner. The landlord must also inform the tenant in writing at the time of application that a criminal background check may be part of the screening process and, if refused based on the conviction record, the landlord must state that in writing. A landlord may refuse to rent to a tenant based on the conviction record of the tenant, prospective tenant, or a household member only if the circumstances of the offense bear a substantial relationship to the tenancy. A landlord must limit the refusal to rent to convictions in the last two years.]

Purpose of the fund: The fund was created by the MCC membership to support progressive community services providing service or benefit to the community consistent with MCCs principles, including but not limited to: non-profit agencies, community centers, advocacy groups, other co-ops and collectives, and similar groups. The fund includes a service fund and a larger trust fund. The Trust Fund will provide interest revenue and/or fund important, larger initiatives.

The Membership Committee shall annually research community organizations and decide on the allocation of money collected in the MCC Community Services Trust Fund. At the end of each fiscal year, the Membership Committee will make a decision and inform the Board of Directors insofar as the descriptions of the chosen organizations, the quantity each organization will receive, and how the organization intends to use the money.

Board and Standing Committee Meeting Schedule

All weeks of the year are alternately designated Week A and Week B, and feature the following schedule: 1) Tuesday of Week A = Membership Committee 2) Wednesday of Week A = Board of Directors 3) Thursday of Week A = Maintenance Committee 4) Tuesday of Week B = Finance Committee 5) Tuesday of Week B = Individual Issues Committee 6) Wednesday of Week B = Coordinating Committee

All of these meetings begin at 7:00 pm. Board of Directors meetings are held at houses with large living rooms on an alphabetical rotating basis. Coordinating Committee meetings are held at the MCC Office. Individual Issues Committee meetings are held at the MCC Office. Meetings of the remaining standing committees of the Board are held at all houses on an alphabetical rotating basis.

The Board of Directors will meet at least once each calendar month.

On the Board of Directors meeting date closest to the final day of each calendar month the Officer Nomination and Evaluation Committee (ONEC) will meet immediately following the Board of Directors meeting at the same location as the Board of Directors and determine officer stipend amounts for the calendar month in question, except in December, when ONEC will meet after the final Board of Directors meeting of the month.

A major purpose of the Coordinating Committee is to set the agenda for the following Board of Directors meeting. When a holiday prevents the Board of Directors or the Coordinating Committee from meeting, the associated Board of Directors or Coordinating Committee will not be scheduled.

Holidays and Blackout Dates

During specific academic, national, and cultural holidays, MCC refrains from holding regular meetings.

The recognized academic holidays are: 1) the UW Spring Recess in March or April, 2) the UW Spring Study Day, Exam Week, and Commencement Weekend in May, and 3) the time period from UW Fall Study Day, Exam Week, and Commencement Weekend in December through the end of the UW Winter Recess in January.

The recognized national holidays are: 1) New Years Day on January 1st, 2) Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January, 3) Memorial Day Weekend in May, 4) Independence Day on July 4th, 5) Labor Day Weekend in September, 6) Halloween in October, 7) Thanksgiving Weekend (Wednesday through Sunday) in November, and 8) New Years Eve on December 31st.

The recognized cultural holidays are: 1) Eid ul-Fitr in Any Month, 2) Eid ul-Adha in Any Month, 3) The Vernal Equinox in March, 4) Naw-Ruz in March, 5) The First Day of Ridvan in April, 6) Good Friday in March or April, 7) Passover in March or April, 8) Easter in March or April, 9) The Declaration of the Bab in May, 10) The Summer Solstice in June, 11) The Autumnal Equinox in September, 12) Rosh Hashanah in September or October, 13) Yom Kippur in September or October, 14) The Birth of Bahaulah in November, 15) The Winter Solstice in December, 16) Christmas Eve and Day in December, and 17) Kwanzaa in December.

Additionally, August 13th through August 20th are blackout dates, during which MCC refrains from holding regular meetings.

Calendar Creation and Distribution

The Member Services Coordinator (MSC) is responsible for using the criteria in this policy to create MCCs official calendar on an annual basis. The calendar for a given year is to be distributed to all MCC houses during the preceding December, if not earlier.

Member Orientation Meetings

Three times per contract year the Membership Committee, under the direction of the Membership Officer, will plan, market, and hold Member Orientation Meetings. The dates of these meetings will be the final Sunday in August, the final Saturday in January, and the second Saturday in June. Member Orientation Meetings will last approximately two (2) hours. Member Orientation Meetings may cover, but are not limited to, the following topics: Board of Directors decision-making processes, conflict resolution policies, sexual harassment policies, organizational structure, Madison co-op history, fire safety, house maintenance, and cooperative principles.

Every member upon joining MCC must attend a Member Orientation Meeting; house membership coordinators are responsible for informing members of this obligation. A member who attends a Member Orientation Meeting is allowed to count the time as Maintenance Hours, up to a maximum of two (2) hours per contract year.

The Membership Committee and the President are responsible for advertising for, appointing, training, and removing both temporary and permanent newsletter editors.

The newsletter editor(s) shall do all of the following things: 1) complete all tasks necessary to publish and distribute the newsletter at the end of each calendar month, 2) be aware of the MCC calendar of events in addition to non-listed special events, 3) maintain a list of organizations that provide information about community events, 4) be in contact with non-housing co-ops regarding employment opportunities and special events, 5) ensure that the Membership Committee composes a regular column about membership issues, 6) solicit occasional articles from coordinating staff members, 7) include in the May and August issues a newsletter content survey, the results of which are reported in the June and September issues and are used to define the standard features of the newsletter, 8) obtain newsletter content feedback from the Membership Committee each year.

A stipend of $70 per issue will be paid to the newsletter editor(s).

MCC shall participate each year as a host organization in the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) Cooperative Internship Program. The Member Services Coordinator selects and supervises all interns and seeks Membership Committee input on projects to be undertaken by interns. In exchange for performing 20 hours of work per week, an intern will be provided room and board at a willing MCC house selected by the Member Services Coordinator. The internship period is June 1st through August 14th.