Frequently Asked Questions

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1.  Your group is prevented from meeting in person.  Should you conduct business online?

2.   Do you have some special hints about using Zoom? 

3.  How do you conduct a Hybrid guild meeting (in person + Zoom)?

4.  What are the rules about conducting fund-raising raffles in California? 

5. What are the duties of an NCQC representative? 

6.  What does NCQC have to do with the California State Fair? 

7.  How much are NCQC dues? 

8.  How can I get a list of the guilds in northern California? 

9.  Why are some guilds 501(c)3 and others aren't? 

Do your bylaws allow you to meet online? 

If not, first check your state statutes. We’re in a Catch-22 position right now; if your bylaws don’t allow you to meet online, you can’t amend them to say so until you meet in person. If incorporated in the State of California, the statutes do say you can meet online.

Should you conduct business online? 

The solution will depend on your rules, your officers and members, and the

general atmosphere of your group (contentious or harmonious).  The following guidelines may help guide you if you want to meet online in lieu of an in-person meeting*:

Option #1: Bylaws authorize electronic meetings

If your guild’s bylaws currently authorize you to hold electronic meetings, you should consult the specific language of the bylaw provision to determine what is necessary to call and hold a meeting via electronic means.

Option #2: Bylaws authorize absent members to participate via electronic means, but do not authorize the meeting itself to be held entirely via electronic means

There is a difference between an electronic meeting and electronic participation in an in-person meeting. If your guild’s bylaws are worded so as to require in-person meetings, but also authorize members to participate in those meetings via electronic means, the guild should check the quorum and location requirements to determine whether the meeting can be held at one member’s house with only one member in attendance, while other members attend via electronic means.

Option #3: Informal electronic meeting without the transaction of business

Guilds whose bylaws do not authorize the holding of meetings via electronic means may hold an informal gathering of members via electronic means. At such a gathering, the transaction of business would NOT be in order, but the gathering could incorporate workshops and/or programs, etc. If the members decided to transact any business

under the name of the guild, such action would NOT be the action of the guild unless it was later ratified at a meeting in accordance with the guild’s governing documents.

Option #4: Bylaws authorize business to be transacted without a meeting

If your guild’s bylaws authorize business to be transacted without a meeting (e.g. by email, by telephone, etc.), or if your board is given the power to conduct business between meetings, this is a way for your guild to tend to pressing affairs without a meeting in person. Matters could be discussed informally as shown in Option #3 above, and the actual business could be transacted in the alternate form prescribed in the bylaws.

A suggested bylaw amendment (when you’re able to amend your bylaws) to meet and vote via the internet:

Meetings Held Electronically. Except as otherwise provided in these bylaws, meetings of the board (and/or membership) shall be conducted through use of internet meeting services, designated by the president (and/or board) that support visible displays identifying those participating , those seeking recognition to speak, showing (or

permitting the retrieval of) the text of pending motions, allowing members to vote, and showing the results of votes.  There are also apps available that allow you to vote anonymously if you choose to add them.

These guidelines are very general and might not fit every group’s needs. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to contact me!

Vicki Walter, Registered Parliamentarian

vwalter3@gmail.com

*National Association of Parliamentarians, Corona Virus and Electronic Meetings

Sac Parliamentarians Revised July 13, 2020

Here's a great article from AARP explaining Zoom and how to use it:

https://www.aarp.org/home-family/personal-technology/info-2020/how-to-use-zoom.html

How do I enable Breakout Rooms?

Login to your Zoom account, then go to Settings.  Scroll down and you can see Breakout Rooms, Polls, and other options.  Once you've enabled them in your account, you can use them (or not) on all calls you initiate.  They will appear as options in the menu bar at the bottom of your screen (the one that starts with Audio and Video) although they may be in the  . . .  on the right-hand side.

How do I save Chat after a call?

 To save chat, left click on the three dots and select "save chat."  You can only save the chat that was directed to "everyone" in the general session - not in a breakout room or to a specific person.

 As vaccination rates increase and the economy starts to open up, many guilds are meeting again in person. Some would also like to “Zoom” their meetings for those who either don’t feel comfortable attending, or who can’t because of their geographic distance. We call those “hybrid” meetings.

We’re hoping to provide some guidance here about how to manage a Hybrid meeting.

This is a new idea and this is not a definitive document. It’s based on discussion with a guild in Ohio who started hybrid meetings in February 2021, and experience with hybrid meetings in three other guilds since the middle of 2021. We considered those meetings to be mostly successful. Nothing was entirely smooth, and we learned from each one we had. 

There are two audiences you need to consider, the live audience and the Zoom attendees.  Here’s what you need to get you started:

First, you need to have WiFi – or a hotspot – to start and maintain your Zoom call. You will need to have two, and preferably 3, devices in the room connected to the Zoom call. We had 2 laptops and an iPad. One laptop controls the Zoom call: monitoring people who join the call (people often get kicked off and need to re-connect), Spotlighting the speakers, muting Zoom attendees, sharing a screen if you have any Show and Tell (or other presentations) by Power Point, recording the meeting (if you do) and whatever else needs to be done in the Zoom portion.

The second laptop needs to be stationed at the front of the room where the President and any other speaker can talk into it. We needed a microphone so the live attendees could hear, but the Zoom call will not pick up voices from the microphone, no matter how loud it is. This is a key issue: all the speakers must speak directly into the laptop for Zoom attendees to hear.

(That was probably the hardest part to get right. People tend to want to talk from where they’re standing; they often move or wander around; shorter speakers can’t see over the top of the laptop so they try to move to the side; some don’t like seeing themselves on the computer screen so they try to avoid it; they don’t listen, or forget what they were told; they think the microphone is enough. We needed frequent reminders or everything that was not said directly into the laptop was lost to the Zoom attendees.)

However, an alternative has surfaced that may work better, depending on the microphone/speaker system you use for your meetings. It works when a guild uses a hand-held microphone connected to its own speaker box. If you set the second laptop directly in front of the speaker, it will pick up everything said into the microphone without people having to stand in one place and talk into the computer. It actually worked very well.

The third device, an iPad, is optional but especially useful. We started out using it facing the live audience so the Zoom attendees could see and feel a part of them. But the church had distanced both rows and seats so the iPad only captured a few members of the audience, and a lot of spaces. We found it particularly useful at our second meeting, however, during Show and Tell. We stationed a person with the iPad, using the reversed camera, sitting in the first row focusing on Show and Tell items, and we Spotlighted it. So Show and Tell worked well for Zoom attendees and didn’t disrupt the live meeting at all. We did need to turn off the audio so it didn’t cause feedback if it got too close to the President’s laptop (Zoom doesn’t like 2 devices near each other). The downside is that it’s hard to hold it still enough for viewers to not get dizzy. We have since, in some meetings, set the iPad on a tall table facing the front podium so it captures everyone talking from the front, and capturing Show and Tell without it bouncing.

It was fun to pick up the iPad partway through the meeting and pan the room so the Zoom attendees could see who was there and what the room looked like.

The other item that’s very useful is a projector.  Many churches – and hopefully other meeting places – have projectors and are willing to let you use them, as ours did. We were able to project the Spotlighted speakers as well as Show and Tell items onto the large screens at the front of the church. Live attendees also enjoyed seeing Show and Tell on the screens; they often got better views than they had from their seats. In between, they could see the Gallery View of Zoom participants. If your meeting place doesn’t have a projector, you can purchase one for around $60-70 on Amazon. If you don’t have a screen, you can likely make one using a quilt rack – although the “screen” needs to be opaque (design wall flannel is not dense enough) and as smooth as possible for good projection. You can also buy screens on Amazon – a 6’ x 10’ screen is about $30. You’d also need some kind of stand if you can’t attach it to a wall with Command strips.

So – WiFi, 2 laptops, 1 iPad, 1 projector, 1 screen. What would we do without the technology? A Hybrid meeting isn’t as smooth or flawless as I’m sure all our regular guild meetings are, but we’ve found that even with all the glitches, our Zoom attendees appreciated our efforts. We keep learning and making improvements. 

We all want to encourage as many members as possible to attend and to feel connected to the guilds. A Hybrid meeting is one way to do that.

                                                                                                                  Colleen Voet, NCQC Webmaster

In California, gambling is illegal under its constitution and the Penal Code. Raffles are considered gambling: a person pays a price for a chance to win a prize or prizes. Note: It does not matter if you do not use the word “raffle” in describing your prize drawing (e.g., opportunity quilt). If the event meets the definition, it is a raffle and illegal.

However, California has created an exemption for nonprofit organizations to conduct raffles as a fund raising tool. There are a number of requirements with respect to what organizations can conduct and raffle and the raffle is conducted.

Note: Under both California and federal law it is illegal to sell raffle tickets online. You may advertise your raffle online, such as having a photo of your opportunity quilt and a caption “Win this quilt.” But may not actually sell the tickets or receive payment online. 

Organization requirements:

The organization must be a private, tax-exempt nonprofit organization that has been qualified to do business in California for at least one year prior to conducting the raffle. In practical terms, that means that the organization must apply to be a Charitable Trust in the State of California. A California Charitable Trust is a private, tax-exempt, nonprofit organization. Information regarding applying to be a Charitable Trust can be found at https://oag.ca.gov/charities/

Raffle Requirements:

In order to hold a raffle, your organization must obtain a Raffle Permit from the State of California.

The State raffle year runs from September 1 to August 31. You have to apply for, and obtain, a Raffle Permit before beginning any “raffle activities.” Raffle activities include advertising and promoting the raffle, offering tickets for sale, and selling tickets. You have to request the permit at least 60 days before the raffle and you must receive your letter of confirmation prior to beginning an raffle activities. Generally, for most organizations that means the application must be sent in no later than July 1. It is OK to file earlier, as long as it isn’t more than 11 months earlier. If the selling of tickets and the drawing for the raffle prize cross the raffle year (e.g., you begin selling in June and the drawing is in September), then you need to have a raffle permit for both years.

1. The application for requesting a raffle permit can be found at: https://oag.ca.gov/charities/raffles. It is Form CT-NRP-1.

Information you will need to file Form CT-NRP-1:

The name and address of the organization; email address*; phone number*; fax number*; State Charity Registration Number; the organization’s tax exempt status (for quilt guilds, that usually is the box labelled 23701d); and the proposed date of the raffle(s). Note: Don’t worry if you get the dates wrong; it just needs to be the best information you have at the time of completing the application. The person signing the application needs to be an officer or director and needs to be able to certify the statements made in the application are true and correct. The application gets printed and signed. It is mailed to the address on the application along with the fee (currently, $20) and a copy of the organization’s tax exempt status determination letter.

To obtain the organization’s tax exempt status (and get a copy of the letter), go to: www.ftb.ca.gov/help/business/entity-status-letter.asp. Click on the button that says “Check Status.” You will be given the option of finding status information using either the organization’s official name or the organization’s state corporation number; then click on “perform search.” The next screen should list your organization. Click on the organization’s entity number and it will tell you entity status and exempt status. It should read “Active” and “Exempt.” If it does, you can get the necessary letter. Just below the status information, there is a box that says “Generate Letter.” Click on that and you will get a pdf document that certifies your organization’s status. Print the letter and include it with the Raffle Permit application.

2. At the end of every raffle year for which you have a permit, a raffle report must be filed no later than October 1. Earlier is fine.

The Raffle Report form can be found at: https://oag.ca.gov/charities/raffles. It is Form CT-NRP-2.

Information you will need to file Form CT-NRP-2:

The name and address of the organization; email address*; phone*; fax*; State Charity Registration Number; the organization’s Raffle Registration Number (located on the permit); the date of the raffle(s); and the gross receipts from the raffle. The person signing the application needs to be an officer or director and needs to be able to answer a number of questions relating to the use of the raffle funds. Note: By law, at least 90% of the gross proceeds must go to charitable purposes. It is mailed to the address on the report.

* For information marked with an asterisk, “none” is an acceptable answer.

For more information, see: https://oag.ca.gov/charities/raffles

Resource created for Northern California Quilt Council by:

Alys Hay, President of Moonlight Quilters of Sonoma County

July 2020

  A Guild's NCQC Representative is the person who is asked to:

• Maintain their guild’s membership status. This includes acting as the guild contact, assuring dues are paid when membership expires, and managing members who want to be on the NCQC mailing list. The guild contact gets official notifications sent to the guild; they may also get inquiries or information from other guilds, to be passed on to the appropriate person.  The login and password must be obtained from the Guild’s previous rep. 
• Submit photo and information about the guild’s opportunity quilt each time there’s a new one.
• Submit articles to the newsletter when there is something of interest on which to report.
• Update the NCQC calendar with dates and info on the quilt show, country store, or other events that might be of interest to others.
• Encourage Program chair/chair elect to attend Meet the Teachers meetings, both when they’re in person, and on Zoom. Program people often execute speaking and teaching contracts at in-person meetings.
• Share NCQC newsletters with the membership.  

Each year, we sponsor a $100 monetary award for "Best Use of Color" at the State Fair.    The fair's quilt judging committee  determines the quilt that should receive the Best Use of Color award on our behalf.

 Dues are $25 for one year or $40 for two.  This applies whether you are a guild, teacher, quilt shop, vendor, long-arm quilter, judge, or show organizer.  If you are more than one (such as teacher and judge) you need only pay one set of dues.  If you belong to a member guild you may come to any NCQC meeting and do not need to be an "individual" member.

Dues apply to a calendar year and are not pro-rated.

To find the appropriate form to join or renew your membership, click on the Forms tab (under Membership) and you will find the "guild membership form" or the "non-guild membership form."  They should be self-explanatory.

Guilds and their mailing addresses are on the Membership-Guilds page.

As an alternative,your NCQC rep can go to the Membership-Forms page and use the contact form to request such a list from our Membership chairperson.  She will send you an Excel file with the guilds and their mailing addresses.  Be sure to tell her where you want it sent (or emailed).

 Even though most - if not all - quilt guilds participate in community service, making and donating quilts and other items to other non-profit organizations in their areas, some are designated by the IRS as 501(c)3 and others aren't. 

One of our member guilds recently applied for 501(c)3 status and was turned down.  Their application emphasized that the two major items the guild focused on were education and community service, both of which are exempt activities.  Aside from a small amount for administrative overhead - like meeting place rent, storage, newsletter, website - nearly all the money the guild raised went to their exempt activities.

Although we don't believe the law has changed, it appears that the IRS may be interpreting - and implementing - it more stringently than they have in the past.  This guild was told that because the guild offered activities to its members, such as camp, block exchanges, fabric exchanges, challenges, etc., it was not formed solely for charitable purposes but also benefited its members.  They were determined to be a 501(c)4 organization (tax exempt, and performing social welfare functions), and decided they could not expect to win an appeal of that determination.  

The IRS representative who was queried about the difference in the way guilds have been treated opined that the ones currently designated (c)3 are essentially "grandfathered in"; if they were to apply now they should not get the same designation and were they ever to lose their status and have to re-apply, they should not get it.  It's hard to say, though, if that is universally applied.

The primary difference between (c)3 and (c)4 are that donations to 501(c)3 organizations are tax-deductible to the donor but donations to 501(c)4 organizations are not.  Guilds receive a lot of donations (often fabric) and those who are not (c)3 need to be sure the donees know their donations are not tax-deductible.