The founding charter that turns a community of supporters into an institution — the governing document of a California nonprofit, built article by article on the California Corporations Code.
The Society's bylaws have been drafted, reviewed and adopted. This is more than a procedural note: the bylaws are the document that turns California Fenerbahçe Society from a group of friends who love the same club into an institution — one with defined rights, duties and guarantees for every member.
The document that makes a community an institution
The Society is registered as a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation with its seat in Los Angeles. The bylaws define its purpose: guided by the goals and principles set out by Atatürk and an outlook committed to contemporary life, to gather Fenerbahçe supporters and sports lovers under one roof, meet members' social and cultural needs, carry them into membership of Fenerbahçe Sports Club, and give the club every material and moral support within our reach.
The Society is a California institution, and its bylaws are written accordingly: every article rests on the relevant sections of the California Corporations Code, and the values that guide the text are those of the Fenerbahçe community it serves.
What the bylaws regulate
- Governing bodies: the General Assembly, the Board of Directors and the Audit & Finance Committee are mandatory; the Ethics Committee and the Social, Cultural & Educational Activities Committee were constituted as optional bodies.
- Membership: applications are posted for review, and the Board decides within fifteen days; a rejected applicant has the right to ask for the reasons and to appeal in writing.
- Equality: every member holds equal rights and casts one vote at the General Assembly.
- Discipline: no final sanction may be imposed without hearing the member, who is given at least fifteen days to submit a written defence — and the last word belongs to the General Assembly.
What it means for members
Annual dues are $100, with no separate joining fee. Students pay half for the duration of their studies, and family membership — the spouse and children of a member — is also charged at 50%. To speak and vote at the General Assembly, the essential condition is being a member in good standing — under California law, dues paid in full.
The architect of the bylaws: Erkan Terzioğlu
The bylaws were prepared by Erkan Terzioğlu, the Board member responsible for legal affairs. Producing a governing document that satisfies every requirement of California nonprofit law while securing members' rights and the Society's inner workings in a single text is exacting legal work — he carried it out article by article, with the rigour the founding document deserves.
For this lasting contribution, and for the legal expertise he has placed at the Society's service since its founding, the Board of Directors and the founding members extend their sincere gratitude to Erkan Terzioğlu.
The full text of the bylaws is available to all members and can be requested from the General Secretariat.
