BUSINESS WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION STATUTE

  1. The Business Women’s Association (hereinafter referred to as the Association) is a public legal entity with limited civil liability, the main purpose of which is to promote women’s entrepreneurship, represent and defend the interests of the Association’s members, and satisfy other public interests related to the scope of activity and goals of the Association.
  2. The Association operates in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, the Law on Associations and other laws, Government resolutions, other legal acts, and bases its activities on these Articles of Association.
  3. The Association exercises all rights granted to it under applicable legal acts.
  4. The name of the Association is the Business Women’s Association.
  5. The legal form of the Association is an association.
  6. The period of activity of the Association is unlimited.
  7. The financial year of the Association coincides with the calendar year.
  1. The scope of the Association’s activities is the development of professional knowledge and individuality of Lithuanian entrepreneurial women, active participation in public and social activities and representation of these women’s aspirations and interests.
  2. The goals of the Association, while representing the interests of the Association’s members, are:
    1. to promote and support women’s entrepreneurship and their participation in the economic sphere;
    2. to strive for ensuring the principle of equal opportunities in business by strengthening the influence of women entrepreneurs in business self-government;
    3. to strengthen communication, partnership and mutual assistance between women – by sharing experience and exchanging useful information;
    4. to provide women with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in various discussions, conferences, seminars and trainings;
    5. to encourage women to make business decisions more actively;
    6. to care about the quality of women’s life in society and the expression of their personality in the private sphere;
    7. to promote women’s self-confidence, creativity, unconventional thinking;
    8. seek new market opportunities, i.e. to focus on the development of women’s business by seeking new business connections;
    9. to represent the interests of the association members in various institutions;
    10. to disseminate information among the association members about various meetings, conferences, seminars organized by European business women;
    11. to seek close cooperation with similar international associations and participate in various international projects.
    12. to participate in implementing and/or carrying out projects that promote women’s entrepreneurship, women’s participation in making business decisions.
  3. Types of activities of the association:
    1. project preparation and coordination, coordination of financial support for these projects;
    2. application preparation and participation in projects prepared by the EU Structural Funds and other organizations;
    3. organization of business events;
    4. consulting on business and other management activities;
    5. outsourced information services activities;
    6. education and training.
  1. The Association has Members and Honorary Members.
  2. A natural person who has reached the age of 18 or a legal entity operating in accordance with the procedure established by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania who recognizes the goals of the Association and agrees to actively participate in the activities of the Association and comply with the Articles of Association may become a Member of the Association (Member). The decision on the candidate’s eligibility to be a Member is made by the Board of the Association. The Board of the Association decides to accept a person as an Honorary Member. The Founders of the Association are Members. The Founders of the Association, if they are not members of the Association, participate without the right to vote in the General Meetings of Members of the Association. The Founders of the Association are invited to participate in the meetings of the Board without the right to vote.
  3. A person wishing to become a Member must submit a written application to the Board of the Association and pay the entrance and membership fee set by the Board within the terms and procedure established by the Board. The person shall be informed of the decision made by the Board in writing to the e-mail address specified by the person within five working days from the date of the Board’s decision.
  4. A member has all the rights and obligations provided for in the laws of the Republic of Lithuania and these Articles of Association.
  5. For failure to perform the duties of a member, the Board has the right to remove a member from the Association.
  6. A person has the right to voluntarily withdraw from the Association at any time by submitting a written request to the Board.
  7. A Member of the Association has the right to:
    1. participate in the activities of the Association;
    2. use the services provided by the Association;
    3. participate in projects organized or partially financed by the Association free of charge or under exceptional conditions;
    4. participate in business missions carried out in Lithuania or foreign countries free of charge or under exceptional conditions;
    5. speak and vote in the election of the Association’s Board, propose candidates and be proposed to run for the Association’s governing body;
    6. be elected to the Association’s Board.
  8. A member of the Association undertakes to:
    1. comply with the Association’s Statutes;
    2. pay the entrance and annual fees and targeted contributions set by the Board within the terms and procedure set by the Board;
    3. implement the decisions of the Association’s bodies;
    4. obey the confidentiality obligation towards other members of the Association and protect the commercial secrets of the Association and other members of the Association. The rights and obligations of an Honorary Member of the Association and the amount of his/her fee are determined by the Board.
  1. Association bodies: General Meeting of Members, collegial management body – Association Board and sole management body – Director.
  2. Association management bodies must act only for the benefit of the Association and its members. Association management bodies do not have the right to make decisions or perform actions that would violate the Association’s statutes or are contrary to the Association’s objectives specified in the statutes.
  1. The General Meeting of Members is the highest body of the Association. All members of the Association have the right to participate in the General Meeting of Members.
  2. The General Meeting of Members has the following exclusive rights:
    1. elect members of the Board;
    2. amend the Articles of Association of the Association;
    3. approve the budget of the Association;
    4. make a decision on the transformation, reorganization or liquidation of the Association;
    5. elect the auditor of the Association;
    6. decide on other issues assigned to the competence of the General Meeting of Members by the Law on Associations.
  3. The General Meeting of Members is convened at least once a year. The General Meeting of Members is organized by the Board of the Association. The right to initiate the convening of the General Meeting of Members is also held by at least 1/3 (one third) of the Association members or the Association Director. The Board shall notify each member of the convening of the General Meeting by e-mail or registered letter no later than 10 days before the date of the meeting. With the written consent of all members, the General Meeting of Members may be held outside the established deadlines.
  4. The General Meeting of Members may adopt decisions when at least 1/2 (one second) of the Association members participate in it. The decision of the General Meeting of Members shall be deemed adopted when more votes “for” than “against” were received during the voting (persons who abstained from voting shall not be counted, i.e. they shall be deemed to have not participated in the voting). When making decisions to amend the Association’s statutes, restructure, reorganize or liquidate the Association, at least 2/3 (two thirds) of the votes of the Members participating in the meeting are required.
  5. All Members have the right to decide at the General Meeting of Members. One Member has one vote at the General Meeting of Members.
  6. A Member who is unable to participate in the General Meeting of Members may authorize another member to vote for him on all issues included in the meeting’s agenda, except for elections. One member may not be authorized by more than five members of the Association.
  7. The General Meeting of Members approves the procedure and requirements for persons running for the Board.
  8. If there is no quorum at the General Meeting of Members, a repeated General Meeting of Members shall be convened within 10 working days, which shall have the right to make decisions on the agenda items of the missed meeting, regardless of how many members of the Association attended the meeting.
  1. The Board of the Association is a collegial governing body.
  2. The Board consists of 7 (seven) persons who are Members of the Association. The Board is elected by secret ballot by the Members of the Association for a period of 3 (three) years. The Board, by consensus, elects the Chairman of the Board – the President of the Association (hereinafter referred to as the President of the Association) from among its members. The President of the Association shall preside over the general meetings of the Association and the meetings of the Board, sign the decisions of the Board, represent the Association in the Republic of Lithuania, foreign countries and international institutions, conclude international and other agreements that do not provide for financial obligations of the Association.
  3. If a Board member is unable to perform his/her duties or resigns, the unelected candidate who received the most, but not less than 5 percent of the votes of the members at the most recent General Meeting of the Association’s members shall become a member of the Board, and in the absence of such a candidate, a new member shall be elected to fill the existing position at the next General Meeting of the Members. The term of office of the new member shall end with the end of the term of office of the current Board.
  4. The powers of a Board member shall end when the General Meeting of the Members recalls a Board member or when the latter writes a resignation letter. The Board member submits the resignation to the President of the Association.
  5. The Board plans the activities of the Association, admits members of the Association, establishes the rights and obligations of the Honorary Members of the Association, the amount of their fee, establishes the amounts of targeted fees, the terms and procedure for their payment, delegates its representatives to various public and private institutions to represent the Association, convenes a general meeting of members, prepares and submits to the general meeting of members the Association’s activity report, a set of annual financial statements and an annual report. The Board makes decisions on the establishment of branches and representative offices and the termination of their activities, approves their regulations, appoints and dismisses their managers. The Board makes decisions on the establishment of other legal entities or on becoming a participant in other legal entities. The Board appoints and dismisses the Director of the Association. The Board is also responsible for drawing up the budget, financial reporting and submitting documents and data to the register of legal entities. The Board also decides on other issues not within the competence of the General Meeting of Members of the Association and not assigned to the Director. If the Board does not appoint a Director, his rights and duties shall be performed by the Board.
  6. A Board meeting shall be considered legitimate when more than half of its members participate in it. Decisions shall be made by a simple majority of votes. Each Board member shall have one vote. In the event of an equal distribution of votes, the vote of the President of the Association shall be decisive. Board meetings, which may be held both in person and by electronic correspondence, must be recorded. With the approval of more than half of the Board members, Board meetings may be held by telephone or video conference.
  1. The Association has a single-person management body – the Association Director. The Association Director is appointed and dismissed by the Association Board.
  2. The Association Director implements the resolutions adopted by the general meeting of members and the Board, represents the Association, performs coordination work, organizes the activities of the association office, concludes transactions on behalf of the Association, hires and dismisses employees, opens and closes bank accounts, concludes employment contracts with them, publishes or organizes the publication of public information, organizes voluntary work, signs a set of annual financial statements, an activity report and an annual report. An employment contract may be concluded with the Association Director, or he may work on a voluntary basis.
  1. The Association’s funds and income consist of:
    1. Membership and accession fees and targeted contributions paid by the Association’s members;
    2. 2% of the income tax as support;
    3. Funds received as support or a gift;
    4. EU structural funds;
    5. Income received from the activities carried out by the Association’s members related to the Association’s goals and its field of activity.
    6. Other legally acquired funds and income.
  2. The Association has the right to receive and provide support and provide charity.
  3. The Board coordinates the Association’s financial resources.
  4. The Association’s funds and income are used for the purposes specified in these Statutes, for the payment of the Association’s employees, for the acquisition of the Association’s property and for operating expenses. cover.
  5. The use and disposal of the Association’s assets, funds and income are subject to restrictions established by law.
  1. The procedure for submitting documents and other information about the activities of the Association to members shall be approved by the Board in a separate document.
  1. Public information is published by the Association Board.
  2. The Association’s announcements and announcements, which according to the laws and these Statutes must be made public, depending on the content, are published on the Association’s website and in the daily newspaper “Lietuvos žinios”.
  3. If the information relates only to the members of the Association, it may not be provided publicly, but to each member of the Association by e-mail or registered letter.
  1. Decisions on the establishment of representative offices and/or branches and their termination, approval of their regulations, appointment/removal of management bodies, in accordance with these Articles of Association and the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, are made by the Board of the Association.
  1. The registered office of the Association shall be changed by a decision of the General Meeting of Members. The decision of the General Meeting of Members on the change of registered office shall be deemed adopted when more votes “for” than “against” of the members participating in the voting have been received for it.
  2. The decision of the General Meeting of Members to change the registered office of the Association must be submitted to the Register of Legal Entities in accordance with the procedure established by the legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania.
  1. The Articles of Association are amended by a decision of the General Meeting of Members, adopted by a 2/3 majority of the votes of the participating members (their representatives) and enter into force only after their registration in the Register of Legal Entities.
  2. After the General Meeting of Members adopts a decision to amend the Articles of Association, the full text of the amended Articles of Association is drawn up and signed by a person authorized by the General Meeting of Members.

The latest amendments to these Statutes were adopted at the general meeting of VMA members on 2019-09-23, in Vilnius.