Bylaws

Has been constituted in the Republic of Lebanon a non-political and non-for-profit Foundation under the name of "Bishop Philippe Shebaya Foundation" abbreviated "BPSF".

The adopted Arabic name is  "مؤسسة المطران فيليب شبيعا الاجتماعية" 

The adopted French name is "Fonds Social de l'Evêque Philippe Shebaya"

Location and address of the Foundation:

Mouhafaza : North Lebanon
District : Besharreh
Village : Besharreh
Address : Youssef Saydeh Hall - Kahlil Gibran building - Gibran Street

Mission and Vision:

The BPSF’s mission is to empower others to grow personally, socially, culturally, professionally, emotionally and spiritually through services, cultural and spiritual events, shared stewardship of resources, and shared responsibility.

Following in the path of the late Bishop Philippe Shebaya, BPSF believes in the inherent goodness, integrity, and enormous potential of mankind.

The BPSF’s Logo graphically represents the face of the late Bishop Shebaya, with the word “Father” written in Arabic “Abouna”, forming his collar. That word describes the real mission of the BPSF: “The caring father with an everlasting comforting smile, looking over his children’s needs.”

The Logo color is brown to show BPSF’s attachment to its roots.

The financial sources of the Foundation:

1. The members' quotas.
2. The government allocations.
3. BPSF’s self-financing projects.
4. Other contributions.

This money is spent in order to reach the Foundation's objectives.

The founders of the Foundation are:

• Father Joseph Habib Succar,
• Dr. Youssef Hanna Taouk,
• Mtanios Youssef Taouk,
• Tarek Pierrot Shebaya,
• Michel Raffoul Fakhry,
• John Hamid Kayrouz and
• Joseph John Shebaya.

The Foundation is formed of two committees:

• the Administrative Board and
• the General Assembly.

The Administrative Board represents and manages the Foundation according to its bylaws, regulations and to the laws in force.

Sub-Committees (SC) and Task Forces (TF) may be established from time to time to address key technical or operational issues. SC and TF members may be drawn from the Administrative Board’s, the General Assembly’s as well as other members of the Network or external experts. The SC and TF play a role in developing specific activities to be undertaken by the Network and Network members, and generating strategic input to BPSF programs and activities.

Members and Chairs of the SC and TF are appointed by the Administrative Board for a specific term. The term of members of each SC or TF is set by the Administrative Board. The set term may be renewed.

All activities of the SC and TF are coordinated with the BPSF’s Chairman of the Board or one of his representatives. The SC and TF report to the Administrative Board.

None of the members of the SC or TF shall receive, or be entitled to receive, any pecuniary profit from the operations thereof.

Affiliation to the Foundation:

The person wishing to become affiliated to the Foundation has to respond to the following conditions:

1. Shall be at least Eighteen years old.
2. Shall be a person who command respect and not to be condemned for any delict or crime.
3. Shall be willing to serve the BPSF’s objectives; and who can contribute to its development plans.

Subscription:

If the conditions of affiliation prescribed in the Article 8 above are verified, the person in question should fill the Subscription Form /e-Form adopted by the Foundation along with a copy of his/her identity card and his/her civil status record.

The Administrative Board studies the case, examines the documents and takes the right decision by the majority.

The General Assembly is formed of all effective members of the Foundation.  Its authorities and missions are determined in the BPSF's Regulations.

The Administrative Board is formed of seven members that the General Assembly elects by a secret ballot. 

To be elected, a candidate must receive a majority vote of the voting membership of the General Assembly, who paid their annual affiliation fees at least three months before the elections date, members since at least a year and are present during the election session.  The duration of the elected members of the Administrative Board is for a maximum of four years.  The election session is headed by the elder present member of the General Assembly. 

A member cannot delegate another member to represent him during the election sessions.

In a maximum of one month after its election, the Administrative Board should hold a session under the presidency of its elder member to select:

• a Chairman,
• a Vice-Chairman,
• a Secretary,
• a Treasurer;
• a Resource Development Officer,
• a Marketing and Public Relations Officer and
• a Hospitality and Event Planning Officer,

also the representative before the government shall be nominated.

The missions of the Administrative Board and its members are determined in the Regulations of the Foundation.

Once elected, the Chairman nominates the General Counselor.

The department of political and electoral affairs and the office of associations in the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities in Lebanon should be notified of the declaration sheet of the date and location of the elections of the Administrative Board, at least a month after the date of the nomitination of the different Administrative Board's positions.

The General Assembly can amend the bylaws further to the request of the Administrative Board or of 20% of its members that shall not be less than ten members. 

The amendment is correct if two-third of the members approve it.

The Administrative Board in the presence of the Chairman has the right to call by its majority for the election of a new Administrative Board before the end of its duration.

The Foundation has the right to call for the election of a new Administrative Board before the end of the duration of the previous Board under the motion of one-third of the General Assembly members that shall not be less than ten members.  The election shall not be held unless two-third of the members approve it.

The Foundation has the right to move its location to any other place rented, owned or used by proxy in Lebanon. 

The Foundation has also the right to own buildings, real estates, securities and all what can serve its objectives and insure its continuity.

The Administrative Board has the right to establish new BPSF Chapters all over the world and to assign a Chairman for each Chapter.

1. Any new Chapter shall be founded and registered in the relevant country, to operate legally as a Not-for-profit Organization.
2. Any new Chapter Bylaws and Procedures shall mirror the Bylaws and Procedures of the BPSF. Specific procedures may be added to cater for specific condition in the relevant country. All the amendments and additions to the Procedures shall be coordinated with the BPSF Chairman of the Board.
3. Any new Chapter is an independently functioning unit of the Foundation with privileges and responsibilities that are determined by the BPSF Administrative Board.
4. Any new BPSF Chapter Chairman shall form, in coordination with the BPSF Chairman of the Board, an Administrative Founding Board of six devoted ambitious members. This Board shall convene regularly to follow all the new Chapter issues and activities, and to recruit new members to the General Assembly.
5. Any new Chapter serves as a conduit for information about BPSF.
6. Any new Chapter is an extension of BPSF and its vision. Therefore its leaders should be aware of, and act in accordance with, the mission of the Foundation.
7. Any new Chapter shall sustain BPSF’s financial integrity to achieve and fulfill its mission.
8. Chapters of BPSF are authorized to use BPSF’s name and logo for all their authorized activities. Any abuse of the grant to use the BPSF name and logo by any person or group of people may result in dissolving the Chapter and/or pursuing legal recourse against wrong doers.

In addition to the conditions prescribed by the law on associations, the Foundation can be dissolved if at least 75% of the members approve the dissolution.

It is also necessary to fix the date of the dissolution.

In case of dissolution, the capital and assets of the Foundation are transferred to Wakef Al-Saydeh in Besharreh and used for funding projects in the region.