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COLLINS COALITION BYLAWS

Amended and Adopted by the Board of Directors on November 13, 2022

Article 1. Name of Organization

The name of the corporation is the Collins Coalition.

Article 2. Corporate Purpose

The Collins Coalition is a Corporation organized exclusively for charitable, religious,

educational, or scientific purposes as specified in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

Code, or the corresponding section of a future federal tax code. This corporation shall not be

operated for profit, but rather shall be operated exclusively for charitable purposes.

The specific purpose of Corporation is educational: Advancing education by instructing, training,

and raising awareness about the benefits that word games such as Scrabble® can provide to

persons, including improvements in cognitive skills, reduced social isolation, and possibly

staving off degenerative mental conditions.

Specifically, Corporation advances the following aims:

(1) Provide players with a supportive environment in which to increase their skills, learn new

words, foster sportsmanship, and have fun regardless of rank or previous experience;

(2) Host competitive tournaments where players can demonstrate and sharpen their verbal

and mathematical skills, memorization, and tactical and strategic reasoning—including

the ability to draw inferences from opponents’ plays;

(3) Encourage and facilitate the existence and growth of local and regional opportunities to

promote word game play domestically and abroad, such as through clubs or community

tournaments;

(4) Develop and institute ethical standards governing the behavior and play of all members;

(5) Promote English literacy and mathematical aptitude, especially in children, by making

available educational tools and training opportunities that increase literacy and skill

development through skills-based word games.

No part of the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to

its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the corporation shall be

authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make

payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article Third hereof. No

substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or

otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the corporation shall not participate in, or

intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on

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behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision

of these articles, the corporation shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be

carried on (a) by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the

Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by a

corporation, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal

Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code. Notwithstanding

any other provision of these articles, this corporation shall not, except to an insubstantial

degree, engage in any activities or exercise any powers that aren't in furtherance of the

purposes of this corporation.

Article 3: Membership

The Collins Coalition shall have two classes of membership.

a. CoCo Member. A CoCo Member is defined as all persons who (1) direct, organize, or

play in any in-person or virtual CoCo-sanctioned tournament; (2) have paid any dues

required for membership; and/or (3) have made substantial contributions to the CoCo

community. The Board may establish paid membership dues as a requirement for

membership. The Executive Director is authorized to issue CoCo membership to

persons who have made substantial contributions to the CoCo community. Each CoCo

member is a voting member of the corporation. To continue being a CoCo Member, all

persons must comply with CoCo policies, available at cocoscrabble.org/policies.

b. CoCo Premium Member. A CoCo Premium Member is defined as all persons who have

paid any dues required for premium membership. The Board may establish paid

membership dues as a requirement for membership. The Executive Director is

authorized to waive the payment for Premium Memberships for certain CoCo Members.

All CoCo Premium Members are also CoCo Members. CoCo Premium Members may

receive discounts off of entry to CoCo events, such as discounts off tournament entry

fees. Premium Membership may expire after a fixed period of time, such as one year.

CoCo Premium Members do not have special voting rights beyond the rights of CoCo

Members.

Article 4: Board of Directors

Section 1. General Powers

The affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by its elected Board of Directors. The Board of

Directors shall have control of and be responsible for the management of the affairs and

property of the Corporation.

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Section 2. Number, Tenure, Requirements, Positions, and Qualifications

a. Number. The number of Directors shall be fixed from time-to-time by the Directors and

shall consist of no fewer than three (3) nor more than eleven (11) members.

b. Tenure. The members of the Board of Directors shall, upon election, enter upon the

performance of their duties within three months and shall serve for a term of two (2)

years. Each Director seeking to continue serving on the Board must run for and win

re-election at least once every two years. The Board can authorize extensions of tenure

until the next Board is seated.

c. Requirements. Following or closely preceding expiration of their term, each Director

who wishes to continue serving on the Board will be subject to reconsideration through

election by the members. Each Director must be elected to serve on the Board, unless

temporarily filling a Board vacancy as described in Section 7. Each Director must reside

in North America at the time of election.

d. Positions. One member of the Board will be elected by the Directors to the position of

Board Chair. The Board Chair will preside over board meetings and board development,

addressing board issues, and seeking to improve the effectiveness of the board. The

Board may elect Directors to serve in other positions as the Board deems appropriate,

including the positions of Vice Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary. A single Director may

hold concurrent roles as a Director and a team member and may serve concurrently as

both Chair or Vice Chair and Treasurer or Secretary.

e. Qualifications. Each Director of the Board of Directors shall be a Director of the

Corporation whose membership in the Collins Coalition has been confirmed at the time

of election. To qualify to serve as a Director, a person must at a minimum reside in North

America, be a member of the Collins Coalition, and have been elected to the Board by

the player members or by a majority vote of the board members in the case of vacancies

between elections. In addition, to qualify to serve as a Director, a person cannot currently

be the subject of disciplinary proceedings or have had any disciplinary action or

suspensions currently in place or taken against them by a Collins Coalition director in the

past year. For example, a player who has been suspended from participation in a club or

tournament in the past year is not eligible to serve as a Director. The Directors may from

time to time modify the qualifications for board members. Further eligibility, requirements,

and qualifications to serve as a board member will be fixed by the board and published

at cocoscrabble.org. The Board has discretion to waive the qualification requirement that

would otherwise bar a suspended player from being eligible to serve as a Director. The

Board also has discretion to bar a person from qualifying to serve as a Director of the

Corporation.

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