We, the undersigned natural persons over the age of eighteen (18), acting
as incorporators, adopt the following Articles of Incorporation of the Metropolitan
Austin Interactive Network (referred to as the "Corporation") under the
Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (referred to as the "Act").
ARTICLE ONE
The name of the Corporation is the Metropolitan Austin Interactive Network.
ARTICLE TWO
The Corporation is a non-profit corporation. Upon dissolution, all of the
Corporation's assets shall be distributed to the State of Texas or an organization
exempt from taxes under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) for one
or more purposes that are exempt under the Texas franchise tax.
ARTICLE THREE
The Corporation shall continue in perpetuity.
ARTICLE FOUR
The Corporation is organized for the following purposes:
- To establish, operate and maintain a computer network providing educational
and public-service information to the Austin-area community.
- To promote greater public access to information concerning the available
services, activities, and resources of educational, cultural, commercial,
governmental, religious, and civic organizations and institutions through
operation of the network.
- To make available certain services for interactive communication among
persons accessing the network, as set out in the bylaws.
- To promote the efficient operation and growth of the network through
developing, acquiring, using, and linking with other carriers and providers,
including existing networks, databases, directories, and other communication
technologies and resources.
- To receive, maintain, and accept, as assets of the Corporation, any
property, whether real, personal, or mixed, by way of gift, bequest,
devise, grant, or purchase, from any person, firm, trust, or corporation,
to be held, administered, and disposed of in accordance with and pursuant
to the provisions of these Articles of Incorporation; but no gift, bequest,
devise, grant, or purchase of any such property shall be received or
made and accepted if it is conditioned or limited in such manner as
would violate the non-profit status of the Corporation or which would
jeopardize the Federal Income Tax exemption of the Corporation pursuant
to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as now in force or
as may be amended by other statute or regulation.
ARTICLE FIVE
The initial bylaws of the Corporation shall be adopted by its Board of Directors.
The power to alter, amend, repeal, or make new bylaws shall be vested in
the Board of Directors. Except as otherwise provided in these Articles,
the Corporation shall have all of the powers provided in the Act.
ARTICLE SIX
The Corporation shall not pay dividends or other corporate income to its
members, directors, or officers or otherwise accrue distributable profits
or permit the realization of private gain. The Corporation shall have no
power to take any action prohibited by the Act. The Corporation shall not
have the power to engage in any activities, except to an insubstantial degree,
that are not in furtherance of the purposes set forth above.
The shall have no power to take any action that would inconsistent with
the requirements for a tax exemption under Internal Revenue Code Section
501(c)(3) and related regulations, rulings, and procedures. The Corporation
shall have no power to take any action that would be inconsistent with
the requirements for receiving tax-deductible charitable contributions
under Internal Revenue Code Section 170(c)(2) and related regulations,
rulings, and procedures. Regardless of any other provision in these Articles
of Incorporation or state law, the Corporation shall have no power to:
- Engage in activities or use its assets in manners that are not in
furtherance of one or more exempt purposes, as set forth above and defined
by the Internal Revenue Code and relation regulations, rulings, and
procedures, except to an insubstantial degree.
- Serve a private interest other than one that is clearly incidental
to an overriding public interest.
- Devote more than an insubstantial part of its activities to attempting
to influence legislation by propaganda or otherwise, except as provided
by the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations, rulings, and procedures.
- Participate in or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of
or in opposition to any candidate for public office. The prohibited
activities include the publishing or distributing of statements and
any other direct or indirect campaign activities.
- Have objectives that characterize it as an "action organization" as
defined by the Internal Revenue Code and related regulations, rulings,
and procedures.
- Distribute its assets on dissolution other than for one or more exempt
purposes; on dissolution, the Corporation's assets shall be distributed
to the state government for a public purpose, or to an organization
exempt from taxes under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) to be
used to accomplish the general purposes for which the Corporation was
organized.
- Permit any part of the net earnings of the Corporation to inure to
the benefit of any private shareholder or member of the Corporation
or any private individual.
- Carry on an unrelated trade or business except as a secondary purpose
related to the Corporation's primary, exempt, purposes.
The Corporation may take and hold any donations, grants, devises, or bequests
which may be made in support of it purposes. All funds of the Corporation,
whether from donation or otherwise, in excess of the expenditures necessary
for the proper administration of such funds, shall be used exclusively for
carrying on and promoting the non-profitable purposes for with the Corporation
is formed as herein set forth.
he Corporation shall make distributions at such times and in such manners
as to avoid the tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 4942. The Corporation
shall not engage in any act of self-dealing as defined in Section 4941(d).
The Corporation shall not retain excess business holdings as defined in
Section 4943(c). The Corporation shall not make any investments that would
subject it to the tax described in Section 4944. The Corporation shall
no make any taxable expenditures as defined in Section 4945(e).
ARTICLE SEVEN
The Corporation shall have one or more classes of members as provided in
the bylaws of the Corporation.
ARTICLE EIGHT
The street address of the initial registered office of the Corporation is
812 San Antonio, Suite 304, Austin, Texas 78701. The name of the initial
registered agent at this office is Phillip Poplin.
ARTICLE NINE
The qualifications, manner of selection, duties, terms, and other matters
relating to the Board of Directors (referred to as the "Board of Directors")
shall be provide in the bylaws. The initial Board of Directors shall consist
of seven persons. The number of directors may be increased or decreased
by the Board of Directors. In electing directors, members shall not be permitted
to cumulate their votes by giving one candidate as many votes as the number
of votes among any number of candidates. The names and addresses of the
initial Board of Directors are:
- Miriam A. Blum
401 West 15th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
- Lisa deGruyter
4411 Sinclair Avenue
Austin, Texas 78756
- Drew Racine
2100 Four Oaks Lane
Austin, Texas 78704
- Dale L. Ricklefs
4205 Oro Court
Georgetown, Texas 78628
- Jeff Rosen
3512 Lafayette Avenue
Austin, Texas 78722
- Susan K. Soy
1910 Holly Hill Drive
Austin, Texas 78746
- Ronald E. Wyllys
1306 Belmont Parkway
Austin, Texas 78703
ARTICLE TEN
As provided in the bylaws, the Board of Directors shall have the power to
define the requirements and limitations for the Corporation to indemnify
directors, officers, members, or others related to the Corporation.
ARTICLE ELEVEN
As provided in the bylaws, the Board of Directors shall have the power to
define the requirements and limitations for the Corporation to indemnify
directors, officers, members, or others related to the Corporation.
ARTICLE TWELVE
All references in these Articles of Incorporation to statutes, regulations,
or other sources of legal authority shall refer to the authorities cited,
or their successors, as they may be amended from time to time.
ARTICLE THIRTEEN
The name and street address of the incorporator is:
- Susan K. Soy
1910 Holly Hill Drive
Austin, Texas 78746
ARTICLE FOURTEEN
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we execute these Articles of Incorporation on the 20th
day of December, 1993.
signed by Susan K. Soy