Hindu American Religious Institute - Welcome to HARI Temple

This document is intended to guide Board of Trustees and the Executive committee in daily operation of H.A.R.I. These policies were formulated by Board of Trustee. IN CASE OF ANY CONFLICT AND OR DISPUTE, H.A.R.I. BYE-LAWS SHALL PREVAIL.

(Amended 11-05-1994)
The Board of Trustees has passed the following addendum to Policies and Practices:

(Amended 09-08-2002)
The Board of Trustees has passed the following addendum to Policies and Practices:

Guidelines for the Board in forming the Nominating Committee and subsequent steps to follow through completion of the election process

Guidelines for the formation of the Nominating Committee (for use of the Board of Trustees) and subsequent steps to follow until completion of the election process

Guidelines for the Nominating Committee in finding a slate of Candidates for the Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees

The following guidelines shall be used by the Nominating Committee members in selecting nominees for the positions shown below in the Executive Committee.

(Amended 11-06- 2002)
The Board of Trustees has passed the following addendum to Policies and Practices:

Guidelines for Administering HARI School and Procedures for Appointing School officials:

(Amended 02-06 2003)
The Board of Trustees has passed the following addendum to Policies and Practices:

HARI Temple�s lower level hall is available for private use for a fixed duration, amount and subject to the terms and conditions that are described in this document.� All rentals are from 7:00 AM in the morning to 11:00 PM unless the President of the Executive Committee has approved extended hour use.

Terminologies used in this document are defined below:

Term	Definition
HARI or HARI Temple	Hindu American Religious Institute (HARI), located at 301 Steigerwalt Hollow Road, New Cumberland, Pa 17070
HARI Member	A devotee who has paid yearly membership dues or is a life member of HARI
Non-Paid Member	Person who does not qualify as the current member of HARI
Non-profit Organizations	Organizations that are operating as �non-profit organizations� in the Greater Harrisburg area and are comprise mostly of HARI devotees.� Examples of such organizations are: AIACPA, Gujrati Samaj, Harrisburg Area Tamil Sangham (HATS), Jain Center of South Central PA, etc.
Other organizations	All other organizations that are not covered under the above classification of non-profit organization
Rent	Charges for such use, currently $250.00 per day
Rental	Use of Temple�s lower level hall for private event
Renting Party	Person(s) or organization(s) renting the temple hall
Security Deposit	Refundable deposit, currently $150.00 per day

Temple hall will not be rented during HARI sponsored events and HARI School days.� HARI School activities may be postponed at the discretion of HARI School Committee for special events like marriages and/or sacred occasions.� These exceptions are only to be made for paid HARI members and non-profit organizations that give at least one-month advance notice to HARI President and School Director.� In addition, such postponements of HARI School activities may not exceed two days per school year unless approved by the Board of Trustees.
HARI Temple�s upper level hall is never rented and not part of any rental agreement.� The upper level hall is open to visitors and devotees as per the published Temple Hours.� Subject to this provision, the renting party may use the upper level hall for congregation purpose.� Consumption of food and drink, including water, is strictly prohibited on the upper level hall areas.
Temple shall be rented strictly on the first come first served basis.� The rental can be booked over the phone but is considered confirmed only after HARI Treasurer receives appropriate rent and deposit money as described in Section E below.
Rental Charge, Security Deposit and Duration:
- HARI Members: The rental charges and security deposit for paid HARI members are as follows.� The rent plus the deposit money must be paid in advance without exception.� As of July 2001, the rental charges are as follows:

Rent Days	Rent	Deposit	Total
1	$250.00	$150.00	$400.00
2	$500.00	$300.00	$800.00
3	$750.00	$450.00	$1,200.00
4	$1,000.00	$600.00	$1,600.00
5	$1,250.00	$750.00	$2,000.00
6	$1,500.00	$900.00	$2,400.00
7	$1,750.00	$1,050.00	$2,800.00
8	$2,000.00	$1,200.00	$3,200.00
9	$2,250.00	$1,350.00	$3,600.00
10	$2,500.00	$1,500.00	$4,000.00

Note: Rental usage over 10 days is subject to Board of Trustees approval only.

Non-paid members: Non-paid members residing in the Greater Harrisburg area may qualify for rentals at the following rate.� If such request exceeds over five days per calendar year, the President of the Executive Committee must obtain an express approval from the Board of Trustees.�� Such rentals are subject to all other prevailing rental policies.

Rent Days	Rent	Deposit	Total
1	$500.00	$300.00	$800.00
2	$1,000.00	$600.00	$1,600.00
3	$1,500.00	$900.00	$2,400.00
4	$2,000.00	$1,200.00	$3,200.00
5	$2,500.00	$1,500.00	$4,000.00

Non-profit organizations: Non-profit organizations may rent the facility by paying 50% of charges as described in Section E (a) above.� The renting party still needs to pay appropriate security deposit as described in Section E (a) above.� If such rental request exceeds over five days per calendar year, the President of the Executive Committee must obtain an express approval from the Board of Trustees.� The Board may decline such renting requests in favor of HARI�s financial interest.� Such rentals are subject to all other prevailing rental policies.
Preparing for Cultural Events: Devotees and/or their children preparing for presentation at private events or at events sponsored by non-profit organizations may rent the lower level hall at $25.00 per day or for a flat $250.00 per event.� Such rentals are subject to the use of the lower level hall only.� Temple�s upper level hall should never be used for practicing film songs and dances.� Such rentals do not include use of the kitchen area and audio-systems.� The lower-level audio-system can be rented for additional $25.00 per day.� It is the responsibility of the event organizer to ensure that participating artists of their programs are not violating this policy.�
Rent-Free Reservations: Paid HARI members and non-profit organizations reserving HARI facility for religious activities without serving food shall not be charged any rental fees.� Such rent-free reservation does not include usage of the kitchen and lower level dining hall areas.� The renting party still needs to pay appropriate security deposit as described in Section� E (a) above.� It is imperative that such requests be submitted to the President of the Executive Committee at least one month in advance.� The Executive Committee, in consultation with Temple Priest, may decline if such rent-free request fails to merit as a religious activity.
The Executive Committee may not approve rent-free requests for non-paid HARI members and other organizations unless the President of the Executive Committee obtains expressed approval from the Board of Trustees in advance.� Similar approval must also be obtained from the Board of Trustees if the rent-free usage described above exceeds over three days per calendar year for the same renting party.� The Board may decline such rent-free requests in favor of HARI�s interest.

Decorations: Paid HARI members and non-profit organizations may decorate temple�s lower-level hall for their functions on the previous night without additional charges provided the temple is not in use on that night.� Non-paid members and other organization must pay additional rent for similar usages.� The renting party may set up stage area and clean the facility but is requested not to engage in decorations that damage walls and/or wall paint.� The renting party is responsible to remove all decorations immediately� upon the conclusion of the function.
Alcoholic beverages and non-vegetarian food are strictly prohibited within HARI premises at any time.
Rent does not include such supplies as paper plates, paper cups, other paper products, cutlery etc.
This rental agreement does not include Priest services.� Priest services may be reserved separately with the Executive Committee.� Unless the Priest services are booked, the Priest may not be available and/or present on the rental day at the temple.
The renting party may use other HARI owned equipments such as chairs, tables, kitchen supplies, bathroom supplies, trash bags, etc. while using the Temple facility.� These items may not be taken out of HARI premises at any time.� Please do not call Executive Committee members and/or the members of the Board of Trustees with your request as no one is authorized to approve such request.
The renting party may use the audio system provided such use was requested at the time of rental.� The Executive Committee members authorizing the rental requests are responsible for arranging for a member of the Audio/Visual Committee for the assistance on the day of the rental.� If the renting party found using the audio system without the aid of authorized Audio/Visual Committee member, the renting party will be responsible for all damages that are found after such usage.
Aarti donations collected, including special Aarti that are observed at religious and other sacred occasions, need to be deposited into the donation box located by the main alter.� Further clarification regarding this policy may be obtained from the current Board of Trustees at their regular monthly meetings.
Non-profit organizations renting the temple facility may accept donations from its members to cover the cost of the religious or non-religious program.� However, temple�s main entrance and other entrances/exists may not be blocked to facilitate their collections.� The main entrance must be kept open during normal business hours as described in Section C above.� Similarly, for access during emergencies and to meet the requirement of building fire-code, all exists must be kept blockage-free.
Temple�s upper level prayer hall is never rented and is always open to devotees for prayer during normal business hours as described in Section C above.� Devotees wishing to enter the prayer hall solely for prayer purposes shall be allowed to enter the hall free of charges, even if the facility is rented for private religious or non-religious program.
Cancellation Charges: The renting party must give two weeks cancellation notice before occupancy.� Any notice less than two weeks will result in forfeit of the security deposit.
It is the responsibility of the renting party to return the facility clean.� This includes cleaning of the upper level (if used), lower level (if used), kitchen area (if used) and restrooms.� The renting party must also pick up any trash and/or debris from outside of the building area littered by the invited guests.
The security deposit will be refunded provided the devotee renting the facility cleans the facility properly after use and meets other requirements as notified by the Executive Committee at the time of renting the facility.
HARI reserves the right to cancel any prior booked rentals with at least two weeks notice to the renting party.� Appropriate cause must be given, in writing, to the renting party with 100% of the rental charges and deposit refunded.
HARI will not be held liable for personal injuries and damages incurred to individuals and/or group of individuals during such rentals.� The renting party will be held liable for such injuries and damages under this agreement.� The renting party will also be responsible for damages incurred to the building, HARI property, and/or HARI owned equipments.
Violators of any of the policy described herein will loose future renting privileges after the Board of Trustees declares the defaulting party as a violator of the renting agreement.� After a 60 day show-cause notice given to the defaulting party, their name and address of the defaulting party will be published in the HARI Times.

(Amended 01-11- 2004)
The Board of Trustees has passed the following addendum to Policies and Practices:

HARI shall provide the following extended services to its Devotees:
HARI Temple offers the following services to devotees:

(Amended 10-31-2005)
The Board of Trustees has passed the following addendum to Policies and Practices:

HARI facilitated programs are those programs of religious nature that have been approved by the President of the Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees, to be held on HARI’s premises under the sponsorship of a private entity and limits HARI to provide only the use of its premises with no other commitment of HARI’s resources.

The President will assign one of HARI’s officers to coordinate with the sponsor to facilitate the smooth conduct of the program.

The following guidelines have been approved by the Board of Trustees and are provided for the use of the sponsor of the program:

(Amended 01-28-2007)
The Board of Trustees has passed the following addendum to Policies and Practices:

Rental of lower-level hall for non-profit organizations for more than once a month:
As recommended by the Rental Policy Review Committee, the BOT has approved the following guideline on Sunday, January 28, 2007 . This rental policy is applicable only to frequent (more than once a month) programs by non-profit organizations that promote Hindu religion and support the Mission of HARI: