When starting any organization, one of the most important things to do is to create the bylaws or constitution for your organization. Sometimes a bylaws and constitution are the same document and other times they are two separate and unique documents. The only time you will need to create two separate documents is when the organization is huge and extremely complicated in its structure. I have also found that in any bureaucratic organization, there is a higher likelihood for there to be two separate documents as opposed to most businesses which will only have one document.
When you write your organization’s bylaws, the first thing you need to do is write your organization’s name at the top and the date. The bylaws will typically contain a first section which defines the purpose or mission statement of the organization. This statement should be precise and an accurate assessment of what your organization does and what it intends on doing in the future.
The second section should contain information about the executive board of the organization. Each member on the board should have a unique job position in which they have a defined role and are responsibility for accomplishing certain tasks. By doing this, you hold people accountable and prevent people from clashing on doing the same tasks or fighting over what their responsibilities is for the organization.
The third section should contain information about the general body membership of the organization. Who is allowed to join your group? Are there membership dues or a process someone needs to go through or pass in order to become a member? If there are certain responsibilities that someone needs to fulfill in order to stay a member, you should list that as well.
The fourth section should contain information on the procedures governing your organization’s election structure. In most organizations the executive board is elected and in other cases people are appointed. Whatever system your organization uses, you need to describe this in detail. This is perhaps the most important section of the bylaws because there is often a big demand for people wanting positions in power on the executive board and any clause in the elections procedure you may be challenged upon. Therefore, the election bylaws should be extremely detailed. For some organizations, a general body member needs to attend a certain number of meetings during the year in order to qualify to run for an elected position. Make sure that if you decide to use this, the clause is clearly stated in the bylaws.
Making matters even more complicated, you need to carefully play out all possible scenarios in an election. What happens if the current president decides to seek re-election? What happens if the current president seeks re-election and is opposed in the election by a current executive board member or general body member? Who governs the election proceedings? In most cases this is the president but it doesn’t have to be. Who counts the ballots? Is the same person who counts the ballots allowed to vote? What date will elections be held? Do people who are running for elected positions have to submit a letter of intent? How far in advance do they need to submit a letter of intent to run for the position? You need to make sure that you think of all possible scenarios that can occur during an election.
For elections, you can also restrict how voting is done. In some organizations, only the current executive board is allowed to vote in an election. Other organizations open it up to the entire group membership. In other organizations the president appoints every person to the executive board as he or she deems fit for the job. The decision of how election proceedings will work is entirely up to you. Just remember that the bylaws need to last several years, not just the one year that you are on the executive board. This also beings me to another question you will need to ask which is, are there term limits for holding an executive board position?
The fifth section of the bylaws should contain an amendment process of how the bylaws can be amended and changed. It should be difficult but not impossible to make changes and amendments to the bylaws. Most organizations have a clause that a certain percentage of executive board members need to ratify the amendment, usually 2/3 or 3/4 executive board vote.
The sixth and final section should contain miscellaneous details. Make sure you include here that your organization does not discriminate based on race, religion, gender, etc. You will also need to state that the organization will follow the state’s finance law and regular penal code. Any other details that you have not yet written into the bylaws can be put into this section.
At the bottom of the bylaws, you will need to once again print the date and have each member of the current executive board sign their name. Print copies of the bylaws and distribute them to each executive board member. Also keep a copy for the organization’s records.
