Best Practices For Writing Nonprofit Bylaws

Nonprofit bylaws should provide all the basic guidelines for operating your nonprofit corporation without becoming overly detailed and inflexible. You also need to be sure that the bylaws don’t conflict with either nonprofit legal requirements or the Articles of Incorporation. You may find it advantageous to engage the services of an online services provider to help ensure that your nonprofit is properly set up and registered. Organizations that do not have to file an annual return may also report these changes to the IRS’ EO Determinations Office. Some states may also require you to file bylaws and report changes. If any director, officer, staff or employee reasonably believes that some policy, practice, or activity of is in violation of law, a written complaint must be filed by that person with the vice president or the board president.

Bylaws also have immense practical value, because they act as a guidebook or roadmap for your nonprofit. If a disagreement ever arises among your members, your bylaws can help settle it. This portion of the site is for informational purposes only. The statements and opinions are the expression of the author, not LegalZoom, and have not been evaluated by LegalZoom for accuracy, completeness, or changes in the law.

Establish your Board of Directors and any officers you need, defining how many directors your nonprofit will have, the length of their terms, what will be the process for replacing, hiring, or firing them, and more. Add sections for handling special meetings, quorum requirements, etc. To find sample bylaws, try an Internet search for “nonprofit bylaws” plus word that describe your nonprofit (e.g., youth, environment, church). If you are seeking a copy of the bylaws of a particular nonprofit organization, you can request a copy directly from the organization.

The corporation should retain copies of the final contracts for at least three years beyond the life of the agreement, and longer in the case of publicly filed contracts. Meeting minutes should be retained in perpetuity in the corporation’s minute book. A clean copy of all other Board and Board Committee materials should be kept for no less than three years by the corporation. The corporation shall have no members who have any right to vote or title or interest in or to the corporation, its properties and franchises. The name of this corporation shall be [YOUR NONP-ROFIT ORGANIZATION NAME] The business of the corporation may be conducted as or . This section is boilerplate and extracted from the Bylaws of the Special Olympics. Officers of the Executive Committee shall be eligible to succeed themselves in their respective offices for two terms only.

Free Non Profit Bylaws Template

Nonprofit board members CANNOT be compensated for their board duties or you will lose your tax exempt status. Any action required or permitted to be taken by the board of directors at a meeting may be taken without a meeting if consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be agreed by the consensus of a quorum. For purposes of this section an e-mail transmission from an e-mail address on record constitutes a valid writing. The intent of this provision is to allow the board of directors to use email to approve actions, as long as a quorum of board members gives consent. Regular Meetings.The board of directors shall have a minimum of four regular meetings each calendar year at times and places fixed by the board.

A nonprofit corporation is governed by the laws of the state where it is incorporated. All states have some form of nonprofit corporation act, which typically has various provisions relating to a nonprofit corporation’s bylaws. Board members should be the only ones voting in a board meeting. The only exception might be certain issues that the board wishes to get employee buy-in. Employees with full voting rights in a board meeting essentially have governing authority with no liability or accountability.

Special meetings of the committee may also be called by resolution of the board of directors. Notice of special meetings of committees shall also be given to any and all alternate members, who shall have the right to attend all meetings of the committee. Minutes shall be kept of each meeting of any committee and shall be filed with the corporate records.

Tailor The Bylaws To The Needs Of Your Organization

This section of the bylaws deals with safeguards and means to put in practice a working whistle blower policy to ensure transparency, productivity, and IRS compliance. Following the nonprofit bylaws template, here you make it the duty of your directors, officers or employees to report violations of these bylaws and to bring forward potentially harmful dealings of other directors, officers or employees who may harm or jeopardize your tax exempt status. Please don’t change anything here, include it as it is, it’s for your own benefit. There are many tax exempt organizations who refuse to make available these documents and resources for one or another reason, but mainly because they are not aware of their legal duties. This holds true for churches who have applied for tax exemption. 501c3 Nonprofits are bound to stringent regulations regarding their public disclosure requirements. This will include the number of directors required for a quorum, the minimum number of board meetings to be held each year, how special board meetings will be called, and how committees can be created and ended.

He/She in concert with the President shall make the arrangements for all meetings of the Advisory Board, including the annual meeting of the organization. Any member of the Board of Directors or members of the Advisory Council may be removed with or without cause, at any time, by vote of three-quarters (3/4) of the members of the Board of Directors if in their judgment the best interest of the Corporation would be served thereby. Each member of the Board of Directors must receive written notice of the proposed removal at least ten days in advance of the proposed action. An officer who has been removed as a member of the Board of Directors shall automatically be removed from office. Any member of the Board of Directors who fails to fulfill any of his or her requirements as set forth in Section 2 of this Article by September 1st shall automatically forfeit his or her seat on the Board. The Secretary shall notify the Director in writing that his or her seat has been declared vacant, and the Board of Directors may forthwith immediately proceed to fill the vacancy.

Disclosure Of Financial Information With The General Public

Bylaws are vital to any successful nonprofit corporation for a number of reasons. You don’t want to have to amend the bylaws to switch to a different day or time. Also, too much detail can lead to unnecessary conflict over such details, thereby distracting board members from the organization’s real purpose. Having just completed the by-laws for my nonprofit the rampAtheater Inc, I found this article informative. Events put on by a nonprofit organization should be open to the general public. You should be able to request a copy of this policy, and if you feel that this matter needs to be taken further, speak with an attorney.

Every nonprofit should have a conflict of interest policy within their bylaws. The decisions of the board members or officers cannot result in something that conflicts with the nonprofit’s cause. This includes excess benefit transactions or the private benefit of a director or officer.

V Report Changes To The Irs

Most states require the creation and filing of Bylaws at the same time as or not long after the creation of the Articles of Incorporation. Organizations must also meet specific requirements under the federal Internal Revenue Code in order to file as a 501 non-profit organization. In furtherance of its tax exemption by contributions to other organizations, domestic or foreign, shall stipulate how the funds will be used and shall require the recipient to provide the corporation with detailed records and financial proof of how the funds were utilized.

• The corporation should keep final copies of marketing and sales documents for the same period of time it keeps other corporate files, generally three years.
• A mass of records also makes it more difficult to find pertinent records.
• If they were on staff for more than a year, they were able to join the “voting staff”, and decide who their leaders / board were to be.
• He/She shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Advisory Board or the President under whose supervision he/she shall be.
• An annual meeting of the members shall take place in the month of October , the specific date, time and location of which will be designated by the chair.
• Regardless of whether they are required or not, it is a good idea to write them.

To be honest, drafting your bylaws can be a complicated, time-consuming process, but it also holds prime importance. There are several ways to draft your bylaws — the easiest way is to download a template from an online business formation service, like Incfile or Northwest — even LegalZoom. If your bylaws do not change in accordance with your nonprofit’s actual identity, you’ll find that they’re worth very little to you. You always want your bylaws to fit with the current state of your organization.

Article Vii, Contracts, Checks, Loans, Indemnification And Related Matters

As a consultant to nonprofit boards, I see lots of bylaws in the course of a year and most of them make me cringe. I am doing this by myself, I am very green and I am in need an assistant, I am unsure as to which type of org to go with, a public charity or a private foundation.

One of the necessary tasks is writing the organization’s bylaws. The bylaws serve as a guidebook for the board of directors on all the “how-tos” like holding elections, fulfilling quorum requirements, organizing meetings and keeping the meetings orderly. As for the indemnification, corporations including nonprofit corporations enjoy benefits that include shielding its directors from legal actions brought upon the corporation to certain extent. In this sample section, we can see that the nonprofit bylaws of the organization indemnifies such acts and proceedings. Please do not change anything in this section of the nonprofit bylaws template. A nonprofit bylaws is an important and vital document that should not be overlooked.

Samples of bylaws are readily available on the internet and at the library. The IRS doesn’t require that you use specific language, but it’s a good idea to include references in the bylaws that refer to the organizational structure and purpose of the nonprofit. The main job of the corporate secretary is to take board meeting minutes and certify adopted resolution and documents. Only the secretary of the organization should sign this section.

For more information and the IRS’s suggestions for the language you need to include, look here. That’s why it’s important for your policy to clearly dictate the consequences of violating it. As a business owner, you have many options for paying yourself, but each comes with tax implications.

This will ensure the executive director is aware of all board discussions and the board is aware of the executive’s activities. The Nominating Committee shall also be responsible for nominating persons to fill vacancies which occur between annual meetings, including those of officers. Nominations shall be sent in writing to members of the Advisory Board at least two weeks prior to the next meeting at which the election will be held. The persons so elected shall hold membership or office for the unexpired term in respect of which such vacancy occurred. An annual meeting of the members shall take place in the month of October , the specific date, time and location of which will be designated by the chair. At the annual meeting the members shall elect directors and officers, receive reports on the activities of the association, and determine the direction of the association for the coming year.

The following Sample Nonprofit Bylaws template is arguably the most complete, fully IRS compliant, useful, structured, and proven bylaws on earth. This bylaws is a work of several years, over the years I’ve refined it to what it is now. I’ve included painstaking instructions and resources so take a good look and familiarize yourself with its articles and sections. Another misunderstanding is that Nonprofit Bylaws for certain States are different from others. The nonprofit bylaws for the State of Florida can be used for State of New York, California, Texas, or any other State. If State specific laws are drafted into the Bylaws, then obviously, a nonprofit bylaws from Washington would differ slightly from bylaws from Michigan. Now it is time to bring them to your first meeting to be voted on for approval.

Of course, you are allowed to draft the bylaws as an organization. If you do, you should ensure that the group chosen to draft the bylaws represents the key subgroups of your organization. This will ensure that you address all necessary categories for the bylaws. For example, one committee might handle the finances, and another may handle human resources. Each nonprofit will have unique needs for committees — some will need many of them, while others will only need a few. Your bylaws prescribe the policies for how your organization will operate.