Your bylaws are not an employee handbook or policy manual designed to run the day-to-day operations of your nonprofit organization. For example, employee absences, vacation policies, and no-smoking policies have no place in an organization's bylaws.
Your bylaws are legally binding—so treat them as such. Failure to comply with your bylaws can result in issues ranging from organizational conflict to personal liability, the rejection or loss of tax-exempt status, and in some cases, lawsuits.
Unlike employee guidelines, bylaws pertain to board-level decisions and actions about the day-to-day running of the business. Think of them as legal guidelines for your business, any action that violates them could be challenged in court.
A court of law will side with your bylaws in any dispute brought by another board member, an employee, volunteer or recipient of services who may have a grievance. Keep your bylaws relevant.
By-laws are the legislation of a municipality, similar to the legislation made by the National and Provincial Governments. However, any by-laws that conflict with national or provincial legislation are invalid. By-laws are intended to give effect to and regulate the policies of a municipality.
Additionally, reviewing bylaws is required when there's a situation that was not previously anticipated that might conflict with the existing bylaws. Typically, for-profit and nonprofit bylaws need to be reviewed at least every two years, but no less than every five years.
Bylaws generally define things like the group's official name, purpose, requirements for membership, officers' titles and responsibilities, how offices are to be assigned, how meetings should be conducted, and how often meetings will be held.
The bylaws are the regulations of a corporation. They contain the basic rules for the conduct of the corporation's business and affairs.
Bylaws generally define things like the group's official name, purpose, requirements for membership, officers' titles and responsibilities, how offices are to be assigned, how meetings should be conducted, and how often meetings will be held.