How to Create Bylaws

The purpose of bylaws is to lay out the rules of conduct and authority for your board of directors and officers,
and, as a nonprofit, you need to have them. Even if they weren’t mandated in most states, you would want to
have them. Without bylaws, meetings could be chaotic and unproductive as board members make up the rules
as they go along. As a child, did you ever play a board game with an annoying opponent who did that? It was no
fun and made it less likely you’d want to play again. You would want to avoid both the game and the game
player.

Set up your bylaws with clear rules and simple language so that any member or board member can easily
understand and follow them. The board members’ duties should be spelled out plainly now to avoid confusion
later. Your board members are a valuable resource. You don’t want them to pick up their marbles and go home
in frustration.

Bylaws are also invaluable in defining the purpose of your organization, how often you will conduct meetings,
how the meetings will be conducted, the terms of the board members, elections, what constitutes a quorum, how
to handle vacancies, finances, and how to amend the bylaws. It’s better to say “the board may create committees
as needed” than to say “committees will consist of membership, fundraising” and so on. That way, it will be
easier later to add or eliminate committees and task forces (temporary committees formed to tackle a specific
task). It’s preferable to say “the board appoints all committee chairs” than for committee members to elect a
committee chairperson. That can be cumbersome and awkward.

Bylaws can give the board freedom to conduct business without overly restrictive language. Otherwise, too
much time will be spent amending the bylaws and not enough time tending to your mission, the reason you
began your organization.

The task of writing the bylaws can be intimidating. Thanks to the Internet and/or the public library, you can
easily access free sample bylaws and tailor them to your organization.

Once the bylaws are written, the board should approve them. Go through each item one by one and discuss
before taking a vote so all of the board members can express their viewpoints and everyone will know what
they are approving.

Put together a board orientation loose-leaf binder which includes your organization's articles of incorporation,
bylaws, policies, and other information that will assist all of the board members to comprehend and embrace
their role. Presenting an orderly binder will save everyone’s precious time at meetings that might otherwise be
spent ruffling through disorganized piles of irrelevant paper. This small task won’t take much time, but it is a
thoughtful, professional, and efficient thing to do!

By putting some time, thought, and energy into writing coherent bylaws now, you will reap the rewards later
when the key players in your organization have a clear understanding of the rules. Later, if the bylaws need to
be changed, they can be amended accordingly. They are your bylaws. Make them work for you.