HOW TO WRITE AND FORMAT A CONSTITUTION
Realizing the difficulty one may encounter in attempting to write or revive a constitution, the Constitution Committee has compiled the following guidelines with the hope that they will make the task a little less frightening.
MINIMUM ESSENTIALS:
The purpose of a constitution is to insure continuity within an organization from year to year. Therefore, the following minimum elements should be included. See sample constitution attached.
Article I: Name and purpose. (See below.)
Article II: Membership. (Eligibility and selection.)
Article III: Officers. (Titles, duties, term, election, executive committee, etc.)
Article IV: Meetings.
Article V: Amendments.
The constitution should be short, compact, and general rather than detailed.
CHECKLIST FOR CONSTITUTIONAL ARTICLES (When there are No Bylaws)
In order to prevent future “booby traps”, this constitution committee should check its final draft by the following list of suggestions. In all cases the language of the articles should be general to provide freedom of interpretation and to prevent frequent amendment.
Article I.
A. The statement of the purpose or objectives of an organization is broad enough to allow
freedom in the choice of present and future endeavors.
Article II
A. Qualifications for membership are clearly stated.
B. Classes of membership – e.g. active, associate, honorary, etc. – are clearly defined.
C. Method of admitting members is explained.
D. Annual dues, if any, are provided for (entrance fee, initiation fee, dues, etc…).
E. Provision for dropping a member from the rolls is made (not officers – that is handled in separate forum).
Article III:
A. Officers, with titles, are listed.
B. Qualifications for officers are stated.
C. Duties of officers are listed.
D. Instructions for vouchering, expending, and auditing funds are given.
E. Term of office is stated.
F. Election procedure is clearly explained (nominating committee, secret ballot, quorum, etc…).
G. Method of filling vacancies in office is provided.
H. Method of officer impeachment is provided for.
I. Structure, powers, responsibilities of Executive Board (if any) is included.
J. Standing committees and duties are listed.
K. Power to appoint committees is granted.
L. Operational procedure between meetings is provided.
Article IV:
A. Types of meetings are explained (called, regular, etc…).
B. Power to call meetings is given.
C. Provisions are made for a percentage of the membership to petition for a meeting to be called, if necessary.
D. Program (activities) is stated.
E. Realistic quorum rule is established (see 7 in glossary).
F. Provision is made for notifying members in advance of meeting dates.
Article V:
A. A built-in method for exists for amending the constitution including a provision for notifying members in advance of proposed amendments (see 1 in glossary).
B. A realistic quorum is adopted (see 7 in glossary).
CHECKLIST FOR CONSTITUTIONAL ARTICLES (When there ARE bylaws)
Article I: Same As Above
Article II:
A. Provision is made for admitting new applicants to membership.
B. The constitution or bylaws make some reference to eligibility requirements and the process of admission of membership.
Article III:
A. The term of each officer extends until his successor is installed.
B. Provision is made for filling vacancies in the event the officer resigns or becomes disabled prior to the regular end of his/her term.
C. The power to appoint committees is indicated, but a detailed list of committees (membership, etc…) is not indicated.
D. There is a clear assignment of operational authority in the interval between meetings (see 3 in glossary).
Article IV:
A. Meeting dates are not spelled out, but a minimum number of meetings is indicated.
B. If no fixed meeting date is provided, the constitution (or bylaws) requires that notice of each meeting be posted or otherwise given to members.
C. Provision is made for calling a meeting by petition of a certain number (percentage) of members if officers should fail to do so.
Article V: Same As Above
The purpose of bylaws is to set up guidelines for meeting procedures, procedural details, and any organizational details omitted from the constitution. Bylaws are more easily amended than constitutions. Detailed bylaws are not necessary for all organizations; the decision as to whether your organizations should have a constitution only, or constitution and bylaws, is largely determined by the complexity of your organization. In general, the more active, and thus more complex, your organization is, the more there is a necessity for bylaws to make clear the details of procedure for your group.
SUGGESTED CONTENT FOR BYLAWS (Bylaws Need Not Follow This Exact Order)
Number I. Program & Activities.
Number II.
a. Amount of dues (for groups which have no other source of income).
b. Amount of entrance or initiation fees.
c. Detailed of entrance or initiation fee.
d. Provision for dropping a member from the rolls of the organization for nonpayment of dues, lowered grade average, failure to attend “x” number of meetings, etc…, and, under proper safeguards, for unworthy conduct.
Number III.
a. Procedural details – nominations, elections, etc.
b. Lists of committees and duties.
c. Filling vacancies.
d. Nominating committee (if pertinent).
e. Instructions for vouchering, expending, and auditing funds (see 2 and 8 of the glossary).
Number IV.
a. Dates of meetings if more specific that in constitution.
Number V.
a. Provision for some textbook and reference manual of Parliamentary Procedure as an authority of procedure or practice (e.g., Robert’s Rules of Order, Davidson’s Handbook of Parliamentary Procedure, etc…).
b. Amendment of bylaws – provide for notice to be given in advance of meeting for amendments and state quorum necessary (see 1 and 7 in glossary).
GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED
The following is a list of terms which may be helpful in preparing your constitution.
1. AMENDMENT – A change, addition, or deletion of a specific article or bylaw. A constitution or set of bylaws is incomplete without provision for amendments. Amending procedure should include; (a) who may propose amendments, (b) whose approval is necessary for ratification, and (c) what is the effective date of the amendment.
2. AUDIT – A formal or official examination and verification of accounts.
3. EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OR COMMITTEE – An elected body having authority to act in the name of the organization during the intervals between general meetings. This committee usually consists of the elected officers of the group.
4. MAJORITY VOTE – Unless otherwise stated, more than half of those who voted. Majority vote is meaningless unless a quorum is present. Should be distinguished from plurality.
5. PETITION – A formal written request requiring a given percentage of the membership’s signatures. May be used for nominations, amendments, called meetings, etc…
6. PLURALITY VOTE – Used only in elections, not a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote. The candidate receiving the most votes is said to have a plurality. Each group must decide for itself if a plurality is sufficient to elect.
7. QUORUM – The smallest number of members legally capable of doing business. If no quorum rule is stated in the constitution or bylaws, the parliamentary rule of 50% is assumed to hold. Large organizations (100+) cannot expect such a large number of members to be present at any one meeting; therefore, in such cases, the quorum may be as low as 5% to 10%.
8. VOUCHER – A receipt showing a payment of debt.