Many non-profits have bylaws that require the board to have the final say on whether an individual can join. However, many non-profits have gotten out of the habit of taking this important step.

Having a membership policy is a good idea (we will ask you about your membership policy in the next question). It’s a good idea to have any prospective members apply using a form. This will help your non-profit to keep track of the number of members.

Members of a non-profit are most often defined in its bylaws. They might also be described in its constitution. Your non-profit's bylaws might use a word other than member such as supporter or congregants.

Members are the people to whom the organization is ultimately accountable (i.e. they elect the directors and have a right to attend members’ meetings), or in the case of non-voting members still retain the right to come to members' meetings and otherwise participate in the non-profit.

The best practice is to read and know your bylaws and review both the constitution and bylaws annually. In addition, it's crucial that the board of directors read and know the non-profit's bylaws.

When directors and staff know the bylaws, the non-profit benefits from better continuity (i.e. if someone leaves suddenly) and accountability (i.e. directors and staff can identify when bylaws aren't being followed).

Bylaws are the rules that govern the internal affairs of the non-profit.

In many ways the bylaws are like a contract between members of the non-profit and the non-profit.

Here are some example bylaws.

The mission and mandate of a non-profit can often vary from the purposes. Purposes are the raison-d’etre (reason for being) of the non-profit. Keep them simple.

If your non-profit is a registered charity, the CRA requires approval before amendments can be made to your constitution.

The constitution lists the name and purposes of the non-profit.

It’s the non-profit's “raison d’etre” or “reason for being.” The purposes can be anything from running a soccer club, providing counselling services for seniors, or raising money for a hospital.

Here is an example of what a constitution looks like.