Bylaws Template, WFO

Bylaws Template, WFO

Bylaws Template, WFO

Article I. Name

The name of this association shall be ______, herein after referred to as the “Association”.

Article II. Purposes

The purposes of this Association shall be:

  1. First purpose
  2. Second purpose
  3. Etc.

Article III. Membership

A. The membership categories for this Association are:

  1. First membership category
  2. Second membership category
  3. Third membership category
  4. Fourth membership category
  5. Etc.
  1. First membership category
  1. To be a (first member category) member of this Association, an orthodontist must:
  1. Educational requirements
  2. Requirement for being a recognized orthodontic specialist
  3. Residence requirements and practice location requirements
  4. Type of practice options acceptable (private practice, hospital-based practice, full time educator at properly credentialed university, etc.
  5. Must endorse and sign a pledge to support the Association’s principles and purposes.
  1. To be a (second member category) member of this Association, an

orthodontist (or applicant) must:

  1. First requirement
  2. Second requirement
  3. Third requirement
  4. Etc.
  5. Must endorse and sign a pledge to support the Association’s principles and purposes.
  1. To be a (third member category) member of this Association, an

orthodontist (or applicant) must:

  1. First requirement
  2. Second requirement

c. Third requirement

  1. Etc.
  2. Must endorse and sign a pledge to support the Association’s principles and purposes.

4. Continue for every member category.

  1. Member Rights and Privileges
  1. Only (first member category) members in good standing are eligible to hold office or be elected or appointed to any leadership or committee position. Only (first member category) members may vote or participate in the selection of Association officials or establishment of Association policy.
  2. Members of all other categories shall be entitled to all rights and privileges according to their category, as specifically indicated in these Bylaws. (Then enumerate the rights and privileges with a separate numbered section for each category.)
  3. The Association shall establish and collect dues, based on policy established by the ____(Board of Directors, Executive Committee, etc.). Nonpayment of dues will result in termination of membership in this Association.
  4. The membership year of the Association shall be from January 1 through December 31.

Article IV. Officers

  1. The officers of the Association shall be a______. (Typically a President, a Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer, but there can be any number of officers. List all officers and their official title here.)
  2. Method of selecting officers and terms or tenure of office.
  3. Duties of each officer
  4. Procedure for filling vacancies
  5. Procedures for removing officers for cause

Article V. Board of Directors (or other name for governing board, if the organization

chooses to representative leadership body authorized to manage and make decisions for the organization in the interval between meetings of the membership)

  1. The Board of Directors shall be composed of the officers and____.
  2. Qualifications and terms or tenure of office
  3. Procedure for selecting members other than officers
  4. Powers and Duties
  1. Authorization and power to act for the Association between meetings of the assembly (or general membership)
  2. Quorum
  3. Duty to develop budget and manage financial affairs of the Association
  4. Manage all aspects of the business of the Association, including management of any staff that may be engaged
  5. Requirements for board meetings (number and time of year, reporting requirements, quorum, permission for meetings other than face to face, if permitted)
  6. Determine the date and location of the annual meeting of the general membership; manage all aspects of organizing annual meeting

Article VI. Meetings

  1. An annual meeting of the general membership shall be held, the date and location to be determined by the ____(select governing body).
  2. Notice and agenda requirements; quorum requirements
  3. The agenda for the annual meeting shall include election of the officers of the Association and adoption of the budget

Article VII. Constituent Organizations (this section only needed if the original

organization is a national organization made up of multiple

local organizations, all within the boundaries of the country, that are legally or contractually connected, with the national organization being the parent organization)

  1. Names of the local organizations (sometimes referred to as constituent or component organizations), with geographic,

political or other boundaries described.

  1. Powers and duties of local organizations
  2. Governance of local organizations
  3. Membership requirements of local organizations; cannot conflict with parent organization requirements
  4. Rules providing for local organization representation on parent organization governing bodies, if such representation permitted

Article VIII. Assembly (this section only needed if representatives are selected from

constituent organizations or the membership at large, who meet as a representative body and are authorized to be the policy-making body of the organization; if so constructed, this would be the legislative body

with the ultimate power to administer every aspect of the affairs of

the parent organization)

  1. Composition; how the assembly is comprised.
  2. Powers and Duties
  3. Quorum
  4. Meetings
  5. Provision authorizing the Board of Directors to act in all matters concerning the conduct of the business of the Association between annual meetings of the Assembly (this authorization should be in the article regarding board of directors, but if not there, it needs to be here).

Article IX. Committees

  1. Standing Committees; list each standing committee separately, including how many members, how they are selected, the committees’ powers and duties, meeting requirements and reporting requirements.
  2. Special Committees; provisions for appointing and authorizing powers and

duties.

Article X. Finances

  1. Budget preparation and adoption rules
  2. Dues: Grant authority to governing board or assembly to set dues and establish all policy regarding dues. It is best not to set the dues amount in the bylaws document; very difficult to change if financial state of organization requires.
  3. Auditing and reporting requirements

Article XI. Discipline

  1. Grounds for disciplinary action
  2. Disciplinary procedures and actions the association may take against a member (e.g. reprimand, letter of censure, suspension of certain membership rights or privileges, membership suspension for defined time period, or expulsion)
  3. Appeal process

Article XII. Authority

  1. This Association shall be governed by these bylaws and the standing rules and policies of the Association.
  2. The latest edition of The American Institute of Parliamentarians Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure shall be the parliamentary authority for the Association on matters not governed by the Association’s bylaws, standing rules or policy.

Article XIII. Policies

  1. Provisions for adopting policies.
  2. Vote requirements for adopting policy, and amending existing policy; notice and quorum requirements, if any.

Article XIV. Amendments to these Bylaws

  1. Rules of notice to amend; time and form.
  2. Who may propose amendments, when and how.
  3. Method of consideration and vote required to adopt amendment. (The rules of notice, quorum and vote requirements need to be stated in this section).

Article XV. Dissolution

A. Rules and procedures for dissolving the organization.

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