The need for infrastructure in an organization is not so apparent to some folks. But infrastructure is like insurance: everything is fine…until it’s not.
Infrastructure like mission and values statements, standard operating procedures, and various policies seek to prevent problems and cleanly handle those that cannot be avoided. If an organization is a 501(c)(3), the IRS requires it to have bylaws. These are legally-binding rules to how the organization will be governed.
Years ago, I sat on a nonprofit board that had to ask a member to step down. None of us had ever done this before. Among us, one suggested what they thought was a reasonable process of removal. I objected.
Decisions like these are always difficult, so it’s important to carry them out properly. The last thing you want is to leave space for question or complaint, thus requiring you to engage in the painful process all over again.
Reasonable or not, the process suggested was one that they made up. I figured that there was a proscribed manner in which a nonprofit organization may ask someone to step down, and criteria that must be fulfilled. I insisted that we look in our bylaws to see if the process was indicated there. (It was.)
When the government — meaning the IRS — has a stake in your organization, there are often right ways and wrong ways to do things. Don’t try to figure out something that sounds appropriate and fair. Your first move should be to look in your bylaws in case there is a right way.
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