A constitution is a document that describes the organization and how it operates. See a sample
These are the permanent body of legislative rules by which an organization operates. There is seldom any difference between the constitution and bylaws. Most organizations combine the two. With a little time and attention you can write a constitution and bylaws that will help prevent and/or minimize future problems within the organization.
A quorum is the minimum number of members who have to be present at a meeting in order for business to be conducted legally. A quorum for most clubs or social organizations usually consists of either the average attendance at meetings or the largest number of members who can be depended upon to come to regular meetings. The quorum should be stated in the bylaws for the protection of the group as a whole.
The duties of officers are self-explanatory in many cases: the president presides; the treasurer keeps the accounts; the secretary takes notes and handles correspondence. However, other officers can be defined to suit the needs of the group. The office of vice president is one that offers much flexibility. And yet, few groups take advantage of this. Why not assign the vice president a major responsibility for an important program or need? The vice president could be in charge of membership, programs or publicity. And your organization could have more than one vice president, or secretary, etc. Think about your group’s needs and programs and delegate responsibility to other officers.
There is nothing quite so discouraging as holding an election and having no one interested in running for office. It’s also a good way to discourage new members from getting involved if they see no one else volunteering to do anything. The best way to handle this situation is with some advance planning. Select a nominating committee (your executive board will do) to recruit a slate of officers. This will ensure that you will have at least one willing candidate for each office. Nominations can also be taken from the floor.
Officers should be elected in the spring semester for the following fall. A spring election will allow time for a very important orientation to take place -- officer transition. By holding a spring election, the former officers will still be around to train the new officers. Do not pick the last week of school for elections. Allow several weeks before the end of the semester. Elections could take place earlier and the actual officer installation could take place later in the semester. If your group is not on such a schedule, you should actively consider the benefits of changing to a spring election.
Although you might think, “It can never happen to our organization,” it can. Officers were elected last semester and have yet to call a meeting, or officers have misspent the group’s funds, or officers have not attended a semester’s worth of meetings, etc. Whatever the case, a group needs to have a way to remove incompetent officers from office and to elect new ones when necessary. This is not a provision to be taken lightly, or ignored. Ask other organizations what their procedure is for such an occurrence