Bylaws

Bylaws are the basic operating rules of an organization. In particular they are the highest internal operating rules for a corporation. The next level "up" usually being local, state, and federal law.

Bylaws can be written at varying levels of complexity. They can range from describing every business process in minute detail, to only the most broad outlines of the most basic processes (but in this case they will probably provide for subsidiary documents with greater detail). They will almost certainly describe who the membership of the organization is, how that organization is governed (Board of Directors and elections), how and when meetings take place, and how the Bylaws themselves can be changed. Some of the actual contents of the Bylaws may be governed by local laws.

In writing Bylaws, it is important to balance the intended purpose of the organization, clarity of intent over time, and flexibility of execution. The people that write a given rule may not be the ones to put it into effect 5 years later. Don't turn it into an exercise in literary elegance at the expense of saying what you mean. Give the next generation a solid clue toward what you really wanted.

Some financial institutions (banks etc.) require a copy of the bylaws as well as the signatures of the Directors/Board/designated members of the Committee. This is partly to show that you qualify for a "club/social organisation" account rather than a (usually more expensive) business account, and, perhaps more importantly, so that if six months later people show up at the bank saying they are the new ConChair and Treasurer and want to take out all the money, there is a clear set of instructions about how the Chair and Treasurer are selected and the bank can ascertain that these people have the necessary authority to take the cash (to Rio!)