Reviewing Your Non-profit Society's Bylaws

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Mary Childs, Michael Blatchford and Steve Carey in November 2016.

A non-profit society’s bylaws set out the rules for governing and operating the society. Most existing societies have some bylaws that are offside the new Societies Act. As of November 28, 2016, those bylaws ceased to have effect. Conducting a review of your society’s bylaws is highly recommended to harmonize them with the new Act. It also presents an opportunity to make positive organizational change.

This section on reviewing your society’s bylaws covers:

Why review your bylaws now?

• To minimize confusion. Having bylaws that conflict with the new Societies Act means that members and directors might be confused about what rules prevail.
• To reduce risk. Effectively, you can’t trust your bylaws between November 28, 2016 and when you conduct a review to ensure they are harmonized with the new Act.
• To take advantage of increased flexibility under the new Act. Even if you are generally satisfied with your society’s existing bylaws, you may want to take advantage of increased flexibility offered by the new Act in some areas.

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Transitioning an Existing Society: A How-to Guide for Non-profits in BC © Drew Jackson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.