Glossary

Person in non-profit. A member is an individual or organization to whom membership has been granted, usually by the Board of a non-profit. They are the people to whom the directors are generally accountable. They vote at annual general meetings (AGMs) and are often responsible for electing the directors. Members also have to follow the bylaw and policies of the non-profit.

Shared characteristics. A non-profit can have more than one class of members. A class is a g with different rights and privileges such as voting, attending general meetings. . Examples include voting and non-voting. Classes are not the same as categories such as 'platinum' or 'silver' with different benefits such as discount tickets. Rather, it relates specifically to the rights involved in the operation and governance of the non-profit.

Non-profits aren't required to have different classes, but if they do, the non-profit's bylaws must describe each class and set out their respective membership rights. In addition, at least one class must be voting members.
 

Example rules. The model bylaws are a set of bylaws included in the Societies Act. They are a simple set of  rules for governing the internal affairs of a non-profit. A non-profit can either adopt the model bylaws or modify them to fit its needs. Model bylaws allow a non-profit to avoid having to create bylaws from scratch.

There are two sets of model bylaws BC non-profits can adopt. The first of these bylaws is the Schedule 1 Bylaws from the Societies Regulation. The second is the Schedule B Bylaws from the old act. Both sets of bylaws are in compliance with the Societies Act.