Information about legal compliance Societies Act for non-profits in British Columbia.
Your non-profit's bylaws should state the number of directors that are supposed to be on the board.
The Societies Act requires non-profits to have a minimum of three directors. The Societies Act does not set a maximum number of directors.
Classes are groups of members that have different sets of rights. For example, some non-profits have voting and non-voting classes of members.
If you aren’t sure whether your non-profit has member classes, check its bylaws. If a non-profit has more than one class of members, it is required to describe the class and list its respective rights in the bylaws.
Note that this does not refer to different categories of members (e.g. family and individual memberships; gold and silver memberships) unless there are different rights associated with that category.
The BC Registry's non-profit societies guide provides information on non-profit incorporation, maintenance and legal compliance, amalgamation, dissolution, and restoration.
Ask a Law Student is an initiative of the Pacific Legal Education & Outreach Society (PLEO). The mandate of the program is to answer questions about BC's Societies Act and related questions.
Our trained and supervised law student volunteers will research and respond as quickly as they can. Response time varies with demand and student class schedules. Please be aware that our volunteers can give legal information only, and we do not give legal opinions, nor do we refer to lawyers.
What is a society? What are bylaws? What are members' rights? How do you dissolve a society? It’s important to be familiar with all the “need to knows” of the Societies Act to ensure your non-profit is legally compliant! Our FAQs cover common topics on everything from start to finish in the lifetime of your organization.
A member is an individual or organization that has been granted membership in a non-profit. Members usually get to vote at annual general meetings and are often responsible for selecting the directors of the non-profit.
A director is an individual who has been elected or appointed to manage the non-profit society. Directors are usually also members of the society. Directors are collectively responsible for managing, or supervising the management of, the activities and internal affairs of the society. Sometimes directors are called board members, which can get confusing.
Secretary-Treasurer usually refers to a non-profit director who has the officer positions of both secretary and treasurer. The Societies Act does not require non-profits to have a secretary or treasurer. Therefore, the roles and responsibilities of a secretary-treasurer depend on the non-profit's bylaws.
Treasurer usually refers to a non-profit director who has the officer position of treasurer. The Societies Act does not require non-profits to have a treasurer. Therefore, the roles and responsibilities of a treasurer depend on the non-profit's bylaws.
Secretary usually refers to a non-profit director who has the officer position of secretary. The Societies Act does not require non-profits to have a secretary. Therefore, the roles and responsibilities of a secretary depend on the non-profit's bylaws.