Is it possible to waive a membership requirement (in the bylaws) for one member?

[Louise]

Hello, all!

Our organization requires that members are also members of an XYZ organization first.

There is a circumstance where a person who is an active participant for a portion of the year (albeit not a member) cannot fufill that requirement due to living out of the country for the remainder of the year.

Is there any way to waive that membership requirement for just that one person/circumstance, or is that simply opening up a can of worms better left closed?

Louise

[jstackpo]

In the order of the two questions in the last paragraph:

1) No.

2) You are correct.

You could amend the bylaws to remove the (restrictive) membership requirement.

[Louise]

I suspected this was the case.

I believe that an amendment to the bylaws to remove this requirement would contravene our Articles of Incoporation, so that is not a solution to this quandary, I'm afraid.

Louise

[jstackpo]

Can't you amend those Arts as well?

May be harder and involve (some) legal steps, but they are your articles, after all.

[Louise]

That is a possibility (although the Articles currently don't include any way to amend them, so off to a lawyer we go...even if we don't amend them now, it would be beneficial to know how to do so...or to just be able to amend them so that they allow for us to amend them in the future).

I suspect, though, that a majority of the membership would not be in favor of such a change. It's part of what makes our organization what it is, so to change it would be a Very Big Deal.

Truly, as much as I like the person who would like to be a member but is unable to fulfill that requirement due to living abroad much of the year, even I have severe misgivings at the thought of making such an amendment. It would change the entire focus of our organization, and eventually the make-up of its membership as well.

Heck, even our name would have to change.

Onwards...