Los Angeles Conservancy Bylaw Revisions
To keep pace with changes in nonprofit governance, the Conservancy updated its bylaws in 2015. We had last updated the bylaws in 1990, and most of the new changes simply brought them up to current standards and best practices for nonprofits.
These amendments were approved by the Conservancy membership in a vote in May 2015. We received a very strong response, a total of 744 votes. Thank you very much for your participation and support.
Among these votes, 96 percent were in favor of adopting the amended and restated bylaws, which became effective on May 22, 2015.
A summary of the amendments appear below, and you can also view PDFs of the amended bylaws and 1990 bylaws.
Summary of Bylaw Amendments
Voting
As a young organization, the Conservancy relied on our membership for input on some of the tactical elements of running the nonprofit, such as revising the bylaws and choosing members of the Board of Directors.
The Conservancy has since grown from a handful of volunteers to the largest local member-based preservation organization in the U.S. As we have professionalized, the Conservancy has established a thorough process for identifying, vetting, and nominating members of our Board of Directors. Plus, only a small fraction (about two percent) of Conservancy members vote on the annual slate of board nominees.
In the Conservancy’s strategic planning process of 2013-2014, we identified the need to be more nimble in updating our bylaws, to keep pace with ongoing changes in state and federal laws regarding nonprofit governance.
As a result, we revised the bylaws to eliminate the need for members to vote on corporate governance matters such as board members and future amendments. The new bylaws are more relevant and appropriate for this stage in the Conservancy’s growth.
Annual Meetings
Decades ago, the Conservancy’s annual meeting served a vital function in gathering the membership (which was much smaller) to conduct official Conservancy business, such as announcing the results of the board member election.
Over the years, the annual meeting has evolved into a small gathering of around 100 members, with a focus on a presentation of general interest to our work, not specifically related to the business of the organization.
By eliminating the requirement for an annual meeting, the Conservancy can explore—with your input—new ways of engaging members, focusing our resources more effectively on the types of interaction that you consider most meaningful. Therefore, we amended the bylaws so that the Conservancy is longer required to hold an annual meeting for the general membership.
Governance
Most of the proposed amendments to our bylaws simply brought the Conservancy in line with current governance standards and make them more relevant to how we run the organization today.
Examples include allowing for member communication by email (which was not widely used in 1990) and the timing of board meetings (which now take place quarterly, not monthly).