The end of an organization?

I am looking for some input/discussion on “The end of an organization”.

Short history: I founded a bike club in 2005…we were pretty successful, got a lot of grants, did some great projects, and then one of our projects morphed into this whole other thing that got really huge.
I stepped off the board of the club in 09, and then off the board of the other thing in January. Once I was off the board of the club things started to decline and more people burned out and left. The people that were elected last year did basically nothing, so that there was no active membership to even hold elections this winter. So, they’ve continued on, unelected, this in an ad hoc fashion. As a founder and longtime member, I was invited to this springs meeting where all the great plans were discussed…. But nothing and I mean nothing is happening. It’s unfortunate that the guy who took on the leadership role is flaky and unable to produce anything, and unable to listen to the voice of what is left of the group.

So we have no membership, no elected officials, no activities, no communications, and a self-appointed ad hoc board that is doing basically nothing. I’m not too worried about the money as the treasurer, who is also a founding member, is super diligent. However, are there ramifications of operating outside of the bylaws?

I am totally burnt out on it, and made a point of extricating myself from both groups in hopes that others would get involved… you know, someone won’t pick up the ball until it gets dropped, right?
The bylaws state that the club can be dissolved by a 2/3 vote of the membership… but there have been no dues collected in over a year.

I’m halfway tempted to call a gathering of those who were active and are not now, to make a decision on what to do with the assets (about $2k in the bank and a load of trail building tools) and whether to officially dissolve the organization. Can this be done? Granted mountain bikers are an unorganized bunch at the best of times, and we never followed the bylaws to a “t” anyway.

I really need some perspective on this. Between the two groups, which I did a lot for the community with; I hit the wall with unforeseen burnout. I’ve done my share of grieving, and a lot of self-examination on what could have been done different/better and so on. But it was also time for others to take over - or not as the case may be. So how do you end it?

You are already burnt out and have given alot over the years. Unless your group partners with another eager group that is highly motivated, well-run and financially ok, to create a completely different organization and different purpose, there's no point.

I know nothing about de-registering an organization in the U.S. But I believe in Canada, one does have to file to the govn't about de-registering --to the original govn't authority that the organization filed as a non-profit organization.

Sorry to hear about this dying organization! I feel for you, the sadness and exhaustion, frustration.

I've been with 2 organizations that each became known in their niche areas and they each died a slow death. lst one was a magazine that specialized on Asian-Canadian, race relations issues and literary writing. I was with the organization for 5 years as part of a volunteer board. We had a paid mailing list of 300 subscribers across North America.

2nd was a women's cycling group in the Metro Toronto area where we had up to 250 women attend our conference and workshops every 2 yrs. Plus we had rides, etc. I was with this organization for 5 years.

Both organizations died because there were no upcoming volunteers with enough drive and savvy to carry on the reins. It does require some leadership even at a low, discreet level and persistence, enthusiasm to carry onward. Like your organization, budget was not a problem. (We had about $3,000 and probably could have secured more through memberships if we worked at it.)

But I am proud to have been with these 2 organizations. I learned so much as a person and met lots of people competent in their areas of expertise. Some of them became good friends for several years thereafter.

In a way, I wouldn't be writing in the style that I write for some of my blogs now, for becoming more outspoken in general, if it hadn't been for volunteering for these 2 organizations. They have both taught me what advocacy means and the power of advocacy, if one is organized, persistent and is armed with fact-based evidence. I also had lots of fun times too.

I'm sure you feel the same way about your experience in the past.

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Originally Posted by Irulan

However, are there ramifications of operating outside of the bylaws?

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Yes!!! If it's a non profit, the IRS is VERY focused now on governance issues - particularly adherence to areas relating to conflicts of interest for board members and volunteers.

As to governance issues relating to "control", that's a tougher issue...but record keeping and notice to members becomes key. I believe there must legally be at least one "annual meeting" (if incorporated?), but the advance notice to members and quorum requirements are probably set in the bylaws.

As for the money, if the thing is dying, I think it's an option to simply take remaining cash and give it for a purpose allowed in the bylaws.

Don't let this drag you down. It's ok to care, but please be careful not to get sucked into a vortex...For $2,000, I'd just let it die a quiet death and let the treasurer, whom you trust, do the right thing.