I was Co-President of a school PTA and a member of a school support group which is temporarily under the umbrella of the District PTA as a fiscal sponsor for their nonprofit status. There is currently an audit on the local PTA books because of a missing deposit. Because of this, I have been removed from the other nonprofit group until the audit is done even though I was not Treasurer and the other Co-President has had no temporary sanctions. Is this legal?
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suspension of nonprofit volunteering
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jharris352
New Member
Who removed you?
jharris352
New Member
They can probably do it for an audit. As long as the books are straight, you are cool.
CdwJava
Moderator
What do the by-laws say? What does the Board of Directors say?
If you DO feel it is outside the scope of the by-laws, what do you wish to do about it? How much do you feel it is worth spending on an attorney in order to be brought back from temporary suspension sooner?
Personally, I might be happy to be away from the hullabaloo of missing money in a non-profit. I've been on a board of a non-profit when this has happened, and OHMIGOD! What a nightmare! I only wish I had been able to have an excuse to be set aside from the additional board discussions, deliberations, and blame games! Sadly, I was not and I had to sit through it. Ugh.
- Carl
If you DO feel it is outside the scope of the by-laws, what do you wish to do about it? How much do you feel it is worth spending on an attorney in order to be brought back from temporary suspension sooner?
Personally, I might be happy to be away from the hullabaloo of missing money in a non-profit. I've been on a board of a non-profit when this has happened, and OHMIGOD! What a nightmare! I only wish I had been able to have an excuse to be set aside from the additional board discussions, deliberations, and blame games! Sadly, I was not and I had to sit through it. Ugh.
- Carl
Thank you both for taking the time to answer my questions. The audit is being dragged out, and in the meantime this other group of people are now essentially running the new not for profit educational support group that I started. The primary reason being as a "council" they have no purpose, so the educational support group gives them a reason to keep their "council" in existence. In the meantime, the two of us who started the new group are being pushed out. Any suggestions, ideas, anything on how to get my foundation back and get going on what we intented to do since we are a quarter way through the school year in a financial climate where the schools really need the help? Any any any any ideas are appreciated. As I said again, thanks for taking the time to give me and others the free advice.
CdwJava
Moderator
You can only really maneuver within the by-laws. if there is a governing regional or national organization, you might seek their assistance, but if it is a small, local non-profit, you may have a tough time.
If it is worth enough to you,you might consider consulting an attorney that specializes in not-for-profit organizations.
I have seen this sort of thing happen before, and so long as the by-laws are adhered to, there is really very little you can do. If you have knowledge of a crime, you can always report it, but that won't help you get back on the BoD.
- Carl
If it is worth enough to you,you might consider consulting an attorney that specializes in not-for-profit organizations.
I have seen this sort of thing happen before, and so long as the by-laws are adhered to, there is really very little you can do. If you have knowledge of a crime, you can always report it, but that won't help you get back on the BoD.
- Carl
Another question, the new non-profit is so new we had not trademarked or filed a fictitious business name statement yet. We had only approached this other group to be a fiscal sponsor until we could get our 5013C papers done. Do I have any extra standing if I do the trademark, fictitious business name and 5013C papers now? Thanks again!
CdwJava
Moderator
If you are no longer an officer, you may not have the legal standing to file those papers.
And given that situation, it would seem that your group is really little more than a club and has no true legal standing as yet.
If you want to fight, you really should consult a lawyer. Otherwise,move within the by-laws, attend the meetings if you can, and wait for the matter to be cleared up. If not cleared up, you can still look at legal counsel, though I can't imagine that any group that did not want me would be worth my spending that much money on just so I can get back on to a board where they could vote me off.
- Carl
And given that situation, it would seem that your group is really little more than a club and has no true legal standing as yet.
If you want to fight, you really should consult a lawyer. Otherwise,move within the by-laws, attend the meetings if you can, and wait for the matter to be cleared up. If not cleared up, you can still look at legal counsel, though I can't imagine that any group that did not want me would be worth my spending that much money on just so I can get back on to a board where they could vote me off.
- Carl
I do get the message about working with people who dont want to work with me, but the flip side is I worked hard for the last year to get the group where they are and would like to see it through. I am going to request a copy of the by laws for the council, but there are no by laws for the new group because we hadnt gotten that far yet. Is there something specific in the by laws I should be looking for? Thanks again!!!!!!
CdwJava
Moderator
Without any by-laws, you really have no framework to operate in. Essentially, there are no rules. Certainly you can be a monkey wrench in the groups efforts to get themselves certified with the umbrella organization, but at this point they seem to be nothing more than an informal group of people so unless they all agree to adhere to whatever set of rules you provide them, they are not required to do so.
If enough people in the group are of a like mind with yours, then you should have little trouble getting back on the board. But, lacking that I don't know that you have much more to go on besides the strength of personality and reason.
You would not be the first person who started an organization only to be ousted before it blossomed into its own. Sometimes it outgrows the conceptual idea of the original founder and that is unfortunate, but it happens. It sounds to me that this is less about some allegation of wrongdoing and more about a political power struggle within the group. As such, without by-laws, there is really nothing to fall back on as a guiding authority unless the group all agrees to adhere to whatever model by-laws the umbrella organization has for your organization. In other words, you will have to gain consensus - agreement - on the rules and then you will have to move within them to get the results you seek.
- Carl
If enough people in the group are of a like mind with yours, then you should have little trouble getting back on the board. But, lacking that I don't know that you have much more to go on besides the strength of personality and reason.
You would not be the first person who started an organization only to be ousted before it blossomed into its own. Sometimes it outgrows the conceptual idea of the original founder and that is unfortunate, but it happens. It sounds to me that this is less about some allegation of wrongdoing and more about a political power struggle within the group. As such, without by-laws, there is really nothing to fall back on as a guiding authority unless the group all agrees to adhere to whatever model by-laws the umbrella organization has for your organization. In other words, you will have to gain consensus - agreement - on the rules and then you will have to move within them to get the results you seek.
- Carl
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