Constitution Creation
From MCAwiki
All examples are based off of the MCA Constitution.
Contents |
[edit] Step One
The first step to writing a constitution is thinking about what the group you are writing the constitution for means to you and the other constituents. That means you need to look at the name of your group. Refer to Article I, Section I. After figuring out your group’s name and how it will be referred to in your constitution you have to decide on your group’s purpose. This is called the Mission Statement, Statement of Intent, or Vision Statement. Obviously, this means you are looking for a statement. The statement is meant to be simple and clear. The complicated part of your constitution will come later. Your vision statement could be something like the MCA Mission/Vision Statements. Refer to Article I, Section II/III.
[edit] Step Two
The next step is to decide who your membership will be and what they mean to your organization. Members determine the path of your group and what the group will do on a daily basis. Without a concise idea of what type of people your group should look to recruit the group will falter and lose membership. First, decide what the purpose of your members will be (ex. Article II, Section I). Second, decide how members will join your group (ex. Article II, Section II). Third, determine what role the members of your group will hold (ex. Article II, Section III). Next, decide the responsibilities and the conduct of your members (ex. Article II, Section IV/V). Finally, you need to decide provisionary statements for this section. You will have provisionary statements for almost every other section in your constitution. They are there to protect your constitution from loopholes and confusion. Also, provisionary statements protect your group from outside issues. For examples of provisionary statements look at final sections of Articles II, III, V, and VII.
[edit] Step Three
Step three is to determine how many chapters of your group will exist. Group chapters allow for greater access to your group as a whole, but also create communication and alienation issues. If a group has too many chapters then it falls apart. If a group isolates itself and only has one chapter, it cannot grow. At the beginning of a group chapters are not needed. A group needs to first be created and needs at least a year to become solid enough to have multiple chapters form. For the MCA chapters are in campus-form, meaning each campus is allowed one chapter. For example look at Article III. Step four is to determine how your group chapters will be represented. If chapters are not given representation they will not feel included in the larger group as a whole. See Article IV for examples of chapter representatives. Step five is the time you spend determining how chapter representatives will be chosen. You need to determine how do work nominations, establishment of nominees, the election process and the voting process. For examples look at Article V.
[edit] Step Four
The next step in your constitution writing process is if your group will have an elected board of officials. These officials will handle the day to day work needed to keep your group going. Some familiar titles such as President or Treasurer come to mind. What is important is making sure you have the right amount of people to cover each task needed to run your group. This is probably the part of your constitution writing that will take the most work. Brainstorm what your group needs to accomplish on a daily or weekly basis, decide what tasks need to be handled by different people, and then create positions to handle those tasks. For examples look at Article VI. Your next step, step seven, is to decide how your group’s Elected Board will be elected. Decide the process, including nomination and selection, and organize your thoughts. For examples look at Article VII.
[edit] Step Five
Now you have gotten through most of the business of your constitution. It should be coming together well. You need to branch out of your Mission Statement now. This will require you to choose what direction your group will go and how to get there. For MCA the direction was Community Outreach. What is your group’s main goal? How will you accomplish it? When you decide on answers for these, write them down in your constitution using Article VIII as an example.
[edit] Step Six
Finally you are nearing the end of your constitution. This is the moment when you decide the last of the business your group must go through. These are your Policies. What things must be attended to on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis? How will your group run? Use Article IX as an example and decide how your group will move forward, including reports due and attendance.
[edit] Step Seven
You only have this last step! This last step is figuring out how you will amend your constitution if it is needed. Explain the purpose, process and any provisionary statements that have to do with amending your constitution. Use Article X as an example. Your final step is to ratify your constitution. You must have a quorum to ratify your constitution, so at least two-thirds of your group, to sign your constitution. Have both the Approved by and Signed by selections typed in and then physically signed by each member present. Use Article XI as an example.
