Can the founder of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, who does not hold a board position, be voted out of the organization by board members? And if so, what protection does that founder have to safeguard that which he or she has founded?
That is an excellent question, and one of the reasons why we often establish a new nonprofit as a sole member corporation so that the founder can retain control. You don’t say from what position the founder is being voted out of the organization, but unless the founder has retained protection in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, directors or other members probably have every right to get rid of the founder as a member, a director, or an employee. In such a situation, the founder probably has no effective way to safeguard his or her dream, (See Ready Reference Page: "The Key Question: Whose Organization Is It?") We frequently try to protect against that type of ouster. We recently published a Ready Reference Page (See Bylaws Function as “Constitution” of Nonprofit Corporations) that discusses the provisions of bylaws and illustrates how we have protected founders in certain situations.
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