We use "related by blood or marriage or residing in the same household" as the definitive statement for whether or not 2 people can be officers on the same board during the same term. (Only officers sign checks!)
If a policy is extensive, like a conflict of interest policy, or cash handling policy, then you want to have it as a separate document than the bylaws (or part of a set of policies). In that case the bylaws might mention the policy and adherence to it.
But if it's pretty much a straightforward operating rule, then I'd put it in the bylaws.
ARTICLE VIII Executive Board
Section 2 No officer shall hold the same office for more than two consecutive years, unless approved by a 2/3 vote of the Executive Board. Candidates for presidency should have prior experience on the Executive Board. Two members residing in the same household may not simultaneously serve on the Executive Board unless expressly approved by a majority vote of the Executive Board.
For us, we didn't totally restrict family members from serving on the board as our board was very large (25+ people, including officers, class reps, committee chairs, etc.) So we wanted an override process. We definitely prevented them from both being key elected officers. But, for instance, if one spouse wanted to be Box Tops Chair and another be 3rd Grade Rep - there wouldn't necessarily be a conflict or a financial risk.
The wording was tough. For instance, you could have the same problem with sisters as spouses. And what if the two are partners, but not not married. You can't use the term "spouses". Just writing this clause can be problematic. So we settled for "residing in the same household".
I'm trying to finish up our 501c3 application and the start up guide suggests having a policy that states that family members cannot serve simultaeously on the exective board. Does anyone have a sample of a policy like this?
Does the policy simply just state that? What did you call the policy? Was it part of a different policy or by-laws?
