Internal Governance for Fan Franchises

Every volunteer group eventually hits a decision where people disagree. Good governance up front makes those decisions orderly instead of existential.

This guide is not about forming a legal entity — see the non-profit basics guide for that. This is about the internal rules your franchise runs on, whether or not you ever incorporate.

The minimum set of documents

Every franchise should have, in writing, at minimum:

1. A short constitution or charter. Two pages. Describes who you are, what you do, how decisions get made, and how the group can be ended.
2. A code of conduct. One or two pages. Describes member behavior expectations at events, online, and internally, plus the consequences for violations.
3. A membership policy. How members join (see the member screening guide) and leave.
4. A safeguarding policy. Your minor safeguarding policy, applied uniformly.
5. A charity disbursement policy. Where money flows and who signs off.

Store these in a shared folder every member can read. Version them. Review annually.

Officers

A workable officer structure for a small-to-medium franchise:

• President / Founder / Chair. External face. Runs meetings.
• Vice President / Operations. Runs events. Steps in for the President.
• Treasurer. Charity ledger, insurance, financial reports.
• Secretary. Membership roster, records, internal communications.
• Safeguarding Lead. Owns the screening and safeguarding policies. Receives and escalates concerns.

For very small groups, one person can wear two of these hats. The Safeguarding Lead and the President should not be the same person whenever avoidable — the Safeguarding Lead sometimes needs to escalate concerns about the President.

Elections and terms

• Terms of 1–2 years.
• Stagger terms so you don't lose the whole leadership at once.
• Elections happen on a predictable calendar. Members vote either in person at an annual meeting or via a simple digital poll.
• Founders are not automatically permanent leaders. Expect to hand off roles over time.

If a founder is unwilling to be term-limited, the franchise will stall when they inevitably step back. Build the expectation of rotation in from year one.

Decision-making

Decide in writing how different decisions get made. A common structure:

• Day-to-day operational decisions — the relevant officer decides.
• Significant spending (above a threshold you define) — officer vote.
• Policy changes — full membership vote.
• Member discipline / removal — officer vote, with process described below.

Discipline and removal

The single most important governance document is the one you'll reach for when you have to remove a member. A workable process:

1. Complaint received. Safeguarding Lead or Secretary logs it.
2. Initial review. Two officers (never just one) review within a defined time window.
3. Member interviewed. The member being reviewed is given a chance to respond.
4. Decision. Officer vote — typically requires a majority or supermajority.
5. Action. Warning, probation, or removal, in writing.
6. Appeal. If the member disputes, a defined appeal path exists (often to a different group of officers).

Exceptions for safeguarding cases: if there is an allegation of harm to a minor, the member is suspended immediately on receipt, and the process runs to its conclusion in parallel with any law-enforcement involvement. That is not a policy you deliberate in real time — see the safeguarding guide.

Handling disputes between members

Volunteer groups have conflict. Put a process for ordinary disputes in writing:

1. Try to resolve directly. Two members with a disagreement are expected to talk first.
2. Bring it to an officer if it cannot be resolved.
3. Mediation. An officer or neutral member mediates.
4. Escalation to officer vote only if mediation fails.

Avoid making the whole membership a judge of interpersonal disputes. That almost always makes things worse.

Records

Keep, in a shared and backed-up location:

• Meeting minutes (brief — what was decided, who was present).
• Member roster (current + archived).
• Charity ledger.
• Event log with dates, totals raised, members who attended.
• Policy documents and their version history.
• Background-check records (access-limited per your data-protection policy).

Back them up monthly. A franchise that loses its records is at best rebuilding, at worst arguing about what was ever decided.

When to write this down

Now. Before you have the fight that would have been settled by having it written down.

Even the roughest first draft is better than nothing. You can refine. You cannot easily invent rules in retrospect without looking like you're targeting a specific person.

Succession

Your governance documents should answer: if the current officers all stepped away tomorrow, what happens?

The ideal answer is "the Secretary calls an emergency election within 30 days; membership elects a new leadership team; the charity ledger is transferred cleanly; nothing stops." The inactive franchise handoff guide covers this in more detail.

Write the succession story before you need it.