About our KAFP bylaws revisions vote

The KAFP Board of Directors has spent the past 18 months focused on the future strategic direction of the association.

They appointed a Strategic Plan Work Group to identify focus areas to ensure our organization is able to adapt and keep serving the changing needs of today’s family physicians. Among the top opportunities that group identified were a series of updates to our organizational bylaws — the rules that govern how we select our leaders and conduct the business of the Academy.

The board also appointed a task force to develop a governance structure that allowed for more members to be involved in leadership without the intense time commitments that have been required in the past. The board of directors approved the governance restructure in Spring 2022. Following the restructure, the executive committee was tasked to work with legal counsel to recommend revisions to the Academy’s current bylaws. These revisions represent best practices for nonprofit businesses as well as align with current Kansas law for nonprofit board governance. The board approved the proposed bylaws revisions in Summer 2022.

The KAFP’s bylaws have not been substantively amended since 2013 and currently contain provisions that hamper our ability to make progress on our top priorities. The proposed bylaws updates are designed to increase member participation in organizational business and to streamline the process for taking action.

What are the proposed changes?

You can find a document showing the proposed bylaws here.

A document that tracks proposed changes against the current bylaws is available here.

Among the most significant proposed changes are:

  • Allowing members to vote in-person, electronically, by written vote or by proxy on business brought before the membership at meetings. This change means we would no longer require all business to take place at the annual conference, which less than 10% of members have historically attended.
  • Setting Jan. 1 the start date for the terms of all members of the board of directors, meaning elections would now take place each fall, aligning the governance with the fiscal year of the Academy.
  • Setting a quorum of 10% of the organization’s membership for meetings where organizational business will be conducted. This right-sizes the bylaws to meet Kansas law. Previous versions of the bylaws did not have a quorum provision included.

Watch member meeting on proposed changes

The board hosted a webinar giving an overview of the proposed changes and answering frequently asked questions about the initiative. You can watch it here:

How to vote

The voting period on the proposed changes is scheduled to open Oct. 1 and close Oct. 31.

Members in good standing as of Sept. 1 will receive a link to cast a single up or down vote — in favor of all the proposed bylaws revisions or against the proposed bylaws revision. Your member ID number is required to cast your vote. A membership meeting will be held on Nov. 3 to announce the outcomes of the vote and record it as official business of the KAFP. All members are encouraged to attend.