If a club cannot obtain or loses its 501(c) tax status it does not affect the club’s standing with AKC as long as the club remains a not-for-profit entity. This means that no part of any profits or remainder or residue from dues or donations inure to the benefit of any member or individual. Ed Sledzik authored an article on tax exempt status which appeared in the March 2004 edition of Perspectives.

A member who provides services to a club (in areas such as legal or finance) is not deemed to have inured or benefited provided the fee is no more than what the member charges professionally.

AKC has not approved Foreign Memberships (non-US residents) with voting and office holding rights for some time. Existing clubs may adopt this restriction and apply it to new members or existing members and new members. This is consistent with how The AKC approves clubs, judges and events in the United States and serves the sport of pure-bred dogs in the U.S. AKC Delegates must be resident-citizens of the United States.

The size of boards is a decision made by each club based on the needs of the club. Generally, clubs have found the staggered election system works well in that there is not a complete turn-over of officers and directors every year.

While certain balloting, which does not require secret votes can be done by email, corporate statutes and Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised generally require that meetings be held only when the attendees can see or hear each other concurrently. The other most common methods utilized are telephone conference calls and video conferencing.

The bylaws require that the Treasurer give reports at every meeting of the board. If a board does not meet every month the board can require the Treasurer to report monthly to the board every item of receipt and payment, not before reported. Ron Menaker’s November 2006 Chairman’s Report and AKC’s CFO Jim Stevens’ September 2006 Club Finance Guidelines are two valuable guides in this area.

Committees are appointed by the board to help the board advance the work of the club. The board has the final authority to accept, in whole or in part, any committee recommendation. Every committee is subject to the final authority of the board.

While Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised indicates that members should not vote on questions in which they have a direct personal or pecuniary interest, AKC feels that officers or directors who are either complainants or defendants should recuse themselves from serving as directors in any disciplinary matter. These requirements are contained in AKC’s Guide for Event Committees. Matters relating to discipline must be handled in executive session. If a member is expelled neither the charge or any details should be made public, only the fact that the person is no longer a member.

Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised applies only when the bylaws or any special rules of order which the club has adopted do not address a particular issue. It is important to note, especially as it applies to the boards of parent clubs, that the general management power generally gives the board wide discretion in deciding matters. This is usually provided for in the statutory authority. Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised concurs in that, it indicates that in organizations that meet less often than within a quarterly basis, "…the entire administrative authority of the society is best left to the board between the society’s meetings."