The ‘Just Good Friends’ Constitution
Issue 2 : Approved by AGM on 21st October 2011
1 Objectives.
1.1 The Club shall be called ‘Just Good Friends’ (‘The Club’). The main purpose of The Club shall be to promote and encourage the social interaction of its members.
1.2 The Club will do this by producing a monthly programme of social events which have been identified by and reflect the interests of the members.
1.3 The Club aims to promote itself as a friendly and safe society for its members to socialise.
2 Membership.
2.1 Membership will be open to all persons of all ages, although it should be recognized that The Clubs activities may be more suited to those of over 35 years of age who mainly, (but not exclusively), live alone, who accept the objectives of The Club as set out in the section labelled Objectives and who agree to be bound by The Club Rules and Data Protection Policies (see point 8 below).
2.2 An individual Membership will run
2.2.1 for a period of one calendar year, starting 1st April until 31st March the following year
2.2.2 for new joiners, from the date of enrolment until the next 31st March.
2.3 Anyone showing interest in joining The Club shall be introduced to the Membership Secretary (who will take their details) and will be entitled to two months of free monthly programmes and attendance of Club functions, after which they will be invited to enrol as a Member.
2.4 Membership of The Club will incur a fixed annual subscription, or for new joiners who join part way through any year, membership cost incurred will be pro rata that of the annual fixed subscription, which shall be reviewed and set by The Committee; any change proposed for the forthcoming year will be ratified at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of The Club.
2.5 On joining The Club and paying their first annual subscription, new Members shall receive a copy of the current Club Constitution, including an up-to-date list of activities.
2.6 On joining The Club, a new Member shall provide their relevant personal details, including their current address, postcode, email and telephone number to the Membership Secretary. This is to maintain the accuracy of The Club Membership list and to ensure that any Club correspondence is properly sent out. It shall be the responsibility of all Members to keep their personal information and Membership up-to-date. Membership renewals should be paid to the Membership Secretary of The Club. Any change of address should be notified in writing to the Membership Secretary as soon as possible.
2.7 Members of The Club have the following rights:
2.7.1 The right to stand for a Committee post.
2.7.2 The right to nominate or second another Member for a Committee post.
2.7.3 The right to propose or second Agenda items for the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
2.7.4 The right to vote at an AGM.
2.7.5 The right to call for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).
2.7.6 The right to organize events, of interest to them, and have them added to the programme
3 Committee.
3.1 The Club will have a Committee (‘The Committee’) which must have three members as a minimum. It is the responsibility of Members to elect The Committee for the coming year by ballot from those candidates who have allowed their names to be put forward by a Proposer and a Seconder to stand for each individual position within The Committee. (See 5.5) These candidates must be Members of The Club. Candidates may vote for themselves.
3.2 The Committee positions and their roles will be:
3.2.1 Chairman
1. Responsible for smooth running of The Club.
2. Making sure that The Committee posts are filled.
3. Chairing meetings and AGM.
4. Welcome letter/email to new members.
5. Thank you letter/email to those members not renewing.
3.2.2 Secretary
1. To ensure that notice of meetings/agenda are drawn up and sent out in advance.
2. To take and distribute minutes of the meeting
3. To bring correspondence to the attention of The Committee and, if necessary, to reply as directed by The Committee.
4. To be able to send out publicity and any other information.
3.2.3 Events Co-Ordinator
1. Gathers event information from outside sources to produce a programme of events
2. Issue said programme in a timely manner, after The Clubs monthly ‘Social evenings’ to all paid up members.
3. Co-ordinate events for members that the ‘Events Co-ordinator’ may not be attending themselves
4. Liaise with the Assistant Events Co-ordinator in order to provide a good quality programme.
3.2.4 Assistant Events Co-Ordinator
1. Assists the Events Co-ordinator.
2. Carries out the duties of the Events Co-ordinator when required.
3.2.5 Treasurer
1. Regularly reporting to The Committee on the financial position.
2. Arranging for the statement of accounts to be audited.
3. Looking after the finances of The Club.
4. Paying bills on time and recording the information.
5. Keeping up-to-date records for all financial transactions.
6. Ensuring that funds are spent properly.
7. Issuing receipts for all money received and recording this information.
8. Preparing a year-end statement of accounts to present to the Auditors.
9. Presenting an end-of-year financial report to the Annual General Meeting.
10. Financial planning including producing an annual budget and monitoring it throughout the year.
3.2.6 Membership Secretary
1. Maintains a list of members and pass sufficient information on them to other relevant Committee Members to allow them to be contactable (Subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act - See 8.1)
2. Be the first point of contact for potential new Club members (See 2.3) This will include thanking them for their interest and providing them complimentary programmes for two full months prior to them deciding if they wish to join our Club.
3. Send out membership application forms to all existing members during February of each year to allow them to re-apply for Membership before 31st March.
4. Following on from 3 above, collects subscription fees and deposits cash/cheques into ‘Just Good Friends’ bank account and provide The Club Treasurer with detailed analysis of such deposits.
3.2.7 Website Manager
1. Maintains the website and email.
3.2.8 Non-Executive Members
1. Attend committee meetings.
2. Ready to take over committee posts temporally when required.
3. Play a vital role working alongside and supporting the Officers.
4. Willing to be proposed for an Officers post when it becomes vacant
.
3.3 In a situation where there are insufficient candidates available at an AGM, a Committee member shall be able to perform the duties of an unfilled position as well as their own on an emergency basis. This must be reviewed as soon as possible, and an EGM held as an immediate priority as soon as (a) candidate(s) for the vacant position(s) become(s) available.
3.4 Up to three Committee members should be authorised signatories to The Club bank account; two signatures being required on all cheques issued by The Club (see 4.2).
3.5 Whenever The Committee meets to make decisions on changes to policy or procedures affecting the membership of The Club then those decisions will only be recognized if a quorum of at least 6 members of the Committee is present.
3.6 The Committee will meet as appropriate. Any Member is entitled to attend and speak at these meetings. However, they are not entitled to vote. In exceptional circumstances, the Chairman and Committee may specify that certain portions of a Committee meeting are to be closed and private, for example, in the case of disciplinary proceedings.
3.7 Committee members will conduct themselves in a proper manner appropriate to their position and responsibilities. All Committee members will present a review of their tenure to The Club members at the AGM.
3.8 It is the duty of The Committee to carry out the objectives of The Club and to ensure that the Constitution is adhered to. In addition The Committee will arbitrate in disputes and act as a final Court of Appeal (subject to ratification at a General Meeting of The Club).
3.9 It is the duty of all committee Members who have access to e-mail to share the responsibility of telephoning members who are not on e-mail to inform them of alterations/late additions to the monthly programme of events mentioned at 1.2 above
3.10 It is the duty of The Committee to ensure that funds are being used for appropriate purposes.
3.11 Any general communications received by The Club must go to The Committee.
4 Finances.
4.1 The Club is a non-profit making society. All The Committee posts and other positions are voluntary and unpaid. As a goodwill gesture Committee members will pay half their membership fees during their term of office.
4.2 The Club will maintain its own bank account and hold its own funds. Funds withdrawn from the bank account must require at least two signatories.
4.3 The Club may charge an attendance fee at its meetings in order to cover costs and any proper club expenditure during the year. The Club shall use such income to cover the cost of room hire, social events and sundry expenses.
4.4 The Club’s annual membership fee will be reviewed and set by The Committee. Any change proposed for the forthcoming year will be ratified at an Annual General Meeting of The Club. (See point 2.4 above).
4.5 Membership fees are payable
4.5.1 on the 1st April annually or
4.5.2 If part way through any year, immediately upon enrolment into The Club – the fee due will be pro rata the annual fee taking the subscription up to the following 1st April.
4.6 A quorum, which must include The Treasurer of The Club shall meet annually after April 1st (See 4.5.1 above) each year to decide what proportion of The Clubs funds shall be held as a minimum balance that needs to be carried forward to the next Financial Year (i.e. the following April 1st) They shall also decide upon the sum of money that may be used to subsidize events and fund other unexpected situations affecting members that may arise during the current Financial Year.
4.7 Any member hosting an event in their own home which is open to all other members may claim upto £2.50 per member, upto a maximum of £25, from The Club for food purchased for consumption at this event. Receipts must be produced to confirm said expenditure. Any amounts which exceed the guidelines set out here must be agreed by the Treasurer prior to the event taking place.
4.8 At times The Club may organize attendance of events which have to be paid for, sometimes in the form of a deposit, sometimes even the total amount due, several months before the actual event takes place. (e.g. Holidays, Theatre Trips). In such situations members MUST pay by the specified deadline set by the Member organizing attendance. This is to ensure that neither the organizer, nor The Club itself, is left out of pocket during the intervening period. Failure to pay by the stated deadline will mean members will not be allowed to attend said event, and if in respect of paying a remaining balance, the member will lose their previously paid deposit.
4.9. If The Club is wound up then all its assets will be split equally between all current members of The Club.
5 General Meetings.
5.1 The Club must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) within thirteen calendar months of the previous Annual General Meeting.
5.2 The purposes of the Annual General Meeting are to:
5.2.1 Elect a Committee.
5.2.2 Report on the financial position and the Membership of The Club.
5.2.3 Review the activities of The Committee and The Club over the previous year.
5.2.4 Ratify any decisions made by The Committee that require it.
5.2.5 Vote on any motions that have been proposed.
5.3 The Committee must properly publicise the date, time and location of the Annual General Meeting to the Membership at least six weeks in advance of that date.
5.4 If a Member wishes to put forward an item for inclusion in the Agenda of a forthcoming Annual General Meeting, it should be made in writing and formally seconded in writing by another Member. The said proposition should be phrased in such a way that it can be decided by a formal vote for or against the motion. The item should be given or posted to The Club Secretary at least three weeks before the date of the AGM.
5.5 If a Member wishes to stand for a Committee Post, a written nomination proposal form of their intent to stand must be lodged with the existing Committee at least three weeks before the date of the AGM. This candidate must be formally proposed and seconded for the post by two other Members, neither of whom may be the person standing for the post. The notification must also contain the names and signatures of both of these Members.
5.6 No Member shall propose or second more than one Candidate per Committee Post.
5.7 No Member shall stand for more than one Committee Post.
5.8 It is the duty of The Club Secretary to prepare a proper Agenda for the Annual General Meeting. This should list all proposals to be voted on and Committee positions to be filled, along with the names of all members standing for them. This Agenda, together with any Voting slips and Voting instructions, must be distributed to all Members at least two weeks before the date of the Annual General Meeting.
5.9 If Members are dissatisfied with the performance of the current Committee they may call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). This action requires one third of the current Voting Membership. These Members must inform The Committee in writing, with all their names and signatures clearly given.
5.10 The members who have called the EGM are now responsible for publicising and organising it in the same way that The Committee is responsible for an AGM. However, as the number of Agenda points to be raised at an EGM is likely to be fewer than those at an AGM, then the EGM may be held earlier than the normal six week period if two-thirds of the current Voting Membership votes to that effect.
6 Voting At General Meetings.
6.1 No Annual General Meeting will be valid unless it has a Quorum. This is 33% of the current Voting Membership.
6.2 Each Member shall have one vote per motion.
6.3 Unless otherwise stated in the Constitution, a simple majority is all that is required to elect a person to a post or pass a motion.
6.4 The following will be the method of voting recognised during any General Meeting:
6.4.1 For the election of non contested Committee positions, a show of hands of the members present will be sufficient.
6.4.2 In the event of a contested position (i.e. where two or more nominations have been received for one Committee post) then a secret ballet of the members present will be organized.
7 Disciplinary Procedures.
7.1 Should a Member be found guilty in a Court of Law to be in breach of the Law, then The Committee, after considering the matter properly, may summarily expel the said Member from The Club.
7.2 If a Member is alleged to have behaved in an improper but less serious manner than the aforementioned, then The Committee shall be entitled, after properly investigating the circumstances, and giving the matter due consideration, to
1. Dismiss the allegation and take no further action
2. Give the member a verbal warning that unless their behaviour/attitude improves they will be subject to further action as noted below
3. Give the member a written warning that any further incidents will result in that member being expelled
4. Expel the member from The Club
If a Sanction is deemed appropriate, (i.e. 2 3 or 4 above) The Committee shall take into account the severity of the improper behaviour, and the circumstances, before deciding on which level sanction to impose. However, The Committee does reserve the right to impose an immediate level 4 Sanction (i.e. Expulsion) for the most serious mis-conduct.
8 Data Protection and Club Website Use Policy.
8.1 All Members must agree to their personal information being stored on The Club database. The Club undertakes that this personal information will not be disclosed to or shared with any third party without the full and proper consent of the individual Member. The Club further undertakes to make sure this personal information will only be shared with Committee members who need this information to discharge their Club duties, and it is incumbent on those Committee members to ensure this information is kept securely. Upon leaving one of these posts, the retiring Committee Member must ensure this information is securely destroyed.
9 Insurance.
9.1 Because The Club owns no property, and is keen to keep subscriptions fees to a reasonable level, The Club has no Third Party or Liability Insurance. This means that when attending Club activities all members must accept and understand that they are doing so at their own risk. The Club cannot be held responsible or accountable for any accident, damage or injuries that may be sustained to members or member’s property, during the course of participating in, or hosting, a Club activity.
9.2 All Members by joining The Club agree to be bound by these conditions
10 Amendments to the Constitution.
10.1 Any Amendment to the Constitution shall only take place at a General Meeting of The Club. Any Amendment shall require a majority of two-thirds of the current Voting Membership to be accepted. Postal voting may be used.
October 2011