Governance

Constitution -

1. Name -

The Club shall be known as the North West Bristol Camera Club.

2. Club Objective -

This is to foster the art and practice of photography by means of lectures, by demonstrations of processes and techniques and by outings, exhibitions and regular competitions within the club and with other clubs. The club will meet weekly on Tuesdays throughout the season. The season will run from January to June and September to December.

3. Qualifications for Membership -

Membership shall be open to any person who is interested in photography.

4. Management -

Management of the club shall be in the hands of a committee consisting of -

• Chair
  
  

• Treasurer
  
  

• Secretary
  
  

• Programme Secretary
  
  

• Competition Secretary
  
  

• Club WCPF Contact
  
  

• Webmaster
  
  

• Up to two Ordinary Members.

The committee shall have the power to co-opt additional members so as to deal with special circumstances or to obtain the benefits of individual skill or experience.

The committee shall meet as frequently as business requires and members must be given 14 days’ notice of a forthcoming meeting. A quorum for a meeting shall be four members.

Club programme - The Programme Secretary in conjunction with at least one ordinary club member will arrange the Club's activities and publish a programme at appropriate intervals. The Programme should be communicated to the Management Committee before publication to the full club membership.

5. Duties of Officers -

Chairman -

To take the chair at meetings of the club and see that business is conducted in an orderly manner, in accordance with this Constitution. To act as the club's representative to outside bodies. To convene committee meetings.

Treasurer -

To collect all subscriptions and monies due and to make all necessary payments to ensure the smooth running of the Club. To maintain an income and expenditure account and report the financial situation at committee meetings. To draw up an end-of-year balance sheet for auditing and subsequent approval at the Annual General Meeting.

Secretary -

To keep minutes of Committee Meetings, Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings and to conduct correspondence on behalf of the Club except in matters relating to competitions and programmes.

Programme Secretary -

To keep records of programme committee meetings and so compile formal programmes for club events. Make contact with prospective speakers and confirm dates as required. Inform club members of programme content and update and disseminate programme information as relevant.

Competition Secretary -

To organise all aspects of the internal points competition and keep such records as are necessary to select winners of annual awards.

Club WCPF Contact -

As the nominated club representative to the Western Counties Photographic Federation (WCPF) the Club Contact will disseminate information received from the WCPF to relevant committee and club members. (This role could be carried out by another member of the committee, or by an ordinary member of the Club.)

Webmaster -

To maintain an internet website on behalf of the Club to provide information about Club activities to members and to the general public.

To manage the members-only emailing list and members' access to communal file-sharing folders.

6. Annual General Meeting (AGM) -

An AGM shall be held in December of each year (or early in January of the following year) to undertake the following -

• • To receive and, if possible, approve the minutes of the previous year's AGM.

• • To receive and, if possible, adopt the Treasurer's report.

• • To decide the annual subscription for the coming year

• • To elect officers and committee members in accordance with item 5 above.

• • To vote upon motions notified to the General Secretary at least 14 days before the AGM.

• • To deal with any relevant business sanctioned by the Chairman.

Elections and approval of reports and other decisions to be voted upon shall first be proposed and seconded by members present. A quorum for an AGM shall be one third of paid-up members.

7. Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) -

An EGM may be convened by means of a written request handed to the General Secretary and signed by at least four club members. The request must state the purpose of the meeting and be received by the Secretary at least 14 days before the desired date of the meeting. The agenda shall be announced to members at least 7 days before the date of the meeting. A quorum for an EGM shall be one third of paid-up members.

8. Communication with Members -

Notification of and agendas for AGMs, and EGMs shall be sent to members via the ‘Clubtalk’ email system, and notified at appropriate club meetings.

9. Annual Subscriptions -

The subscription year shall be from 1st January to 31st December. Any member's subscription not paid by March 1st may render the person's membership invalid.

10. Level of Subscriptions -

The annual subscription for a Working Member (the basic subscription) shall be determined at each AGM. The amount of a room payment contribution, due at each club meeting shall also be decided at the AGM. [This is currently under review, 01/2025.]

11. New Members' Subscriptions -

A member joining during the year shall be required to pay a pro rata subscription of the fee, ie, 1/12 of the subscription for each month remaining in the year. [This is currently under review, 01/2025.]

12. Termination of Membership -

A member may be required to relinquish membership if, in the opinion of the committee, he/she has behaved in a manner likely to bring the Club into disrepute. The member shall be given the opportunity to explain his/her behaviour to the Committee, following which the Committee's decision for or against expulsion will be final.

13. Dissolution -

In the event of dissolution of The Club, an EGM shall be called to appoint two liquidators who will be required to dispose of any saleable property and add the proceeds to any available cash in The Club's account. The total sum resulting shall be used to defray any outstanding expenses and the remaining balance shall be donated to a local charity to be determined by the Committee.

14. Amendments -

This Constitution may only be altered or added to at an AGM or EGM.

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

North West Bristol Camera Club (NWBCC) Privacy Notice -

WHAT data do we hold?

• We hold each member's email address(s), home address and phone number(s).

WHO do we share it with?

• Current NWBCC members only.

WHY do we hold it?

• To enable us to contact members about NWBCC activities and events, and matters members have raised with us.

• To enable members to use 'cloud' collaborative tools to participate in NWBCC activities.

HOW will we contact members?

• We will normally contact members by email, very occasionally by phone or post if this is more appropriate.

HOW LONG do we keep member's data for?

• Until NWBCC membership ends, or we are asked to delete it.

What will we NEVER do?

• We will never pass member's personal details on to another organisation or person, unless required to do so by law or with the member's consent.

CONSENT

• A request to become a member of NWBCC will be taken as consenting to the above Policy.

For more information on how GDPR applies to small clubs, see https://www.dataguard.com/blog/gdpr-for-small-clubs-and-societies.

The Online Safety Act 2023

The Club has assessed the Online Safety Act 2023 and Ofcom's associated guidance (as at 1 February 2025), and determined that the Club's online services all fall outside the scope of the Regulations.