THE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE PHILATELIC SOCIETY, GENERAL RULES 

1. CONSTITUTION

i. The Society shall be known as the Nottinghamshire Philatelic Society.

ii.The objective of the society is to facilitate and encourage the practice and study of philately in all its forms.

iii.The Society shall provide facilities for meetings at which material relating to the study can be displayed and information provided and exchanged.

iv. The Society operates under the Laws and Statutes of the United Kingdom.

v. If the operation of the society is considered by the committee as impractical a winding-up procedure should be followed (see Appendix One for an acceptable method). It is important that any remaining assets should be donated to an organisation supporting the original objectives of the Society and that no member of the Society shall profit individually from those assets.

2. MEMBERSHIP

i. Membership is open to anyone who shares the objectives of the society. Applications for membership can be made in writing to the society Secretary and should include two references. Alternatively, an applicant can (at any society meeting) be proposed as a future member by an existing member and seconded by another existing member. The Secretary shall record this proposal as a posting and subject to approval by the committee and on the receipt by the treasurer of the current subscription the applicant will become a member of the society. The term member is defined for this document as a person who has paid an up to date subscription to the Society.

ii. All members are subject to the rules of the society. The committee shall have the power to cancel the membership rights and privileges of a member whose conduct is regarded as prejudicial to the society.

iii. At the discretion of the committee a member who has had long and distinguished membership may be offered a subscription free Honorary Life Membership. The Committee may also propose the election of a non-executive Honorary President in recognition of distinguished service to the Society.

3. ADMINISTRATION

i. The affairs of the Society will be managed by a committee elected by members at the Annual General Meeting. The committee shall consist of a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Vice-Chairman (The Executives) and up to four additional members. All of whom shall be proposed and seconded by the members, for election at the Annual General Meeting of the Society (AGM). The date and time of this meeting will be determined by the Committee.

ii. The number of additional members of the committee will be decided by the Executives with respect to the size of the Society Membership. Ex-officio members can be selected by the committee for particular duties. Only elected committee members shall have a vote in committee decisions.

iii. The Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and committee members, shall be elected for a one-year term. However, any unopposed Executive or committee member may remain in post. If a committee position is unfilled the committee shall either reorganise themselves to fulfil the absent role or co-opt a member to serve until the next AGM.

iv.  The committee shall have the power to make a decision on any matters concerning the Society not covered by rules. The committee may require approval of a decision by the Society membership at an extra-ordinary general meeting or an AGM before it can be enacted.

4. FINANCE

i. The annual subscription will be proposed by the Treasurer on the basis of his or her estimation of maintaining a viable and stable financial state for the society after all financial liabilities have been met. The amount shall be agreed by the committee before the AGM. Subscriptions will be due at the first society meeting after the post the AGM. The proposed subscription should be presented in Treasurer’s annual report to the membership for ratification at the Annual General Meeting.

ii. All money due to the Society shall be paid or forwarded to the Treasurer who will deposit into a bank account in thename of the Society. Additional accounts may be opened to operate particular aspects of the Society’s activities and managed by an appointed Member of the Society with the agreement of the Treasurer. Society funds not required immediately will be deposited in an account bearing interest or in such other way as recommended by the Treasurer and approved by the Committee. All accounts shall be operated on any two signatures from the Treasurer, the Secretary and the Chairman.

iii. Money shall be only drawn from accounts for payments which have been approved by the Chairman and/or the Treasurer.

iv. Any Officer or member of the Society shall be entitled to claim proper expenses for any outlay incurred in the pursuance of duties occasioned by membership of the Society. Claims should be submitted to Treasurer who may request such proof of expenditure and its purpose.

v. The accounts of the Society shall be examined annually before being presented for approval at the AGM. The examiner will be appointed by the committee prior to the AGM.

5. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION AND RULES OF THE SOCIETY:

i. The Constitution and Rules may be amended or modified at the Annual Generall Meeting of the Society provided that any proposal for change is made, in writing, to the Secretary at least one month before the meeting.

ii. The Committee will consider any proposed changes and if appropriate before it is put to the AGM and, if appropriate, express its collective view on the suggested change/s.

6. GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS

i. The Executives are legally responsible for implementing data protection within the Society. Personal information will only be held by the Secretary on behalf of Officers of the Society who have a legitimate requirement to have that information. The Society’s legal basis for keeping and processing members information is that the members consent is requested when they join the Society.

ii. Consent may be denied or withdrawn at any time by communicating with the Secretary. The Society will keep personal information for as long as membership remains current and for 3 years after membership has ceased.

iii. The Society will collect and process personal information for a number of purposes, including but not limited to; maintaining up to date personal details relating to membership, to ensure effective communication within the Society, keeping financial records, to allow effective communication with and between members.

iv. The Society will not share personal information with anybody outside the Society without member’s explicit consent.

v. If a third party requests that information is circulated to the membership (such as, for example, notification of a upcoming event), this may be undertaken by an officer of the Society to whom the third party provides the material to be publicised. The Society will not provide its membership list to any other party.

vi. Members have the right to access any personal information that the Society hold about them. Members also have the right to ask that for any incorrect information is corrected.

APPENDIX ONE (Suggested Procedure for Winding-up The Society)

• The management committee meet and formally decide it is necessary to close the organisation

• The management committee recommend closure to all the members, at a Special General Meeting called for the purpose; this meeting must be quorate and must formally approve the decision

• Minutes of the meeting, which record the wording of the special resolution, must be kept. The minutes should use wording such as: A Special General Meeting of the above named organisation, called for the purpose of recommending closure to the members was duly convened and held at (place) ………... on (date)………. It was agreed by the members present that the organisation should close. The members of the committee were instructed to proceed with closing the organisation in an orderly and proper manner.

• The minutes or resolution should indicate how the assets of the organisation will be allocated after the settling of any outstanding liabilities.

After the meeting

• The committee should appoint someone whose job it is to ensure that all assets and liabilities are identified. This is usually the treasurer.

• If there are enough funds to meet the financial obligations (staff salaries, redundancy payments, outstanding bills etc) then these are paid off.

• Contracts terminated and remaining assets distributed as specified in the governing document.

• If there are not enough funds to meet the financial obligations the management committee should seek help to ensure that the assets are properly disposed of and to reduce the risk of personal liability for them as individuals. Depending on the amount of money involved, help should be sought from the organisation’s accountant / independent examiner or solicitor (Connected Voice may be able to advise).

• The final accounts must be prepared, before the formal winding up. The following should be informed (if applicable to your organisation):

• - Employees, employees’ representatives and unions

• - The organisation’s funders, accountant and auditor / independent examiner, solicitor, insurers or insurance broker and bank manager

• - Immediate past committee members (current members should already know)

• - Creditors

• - Service users

• - Other organisations, such as Connected Voice, that are involved with your organisation

• - Any other organisation or person that the management committee thinks relevant

Once the organisation has been dissolved

• Close the bank account.

• Shred any paper records you do not need to keep (see below for more information).

• Clean and reformat computer hard drives so that files and documentation relating to the organisation is no longer available.

• Destroy headed notepaper, compliment slips etc.

• Close the organisation’s website and email account.

Record retention

• Most formal records relating to an organisation should be kept for seven years (the six previous years plus the year of closure itself); but there are longer timescales for some documents

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