Constitution
Adopted on 3 May 2010 as amended on 17 December 2010.
PART 1
1. Adoption of the Constitution
The association and its property will be administered and
managed in accordance with the provisions in Parts 1 and 2 of this
constitution.
2. The Name
The association’s name is……. RBBA ………………………………………………
(and in this document it is called the Charity)
3. The Objects
The Charity’s objects (the Objects) are:
1) Advancement of Indian Art Cultures Heritage and
Education in the form of traditional music, dance and drama amongst the people
of the Asian community;
2) To advance Hindu religion in particular religious
values amongst people of Berkshire and the surrounding counties by
a) Organising Hindu religious ceremonies
b) Performing traditional religious rites and practices
3) To provide financial need and relief of the poor, sick
and children in the world as the trustees see fit.
4. Application of the Income and Property
1) The income and property of the Charity shall be
applied solely towards the promotion of the Objects.
2) A Trustee may pay out of, or be reimbursed from, the
property of the Charity reasonable expenses properly incurred by him or her
when acting on behalf of the Charity.
3) None of the income or property of the Charity may be
paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend bonus or
otherwise by way of profit to any member of the Charity. This does not prevent:
a) a member who is not also a Trustee form receiving
reasonable and proper remuneration for any goods or services supplied to the
Charity;
b) a Trustee from:
i. buying goods or services from the Charity upon the
same terms as other members or members of the public;
ii. receiving a benefit from the Charity in the capacity
of a beneficiary of the Charity, provided that the Trustees comply with the provisions
of sub clause (6) of this clause, or as a member of the Charity and upon the
same terms as other members;
c) the purchase of indemnity insurance for the Trustees
against any liability that by virtue of any rule of law would otherwise attach
to a Trustee or other officer in respect of any negligence, default breach of duty
or breach of trust of which he or she may be guilty in relation to the Charity
but excluding:
i. fines;
ii. costs of unsuccessfully defending criminal prosecutions
for offences arising out of the fraud, dishonesty or wilful or reckless misconduct
of the Trustee or other officer;
iii. liabilities to the Charity that result from conduct
that the Trustee or other officer knew or ought to have known was not in the
best interests of the Charity or in respect of which the person concerned did
not are whether that conduct was in the best interests of the Charity or not.
4) No Trustee may be paid or receive any other benefit
for being a Trustee.
5) A Trustee may:
a) sell goods, services or any interest in land to the
Charity;
b) be employed by or receive any remuneration from the
Charity;
c) receive any other financial benefit from the Charity;
If:
d) he or she is not prevented from so doing by sub-clause
(4) of this
clause; and
e) the benefit is permitted by sub-clause (3) of this
clause; or
f) the benefit is authorised by the Trustees in
accordance with the conditions in sub-clause (6) of this clause.
6) Trustee
a) If it is proposed that a Trustee should receive a
benefit from the Charity that is not already permitted under sub-clause (3) of
this clause
he, or she must:
i. Declare his or her interest in the proposal;
ii. Be absent from that part of any meeting at which the
proposal is discussed and take no
part in any discussion of it;
iii. Not to be counted in determining whether the meeting
quorate;
iv. Not vote on the proposal.
b) In cases covered by sub-clause (5) of this clause, the
Trustees who do not stand to receive the proposed benefit must be satisfied
that it is in the interests of the Charity to contract with or employ that
Trustee rather than with someone who is not a Trustee and they must record the reason
for their decision in the minutes, in reaching that decision the Trustees must
balance the advantage of contracting with or employing a Trustee against the
disadvantage of doing so (especially the loss of the Trustee’s services as a
result of dealing with the Trustee’s conflict of interest).
c) The Trustees may only authorise a transaction falling
within paragraphs 5(a) – (c) of this clause if the Trustee body comprises a majority
of Trustees who have received any such benefit.
d) If the Trustees fail to follow this procedure, the
resolution to confer a benefit upon the Trustee will be void and the Trustee
must repay to the Charity the value of any benefit received by the Trustee from
the Charity.
7) A Trustee must absent himself or herself from any
discussions of the Trustees in which it is possible that a conflict will arise
between his or her duty to act solely in the interests of the Charity and any
personal interest (including but not limited to any personal financial
interest) and take no part in the voting upon the matter.
8) In this Clause 4, “Trustee” shall include any person
firm or company connected with the Trustee.
5. Dissolution
1) If the members resolve to dissolve the Charity the
Trustees will remain in office as Charity Trustees and be responsible for
winding up the affairs of the Charity in accordance with this clause.
2) The Trustees must collect in all the assets of the
Charity and must pay or make provision for all the liabilities of the Charity.
3) The Trustees must apply any remaining property or
money:
a) directly for the Objects;
b) by transfer to any Charity or charities for purposes
the same as or similar to the Charity
c) in such other manner as the Charity Commission for
England and Wales (“the Commission”) may approve in writing in advance.
4) The members may pass a resolution before or at the
same time as the resolution to dissolve the Charity specifying the manner in
which the Trustees are to apply the remaining property or assets of the Charity
and Trustees must comply with the resolution f it is consistent with paragraphs
(a)-(c) inclusive in sub-clause (3) above.
5) In no circumstances shall the net assets of the
Charity be paid to or distributed among the members of the Charity (except to a
member that is itself a Charity).
6) The Trustees must notify the Commission promptly that
the Charity has been dissolved. If the Trustees are obliged to send the
Charity’s accounts to the Commission for the accounting period which ended
before its dissolution, they must send the Commission the Charity’s final
accounts.
6. Amendments
1) The Charity may amend any provision contained in Part
1 of this Constitution provided that:
a) no amendment may be made that would have the effect of
making the Charity cease to be a Charity at law;
b) no amendment may be made to alter the Objects if the
change would not be within the reasonable contemplation of the members of or donors
to the Charity;
c) no amendment may be made to clause 4 without the prior
written consent of the Commission;
d) any resolution to amend a provision of Part 1 of this
constitution is passed by not less that two thirds of the members present and
voting at a general meeting.
2) Any provision contained in Part 2 of this constitution
may be amended, proved that any such amendment is made by resolution passed by
a simple majority of the members present and voting at a general meeting.
3) A copy of any resolution amending this constitution
shall be sent to the Commission within twenty one days of it being passed.
PART 2
7. Membership
1) Membership is open to individuals over eighteen, or
organisations who are approved by the Trustees; provided he / she
a) Accepts and actively supports the objectives of the
association;
b) Pays a voluntary amount as annual membership fees.
2) The Trustees:
a) May only refuse an application for membership if, acting
reasonably and properly, they consider it to be in the best interests of the
Charity to refuse the application.
b) Must inform the applicant in writing of the reasons
for the refusal within twenty-one days of the decision.
c) Must consider any written representations the
applicant may make about the decision. The Trustees’ decision following any
written representations must be notified to the applicant in writing but shall
be final.
3) Membership is not transferable to anyone else.
4) The Trustees must keep a register of names and
addresses of the members which must be made available to any member upon
request.
5) Membership will be of two types:
a) Full membership of the association will be limited to
the founding members who have adopted this constitution. An annual subscription
will be paid by all members. The amount to be paid yearly will be decided by
the Executive Committee at its first meeting.
b) Associate membership will be available to those who
would like to join the Association and accepts and actively supports the
objectives of the Association, on payment of an annual membership fee which
will be decided by the Executive Committee at its first meeting. Following a
period of three years of being an Associate member and being actively involved
with the association, the executive committee may co-opt them into full
membership following receipt of a written application.
c) Membership of a person from a family will also include
the other direct family members i.e. spouse, partner, and children. The membership
fee which will be set by the Executive Committee at its first meeting and will
extend to the family as a whole and rather than a separate fee for each person
in the family.
6) Non members can take active participation in social
and religious activities.
8. Termination of Membership
Membership is terminated if:
1) The member dies or, if it is an organisation, ceases
to exist;
2) The members resigns by written notice to the Charity
unless, after the resignation, there would be less than two members;
3) Any sum due from the member to the Charity is not paid
in full within six months of it falling due;
4) The member is removed from membership by a resolution
of the Trustees that it is in the best interests of the Charity that his or her
membership is terminated. A resolution to remove a member from membership may
only be passed if:
a) The member has been given at least twenty one days’
notice in writing of the meeting of the Trustees at which the resolution will
be proposed and the reasons why it is to be proposed;
b) The member or, at the option of the member, the
member’s representative (who need not be a member of the Charity) has been allowed
to make representations to the meeting.
9. General meetings
1) The Charity must hold a general meeting within twelve
months of the date of the adoption of this constitution.
2) An annual general meeting must be held in each
subsequent year and not more than fifteen months may elapse between successive
annual general meetings.
3) All general meetings other than annual general
meetings shall be called special general meetings.
4) The Trustees may call a special general meeting at any
time.
5) The Trustees must call a special general meeting if
requested to do so in writing by at least ten members or one tenth of the
membership, which ever is the greater. The request must state the nature of the
business that is to be discussed. If the Trustees
fail to hold the meeting within twenty-eight days of the
request, the members may proceed to call a special general meeting bit in doing
so they comply with the provisions of this Constitution.
10. Notice
1) The minimum period of notice required to hold any
general meeting of the Charity is fourteen clear days from the date on which
the notice is deemed to have been given.
2) A general meeting may be called by shorter notice, if
it is so agreed, by all the members entitled to attend and vote.
3) The notice must specify the date, time and place of
the meeting and the general nature of the business to be transacted. If the
meeting is to be annual general meeting, the notice must say so.
4) The notice must be given to all the members and to the
Trustees.
11. Quorum
1) No business shall be transacted at any general meeting
unless a quorum is present.
2) A quorum is;
_ 10 members entitled to vote upon the business to be
conducted at the meeting; or
_ 50% of the total membership at the time,
3) The authorised representative of a member organisation
shall be counted in the quorum.
4) If:
a) A quorum is not present within half an hour from the
time appointed for the meeting; or
b) During a meeting a quorum ceases to be present,
The meeting shall be adjourned to such time and place as
the Trustees shall determine.
5) The Trustees must re-convene the meeting and must give
at least seven clear days’ notice of the re-convened meeting stating the date
time and place of the meeting.
6) If no quorum is present at the re-convened meeting
within fifteen minutes of the time specified for the start of the meeting the
members present at that time shall constitute the quorum for that meeting.
12. Chair
1) General meetings shall be chaired by the person who
has been elected as Chair (President);
2) If there is no such person or he or she is not present
within fifteen minutes of the time specified for the start of the meeting the
members present at that time shall constitute the quorum for that meeting.
3) If there is only one Trustee present and willing to
act, he or she shall chair the meeting.
4) If no Trustee is present and willing to chair the
meeting within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding it, the
members present and entitled to vote must choose one of their numbers to chair
the meeting.
13. Adjournments
1) The members present at a meeting may resolve that the
meeting shall be adjourned.
2) The person who is chairing the meeting must decide the
date time and place at which meeting is to be re-convened unless those details
are specified in the resolution.
3) No business shall be conducted at an adjourned meeting
unless it could properly have been conducted at the meeting had the adjournment
not taken place.
4) If a meeting is adjourned by a resolution of the members
for more than seven days, at least seven clear days’ notice shall be given of
the re-convened meeting stating the date time and place of the meeting.
14. Votes
1) Each member [that is one person from the direct family
as in one vote per family] shall have one vote but if there is an equality of
votes the person who is chairing the meeting shall have a casting vote in
addition to any other vote he or she may
have.
2) A resolution in writing signed by each member (or in
the case of a member that is an organisation, by its authorised representative)
who would have been entitled to vote upon it had it been proposed at a general
meeting shall be effective. It may
comprise several copies each signed by or on behalf of
one or more members.
15. Representatives of Other Bodies
1) Any organisation that is a member of the Charity may
nominate any person to act as its representative at any meeting of the Charity.
2) The organisation must give written notice to the
Charity of the name of its representative. The nominee shall not be entitled to
represent the organisation at any meeting unless the notice has been received
by the Charity. The nominee may continue to represent the organisation until
written notice to the contrary is received by the Charity.
3) Any notice given to the Charity will be conclusive
evidence that the nominee is entitled to represent the organisation or that his
or her authority has been revoked. The Charity shall not be required to
consider whether the nominee has been properly appointed by the organisation.
16. Officers and Trustees
1) The Charity and its property shall be managed and
administered by a committee comprising the Officers and other members elected
in accordance with this Constitution. The Officers and other members of the
committee shall be the Trustees of the Charity and in this constitution are
together called “the Trustees”.
2) The Charity shall have the following Officers (whom
together will form the executive committee):
_ A Chair,
_ A Secretary
_ A Joint Secretary,
_ A Treasurer,
_ A Joint Treasurer
_ Secretary/ Advisor to the Charity
_ Cultural Secretary
_ Brochure Secretary
3) Function of the Officers include::
a) President
i. Will call executive committee meetings giving fourteen
days’ notice to all members with agenda for the meeting;
ii. Will preside all meetings of the Charity;
iii. Will cast his/her vote in the event of a tie;
iv. Will approach any VIP as may be necessary with the
General Secretary or Treasurer for the benefit of the Association.
b) General Secretary/ Joint secretary
i. Will execute the functions of the president in his/her
absence;
ii. Will carry out decisions taken by the executive committee;
iii. Will place the minutes of the last meeting before
the executive committee meeting;
iv. Will be the ex – officio member of the newly elected
executive committee.
c) Treasurer/Joint Treasurer
i. Will execute all financial transactions on behalf of
the executive committee;
ii. Will maintain the Account of the Association;
iii. The Treasurer or Joint Treasurer can issue cheques
jointly with the any one of the 2 other counter signatories;
iv. Will advice Bank as and when necessary;
v. Will place the audited statement of the account of the
Association before the Annual general meeting once it has been approved by the executive
committee;
vi. Will prepare the annual return for the charity commission;
vii. Will be the ex officio member of the incoming newly
elected executive committee.
d) Secretary/Advisor to the Charity:
i. Will maintain a register of the association, minutes
of the executive committee meeting and annual general meeting;
ii. Will prepare the annual report for the charity commission;
iii. Will assist in the running of the Office of the Charity.
e) Cultural secretary:
i. Will organise cultural events for the association
ii. Will liaise with other cultural bodies to facilitate
the exchange of art and culture
iii. Will promote traditional art and culture
f) Brochure secretary
i. Will publish the annual magazine/ newsletter for the
association
ii. Will promote the art and literary works of the younger
generation through the brochure
4) A Trustee must be a member of the Charity or the
nominated representative of an organisation that is a member of the Charity.
5) No one may be appointed a Trustee if he or she would
be disqualified from acting under the provisions of Clause 19.
6) The number of Trustees shall be not less than three
but (unless otherwise determined by a resolution of the Charity in general
meeting) shall not be subject to any maximum.
7) The first Trustees (including Officers) shall be those
persons elected as Trustees and Officers at the meeting which this constitution
is adopted.
8) A Trustee may not appoint anyone to act on his or her
behalf at meetings of the Trustees.
17. The Appointment of Trustees
1) The Charity in the general meeting shall elect the
Officers and the other Trustees.
a) A total number of not more than 10 Trustees will be
appointed;
b) The trustees will be appointed on the day the
constitution is adopted.
2) The Trustees may appoint any person who is willing to
act as a Trustee. Subject to sub-clause 5(b) of this clause, they may also
appoint Trustees to act as Officers.
3) Each of the Trustees shall retire with effect from the
conclusion of the annual general meeting next after his or her appointment but
shall be eligible for reelection at that annual general meeting.
4) No-one may be elected a Trustee or an Officer at any
annual general meeting unless prior to the meeting the Charity is given a
notice that:
a) Is signed by a member entitled to vote at the meeting;
b) States the member’s intention to propose the
appointment of a person as a Trustee or as an officer;
c) Is signed by the person who is to be proposed to show
his or her willingness to be appointed.
5) The appointment of a Trustee,
a) Whether by the Charity in general meeting or by the
other Trustees, must not cause the number of Trustees to exceed any number
fixed in accordance with this constitution as the maximum number of Trustees.
b) The Trustees may not appoint a person to be an Officer
if a person has already been elected or appointed to that office and has not
vacated the office.
18. Powers of Trustees
1) The Trustees must manage the business of the Charity
and have the following powers in order to further the Objects (but not for any
other purpose):
a) To raise funds. In doing so, the Trustees must not
undertake any substantial permanent trading activity and must comply with any relevant
statutory regulations;
b) To buy, take on lease or in exchange, hire or
otherwise acquire any property and to maintain and equip it for use;
c) To sell, lease or otherwise dispose of all or any part
of the property belonging to the Charity. In exercising this power, the
Trustees must comply as appropriate with sections 36 and 37 of the Charities
Act 1993, as amended by the Charities Act 2006;
d) To borrow money and to charge the whole or any part of
the property belonging to the Charity as security for repayment of the money borrowed.
The Trustees must comply as appropriate with sections 38 and 39 of the
Charities Act 1993 as amended by the Charities Act 2006, if they intend to
mortgage land;
e) To co-operate with other charities, voluntary bodies
and statutory authorities and to exchange information and advice with them;
f) To establish or support any charitable trusts,
associations or institutions formed for any of the charitable purposes included
in the Objects;
g) To acquire, merge with or enter into any partnership
or joint venture arrangement with any other Charity formed for any of the
Objects;
h) To set aside income as a reserve against future expenditure
but only in accordance with a written policy about reserves;
i) To obtain and pay for such goods and services as are
necessary for carrying out the work of the Charity;
j) To open and operate such bank and other accounts as
the Trustees consider necessary and to invest funds and to delegate the
management of funds in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as
the Trustees of a trust are permitted to do by the Trustee Act 2000;
k) To do all such other lawful things as are necessary
for the achievement of the Objects;
2) No alteration of this constitution or any special
resolution shall have retrospective effect to invalidate any prior act of the
Trustees.
3) Any meeting of Trustees at which a quorum is present
at the time the relevant decision is made may exercise all the powers
exercisable by the Trustees.
19. Disqualification and Removal of Trustees
A Trustee shall cease to hold office if he or she:
1) Is disqualified for acting as a Trustee by virtue of
section 72 of the Charities Act 1993 (or any statutory re-enactment or
modification of that provision);
2) Ceases to be a member of the Charity;
3) Becomes incapable by reason of mental disorder,
illness or injury of managing and administering his or her own affairs;
4) Resigns as a Trustee by notice to the Charity (but
only if at least two Trustees will remain in office when the notice of
resignation is to take effect); or
5) Is absent without the permission of the Trustees from
all their meetings held within a period of six consecutive months and the
Trustees resolve that his or her office be vacated.
20. Proceedings of Trustees
1) The Trustees may regulate their proceedings as they
think fit, subject to the provisions of this constitution.
2) Any Trustee may call a meeting of the Trustees.
3) The secretary must call a meeting of the Trustees if
requested to do so by a Trustee.
4) Questions arising at a meeting must be decided by a
majority of votes.
5) In the case of an equality of votes, the person who
chairs the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.
6) No decision may be made by a meeting of the Trustees
unless a quorum is present at the time the decision is purported to be made.
7) The quorum shall be two or the number nearest to one
third of the total Trustees, whichever is the greater or such larger number as
may be decided from time to time by the Trustees.
8) A Trustee shall not be counted in the quorum present
when any decision is made about a matter upon which that Trustee is not entitled
to vote.
9) If the number of Trustees is less than the number
fixed as the quorum, the continuing Trustees or Trustee may act only for the
purpose of filing vacancies or of calling a general meeting.
10) The person elected as the Chair shall chair meetings
of the Trustees.
11) If the Chair is unwilling to preside or is not
present within ten minutes after the time appointed for the meeting, the
Trustees present may appoint one of their number to chair that meeting.
12) The person appointed to chair meetings of the
Trustees shall have no functions or powers except those conferred by this
constitution or delegated to him or her in writing by the Trustees.
13) A resolution in writing signed by all the Trustees
entitled to receive notice of a meeting of Trustees or of a committee of
Trustees and to vote upon the resolution shall be as valid and effectual as if
it had been passed at a meeting of the Trustees or (as the case may be) a
committee of Trustees duly convened and held.
14) The resolution in writing may compromise several
documents containing the text of the resolution in life form each signed by one
or more Trustees.
21. Delegation
1) The Trustees may delegate any of their powers or
functions to a committee of two or more Trustees but the terms of any such
delegation must be recorded in the minute book.
2) The Trustees may impose conditions when delegating,
including the conditions that:
_ The relevant powers are to be exercised exclusively by the
committee to whom they delegate
_ No expenditure may be incurred on behalf of the charity
except in accordance with a budget previously agreed with the Trustees.
3) The Trustees may revoke or alter a delegation.
4) All acts and proceedings of any committees must be
fully and promptly reported to the Trustees.
22. Irregularities in Proceedings
1) Subject to sub-clause (2) of this clause, all acts
done by a meeting of Trustees, or of a committee of Trustees, shall be valid
notwithstanding the participation in any vote of a Trustee:
_ Who was disqualified from holding office;
_ Who had previously retired or who had been obliged by
the constitution to vacate office;
_ Who was not entitled to vote on the matter, whether by
reason of a conflict of interest or otherwise.
If without:
_ The vote of that Trustee; and
_ That Trustee being counted in the quorum,
The decision has been made by a majority of the Trustees
at a quorate meeting.
2) Sub-clause (1) of this clause does not permit a
Trustee to keep any benefit that may be conferred upon him or her by a
resolution of the Trustees or of a committee of Trustees if the resolution
would otherwise have been void.
3) No resolution or act of
a) The Trustees
b) Any committee of the Trustees
c) The Charity in the general meeting shall be
invalidated by reason of the failure to give notice to any Trustee or member or
by reason of any procedural defect in the meeting unless it is shown that the
failure or defect has materially prejudiced a member or the beneficiaries of
the Charity.
23. Minutes
The Trustees must keep minutes of all:
1) Appointments of Officers and Trustees made by the
Trustees;
2) Proceedings at meetings of the Charity;
3) Meetings of the Trustees and committees of Trustees
including:
_ The names of the Trustees present at the meeting;
_ The decisions made at the meetings; and
_ Where appropriate the reasons for the decisions.
24. Annual Report and Return and Accounts
1) The Trustees must comply with their regulations under
the charities Act 1993 with regard to:
a) The keeping of accounting records for the Charity;
b) The preparation of annual statements of account for
the Charity;
c) The transmission of the statements of account to the
Charity;
d) The preparation of an Annual Report and its
transmission to the Commission;
e) The preparation of an Annual Return and its
transmission to the Commission.
2) Accounts must be prepared in accordance with the
provisions of any Statement of Recommended Practice issued by the Commission,
unless the Trustees are required to prepare accounts in accordance with the
provisions of such a Statement prepared by another body.
25. Registered particulars
The Trustees must notify the Commission promptly of any
changes to the Charity’s entry on the Central Register of Charities.
26. Property
1) The Trustees must ensure the title to:
a) All land held by or in trust for the Charity that is
not vested in the Official Custodian of Charities; and
b) All investments held by or on behalf of the Charity, is
vested either in a corporation entitled to act as custodian Trustee or in not
less that three individuals appointed by them as holding Trustees.
2) The terms of the appointment of any holding Trustees
must provide that they may act only in accordance with lawful directions of the
Trustees and that if they do so the will not be liable for the acts and
defaults of the Trustees or of the members of the Charity.
3) The Trustees may remove the holding Trustees at any
time.
27. Repair and Insurance
The Trustees must keep in repair and insure to their full
value against fire and other usual risks all the buildings of the charity
(except those buildings that are required to be kept in repair and insured by a
tenant). They must also insure suitably in respect of public liability and
employer’s liability.
28. Notices
1) Any notice required by this constitution to be given
to or by any person must be:
a) in writing; or
b) given using electronic communications.
2) The Charity may give any notice to a member either:
a) personally; or
b) by sending it by post in a prepaid envelope addressed
to the member at his or her address; or
c) by leaving it at the address of the member; or
d) by giving it using electronic communications to the
member’s address.
3) A member who does not register an address with the
Charity or who registers only a postal address which is not within the United
Kingdom shall not be entitled to receive any notice from the Charity.
4) A member present in person at any meeting of the
Charity shall be deemed to have received notice of the meeting and of the
purposes for which it was called.
5)
a) Proof that an envelope containing a notice was
properly addressed, prepaid and posted shall be conclusive evidence that the
notice was given.
b) Proof that a notice contained in an electronic
communication was sent in accordance with guidance issued by the Institute of
Chartered Secretaries and Administrators shall be conclusive evidence that the notice
was given.
c) A notice shall be deemed to be given 48 hours after
the envelope containing it was posted or, in the case of an electronic communication,
48 hours after it was sent.
29. Rules
1) The Trustees may from time to time make rules or
bye-laws for the conduct of their business.
2) The bye-laws may regulate the following matters but
are not restricted to them:
a) The admission of members of the Charity (including the
admission of organisations to membership) and the rights and privileges of such
members, and the entrance fees, subscriptions and other fees or payments to be
made by members;
b) The conduct of members of the Charity in relation to
one another, and to the Charity’s employees and volunteers;
c) The setting aside of the whole or any part or parts of
the Charity’s premises at any particular time or times or for any particular
purpose or purposes;
d) The procedure at general meeting and meetings of the
Trustees in so far as such procedure is not regulated by this Constitution;
e) The keeping and authenticating of records. (If
regulations made under this clause permit records of the Charity to be kept in
electronic form and requires a Trustee to sign the record, the regulations must
specify a method of recording the signature that enables it to be properly authenticated.)
f) Generally, all such matters as are commonly the
subject matter of the rules of an unincorporated association.
3) The Charity in general meeting has the power to alter,
add to or repeal the rules or bye-laws.
4) The Trustees must adopt such means as they think
sufficient to bring the rules and bye-laws to the notice of members of the
Charity.
5) The rules or bye-laws shall be binding on all members
of the Charity. No rule or bye-law shall be inconsistent with, or shall affect
or repeal anything contained in, this constitution.
30. Bye-laws which have been created for purposes of the
constitution:
1) Powers
a) The business of the Association will be controlled and
run by the Executive committee (who consist of the Officers listed in Clause
16) with the help of the office bearer;
b) The members of the executive committee and its office
bearer will be elected by the members of the Association and will hold office
for one year till the next annual general meeting of the ensuing year. 50% of members
of the committee will need to be present for the meeting to be quorate.
2) Function of executive committee
a) In the first meeting of the newly elected committee,
the outgoing office bearers will hand over charge to the newly elected
committee
b) May be able to co-opt members to replace or following
resignation or death of any member
c) May be able to co-opt up to three new associate
members where the committee is of the opinion that their presence will be
beneficial to the association, following receipt of a written application
expressing intent
d) May appoint subcommittee’s to deal with special
matters of importance and may determine their terms of references, power and composition.
The President, General Secretary and Treasurer will automatically become member
of the subcommittee. The subcommittee will place its recommendation to the
executive committee.
e) Will operate a bank account to carry out the financial
transaction of the association. All cheques will be signed by the treasurer or
joint treasurer and one of the officers. No cheque shall be issued on behalf of
the Association without the signature of two signatories.
f) Appoint an auditor to audit the account of the
Association if there are any irregularities
g) The quorum of the committee meeting will require the
presence of fifty percent of the members of the committee
h) Any addition / amendment of the constitution will have
to be discussed and accepted by the executive committee
3) Bank Accounts
a) The Association will operate a bank account to carry
out the financial transaction of the association.
b) All cheques will be signed by the treasurer and one of
the officers.
c) No cheque shall be issued on behalf of the Association
without the
signature of two signatories.
4) Reserves from income received
a) For any financial year will be carried over to the funds
of the next years expenses incurred in respect of the activities of the
association.
5) Contribution to chosen charities:
a) The association will chose charities to meet the
charitable objectives of the association. Each year it will support one charity
financially which shall be decided by the members of the association. The
amount to be donated will be decided yearly based on the amount of reserves the
association has at the end of the financial year.
b) However this does not restrict the charity from helping
other charities by any other means deemed as useful to those charities.