Gwent Family History Society
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Registered Charity No. 702333
CONSTITUTION
October 2016
CONSTITUTION ADOPTED 18th November, 1989
DATE REGISTERED AS A CHARITY 15th January, 1990
REGISTRATION NUMBER 702333
CONSTITUTION AMENDED :
November 17th, 1990 [Registration confirmed Jan.,1999. Ref:RME-123405-VCW]
November 7th, 1992 [Registration confirmed Jan.,1999. Ref:RME-123405-VCW]
February 13th, 1993 [Registration confirmed Jan.,1999. Ref:RME-123405-VCW]
November 18th, 1995 [Registration confirmed Jan.,1999. Ref:RME-123405-VCW]
October 5th, 1996 [Registered Dec.,1996 – Ref: VCW-702333-RDF2060-RME]
October 3rd, 1998 [Registered Jan.,1999 – Ref:RME-123405-VCW]
November 2nd, 2002 [Registration acknowledged 14th January 2003]
October 20th, 2012 (20121114 – Charity’s file and the Register updated – to Mr Hough CC:07901720 14th Nov., 2012)
October 15th 2016
GWENT FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY CONSTITUTION.
1. NAME
The name of the Society shall be Gwent Family History Society, hereinafter referred to as “the Society”.
2. OBJECTS
The objects of the Society shall be:
(A) To promote and encourage the public study of British family history, genealogy, heraldry and local history with particular reference to the County of Gwent,
(B) To promote the preservation, security and accessability of archival material.
In furtherance of the above objects, but not further or otherwise, the Society shall have the following powers:
(i) To hold lectures and discussions and organise research visits for Society members and interested members of the general public.
(ii) To hold and maintain a library of printed and other works for the use of Society members and members of the general public.
(iii) To preserve and transcribe or publish original source materials including documents and monumental inscriptions.
(iv) To pursue collaborative actions with similar societies and with established supportive bodies such as churches, libraries, record offices and educational institutions.
(v) To support the activities of the Federation of Family History Societies in its pursuit of these and similar objects.
3. AFFILIATION
The Society shall be affiliated to the Federation of Family History Societies and other charitable organisations whose objects are deemed compatible and mutually supportive.
4. MEMBERSHIP
(A) Membership of the Society shall be open to all persons showing genuine interest in the support of the Society’s objects.
(B) Classes of membership shall be:
(i) UK Members, (ii) Overseas Members (As amended at the AGM on 15th October 2016)
They can be:
(a) Individual Members
(b) Family Members (being from the same address and receiving only one copy of the journals and other similar publications
(c) Honorary Members, retaining the voting and other rights to which they were entitled immediately prior to their receiving Honorary Membership. Such membership may be granted by motion at an Annual General Meeting, subject to the prior agreement of the Executive Committee that the motion may be tabled. No further motions for Honorary Membership may be tabled after the closure of the 1992 Annual General Meeting. (As amended at the reconvened A.G.M. on 13th February, 1993 and on 15th October 2016))
(C) Subscriptions shall be paid annually at a rate proposed by the Executive Committee and approved at the previous A.G.M.As amended at he AGM on 15th October 2016)
(D) The Executive Committee may suspend from membership any member whose activities, in their opinion, are determined to be prejudicial to the Society. Such a member will have the right of appeal within one calendar month of notification, but the eventual decision of the Executive Committee will be final.
(E) The Society shall maintain such records of the names, addresses, family interests and other particulars of its members as may be necessary or desirable for the purposes of its administration or for the pursuit of its objects as stated herein, but for no other purpose whatsoever. Such records may be maintained in an automatic retrieval system, and any application for membership or for renewal of membership of the Society shall imply consent to the maintenance of such records by this means. (Added at the A.G.M. dated 17th November, 1990).
(F) Membership of the Society shall cease when the information concerning a member is removed from the Society’s records. (Added at the A.G.M. dated 18th November, 1995).
5. ADMINISTRATION
(A) The Society shall be administered by an Executive Committee including the following.
(a) Elected Officers: Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer;
(b) Persons elected to carry out the following roles: Editor, Membership Secretary, Members’ Interests Secretary, Minute Secretary, Sales Manager, Projects Co-ordinator, Liaison Officer and Society Webmaster;
(c) Vice-Chairpersons (see below) and one branch representative from each of the Society’s branches, who shall be elected each year by their respective branch committees.
The Vice Chairpersons shall be the chairpersons of the branches of the Society, provided that they undertake to serve on the Executive Committee and have not already been elected as Society Chairperson. If a branch chairperson declines to serve on the Executive Committee, or has already been elected to it as one of the three Officers, the committee of that branch may elect a second branch representative for the current year, but a person so elected shall not serve as a Vice Chairperson of the Society.
If a Vice Chairperson or a branch representative is unable to attend a meeting, a substitute, duly authorised by the officers of that branch, may attend that meeting with full committee status, other than Charity Trusteeship.
In the absence of the Chairperson, the chair at meetings will be taken by the Vice-Chairpersons in rotation.
A quorum at meetings of the Executive Committee shall be six members.
The Executive Committee may, at their discretion, co-opt other members whose special interests or abilities will further the efficiency of the Committee.
(As amended at the A.G.Ms of 3rd October, 1998 and 2nd November,2002).
(B) The Officers shall be elected annually by fully paid-up members present at the Annual General Meeting. Their term of office shall commence with the declaration of election results at that meeting. Nominations for office should be submitted in writing to the Secretary of the Society not less than four weeks prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting. However, further nominations shall be invited orally, from the floor, at the said Annual General Meeting. (As amended at the A.G.Ms of 7th November, 1992 and 18th November, 1995)
(C) All committee members shall be eligible for re-election upon completion of their term of office.
(D) If any of the honorary offices remain unfilled at the end of the Annual General Meeting, or if any of the offices become vacant during the ensuing year, the Executive Committee will be responsible for filling these offices or otherwise ensuring the continuity of all aspects of the Society.
(E) The Executive Committee may recommend to the members a suitable person to be invited to become Honorary President of the Society.
6. MEETINGS
(A) An Annual General Meeting shall be held during the months of October or November, when the Officers shall present their reports. Notice of this event shall be published in the Society’s Journal nearest to, but preceding, the said meeting. It shall also be publicised at the branch meetings at least 28days prior to the said Annual General Meeting. (As amended 18th November, 1995 and 2nd November, 2002).
(B) An Extraordinary General Meeting may be convened at the request of the Executive Committee or at the request of 30 members. Notice shall be published at least 28 days before the meeting, together with the details of the business to be transacted.
(C) At Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings, a quorum shall be 25 members. (As amended 20th October, 2012 and on 15th October 2016))
(D) Decisions at all meetings will be by simple majority of current members attending and voting, except as in items 7 and 10 below. In the event of an equal number of votes cast for and against a motion, the Chairperson shall have a second or casting vote. (As amended 18th November, 1995)
(E) At an Annual General Meeting, members may be accompanied by guests, for whom they would accept full responsibility. The said guests may not address the meeting, unless invited by the Chairman to do so, they may not vote and they may not attempt to influence the members in any manner whatsoever. (Added 5th October, 1996)
7. CONSTITUTION
The Constitution of the Society may be amended at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting convened for that purpose. Such an amendment will require the support of three quarters of the members present and voting. The wording of the motion to amend shall be submitted to the Executive Committee not less than four weeks prior to the meeting at which it is to be proposed. The Executive Committee shall ensure that the proposed amendment will be acceptable to the Charity Commissioners.
(As amended at the A.G.M. of 7th November, 1992)
8. FINANCE
(A) The income and property of the Society, whencesoever derived, shall be applied solely towards the promotion and execution of the objectives of the Society as defined in clause (2) above, and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred, directly or indirectly in any manner, by way of profit, to any member of the Committee or Society; providing that nothing herein shall prevent the payment in good faith of reasonable and proper repayment of out-of-pocket expenses incurred on behalf of the Society.
(B) The Executive Committee, or the Treasurer on its behalf, shall keep detailed accounting records which show and explain all the Society’s transactions in respect of its centrally administered funds, and which enable the financial position on any particular date to be established with reasonable accuracy. These records must contain day to day entries for all sums of money received or spent showing what the money was received for or spent on, with proper receipts being obtained for all money spent; and they must also contain a record of the Society’s liabilities and assets, both monetary and non-monetary. The Society’s accounting periods will run from 1st July each year until the 30th June of the following year. After this date the Treasurer must prepare a Receipts and Payments Statement and an Assets and Liabilities Statement for the preceding twelve months in respect of the centrally administered funds. (As amended 3rd October, 1998)
(C) These Statements must then be combined with the similar Statements from each of the Society’s branches, which are to be received by the 31st July, in order to prepare consolidated Statements for the Society as a whole in the form required by the Charity Commissioners. (As amended 3rd October, 1998)
(D) Following their preparation, these Statements, together with the accounting records for the centrally administered funds shall be independently examined by a competent person elected at the previous Annual General Meeting to carry out this duty [this person does not have to be an accountant but must have ability and experience in accountancy matters and must be independent of the Executive Committee]. The independent examiner shall have access to all books, records and other documents (however kept) and shall be provided with all information and any explanations needed to carry out the examination. (As amended 3rd October, 1998)
(E) The independent examiner shall also receive the copies of the certified Statements from each of the Society’s branches, together with details of any qualifying comment(s) made by their respective independent examiners (as stipulated in Clause 9E). Following the examination, the examiner is required to produce a report as specified in the Charities (Accounts & Reports) Regulations, and to submit this to the Executive Committee, who shall present it, together with the combined Receipts and Payments Statements at the Annual General Meeting next held, and to the Charity Commission as part of the required Annual Report. (As amended 3rd October, 1998)
9. BRANCHES
(A) The Executive Committee shall have the power to establish Branches. They shall be constituent parts of the Society and. as such, will be governed by the Constitution of the Society and be subject to such conditions as may, from time to time, be laid down by the Executive Committee of the Society.
(B) Branches shall undertake activities in pursuance of the objects and policies of the Society. All members of the Society shall be entitled to attend and take full part in all activities organised by Branches of the Society.
(C) The Society will allocate funds each year for the running costs of the Branches, the amount to be decided by the Executive Committee. If members’ subscriptions are collected through Branch Officers, they shall be forwarded intact to the appropriate officer of the Society. No additional subscriptions shall be levied at Branch level, although the organising of local fund-raising events or activities are permitted to assist the Branches to further the objects of the Society.(Added 5th October, 1996 and amended 3rd October, 1998)
(D) Each branch shall open a bank account in the name of “The (name of branch) Branch of Gwent Family History Society” and, whilst the moneys deposited therein shall be under the control of and administered by the Committee of that Branch, they shall remain at all times the moneys of the Society as a whole.
In respect of the Branch administered funds, Clauses 8B and 8D above apply equally to each of the individual branches, except that:
(a) for “Executive Committee”, substitute “Branch Committee”;
(b) for “Treasurer”, substitute “Branch Treasurer”;
(c) for “Society”, substitute “Branch”;
(d) for “centrally administered”, substitute “Branch administered”.
(As amended 3rd October, 1998)
(E) The annual Statements must be certified by the independent examiner to be correct and a copy, together with any qualifying comment(s) made by the independent examiner, must be forwarded to the Society Treasurer by 31st July each year. The certified annual Statements for a Branch must also be presented by the Branch Officers, on behalf of the Branch Committee, at that branch’s next Annual General Meeting. This must be held on a date prior to the Society’s Annual General Meeting to ensure that the Statements of Accounts have been accepted by the members concerned at Branch level before the consolidated Statements of Accounts are presented to the members of the Society as a whole. At each Branch Annual General Meeting, the retiring Branch Officers shall present their reports, Branch members will elect their Branch Officers and Committee for the ensuing year, and they will also elect the person who is to independently examine their accounts at the end of the ensuing year. (Amended 5th October, 1996 and further amended 3rd Oct., 1998)
(F) All possessions, including equipment, printed material, cash and financial and other assets, however acquired, held by and for a Branch, form part of the assets of the Society, to which they would revert on the dissolution of the Branch.
(G) If in serious breach of one or more of the terms of the Constitution, a Branch may be suspended at any time by a resolution passed at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Society. Upon suspension, the said Branch shall cease all operations, and any assets under its day to day administration shall be frozen until the commencement of an Extraordinary General Meeting, convened within ninety days of the serving of the notice of suspension, when this matter will be discussed, and when the future of the said Branch shall be decided by resolution.
(H) On the dissolution of a Branch, the Society shall indemnify local officers against claims regarding the legitimate affairs of the Branch, including outstanding financial commitments legitimately incurred.
10. DISSOLUTION
The Society may be dissolved by a resolution passed by not less than three quarters of those members present with voting rights at either an Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting convened for that purpose, and for which 28 days prior notice has been given in writing. Such a resolution may give instructions for the disposal of any assets held by the Society after all debts and liabilities have been paid, the balance left to be transferred to some other charitable institution or institutions having objects similar to those of the Society.
11. TRUSTEES
The Executive Committee may appoint Trustees (in this event, not less that three persons and not more than six) to hold any property held by or in trust for the Society.
12. INDEMNITY
The Society shall indemnify the Executive Committee and local Branch officers and committees for and against all claims, liabilities and demands in connection with all acts done or purported to be done in good faith on behalf of the Society.
LWH