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1: What is a constitution?
Many
voluntary groups are relatively small in terms of the amounts of money and staff
that they have. These organisations are called Unincorporated Associations. This is because they are not
incorporated (ie. they aren't a registered company) and they are a group of
people working together to mutually agreed aims. This type of group has a
particular kind of agreement governing how it is run a Constitution. This is a
set of agreed rules governing how an organisation will be run, how the members
will work together and what they are working towards.
Some
groups prefer to remain informal and not adopt a constitution. For others
however a constitution is not only an effective tool for running an organisation
but actually a requirement because of the activities they are undertaking. For
example a group that wishes to register as charity, or undertake to provide
services in a community, or apply for funding will face problems if they do not
have a constitution.
A
constitution is also a way of ensuring that the public and funding bodies feel
confident that a group is being run properly and its money managed properly.
2: A constitution must have...
Choose
your own. It might reflect the area or the field in which you work.
This
section sets out what the group aims to do. If your group wants to register as a
Charity then you will need to consider whether or not these objects will fit in
with what the Charity Commission defines as Charitable. They have 4 general
headings: The furtherance of Education, the Furtherance of Religion, the Relief
of Poverty and anything else that is of benefit to a large proportion of the
population.
This
covers what a group can do to achieve its aims. These are things such as:
 | Fundraising |
| Networking |
| Hiring equipment/premises |
| Employing staff |
A
group’s membership would be made up of people who were interested in working
together to achieve the aims of the group. To become a member a person would
have to sign a membership agreement and, if the group wished, pay a membership
fee.
If
a fee was payable then there would be rules about who couldn’t be a member.
The
following groups:
| People under 18 |
| People who are bankrupt |
| People who have an unspent conviction |
| People who are unable to look after their own
financial affairs. |
This
committee has responsibility for management of the group. It is up to the group
how many members it has although for most organisations the allowed minimum
would be three. There is no maximum but it would make the group unwieldy and
inefficient to have too many. There are different types of Committee member:
NOMINATED - by another group
CO-OPTED - by the Committee
due to their skills/knowledge.
A
Committee has officers who carry out its main jobs. There are usually at least
three:
| A Chair, who ensures meetings run smoothly and
decisions are made. |
| A Secretary, who informs everyone of meetings and
takes minutes. |
| A Treasurer, who oversees the money of the group
and any payments it makes. The treasurer will report to the Committee
regularly about this. |
Meetings
of the committee are held to share information and make decisions and should
be governed by the constitution, which can specify the minimum number of
Committee members needed to make a decision
(quorum) and the minimum number of meetings to be held over a year. All members
of the Committee must be given at least 21 days notice of a meeting.
Every
year the group will need to have an Annual General Meeting. The first one being
within 15 months of the group setting up. The AGM is a chance for the Committee
to tell members what’s going on and a chance for the members to hold the
Committee accountable. It is also when the annual accounts are presented.
The constitution should also allow for other general meetings called
special or extraordinary general meetings.
It
is good practice to have a bank account with a minimum of two people who should
sign the cheque book. These two people must not be related.
There
must be provision in the constitution to close down the group. A meeting of the
membership should be called and a specific majority vote in favour needed. The
group must pay all its bills and if there is any money left then it should be
given to a group which does similar work.
3: Further Help