Stapleford History Society Constitution

1 NAME

1.1 The Society shall be called The Stapleford History Society.

2 AIMS

2.1 To promote public interest in local heritage and history.
2.2 To increase understanding of the heritage and history of Stapleford and the surrounding area.
2.3 To actively encourage children and young people to take part in history and heritage activities.
2.4 To pursue these ends by fieldwork, lectures, workshops, research and visits.
2.5 To make information and data generated through the activities of the Society available to the authorities responsible for updating the Historic Environment Record and to other appropriate organisations e.g. The Cambridgeshire Collection, Cambridgeshire Archives etc.

3 SOCIETY STRUCTURE

3.1 The Society consists of a general membership and an elected Management Committee.

4 COMMITTEE AND OFFICERS

4.1 The members of the Committee shall be:
Chair
Honorary Secretary
Honorary Treasurer and three other persons.

Additional persons may be co-opted as members of the Committee, particularly for special working parties and projects, but such persons shall not have votes as members of the Committee.

4.2 The quorum shall be three members of the Committee, one of whom must be the Chairman or Secretary.

5 DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE

5.1 To properly manage the affairs of the Society.
5.2 To keep accurate accounts of the Society’s finances. To maintain a bank account or accounts, the signatories for which accounts shall be any two of the Treasurer, Secretary and another member of the Committee, as may be agreed by the Comnittee.
5.3 To make decisions by consensus or on the basis of a simple majority vote.
5.4 To fix the date for and call an AGM.
5.5 To plan and/or co-ordinate a programme of events for the membership of the Society.

6 POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE

In furtherance of the aims of the Society to
6.1 raise funds and invite and receive contributions;
6.2 buy any property necessary for the achievement of the aims of the Society;
6.3 sell or otherwise dispose of any part of the property belonging to the Society;
6.4 work with and/or affiliate to other organisations operating in the furtherance of the aims of the Society.

7 MEMBERSHIP

7.1 Membership of the Society shall be open to any person over seventeen years of age who is interested in the aims of the group.
7.2 Membership will begin with the completion of a membership application and paying the relevant joining fee and/or annual subscription as determined by the AGM of the Society.
7.3 Membership shall lapse if the subscription remains unpaid six months after it is due.
7.4 Junior membership is available for children and young people and is free of charge. Junior members shall have no vote at general meetings nor be elected members of the Committee, but may be co-opted to represent the junior membership.
7.5 Non-members are welcome to attend meetings and visits, and will be charged an appropriate entrance fee for each event.

8 FINANCE

The Society is a not for profit group.
8.1 Any funds received from donations, membership fees or sale of items created by the Society will be used to sustain the work of the Society and meet direct operational costs.
8.2 The amounts of annual subscriptions shall be recommended by the Committee and approved by the membership at the first General meeting and then reviewed annually.
8.3 Subscriptions will be due within a month after the initial or subsequent General Meetings.
8.4 The Society may organise events which incur extraordinary expenses and may need to charge for these events as deemed appropriate by the Committee.
8.5 Regular financial reports will be presented by the Treasurer to meetings of the Committee.
8.6 The accounts will be examined before and available at the AGM.

9 YEAR END AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

9.1 The Society’s year end shall be 31st March.
9.2 The Society must hold a general meeting within twelve months of the date of the adoption of this constitution.
9.3 The AGM must be held in each subsequent year and not more than fifteen months may elapse between successive AGMs.
9.4 The Committee may call any other general meeting at any time.
9.5 The quorum for general meetings shall be ten members entitled to vote or one tenth of the total membership at the time, whichever is the greater.
9.6 Members may submit proposals relating to the Society’s activities to the AGM; at least 21 days notice of any such motion and the reasons therefor must be given to all members of the Society.
9.7 In the event of a vote being taken and there being an equality of votes cast the person who is chairing the meeting shall have a casting vote in addition to any other vote he or she may have.

10 ALTERATIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION

The constitution of the Society may be amended by members at any General Meeting provided that
10.1 21 days notice of the intended changes and the reasons therefor have been given to all members of the Society and that
10.2 at the General Meeting two thirds or more of these voting support the amendments.

11 GROUP DISSOLUTION

11.1 In the event of winding up or dissolution the liquidator shall first, according to law, use the assets of the Society to satisfy its debts and liabilities.
11.2 Any remaining funds will be transferred to any organisation with similar purposes to the Society.
11.3 All heritage records including notes, photographs, maps, finds and drawings will be donated to appropriate organisations or kept in any village archive.