Ramsey & District U3A
Notice of AGM
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Ramsey & District U3A will be held at the Ramsey Community Centre, Stocking Fen Road, Ramsey PE26 2UR on Tuesday 10 April 2018 at 2.00 pm for the purpose of conducting the following business;
- To receive and approve the minutes of the 2017 Annual General Meeting
- Chairman’s Report
- Treasurers Report and Accounts for the period ended 31 December 2017 – accounts will be issued to all members in late February
- Appointment/Continued Appointment of Examiner for the Accounts
- Group Co-ordinator’s Report
- Election of Committee
- Approval of a revised Objects Clause to be included in the Constitution for Ramsey & District U3A – an explanation of the reasons for this and a copy of the clause are below.
- Consideration of motions proposed by the Members and/or Committee
- Formal Closure of AGM
Nominations are requested from all members for appointments to the Committee.
A Nomination form can be found here and Nomination forms will also be available at the Open Meetings in February and March 2018, which can be used to propose and second candidates. If you are the proposer there is no requirement to get a candidate to sign but please ensure the candidate is happy to be nominated.
All nomination forms must be received by the Business Secretary, Sheila Gilbert-Hill by 20 March 2018
Proposals for motions to be discussed at the AGM are requested from members.
A Proposal form can be found here and Proposal forms will also be available at the Open Meetings in February and March 2018, which can be used to propose and second motions. Each proposal must have a proposer and seconder.
All proposal forms must be received by the Business Secretary, Sheila Gilbert-Hill by 20 March 2018
Sheila Gilbert-Hill
Business Secretary
Revision to the Constitution of Ramsey & District U3A
The Third Age Trust has been looking into the way U3As have been encouraged to divide their finances into charitable and non-charitable activities and only report the former to the Charity Commission. After consulting the Charity Commission they have been advised that all activity carried out by a U3A must be charitable and within the object clause in its constitution. The Charity Commission is being very realistic and accepts that this was a genuine misunderstanding. The corrective action requires a change in the object clause of every U3A.
In addition all finance relating to U3A activities must be included in U3A accounts which are presented to the members at each U3A’s AGM and (where the appropriate thresholds are exceeded) to the Charity Commission.
An appropriate wording of the object clause for U3As in England and Wales has now been agreed as:-
“The advancement of education and, in particular, the education of older people and those who are retired from full time work by all means, including associated activities conducive to learning and personal development.”
The Trust believes that the vast majority of activities currently taking place in U3As are encompassed by this clause and that very few U3As will need to alter their practices to comply with it.
The Charity Commission has agreed to make it as simple as possible for U3As by allowing a blanket ‘opt-in’ to the new object clause from 1st April 2018. Further they will not worry about past activity and accounting practices. Individual U3As will not have to communicate with the Charity Commission directly, but simply report their acceptance of the new object clause to the Third Age Trust. It is inevitable that the change will result in a significant number of U3As having to register with the Charity Commission as a result of adding the U3A accounts for all activities the U3A undertakes to the charity accounts.
Ramsey & District U3A is affected by this and will register with the Charity Commission shortly.
The Committee of Ramsey & District U3A now propose that Clause 3 of the existing Constitution be amended to read as follows:
3. CHARITABLE PURPOSE
The charitable purpose of The U3A is:
the advancement of education, and in particular the education of older people and those who are retired from full time work, by all means including associated activities conducive to learning and personal development, in Ramsey & District U3A
NOTE: If The U3A is registered as a charity in England and Wales, the charitable purposes of The U3A may only be altered with the prior consent of the Charity Commission.