The Constitution of the Shropshire Ornithological Society

SHROPSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
RULES AND CONSTITUTION
Registered Charity No. 514487

  1. NAME

The name of the Society shall be the Shropshire Ornithological Society (hereinafter referred to as “the Society”) which shall be a Registered Charity.

  1. OBJECTS

The objects of the Society are

  • (i) to encourage the study and protection of birds in Shropshire and to co-operate in such matters with national and local bodies, education authorities and others.
  • (ii) to organise field meetings, lectures, exhibitions etc. in all parts of the county with a view to furthering the Society’s objects.
  • (iii) to publish an annual Bird Report and any other matter relevant to the Society’s interests.
  • (iv) to acquire and manage areas of land as nature reserves primarily of ornithological value
  1. MEMBERSHIP
  • (i) Membership shall be open to all persons who support the objects as stated in Clause 2.
  • (ii) New members of the Society shall be admitted on receipt of the appropriate application form and fee.
  • (iii) The Society shall consist of life members, members, junior members and affiliated members who shall be entitled to attend all meetings and to receive one free copy of the annual Bird Report and periodical bulletin.
  1. SUBSCRIPTION
  • (i) The rates of subscriptions shall be fixed by the Society at a general meeting on the recommendation of the Committee.
  • (ii) Subscriptions shall be due on 1st January each year. Any member whose subscription is 6 months in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned.
  • (iii) Members may, if they so wish, pay their subscriptions by covenant and/or Bankers Order, Direct Debit Mandate or similar arrangements.
  1. OFFICERS
  • (i) The Officers of the Society shall be the Chairman, General Secretary and Treasurer who shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and who shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting when they shall be eligible for re-election. One person may hold more than one office.
  • (ii) The Society may elect a President and Vice-Presidents at a general meeting and the persons so elected shall hold office for life or until retirement.
  1. MANAGEMENT
  • (i) The management of the Society shall be vested in the Management Committee (hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”) consisting of the Officers, not less than four other members of the Society (the number being determined by the Committee) and the Chairmen of any sub-committees, all of whom shall be voting members. A member of the Committee shall hold office for a maximum of four years after which period a member shall not be eligible for re-election to the Committee for a period of one year. The President and Vice-Presidents may attend Committee meetings and vote. The functions of the Committee shall be as, from time to time, decided by the Society at a General Meeting,
  • (ii) Meetings of the Committee shall be convened as agreed by the Committee. All questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a simple majority of those present and entitled to vote. Every member who is entitled to vote shall have one vote. In the event of an equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote. The quorum shall be five voting members. If the Chairman is absent, the voting members present shall choose one of their number to be Chairman of that meeting.
  • (iii) The Committee shall have power to co-opt any persons whose services they consider necessary in an advisory capacity (provided that the number co-opted shall not exceed one-third of the total Committee) and to fill any vacancies which occur between Annual General Meetings.
  • (iv) Nominations for Officers and Committee Members may be made by the Committee or by any two members. In the latter case, any such nomination shall be made in writing to the Genera! Secretary not less than 14 days before the Annual General Meeting. The prior consent in writing of nominees must be obtained.
  • (v) The Committee may appoint (and dissolve) sub-committees whose functions shall be as, from time to time, decided by the Committee. Members of a sub-committee need not be members of the Committee but shall be members of the Society. The Chairman of any sub-committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting to the Committee on the same annual basis as the Officers.
  1. MEETINGS
  • (i) The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held not later than the 30th April in each year and every member shall receive not less than 21 days’ notice of such meetings. Business to be included at the Annual General Meeting shall be the election of Officers and Committee, the presentation of the accounts, the report of the Committee, the appointment of an independent examiner or auditor as required, and any other business relevant to the objects of the Society of which the General Secretary has been given at least 10 days’ notice in writing.
  • (ii) The Committee may summon an Extraordinary General Meeting on 21 days’ clear notice in writing being given to all members. If not less than 20 members of the Society call in writing for an Extraordinary General Meeting to be summoned, the General Secretary shall, within 10 days, call an Extraordinary General Meeting by giving 21 days’ clear notice in writing to all members. Any matters to be considered at such an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be specified in the notice and shall be relevant to the objects of the Society and/or the constitution and rules.
  • (iii) The quorum at General Meetings shall be thirty or one third of the total number of members, whichever shall be the fewer.
  • (iv) Each member and affiliated member shall have one vote.
  • (v) Voting shall be by show of hands unless a ballot is requested by 10 or more members. The Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.
  1. ACCOUNTS

Accounts shall be kept by the Treasurer on a trading year basis to show the income and expenditure of the Society. The Accounts will be subject to independent examination or audit as required by statute and presented at the Annual General Meeting. The financial year will end on 31st December. The Banking Account shall be in the name of the Society and withdrawals shall be made in the name of the Society on the signature of any two of the following:

  • Chairman
  • Treasurer
  • General Secretary
  • A member of the Society nominated by the Committee.
  1. CONDUCT OF MEMBERS

The Committee shall have the right for good and sufficient reasons to terminate the membership of a member provided that the person shall have the right to be heard by the Committee before a decision is made.

  1. TRUST PROPERTY

The title of all property, which may be acquired by or for the purposes of the Society, shall be vested in Trustees who shall be appointed by the Committee and who shall enter into a Deed of Trust setting forth the purposes and conditions under which they shall hold the property in trust for the purposes of the Society. The number of Trustees shall be not fewer than two nor more than four.

  1. INDEMNITY

Every Trustee, Officer or Committee member of the Society shall be indemnified out of the assets of the Society against any liability incurred by him/her in carrying out any bona fide act on behalf of the Society during such period as he/she shall have acted as a Trustee, Officer or Committee member and the Society may arrange a policy of insurance in order to ensure adequate cover for that indemnity.

  1. AMENDMENT OF RULES AND CONSTITUTION

The Constitution and Rules may be altered by resolution at a General Meeting.

Any such alteration shall be set out in writing in the notice convening the meeting. No amendment shall be made to the Rules and Constitution that will cause the Society to cease to be a Charity in law.

  1. DISSOLUTION

The Society may at any time be dissolved by a resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of those present and voting at an Annual General Meeting or other General Meeting of the Society summoned in accordance with Clause 7. In the event of the Society being wound up, any assets remaining upon dissolution after payments of proper debts and liabilities shall be transferred to a charitable institution or institutions having similar objects to those of the Society.

Scanned from a typed original and edited 3/4/20 by AJA. Revised for typographical and grammatical errors 2/5/20 and 21/5/20 by AJA. Clause 3(ii) amended 6/5/22 by AJA to reflect constitutional changes passed by members at Extraordinary General Meeting, 6/4/22.

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Page updated: 06/05/2022