- Chair
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Press Officer
- Fundraiser
- Membership secretary
Decide whether your officers will be elected by the full membership at the AGM or by the committee at its first meeting. The committee may also invite other people to serve on the committee (known as co-opting). They may be members of the group but can come from outside, and are generally co-opted because they have particular skills or knowledge (such as fundraising or accountancy).
AGM and other meetings
Annual General Meeting
You will need to hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) once a year. At the meeting you will have reports of your work for the last year and discuss your plans for the coming year. Many groups use this as an opportunity to involve their members in a celebration of their achievements. You will also elect your committee (if you have one) and can make changes to the constitution. Your constitution should state:
- How members will be notified of the date, time and venue of the AGM.
- How many weeks notice must they be given? The maximum time there can be between AGMs. This is usually 15 months to allow some flexibility.
- How many days/weeks in advance members can submit items for discussion.
- Whether nominations for the committee must be made in advance or taken on the day of the meeting.
- What the quorum will be. The quorum is the minimum number of members that must attend the meeting for it to elect officers or make decisions on behalf of the group. Take care not to make the quorum so high that you can never have a proper meeting. On the other hand, a quorum can prevent the organisation being taken in an unwanted direction by two or three people.
Committee meetings
- How often will the committee meet?
- Do you want to specify a minimum number of meetings?
- Who will be entitled to attend – just the committee or will it be open to all members?
- Will there be a quorum for committee meetings?
These are meetings that all members can attend. You will need to state:
- How often you will have a general meeting
- What the quorum will be
Special General Meetings
A Special General Meeting is used to discuss important matters that need to be put before the whole membership, such as an amendment to the constitution. They can usually be called by the committee or requested by members. Your constitution should state:
- How members will be notified of the date, time and venue of the meeting
- How many weeks notice they must be given
- What the quorum will be
How do you want to make decisions? When somebody makes a suggestion you will want to have a discussion. You can then make a decision by consensus, or by voting.
- Consensus decision making means that you will discuss an idea and try to find a solution that is satisfactory to everybody present by working it through together.
- If you want to make decisions by voting, it is usual to state in the constitution that a simple majority is required, and that if there are an equal number of votes on each side, the chair will have an additional casting vote. You could choose to have a combination of both, where you aim to make decisions by consensus but can have a vote if consensus cannot be reached.
How will you run your meetings?
You don’t have to have the details of how you run your meetings in your constitution. However, it is useful to think about how your meetings will work. We suggest discussing this in the group and drawing up a set of meeting rules – e.g. raise hands/don’t interrupt/start and finish on time/stick to the item on the agenda/be respectful to each other.
