RE: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2
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William Wilcox
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Hi Jo,
Do you know how other regional chapters are run? I appreciate that the law is different in other countries but it may give us some ideas about the best way to proceed. I agree that it is a good idea to have some type of financial fund with which to purchase advertising, web space, etc. Otherwise we would be very limited in what we could achieve and I feel that one of the best ways to attract more members is by advertising and raising our profile at conferences and workshops (with posters & handouts), etc. However, if we have a bank account would we need a treasurer who would have to publish yearly accounts - say on the mailing list? If we have a bank account do we have to inform or register the organisation with an authority? Is there a way that we could claim VAT back on purchases, etc - such as a registered charity? I assume that we would only need a relatively small amount of cash at any one time - say a few hundred pounds maximum. How would we go about obtaining money? Will we ask people for an initial donation (at their discretion) or are you thinking about a small annual subscription? Would we put potential new members off by asking them for a subscription? What about asking for sponsorship money? Anyway, you appear to have looked into this matter in detail and so personally I'm happy to go along with what you feel is the best solution. I agree with your statement that the running of the UK chapter should be as informal as possible to allow flexibility. Do we need a core of committee members and if so how many? Do we need a written constitution? I'm happy to go along with general consensus of opinion and I'll help and support in any way I can. Sorry if this email raises more questions than it answers. Regards, Bill -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of [hidden email] Sent: 22 October 2009 17:01 To: [hidden email] Subject: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2 Send UK mailing list submissions to [hidden email] To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [hidden email] You can reach the person managing the list at [hidden email] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of UK digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Question: Should we set up as an organisation? (Joanne Cook) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:33:34 +0000 (GMT) From: Joanne Cook <[hidden email]> Subject: [OSGeo-UK] Question: Should we set up as an organisation? To: uk <[hidden email]> Message-ID: <[hidden email]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Dear All, As you might recall from the AGM we held back in June after the conference in Nottingham, I raised the question of whether we should set up as a some kind of organisation, so we can start having a bank account and similar. Having looked into this into a little more detail (mainly because this kind of thing is very new to me), I think that in the first instance an "Unincorporated Association" is the best bet, of which "voluntary organisation" is a subset. Here's the official definition: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ctmanual/ctm41305.htm, and some useful information: http://www.netlawman.co.uk/info/unincorporated-associations.php That way, we can have a bank account but the rest can be quite informal, which is nice. We will, however, need to get a few more committee members etc, even if it's just to be joint signatories on the bank account :-) I'm opening this up to everyone on the mailing list- is this a good way to go? Are there better ways? Thanks Jo -- ----------------------------------------------------- Joanne Cook Senior IT Support and Development Oxford Archaeology (North) 01524 880212 http://thehumanjourney.net ------ Files attached to this email may be in ISO 26300 format (OASIS Open Document Format). If you have difficulty opening them, please visit http://iso26300.info for more information. ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ UK mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk End of UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2 ********************************* _______________________________________________ UK mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk |
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Jo Cook
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Hi Bill
Since OSGeo is a global organisation, there are no real guidelines on how regional chapters should be run, as this changes from country to country. We already meet their minimal criteria by having enough people on the mailing list and having someone as a representative! You're correct, that if we have a bank account we need a treasurer. However, the rules for voluntary organisations are (I think) pretty relaxed, and there's no formal requirement to register with the Charity Commission etc- in fact registering as a charity makes life considerably more complicated. How we would go about then raising some funds is a different matter for more debate! We would need a written constitution at some point if we go ahead with this, but again that should be quite straightforward to put together. As for the general consensus of opinion about this- I haven't had much feedback but what I have had has been positive, so I will look at trying to move things forward unless people object. All the best and thanks for the questions! Jo ----- Original Message ----- From: "William Wilcox" <[hidden email]> To: [hidden email] Sent: Friday, 23 October, 2009 10:13:11 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal Subject: [OSGeo-UK] RE: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2 Hi Jo, Do you know how other regional chapters are run? I appreciate that the law is different in other countries but it may give us some ideas about the best way to proceed. I agree that it is a good idea to have some type of financial fund with which to purchase advertising, web space, etc. Otherwise we would be very limited in what we could achieve and I feel that one of the best ways to attract more members is by advertising and raising our profile at conferences and workshops (with posters & handouts), etc. However, if we have a bank account would we need a treasurer who would have to publish yearly accounts - say on the mailing list? If we have a bank account do we have to inform or register the organisation with an authority? Is there a way that we could claim VAT back on purchases, etc - such as a registered charity? I assume that we would only need a relatively small amount of cash at any one time - say a few hundred pounds maximum. How would we go about obtaining money? Will we ask people for an initial donation (at their discretion) or are you thinking about a small annual subscription? Would we put potential new members off by asking them for a subscription? What about asking for sponsorship money? Anyway, you appear to have looked into this matter in detail and so personally I'm happy to go along with what you feel is the best solution. I agree with your statement that the running of the UK chapter should be as informal as possible to allow flexibility. Do we need a core of committee members and if so how many? Do we need a written constitution? I'm happy to go along with general consensus of opinion and I'll help and support in any way I can. Sorry if this email raises more questions than it answers. Regards, Bill -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of [hidden email] Sent: 22 October 2009 17:01 To: [hidden email] Subject: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2 Send UK mailing list submissions to [hidden email] To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [hidden email] You can reach the person managing the list at [hidden email] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of UK digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Question: Should we set up as an organisation? (Joanne Cook) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:33:34 +0000 (GMT) From: Joanne Cook <[hidden email]> Subject: [OSGeo-UK] Question: Should we set up as an organisation? To: uk <[hidden email]> Message-ID: <[hidden email]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Dear All, As you might recall from the AGM we held back in June after the conference in Nottingham, I raised the question of whether we should set up as a some kind of organisation, so we can start having a bank account and similar. Having looked into this into a little more detail (mainly because this kind of thing is very new to me), I think that in the first instance an "Unincorporated Association" is the best bet, of which "voluntary organisation" is a subset. Here's the official definition: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ctmanual/ctm41305.htm, and some useful information: http://www.netlawman.co.uk/info/unincorporated-associations.php That way, we can have a bank account but the rest can be quite informal, which is nice. We will, however, need to get a few more committee members etc, even if it's just to be joint signatories on the bank account :-) I'm opening this up to everyone on the mailing list- is this a good way to go? Are there better ways? Thanks Jo -- ----------------------------------------------------- Joanne Cook Senior IT Support and Development Oxford Archaeology (North) 01524 880212 http://thehumanjourney.net ------ Files attached to this email may be in ISO 26300 format (OASIS Open Document Format). If you have difficulty opening them, please visit http://iso26300.info for more information. ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ UK mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk End of UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2 ********************************* _______________________________________________ UK mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk -- ----------------------------------------------------- Joanne Cook Senior IT Support and Development Oxford Archaeology (North) 01524 880212 http://thehumanjourney.net ------ Files attached to this email may be in ISO 26300 format (OASIS Open Document Format). If you have difficulty opening them, please visit http://iso26300.info for more information. _______________________________________________ UK mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk |
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Scott, Antony
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Jo
Definitely a good idea to put an organisation in place - I guess as low-overhead as possible is the best for now, if we decide we need something more heavyweight in future we can always change. Hopefully setting something up will create its own momentum, and help to bring people into the process. regards Antony Scott ________________________________________ From: [hidden email] [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Joanne Cook [[hidden email]] Sent: 28 October 2009 16:17 To: William Wilcox Cc: [hidden email] Subject: Re: [OSGeo-UK] RE: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2 Hi Bill Since OSGeo is a global organisation, there are no real guidelines on how regional chapters should be run, as this changes from country to country. We already meet their minimal criteria by having enough people on the mailing list and having someone as a representative! You're correct, that if we have a bank account we need a treasurer. However, the rules for voluntary organisations are (I think) pretty relaxed, and there's no formal requirement to register with the Charity Commission etc- in fact registering as a charity makes life considerably more complicated. How we would go about then raising some funds is a different matter for more debate! We would need a written constitution at some point if we go ahead with this, but again that should be quite straightforward to put together. As for the general consensus of opinion about this- I haven't had much feedback but what I have had has been positive, so I will look at trying to move things forward unless people object. All the best and thanks for the questions! Jo ----- Original Message ----- From: "William Wilcox" <[hidden email]> To: [hidden email] Sent: Friday, 23 October, 2009 10:13:11 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal Subject: [OSGeo-UK] RE: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2 Hi Jo, Do you know how other regional chapters are run? I appreciate that the law is different in other countries but it may give us some ideas about the best way to proceed. I agree that it is a good idea to have some type of financial fund with which to purchase advertising, web space, etc. Otherwise we would be very limited in what we could achieve and I feel that one of the best ways to attract more members is by advertising and raising our profile at conferences and workshops (with posters & handouts), etc. However, if we have a bank account would we need a treasurer who would have to publish yearly accounts - say on the mailing list? If we have a bank account do we have to inform or register the organisation with an authority? Is there a way that we could claim VAT back on purchases, etc - such as a registered charity? I assume that we would only need a relatively small amount of cash at any one time - say a few hundred pounds maximum. How would we go about obtaining money? Will we ask people for an initial donation (at their discretion) or are you thinking about a small annual subscription? Would we put potential new members off by asking them for a subscription? What about asking for sponsorship money? Anyway, you appear to have looked into this matter in detail and so personally I'm happy to go along with what you feel is the best solution. I agree with your statement that the running of the UK chapter should be as informal as possible to allow flexibility. Do we need a core of committee members and if so how many? Do we need a written constitution? I'm happy to go along with general consensus of opinion and I'll help and support in any way I can. Sorry if this email raises more questions than it answers. Regards, Bill -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of [hidden email] Sent: 22 October 2009 17:01 To: [hidden email] Subject: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2 Send UK mailing list submissions to [hidden email] To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [hidden email] You can reach the person managing the list at [hidden email] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of UK digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Question: Should we set up as an organisation? (Joanne Cook) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:33:34 +0000 (GMT) From: Joanne Cook <[hidden email]> Subject: [OSGeo-UK] Question: Should we set up as an organisation? To: uk <[hidden email]> Message-ID: <[hidden email]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Dear All, As you might recall from the AGM we held back in June after the conference in Nottingham, I raised the question of whether we should set up as a some kind of organisation, so we can start having a bank account and similar. Having looked into this into a little more detail (mainly because this kind of thing is very new to me), I think that in the first instance an "Unincorporated Association" is the best bet, of which "voluntary organisation" is a subset. Here's the official definition: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ctmanual/ctm41305.htm, and some useful information: http://www.netlawman.co.uk/info/unincorporated-associations.php That way, we can have a bank account but the rest can be quite informal, which is nice. We will, however, need to get a few more committee members etc, even if it's just to be joint signatories on the bank account :-) I'm opening this up to everyone on the mailing list- is this a good way to go? Are there better ways? Thanks Jo -- ----------------------------------------------------- Joanne Cook Senior IT Support and Development Oxford Archaeology (North) 01524 880212 http://thehumanjourney.net ------ Files attached to this email may be in ISO 26300 format (OASIS Open Document Format). If you have difficulty opening them, please visit http://iso26300.info for more information. ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ UK mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk End of UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2 ********************************* _______________________________________________ UK mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk -- ----------------------------------------------------- Joanne Cook Senior IT Support and Development Oxford Archaeology (North) 01524 880212 http://thehumanjourney.net ------ Files attached to this email may be in ISO 26300 format (OASIS Open Document Format). If you have difficulty opening them, please visit http://iso26300.info for more information. _______________________________________________ UK mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk_______________________________________________ UK mailing list [hidden email] http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/uk |
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