Westbourne

A rural village in West Sussex

THE GREENING CAMPAIGN

Constitution of Greening Westbourne

1.1 The name of the group shall be ‘Greening Westbourne’ and shall encompass the
            Westbourne Parish Community of Aldsworth, Westbourne and Woodmancote.

2.1       The aim of the group is to raise public awareness about the risks of climate change, and
             to motivate and empower the community to take simple actions  to combat it.

3.1 The group shall have the following structure and powers to be used in achieving its aims and objectives in the Community:
Structure
3.2 The group shall be defined as an ‘Unincorporated Association’ and therefore its
            members have unlimited liability both joint and several for example of any unpaid
            debts. The group may purchase relevant goods provided monies are available but will
            not enter into any contracts save the payment of small amounts (maximum £200 per
            transaction or as jointly agreed by the Committee) for the hire of facilities, the
            purchase of equipment, insurances and the like.
3.3 The group shall be run by volunteers.
3.4 The group’s activities shall at all times be non-political and secular.
Powers
3.5 To encourage people, businesses and schools to take small actions to combat climate
            change and live more sustainably.
3.6 To initiate and support schemes that will be of environmental benefit to the Community.
3.7 To organise or take part in local events to raise Community awareness of the work being done.

3.8 To publicise the work of the local campaign through the media with all communications approved in advance by one of the officers.
3.9 To generally encourage membership of the campaign.
3.10 To promote community cohesion through its works.
3.11 To raise money through donations or private/public funding to support its work and any Community schemes but to ensure that in doing so that it does not become liable for any under performance or financial shortfalls.  
3.12 To open a bank account in the name of Greening Westbourne.
3.13 To do anything lawful that will help it to fulfil its aims.

4.0  Membership of Greening Westbourne
4.1 Membership of Greening Westbourne shall be open to all residents of the Community
            and all businesses and schools operating in the Community.
.5.0 The Greening Westbourne committee structure and meetings
5.1 The committee structure shall be as follows:
 Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and other elected members to a maximum of 10.
5.2 At least half the elected members including the Chair, or one of the other
            officers, shall be present at any meeting to approve decisions. All decisions shall be
  made by consensus. If consensus cannot be achieved, any decision shall be based on a
 majority vote. If there is a tied vote, the Chair shall have the casting vote.
5.3       The Group shall hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the month of May. All
      members shall be given at least fourteen days’ notice of the AGM and shall be entitled to
 attend and vote.  At least 10 members of the group must be present at the AGM for the
 meeting to take place.
5.4 The business of the AGM shall include:
  i) receiving a report from the Chair on the Group’s activities over the year
ii) receiving a report from the Treasurer on the finances of the Group
iii) electing a new Committee, and
iv) considering any other matter as may be decided.
5.5 Committee members shall be appointed/reappointed at the group’s AGM, which shall be open to the whole Community and who may vote for any committee nominees. The
            officers shall be subsequently elected by members of the committee.
5.6  The Committee may coopt any other member of the group as a committee
            member to fill a vacancy, provided that the maximum prescribed is not exceeded.
5.7 The Committee may require the resignation of a committee member for any good and proper reason.
5.8 Formal meetings that are properly minuted should be held at least four times a
            year. Informal meetings to discuss individual projects, etc may be held on an ad hoc
            basis.
5.9 Written minutes, including the names of those attending, shall be made of all
            Formal meetings and the AGM, and shall be kept for a minimum of three years.

6.0 Finance.
6.1 The group shall set up a Bank Account in the name of Greening Westbourne and with
            two signatories, one of them to be either the Treasurer or the Chair.
6.2 The Treasurer shall supervise the financial affairs of the group and keep up-to-date
            simple accounts that show all monies received and paid out.
6.3 The Treasurer shall provide a simple balance sheet and financial statement for the AGM each year and the accounts shall be made available to any Committee member on
 request.
6.4 The accounts need not be annually audited or independently examined unless monies  exceed £5,000.00.
6.5 All monies received shall be used to further the aims of Greening Westbourne and for no other reason.
6.6 No expenses may be incurred in the name of the Greening Westbourne campaign
            without the approval of the Committee.

7.0 Changes to the constitution.
7.1 Proposed changes to the Constitution shall be notified to all Committee members and at least 21 days notice shall be given of any formal meeting to approve or reject such proposals.
7.2 Any changes to the Constitution must be agreed by at least two-thirds of the Committee present at a formal meeting to discuss such proposals.
7.3 Changes may be made to the Constitution with the agreement of the Committee but the main aims of working with the Community to combat climate change and to make it more sustainable must remain and the group will not get involved in any other activity that would adversely impact on, or dilute, the aims of the campaign.

8.0 Dissolution
8.1 In the event that Greening Westbourne closes down, any surpluses in the Bank Account, after all debts and liabilities have been settled, will be passed to local organisations that
offer an environmental benefit to the Community.


Signed:                                                             
Date:

Signed:
Date: