THE SHEFFIELD BIRD STUDY GROUP CONSTITUTION (amended October 2017)
1. Name.
The name of the Society shall be ‘The Sheffield Bird Study Group’, hereafter referred to as the Society.
2. Status.
The Society is a registered charity, No 510857. The trustees of the charity shall be the Committee members.
3. Aims.
The aims of the Society shall be to promote the study and conservation of birds and their habitats, and in furtherance thereof but not further or otherwise the Society may:
- a) co-ordinate and direct fieldwork on birds and their habitats;
- b) promote and assist the development of ornithological interest and knowledge, particularly among the younger members of the Society;
- c) financially assist other charities which have similar aims.
4. Membership.
4.1 Membership of the Society shall be open to all who are interested in the study and conservation of birds.
4.2 The Committee may, at its discretion, with or without warning, terminate the membership of an existing member on account of misconduct, whether in relation to the Society’s affairs or otherwise. It may also decline to accept the application of a person whose membership, in its opinion, would bring the Society into disrepute. Such decisions will only be effective if agreed by a simple majority of the Committee, and notified in writing to the person excluded.
5. Subscription.
5.1 Members of the Society shall pay an annual subscription to the funds of the Society. This subscription shall be due and payable to the Honorary Treasurer of the Society, or to the Membership Secretary on his behalf, on the first day of January each year. On payment of a subscription the member shall be entitled to a “membership certificate” acknowledging receipt of the payment and setting out the Society’s programme of events for the year.
5.2 The amount of the annual subscription to the Society shall be proposed by the Committee for approval at a general meeting.
5.3 Any member whose subscription is more than three months overdue shall be given notice by the Hon. Treasurer of the Society, or the Membership Secretary, that the subscription is overdue and that, if the subscription is not paid within one month of such notice, the membership of the Society shall cease.
5.4 The Committee, at its discretion, may offer free membership to specified individuals or types of individuals, particularly in the encouragement of younger persons’ membership
6. Funds.
The funds of the Society shall be used for expenses properly incurred in conducting the business of the Society as shall from time to time be determined by the Committee.
Cheques drawn on the account of the Society shall be signed by the Hon. Treasurer and either the Chairman or the Hon. Secretary.
In the case of the winding up of the Society, the funds shall be divided equally and donated to the British Trust for Ornithology and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
7. Officers.
The Officers of the Society shall be:
The Chairman;
The Honorary Secretary;
The Honorary Treasurer.
The Officers of the Society shall be appointed from the Committee members and shall be reviewed annually at the first Committee meeting after the Annual General Meeting.
8. Chairman.
The duties of the Chairman shall be to chair all general meetings and all Committee meetings of the Society. In the absence of the Chairman the Chair shall be taken by a person nominated by the Chairman.
9. Honorary Secretary.
The duties of the Hon. Secretary shall be to call general and Committee meetings of the Society, to keep minutes thereof, to deal with the correspondence of the Society and to circulate to members such information as the Committee deems necessary.
10. Honorary Treasurer.
The Hon. Treasurer shall have custody of the funds of the Society and authority to make payments from them as the need arises. The duties shall be to keep the books of the Society, and to prepare and present the accounts of the Society to the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
11. Recording Team.
The Recording Team shall constitute a standing Sub-committee of the Group and it shall collate and adjudicate on the records submitted by members of the Society. Such records shall remain the property of the Society and shall be available for examination by members at the discretion of the Recording Team, with the exception of those relating to species listed under Schedule 1 of the ‘Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981’ and other locally rare breeding birds.
12. Annual General Meeting.
The Annual General Meeting shall be held in March each year. Those members of the Society who are present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the Annual General Meeting. The members of the Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.
13. Committee.
13.1 The Committee shall consist of a maximum of nine members, including the Officers and a nominated member of the Recording Team.
13.2 For the purposes of decision taking, a quorum of the Committee shall be five members.
13.3 The Committee shall be responsible for the day-to-day business of the Society, and for compiling an annual Bird Report incorporating members’ records. Any such business may be transacted digitally.
13.4 The Committee shall consist of members who have been elected at an Annual General Meeting, or co-opted in the case of vacancies occurring between Annual General Meetings. There will be an election of at least one member each year.
13.5 If prior to the Annual General Meeting there is no vacancy due to a resignation, then, subject to 13.6, the longest serving member who is not an Officer shall retire. Service on the Committee prior to appointment as an Officer will count towards their service. The Committee may, however, co-opt the longest serving member for a further year.
13.6 Nominations to the Committee shall be made with the consent of the nominee either by the Committee or by any two members of the Society and shall be communicated to the Hon. Secretary not later than one week before the Annual General Meeting.
13.7 If there are more nominations than vacancies then election shall be by ballot of those members present. Votes shall be counted by two Electoral Officers appointed by the Chairman.
13.8 The Committee shall be empowered to co-opt a member to fill a vacancy occurring between Annual General Meetings. The co-opted member will either offer themselves for election at the next Annual General Meeting or retire.
13.9 General committee members shall support the work of the Society through their attendance at committee meetings and the Society’s activities, and through their contributions to the running of such activities. They will be encouraged and expected to involve themselves in the Society’s activities that might benefit from their particular interests and skills.
13.10 If the conduct or contribution (as set out in 13.9) of a Committee member falls short of the standards expected by the Committee as a whole, the Committee may seek the member’s consent to terminate their tenure. If consent cannot be obtained, the Committee may dismiss the Committee member by majority vote, and shall then act in accordance with 13.8
13.11 A minimum of ten percent of members of the Society may submit in writing to the Hon. Secretary a motion of no confidence in the Committee. The Secretary will then notify the membership in the next issue of the newsletter, and/or via the website, of an Extraordinary General Meeting, at which the motion will be considered. A simple majority shall determine any vote. No further motion based on the same or similar premises may be called within twelve months of that Extraordinary General Meeting.
14. Sub-committees.
The Committee shall establish such Sub-committees as it considers appropriate, compatible with the aims of the Society.
A chairman for each Sub-committee shall be appointed annually by the Committee and the appointed chairman shall propose the membership and secretary of the Sub-committee for annual approval by the Committee.
A Sub-committee shall make recommendations to the Committee and the secretary of each sub-committee shall present minutes of each meeting to the Committee.