Members Matter
Members Matter Information from the WYN
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| Information from your Membership Support Committee, to help you get the most out of your membership and answer any questions you may have regarding the running of your WI. | |||
| Please keep in touch marking the subject: ‘MEMBERS MATTER’ and send to: rjandgeoff@tiscali.co.uk | |||
| Rosemary Pearson, Membership Support Chairman | |||
| Secretaries | Communications and Data Protection | New Officers |
| WI Meetings | WI Name Changes | WI Outings |
| Treasurers | Committee Members | Health and Safety |
| Bursaries | ||
Secretaries
| October | |||
| Calling all WI Secretaries: October is the start of the 'Annual Meeting Season'. You will have received in the September issue of the WYN all your Annual Meeting Paperwork. Please remember to return all the completed paperwork to the Federation Office within two weeks of your Annual Meeting taking place. This consists of: the Annual Meeting Report Form, a copy of the Committee/Secretary's Report, the Financial Statement and a copy of your Programme. These documents are vital for the Federation Office records. THANK YOU. | |||
| Annual Meeting Report form. | |||
| Please ensure that the officer details section of the Annual Meeting Report form is completed, even if the officers have not changed. This will then give consent for the Federation Office to keep in contact with your WI officers and make sure you are up to date. | |||
Communications and Data Protection
| When do I need to Bcc when sending an email to a group of people? | |||
| When you send a message to more than one person, you have the option to enter addresses in the "Cc:" and "Bcc:" fields. "Cc" stands for "Carbon Copy", while "Bcc" stands for "Blind Carbon Copy". Blind carbon copying is a useful way to let others see an e-mail you sent without the main recipient knowing. It is faster than sending the original message and then forwarding the sent message to the other recipients. It is also good ‘netiquette’ to use Bcc when copying a message to many people. This prevents the e-mail addresses from being captured by someone in the list who might use them for spamming purposes. However, if it is important that each recipient knows who your message was sent to, use carbon copy (Cc) instead. When you send an email to a large group, e.g. a number of WI members, then you MUST Bcc so that your contact details are not shared with people you do not know. | |||
| GDPR and Data Mapping. | |||
| It is very important that your WI complies with the General Data Protection Regulations. To help ensure this, NFWI require all WIs and Federations to undergo a Data Mapping Exercise. We've designed a table as a guide. This table has been sent to your Secretary in the May 2019 mailing pack. | |||
New Officers
| Help and support in your role as a WI Officer. | |||
| A new year is a time for new challenges. You may have taken on an Officer's role at your WI. Whether it be President, Secretary or Treasurer, please remember that the Federation runs workshops that are designed to help and support you in your new role. Your WI Adviser is always available to give advice. If you are a new Treasurer there are Federation Independent Financial Examiners who offer their services, too. There is a wealth of information and training on the MY WI website and WI Training. When there is a change of Officer in your WI and they use a generic email address, please remember to change the password. | |||
WI Outings
| Planning a WI Outing. | |||
| This is the time of the year when you may be planning an outing for your WI. Please remember it is important to obtain emergency contact details for the members that are participating and also ensure that the organisers are aware of any medical issues. Please ensure that the organisers of the outings comply with GDPR with regard to the personal details of the members and that of the third party. | |||
WI Meetings
| Entry fees for your Monthly Meeting. | |||
| As members pay a yearly subscription it is unfair to charge them an entry fee to attend the monthly meeting. Members are entitled to 11 FREE meetings, although they may be asked for a donation towards the cost of refreshments supplied at the meeting and be asked if they would like to join the raffle. Visitors may be asked for a suggested donation to attend the meeting. In order to make this fair for members this donation should be more than the cost of a meeting. (E.g. £42 divided by 11 = £3.81.) | |||
| Do you have to read out the Record of your Monthly Meeting? | |||
| You do not have to read them out aloud at your meeting - as long as they are made available to all members at your meeting either emailed prior to the meeting and/or displayed for members not on email to read. | |||
| Annual Meeting | |||
| Your WI Adviser will attend your Annual Meeting if possible, or can be contacted via phone or email. There is also very useful information on the My WI webpage. | |||
WI Name Changes
| If you are considering changing the name of your WI please remember that there is a formal procedure to follow. | |||
| 1. Members must vote on the change of name. A two thirds majority in favour is needed. | |||
| 2. A written request for the name change must be sent to WYFWI and the change must be approved by the WYFWI Board of Trustees. | |||
| 3. Once approved all bank details, etc. must be updated. | |||
| WI budget and finances | |||
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Treasurers
| Account Book and Financial Statement. | |||
| Please make sure that you are using the up to date version of the WI Account Book and the Annual Financial Statement. This will make it so much easier to make your end of year accounts balance. | |||
| Please complete section 3 of the Financial Statement, giving details of WI Activities. This will enable WI Advisers to ensure that your WI is complying with the Constitution and WI Objects. | |||
| Copies of the forms and other Key Documents can be found on My WI. | |||
Committee Members
| Annual Committee Report. | |||
| The Charity Commission have introduced a new regulation that will affect all WIs. In order to improve the Quality and Transparency of charity accounts the Charity Commission now states that all WIs MUST submit their ANNUAL COMMITTEE REPORT with their Annual accounts to the FIFE/IFE. The Annual Committee report must be more business-like, giving details of how their activities reflect the WI Constitution. The FIFE/IFE should be made aware of the WI Constitution. PLEASE NOTE: The FIFE/ IFE CANNOT examine the WI Annual Accounts without the Annual Committee Report. Please ensure this report is signed by your IFE as proof they have read it. WYFWI have provided a draft template for an Annual Committee Report. | |||
| After your Annual Meeting. | |||
| It's important to complete the necessary documents and send them in to the Federation Office as soon after you Annual Meeting as possible. This is a legal requirement in order to comply with the Charity Commission rules. There are only four, these are: --> The Annual Financial Statement --> The Committee Report (new format) --> The Annual Meeting Report (giving details of the current officers) --> The WI Programme | |||
| Your WI Adviser will attend your Annual Meeting if possible, or can be contacted via the phone or email. There is also very useful information on the MyWI webpage. | |||
Health and Safety
| Fire regulations at meeting venues. | |||
| Some WIs have growing memberships, which is great news. However, please check with your venue’s fire regulations to make sure that that your numbers do not exceed the cover, especially if you are holding an event. | |||
Bursaries
| Once you have completed your budget for the coming year you may find that you have some surplus funds. Why not consider putting a bursary in place? It is a great way to give something back to your members. You may consider allocating a bursary for a course at Denman College or maybe several smaller sums for courses held at the Federation. Please contact your WI Adviser who will be happy to give you more details. | |||