Dear MCGers,
as promised, some background information on the AGM agenda item discussing
the possibility of incorporating as an Association Charitable Incorporated
Organisation (CIO).
Currently, the MCG is an 'Unincorporated Association', which isn’t actually
a legal structure, and leaves individual committee members responsible for
any debts or contractual obligations. While looking into whether we should
be paying corporation tax, our Treasurer, Alison Bean, sought a range of
opinions about our current structure. Overall, the conclusion from various
advisors was that we should look into becoming a legal entity, and that an
'Association Charitable Incorporated Organisation' (CIO) would be the most
appropriate option.
It's hard to imagine circumstances in which it might be relevant, but once
we'd discovered that committee members would be liable for any debts, we
felt we should limit our financial liability by incorporating. Having
looked over the four main types of charity structure, an association
incorporated organisation (CIO) seems best fit, not least because it's
closest to our current governance model. Our existing mission to connect,
support and inspire people working in museum technology would continue, we
would still have a constitution as our governing document, and MCG members
would still have voting rights. According to gov.uk, a 'charity with a
wider membership may carry out its work wholly or partly through the
voluntary effort and contributions of its members', which is a good
description of the MCG; including our wider MCG membership is the reason
we've chosen the Association CIO model for incorporation.
We already have a certain amount of administrative overhead as we have to
file Company Tax Returns for any years in which we've made a profit, and
once the paperwork to create an Association CIO is complete it doesn't look
like it'd create any more on-going work than our current structure, except
that we'd have to send our accounts and an annual report to the Charity
Commission each year. We already keep a register of our members and produce
annual reports for the AGM, but we'd need to consider how/whether the
Committee become Trustees under the new structure. While the process for
establishing MCG as a CIO may be lengthy it is inexpensive (the
registration fee is £35) and a lot of advice is available to ease the
process. Finally, for those with experience with charities, it's important
to note that becoming a charitable incorporated organisation isn't the same
as becoming a registered charity.
The new constitution would be based on the Charity Commission's model
association CIO constitution, and would be agreed by the wider MCG
membership. Members would also have a chance to suggest any amendments
before the new constitution was finalised. We're still working out how to
get quora on the new constitution - perhaps by presenting it for a vote at
our Spring meeting?
Other sources of information we've consulted include:
-
gov.uk 'Unincorporated association'
https://www.gov.uk/business-legal-structures/unincorporated-association
-
gov.uk's advice on Setting up and running a charity - guidance: Charity
types: how to choose a structure (CC22a) - this document outlines the
different options
-
Charity Commission FAQs about Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/FAQS/Registering_a_charity/FAQs_about_CIOs/default.aspx
(this site is being merged into gov.uk so links may break over time)
-
Community and voluntary groups: Finding a legal structure to suit your
group
http://www.resourcecentre.org.uk/information/legal-structures-for-community-and-voluntary-groups/
-
Deloitte’s Guide to Establishing a CIO:
http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedKingdom/Local%20Assets/Documents/Industries/uk-charity-charitable-incorporated-organisations.pdf
-
Model constitution for CIO with voting members other than its charity
trustees ('Association' model)
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/269501/associationmodelconstitution_lowink__1_.pdf
- this template would be the basis of our new constitution
We're happy to answer any questions and discuss all of this on- or
off-list, but please also bear with us as we've all got to work around our
day jobs and putting on a major event! There's been a lot for us to learn,
so we'd particularly welcome comments from anyone who has experience in
this area. If MCG members (i.e. many of you reading this) agree at the AGM
that we should incorporate as an Association CIO then we'll be asking for
volunteers to help us with the paperwork and making sure we get the
constitution (governing document) right.
Finally, I'd like to publicly thank Alison Bean, who has put an immense
amount of time and effort into consulting with a range of advisors,
researching our options and briefing the Committee.
Best regards,
Mia
As Chair, Museums Computer Group
--------------------------------------------
http://openobjects.org.uk/
http://twitter.com/mia_out
Check out my book! http://bit.ly/CrowdsourcingCulturalHeritage
<http://bit.ly/CrowdsourcingCulturalHeritage>
I mostly use this address for list mail; my open.ac.uk address is checked
daily
On 7 October 2014 13:44, Wendy Sudbury <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Mia is right. We are currently doing the same thing for a church I am
> involved with. Wendy Sudbury
>
> Dr Wendy Sudbury
> Cambridge Management Group
> 47 Linhope Street, London, NW1 6HL
> Tel: +44 (0) 207 723 1627
> email: [log in to unmask]
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mia
> Sent: 07 October 2014 12:44
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [MCG] Call for MCG Committee members and 2014 AGM notice
>
> Hi Tony (and all),
>
> thanks for your question, and the quick answer is, yes, definitely! We're
> putting that information together now.
>
> In the meantime, I thought I'd explain the reason for this proposed change
> - when we looked into it, we found that the MCG is an 'Unincorporated
> Association', which isn’t actually a legal structure, and leaves individual
> committee members responsible for any debts or contractual obligations.
> It's hard to imagine circumstances in which it might be relevant, but once
> we'd discovered that committee members would be liable for any debts, we
> felt we should limit our financial liability.
>
> Having looked over the four main types of charity structure, an
> association incorporated organisation (CIO) seems best fit, not least
> because it's closest to our current governance model.We would still have a
> constitution as our governing document, and MCG members would still have
> voting rights - including our wider MCG membership is the reason we've
> chosen the Association CIO model.
>
> We're happy to answer any questions and discuss all of this on- or
> off-list, but bear with us as we've all got to work around our day jobs and
> putting on a major event! There's been a lot of us to learn, so we'd
> particularly welcome comments from anyone who has experience in this area.
>
> Best regards, Mia
> As Chair, Museums Computer Group
>
> --------------------------------------------
> http://openobjects.org.uk/
> http://twitter.com/mia_out
> Check out my book! http://bit.ly/CrowdsourcingCulturalHeritage
> <http://bit.ly/CrowdsourcingCulturalHeritage>
> I mostly use this address for list mail; my open.ac.uk address is checked
> daily
>
> On 7 October 2014 11:03, HARRIS TONY <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > Dear Julie,
> >
> > Will the MCG Committee be able to provide more documentation and the
> > reasoning behind the proposed change to CIO status before the Conference?
> > Having looked up what a CIO is, I feel this is quite a significant
> > change to the MCG and needs careful thought.
> >
> > Regards
> > Tony Harris
> > Digital Media & Photography Officer
> > Government Art Collection
> > tony.harris @culture.gsi.gov.uk | 020 7580 9123
> > @govartcol /governmentartcollection | www.gac.culture.gov.uk
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> > MCG Secretary
> > Sent: 06 October 2014 17:00
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: [MCG] Call for MCG Committee members and 2014 AGM notice
> >
> > Call for MCG Committee members and 2014 AGM notice
> >
> > Dear MCG community,
> >
> > The 2014 MCG Annual General Meeting will be held during UKMW14 on
> > November 7, 2014, at the Natural History Museum. The agenda for the
> > 2014 AGM is now available online <
> > http://museumscomputergroup.org.uk/2014/10/05/notice-2014-mcg-annual-g
> > eneral-meeting/
> > >.
> > This year we will be asking members to ratify a constitutional change
> > and discuss incorporation as an Association Charitable Incorporated
> > Organisation (CIO).
> >
> > Call for Committee nominations
> >
> > The Museums Computer Group is an independent not-for-profit organisation.
> > The MCG Committee consists of nine members working across operational
> > areas including admin and membership support, events, communications
> > and special projects, and an Executive group consisting of a Chair,
> > Secretary and Treasurer. The MCG's goal is to help our members and the
> > wider cultural heritage sector by connecting, supporting and inspiring
> > people involved with museum technologies. We do this through our
> > events, this discussion list and social media, and through partnerships
> with other organisations.
> > Joining the MCG Committee is a great way to support your peers and
> > help the sector. It’s also an opportunity to meet people, gain
> > valuable skills and experience, and enhance your CV.
> >
> > This year we are seeking candidates for four vacancies on the Committee.
> > One of these roles, Treasurer, is part of the Executive and works
> > closely with the Chair and Secretary. The other areas of
> > responsibility we're recruiting for include:
> >
> > Administration and Membership support - working closely with the
> > Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, you'll get an overview of all the
> Committee's work.
> >
> > Marketing - working with the Events and Communications teams, you'll
> > help plan and run the marketing and outreach campaigns for our events
> > and other work.
> >
> > Event organisation - ideal for someone who wants to take the lead as
> > event manager, or learn the ropes by helping put on our next events.
> >
> > Sponsorship and fundraising - liaise with past and potential sponsors,
> > work with the Events team to manage our sponsorship offers or
> > establish partnerships.
> >
> > We'd love to see nominations from people with ideas and energy.
> > There's more information on volunteering for the Committee and a
> > summary of the roles at
> >
> >
> > http://museumscomputergroup.org.uk/about/volunteering-as-an-committee-
> > member/
> > .
> > In each role you'd be working with established committee members, with
> > a wealth of existing material and experience to draw upon. If you have
> > any questions about committee work or nominations, please contact the
> > Chair < [log in to unmask]>, Mia Ridge.
> >
> > Nominations should be sent to [log in to unmask] by
> > midday on Thursday, November 6, 2014. Please include your contact
> > details, an indication of which role you're interested in, and a brief
> > biography (for previous examples, check out the current Committee bios
> > at http://museumscomputergroup.org.uk/about/mcg-committee/).
> > Self-nominations are welcome.
> >
> > Many thanks
> >
> > Julie Reynolds
> > Secretary, Museums Computer Group
> >
> > ****************************************************************
> > website: http://museumscomputergroup.org.uk/
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