Roles of committee members
Duties and Responsibilities of Officers and Committee Members of the Ambleside and District U3A
Committee members are also trustees of the charity that is Ambleside & District U3A. A summary of the responsibilities of trustees can be found at the link. In addition trustees are required to accept the Code of Conduct for U3A Trustees in order to satisfy the Charity Commissioners.
The committee has also agreed the Third Age Trust document Sorting out problems as a grievance procedure.
Chair
1. Chair General Meetings, Annual and Special General Meetings, Committee Meetings and Coordinators Meetings.
2. Set and approve the Agenda and frequency for all Meetings as above, taking account of representations from members, both within and outside the Committee.
3. Seek to ensure that the aims and objects of the U3A, as set out in its branch Constitution, are upheld.
4. Liaise with Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Newsletter Editor, Committee members, Group Coordinators, general members, as required.
5. Liaise as required with the Third Age Trust and other U3As, especially within the NW Region and Cumbria Network, as appropriate.
6. Act as a signatory on U3A cheques, along with Secretary and Treasurer (two signatures from three required).
7. Act as a Trustee, along with all elected Officers and Committee members.
Secretary
1. Take Minutes of all U3A AGMs, Committee Meetings and Coordinators Meetings and distribute, as appropriate.
2. Liaise with Chairman on Agenda for Meetings and distribute to members/Committee/Coordinators as appropriate.
3. Liaise with Chairman, Treasurer, Membership Secretary and Committee on administrative matters.
4. Receive U3A mail from Third Age Trust and other bodies and respond as required.
5. Ensure records of U3A business are maintained and forward records to archivist as/when appropriate.
6. Act as a signatory on U3A cheques, along with Chairman and Treasurer (two signatures from three required).
7. Act as a U3A Trustee, along with all elected Officers and Committee members.
8. Conduct correspondence on behalf of the U3A as required.
Treasurer
1. Look after all incoming and outgoing financial transactions within the U3A, including income (from subscriptions, general and group meetings, events) and outgoings (expenses, external payments).
2. Present annual accounts for perusal by the Independent Examiner and then to members for approval at the AGM.
3. Keep the Chairman and Committee informed of financial movements on a regular basis throughout the year, as appropriate.
4. Liaise with the Membership Secretary regarding members subscriptions and Gift Aid.
5. Apply to HMRC for implementation of Gift Aid repayments.
6. Adjust amounts held in Current Account / Savings Account, as appropriate.
7. Act as a signatory on U3A cheques, along with Chairman and Secretary (two signatures from three required).
8. Act as a Trustee, along with all elected Officers and Committee members.
Membership Secretary
Using the Beacon database system:
1. Keep a record of current members.
2. Process applications for membership, payment of subscriptions and Gift Aid.
3. Supply membership cards to paid-up members.
4. Print labels for the newsletter and label envelopes ready for newsletter distribution.
5. Supply names and addresses to the Third Age Trust for distribution of Third Age Matters.
In addition:
6. Liaise with the Treasurer regarding payment of subscriptions and Gift Aid.
7. Provide a report to committee at meetings of membership activity.
8. Handle enquiries from prospective U3A members. Email or post a letter, application form and newsletter.
7. Act as a Trustee, along with all elected Officers and Committee members.
Publicity Officer
The Publicity Officer will be appointed by the committee, either one of its elected members or by co-option. The role will be as follows.
External publicity:
1. Publicise U3A general and group activities to the local press (including Radio Cumbria).
2. Make arrangements for posters and other publicity material to be displayed around the local area (normally by appointing other U3A members to put up and take down posters, etc.)
3. Speak to (or arrange other speakers from our members) non-U3A groups about our activities on request and by soliciting requests.
4. Ensure that good, current publicity material is available on the web site.
5. Through these activities and working with the membership secretary, encourage recruitment of new members.
Internal publicity:
6. Working particularly with the newsletter editor and the webmaster, facilitate awareness within our membership of the activities within our groups and those arranged by the Third Age Trust and the U3A NW Region;
7. Look after the notice board, keeping it up-to-date and making it available at general meetings.
Welfare
1. Liaising with coordinators and other members in order to identify individuals who might like some moral support.
2. Purchasing and sending cards, flowers or both as is felt appropriate.
3. Keeping other committee members informed as and when it is felt necessary.
Talks Organiser
1. To arrange a series of talks for eight General Meetings each year. They should cover a range of topics likely to be of interest to U3A members. Effort should be made to establish that any speaker under consideration is recommended by members or other organisations as a good speaker.
2. To arrange all details with each speaker such as the date and any equipment required. To obtain an abstract for the talk and a suitable image for the poster. To establish the fee required and approximate travel expenses and to arrange with the Treasurer how these will be paid. To ensure that the speaker understands that the talk should not exceed 45 minutes, to be followed by questions.
3. To work within a guideline budget set by the committee each year (currently £500 excluding room hire) and to inform the committee immediately if it appears that this budget will be exceeded.
4. To ensure that a parking space is reserved if required. To meet and greet the speaker about half an hour before the beginning of the meeting and to help with setting up any equipment. To provide the person introducing the speaker with a short CV and to arrange for a vote of thanks to be given at the end.
5. If unable to attend any talk to ensure that a named committee member accepts the responsibilities under 4 above.
6. After the talk to personally write/email the speaker to thank her/him for their talk etc.
7. To provide the Newsletter Editor with details of the programme, including talk abstracts, in time for each edition.
8. The Talks Organiser could be an elected member of the committee or co-opted to the committee if he or she wished and the committee agreed. Otherwise to attend at least one committee meeting each year to present the programme for the year ahead and to discuss any issues relating to the programme in general.
Newsletter Editor
1. To produce an interesting and informative newsletter for members at quarterly intervals. The content should include photographs, news items and other relevant items likely to be of interest to members, diary pages of future general and group activities, and reports of past group activities.
2. To obtain this material from group coordinators, committee members, any other members who wish to submit material and other suitable sources, such as the A&D web pages, North-west Region web pages, etc.
3. To receive any newsletter inserts from the committee and arrange for them to be printed for distribution with the newsletter.
4. To pass a draft copy to the chair or a designated committee member before printing to check for conformity with policy.
5. The Newsletter Editor could be an elected member of the committee or co-opted to the committee if he or she wished and the committee agreed. Otherwise to attend at least one committee meeting each year at which issues relating to the newsletter can be discussed.
Committee Members
1. Attend Committee Meetings (six meetings a year), the AGM, the Coordinators Meeting and the Open Day (each one a year).
2. Participate in the organization and management of the U3A.
3. Act as a Trustee, along with elected Officers and Committee members. (Note---this requirement does not apply to co-opted Committee members).