News - Archive - 2023 AGM
SLEAFORD U3A - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) 2023 NEWS
This year's large turnout of members at the AGM...
Received the Acting Chair's Report which highlighted the increase in membership since the pandemic decline, and highlighted the importance of Interest Groups that have been revived and new Groups and Short Courses run during the past year - New Groups such as the three Spanish Language groups for varying skill levels, the Bridge Group; Revived and Enlarged Groups such as British History and German, which have moved to larger venues; and the continued success of established Groups such as Games and Quiz Groups, Gardening (our largest Group), Photography, Crafts, Sports, Dancing, and Singing Groups, and many more. However, a few Groups are still inactive or are seeking members to facilitate them (either as a single Group Leader, or as a shared effort by several members).
Members Approved the revised unaudited accounts for the past two years, after significant work by the Acting Treasurer to reconcile the historic bank records to transactions against those accounts.
During the course of that work, large adjustments were needed to the Beacon system records to bring those unmaintained years into line with the confirmed Bank and other monetary records. This was a huge effort by the Acting Treasurer and others and now allows the simple ongoing maintenance of Group and u3a financial records in Beacon and the Bank and other financial records going forward.
This improved understanding of the accounts has allowed the Committee to work to a budget that will require NO INCREASE TO SUBSCRIPTIONS again this year, although, as with previous years, the Reclaiming of Tax Relief on Gift Aid for as many members as possible is required for the u3a to break even. Members were requested to check that they had ticked the Gift Aid box if they were tax payers, as this keeps annual membership costs down.
The Committee are constantly reviewing costs to get the best value for money for members, including looking at the use of lower-cost meeting venues for future members meetings, and have achieved Charity-status registration to implement Free-for-Non-Profits computer software and services from Google, Microsoft, and others in place of services previously charged for.
Members were Informed of the Current Committee and Supporting Role-holders, and the Vacancies, many of which have remained unfilled since the pandemic, and rely on existing Committee members taking on other tasks in addition to their main role. This has been a worsening trend over the past few years, and the Committee are keen to remedy this and welcome anyone who could be 'Really Useful' to them, either by helping them with their roles, or with any of the many smaller jobs that have also fallen to the Committee because of the lack of volunteers.
Particularly, it was emphasised again that help is needed:
By the Acting Treasurer (if you regularly check your bank personal statement [You Should!], could you be Really Useful and also check the u3a bank statement and enter transactions into Beacon, after training?);
By the Beacon, Web and Membership Admins (if you have a computer, access to the internet and use it to search and send emails, could you also be Really Useful and type content into a u3a Group page to keep the u3a website up-to-date, or help to update Group or News pages, or update membership contact details on Beacon at the busy renewal period each year, after training? ...Or even just to help stuff envelopes?);
In Publicity and Promotion activities (if you enjoy meeting people, could you be Really Useful by helping with promotions, or manning a u3a or Group stand, or help prepare the bi-monthly Newsletter? Or even just come up with good ideas?),
...and in the future, as u3a or Group Meetings move to lower cost meeting venues, could you be Really Useful in assisting with setting out the meeting rooms, making refreshments, registering members and tidying away?
Every u3a is run by its members, for the benefit of its members.
Many members already help in a big way - Thank You! - and many more in a small way - Thank You Too! - and they would like YOU to join them in any way you can - Because YOU CAN BE REALLY USEFUL!
So, why not contact any u3a office holder on the Committee or your Group Leaders to find out HOW you could be Really Useful to them in some way? They will all be grateful for your offer of help and support to keep Sleaford u3a running. [There is a Contact page on the website].
Members were Entertained by the recently-formed 'French Connection' singing group who concluded the meeting with a varied set of songs from past decades and concluded with members joining in with flag-waving and singing to the wartime classic, "We'll Meet Again."
To Close the Meeting, the three raffle winners were drawn and The Next Members Meeting Date was announced for Friday, 24th November 2023 with further details to follow.