Adopted at the Annual General Meeting on 9th June 2016 and amended on 31st August 2020 and 12th June 2024.
1. Name
The name of the Society shall be the “Friends of Herefordshire Archives”, which refers to the records in the care of the Herefordshire Archives Service maintained by the Herefordshire Council. The Society shall be a Registered Charity.
2. Objects
The objects of the Society shall be the education of the public by promotion, support, assistance and improvement of the Herefordshire Archives Service through the activity of a group of Friends. ln furtherance of these objects but not otherwise the Society shall have power to:
a. encourage, promote and assist in the formation and development of a group of Friends of Herefordshire Archives;
b. generally to further the purposes of the Herefordshire Archives Service;
c. engage in, support and co-ordinate research, publishing, education, publicity and other work for the furtherance of the above objects providing that no activities of a permanent trading nature shall be undertaken by the Society;
d. obtain, collect and receive money and funds by way of contribution, legacies, grants and any other lawful method;
e. purchase furniture, equipment, manuscripts, printed books or other materials;
f. procure to be written and print, publish, issue and circulate gratuitously or otherwise any reports, periodicals, books, pamphlets, leaflets or other documents;
g. arrange and provide for or join in arranging for the holding of exhibitions, meetings, lectures, classes and visits;
h. do all such things as are necessary for the furtherance of the objects of the Society.
3. Income and Property
The income and property of the Society, whencesoever derived, shall be provided solely towards the promotion of the objects of the Society and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend, bonus or otherwise howsoever by way of profit to members of the Society.
4. Activities
In furtherance of the above-mentioned objects the Society shall:
a. organise and promote such meetings, visits, exhibitions, lectures, whether of members of the Society or members of the public as may seem appropriate or may provide money for the Society, and
b. do its utmost to support and provide the means for individual members of the Society and others to volunteer help and assistance to the staff of the Herefordshire Archives Service.
c. In all things have due regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit.
5. Constitution
The Society shall consist of the Patron and the following members;
a. Ex-officio members
b. Honorary members
c. Ordinary members
d. Associate members
6. Membership
a. Ex-officio membership shall be open at the invitation of the Committee to up to two members of the Staff of the Herefordshire Archives Service. Ex-officio members shall not be required to pay an annual subscription.
b. Honorary life membership shall be open at the unanimous invitation of the Committee to present or former members of the Society, and former members of the Staff of the Herefordshire Archives Service, who have rendered exceptional and long-standing service. Honorary members shall not be required to pay an annual subscription.
c. Ordinary membership, which may be annual or life, shall be open to any person, company, firm, society, association, school or other body upon payment of annual subscriptions. Subscription rates shall be set at the Annual General Meeting, subject to due notice being given to all Members of any proposed change (Section 8a below).
d. Any ordinary member, not being a person, shall be entitled to appoint a person as its representative in the activities of the Society, such appointment or change of appointment to be effective upon delivery to the Secretary of written notice thereof.
e. Subscriptions shall be due on 1 April. Any member whose subscription shall be in arrears for more than two years shall lose membership.
f. To create and sustain a mutually supportive relationship, Associate membership may be accorded to any person not already an ordinary member who is actively engaged in volunteering support to the Herefordshire Archives Service. Associate members shall not be required to pay an annual subscription but they will receive the Society’s Newsletters and will be invited to attend meetings, visits, exhibitions and lectures arranged or sponsored by the Society.
7. Administration
a. The conduct and administration of the affairs and funds of the Society shall be in the hands of the Officers and Committee. The Officers of the Society shall be the Chairman, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer.
b. All ordinary members of the Committee are automatically Trustees of the Charitable Society. The Committee shall consist of not more than nine members (inclusive of the Officers), being ordinary members or representatives of ordinary members as provided in Section 6d above, and either or both of the ex-officio members. Five ordinary members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum.
c. The Committee shall have power to co-opt any person having special skill or knowledge but in relation only to the consideration by the Committee of matters where such special skill or knowledge would be of assistance, and such co-opted members shall not have power to vote. The Committee shall
also have power to form sub-committees for particular purposes as they deem appropriate.
d. The Annual General Meeting shall elect the Officers and Committee, such Officers to hold office for three years.
e. The Officers and Members of the Committee shall have one vote on issues arising at meetings of the Committee. Where there is an equality of votes the Chairman shall have the right to use a casting vote.
f. Two members of the Committee other than the ex-officio members shall retire annually but shall be eligible for reelection.
g. The two annual vacancies, and any other vacancies, shall be filled by an election, at which all ordinary members of the Society may vote. In April each year all ordinary and associate members of the Society will be invited to make nominations for the vacancies on the Committee from those who are already ordinary members of the Society. ln the event of the number of persons nominated not exceeding vacancies, they shall become members of the Committee. After nominations have been received, provided their number exceeds the vacancies, each ordinary member shall have the right to vote at the Annual General Meeting, after which the newly elected members shall join the Committee.
h. The Committee shall have the power to fill casual vacancies on the Committee until the next Annual General Meeting.
i. The Honorary Secretary shall do all things and act as the Committee may by resolution direct, shall conduct the correspondence of the Society, convene and attend all meetings of the Committee, prepare an agenda for and make minutes of all such meetings, and generally undertake such duties as the Honorary Secretary of such a Society normally performs.
j. The Honorary Treasurer shall receive all monies payable to the Society and pay such monies into the banking account of the Society, keep a proper account of all monies received and expended, present all accounts to each meeting of the committee for approval and make up the Annual Accounts of the Society to the end of the financial year, 31 March, and submit them to the Annual General Meeting. He/she shall open a bank account in the name of the Society; all cheques or other instruments thereon are to be double signed in accordance with the resolution of the Committee.
k. The Committee may authorise the Honorary Treasurer to invest FHA funds in other types of financial asset, in accordance with the guidance set out in the FHA Investment Policy document at Annex A.
l. The Committee shall ensure that the appropriate annual returns are made to the Charity Commission in a timely manner.
m. The accounts of the Society shall be subject to scrutiny by an independent examiner appointed by the Committee and his/her report and certificate shall be presented in the Annual General Meeting.
ANNEX A – FHA INVESTMENT POLICY
Charitable Purposes
FHA’s charitable purposes are described in Section 2 of the FHA Constitution as adopted at
the AGM on 9 June, 2016 and amended on 31 August 2020. The FHA’s prime objective is to
further the purposes of the Herefordshire Archives Service. Of immediate relevance to FHA’s
investment policy, Section 2(b) of the FHA Constitution states that FHA may do so by
obtaining, collecting and receiving money and funds by way of contribution, legacies, grants,
and any other lawful method.
The constitution therefore allows the committee a significant measure of discretion in
determining how funds held by FHA may be invested.
Investment Objectives
The objectives of FHA’s investment policy are, first, to enhance FHA’s regular income from
subscriptions; second, to ensure that the value of its investments grows over time, if
possible, so as to keep pace with changes in the consumer price index (CPI) over the
medium to long term, defined as a period of 5 to 10 years; third, to ensure that the FHA is
able to access whatever funds are needed to meet regular outgoings and to support the
special purchases of items that enhance HARC’s collection.
Investment Policy
The FHA will aim to achieve these objectives by holding a mix of financial assets:-
Bank deposits
UK government securities
Medium – Low risk equity linked funds designed specifically for charities.
Government securities offer a guaranteed income stream to holders, whilst the equity linked
funds offer a combination of income and capital appreciation. Both types of asset may
appreciate or depreciate in value. In general, the policy will be to maximise the proportion of
FHA assets held in interest bearing or equity linked assets, subject to maintaining a
minimum prudent level of cash holdings. The mix between these three types of investment
will be reviewed periodically by the FHA committee.
Reporting Arrangements
The FHA’s Annual Return to the Charities Commission will include a statement of the FHA’s
investment objectives and information on how the investments have performed during the
year.
Similar information will be provided in the Honorary Treasurer’s report to the AGM.
8. Meetings
a. The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held on such convenient date after March 31st each year as the Committee shall resolve. Fourteen days notice in writing shall be given to all members, together with the agenda for such meeting.
b. A General Meeting of the Society may be convened at any time on fourteen days notice in writing to each ordinary and associate member, either by the Committee or on written requisition to the Chairman signed by not less than twenty ordinary members, which requisition shall state the reason for such meeting.
c. Every member shall be entitled to receive notice of and to attend and speak at each General Meeting.
d. A quorum at any General Meeting shall be fifteen ordinary members (or persons representing them under Section 6d).
e. This Constitution shall not be altered or amended otherwise than by a majority of not less than 60% of those attending an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting.