[OSGeo-UK] RE: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2

Thu Oct 29 06:05:49 EDT 2009

Jo

 Definitely a good idea to put an organisation in place - I guess as low-overhead as possible is the best for now, if we decide we need something more heavyweight in future we can always change. Hopefully setting something up will create its own momentum, and help to bring people into the process.

regards
Antony Scott

________________________________________
From: uk-bounces at lists.osgeo.org [uk-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Joanne Cook [j.cook at oxfordarch.co.uk]
Sent: 28 October 2009 16:17
To: William Wilcox
Cc: uk at lists.osgeo.org
Subject: Re: [OSGeo-UK] RE: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2

Hi Bill

Since OSGeo is a global organisation, there are no real guidelines on how regional chapters should be run, as this changes from country to country. We already meet their minimal criteria by having enough people on the mailing list and having someone as a representative!

You're correct, that if we have a bank account we need a treasurer. However, the rules for voluntary organisations are (I think) pretty relaxed, and there's no formal requirement to register with the Charity Commission etc- in fact registering as a charity makes life considerably more complicated. How we would go about then raising some funds is a different matter for more debate!

We would need a written constitution at some point if we go ahead with this, but again that should be quite straightforward to put together.

As for the general consensus of opinion about this- I haven't had much feedback but what I have had has been positive, so I will look at trying to move things forward unless people object.

All the best and thanks for the questions!

Jo
----- Original Message -----
From: "William Wilcox" <billwilcox at wilcox53.freeserve.co.uk>
To: uk at lists.osgeo.org
Sent: Friday, 23 October, 2009 10:13:11 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal
Subject: [OSGeo-UK] RE: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2

Hi Jo,

Do you know how other regional chapters are run? I appreciate that the law
is different in other countries but it may give us some ideas about the best
way to proceed. I agree that it is a good idea to have some type of
financial fund with which to purchase advertising, web space, etc. Otherwise
we would be very limited in what we could achieve and I feel that one of the
best ways to attract more members is by advertising and raising our profile
at conferences and workshops (with posters & handouts), etc.

However, if we have a bank account would we need a treasurer who would have
to publish yearly accounts - say on the mailing list? If we have a bank
account do we have to inform or register the organisation with an authority?
Is there a way that we could claim VAT back on purchases, etc - such as a
registered charity? I assume that we would only need a relatively small
amount of cash at any one time - say a few hundred pounds maximum. How would
we go about obtaining money? Will we ask people for an initial donation (at
their discretion) or are you thinking about a small annual subscription?
Would we put potential new members off by asking them for a subscription?
What about asking for sponsorship money?

Anyway, you appear to have looked into this matter in detail and so
personally I'm happy to go along with what you feel is the best solution. I
agree with your statement that the running of the UK chapter should be as
informal as possible to allow flexibility. Do we need a core of committee
members and if so how many? Do we need a written constitution?

I'm happy to go along with general consensus of opinion and I'll help and
support in any way I can. Sorry if this email raises more questions than it
answers.

Regards,

Bill

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Sent: 22 October 2009 17:01
To: uk at lists.osgeo.org
Subject: UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2

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Today's Topics:

   1. Question: Should we set up as an organisation? (Joanne Cook)

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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:33:34 +0000 (GMT)
From: Joanne Cook <j.cook at oxfordarch.co.uk>
Subject: [OSGeo-UK] Question: Should we set up as an organisation?
To: uk <uk at lists.osgeo.org>
Message-ID:
        <906227753.49871256225614628.JavaMail.root at mail.thehumanjourney.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Dear All,

As you might recall from the AGM we held back in June after the conference
in Nottingham, I raised the question of whether we should set up as a some
kind of organisation, so we can start having a bank account and similar.
Having looked into this into a little more detail (mainly because this kind
of thing is very new to me), I think that in the first instance an
"Unincorporated Association" is the best bet, of which "voluntary
organisation" is a subset. Here's the official definition:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ctmanual/ctm41305.htm, and some useful
information: http://www.netlawman.co.uk/info/unincorporated-associations.php

That way, we can have a bank account but the rest can be quite informal,
which is nice. We will, however, need to get a few more committee members
etc, even if it's just to be joint signatories on the bank account :-)

I'm opening this up to everyone on the mailing list- is this a good way to
go? Are there better ways?

Thanks

Jo

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Joanne Cook
Senior IT Support and Development
Oxford Archaeology (North)
01524 880212
http://thehumanjourney.net

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End of UK Digest, Vol 20, Issue 2
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Joanne Cook
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Oxford Archaeology (North)
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http://thehumanjourney.net

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