The Club1872 Crossroads

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Board Meeting Summary – 23rd May 2017

The Club 1872 Board met on 23rd May 2017. There were no apologies.

Sub-groups

Laura Fawkes and Joanne Percival gave an update on their activities since being reappointed as Directors. They have organised a series of meetings to establish sub-groups, as per the update that went out to members on Monday 22nd May. All Directors were in agreement that while the purpose of these groups will serve to improve the functioning and growth of the organisation, they should also encourage member engagement. This is a priority for Club 1872. James advised that the constitution, which will be sent out to members for consultation, will detail proposals on how sub-groups will be formed. Laura and Joanne have identified a number of areas of the organisation’s functioning which require immediate attention, including communication. Other areas such as Project planning and delivery are also being looked at. Sub-groups for these and other areas of the organisation’s functioning will be addressed over the coming days and weeks. For the time being, sub-groups will have an informal structure. Ultimately members will decide on the format of sub-groups through consultation and voting on the constitution.

Constitution

James went on to advise that a key function of the constitution will be to increase member engagement, and that it will also focus on mechanisms to address some of the issues that have proven difficult in recent months in terms of Director behaviour.

The consultation on the proposed constitution will take approximately one month. Following publication of the proposed constitution, members will be given a period of approximately two weeks to review the proposal before a series of meetings will begin. These will take place over a period of approximately two weeks. These will allow members opportunities to ask questions, raise concerns and put forward ideas about the proposal. Throughout the consultation period, members will be encouraged to send feedback via a dedicated email address, which will be put out with the proposal. This full and robust consultation period will be followed by a poll of members to determine the constitution they want. We have already contacted members who’ve expressed an interest in volunteering to assist with the consultation.

Membership drive/paper sign-ups

Despite a decision being made at the last Board meeting (and subsequently communicated to members) to send the art work for sign-up forms to a printer, this was not taken forward. Laura and Joanne will now deal with this. The art work has been requested from the person who was dealing with this previously, but has not yet been received. Laura and Joanne will contact members who previously responded to the skills audit in relation to graphic design/marketing. Club 1872 is limited in terms of its budget for this kind of thing, but many members are keen to assist. Laura and Joanne have been in touch with members who are willing to act as Club 1872 reps at a variety of suggested events over the coming months. While paper sign-up forms would be ideal for many of these events, the option of getting people signed up electronically is also available and will be utilised.

Budget

The Board went on to discuss the costs involved in running Club 1872 and whether the admin budget needs to be increased. The Board also discussed whether an organisation of this size requires professional management. This would require an increase in admin spending. The Board agreed that the demands placed on volunteers are extreme and that the workload can be difficult to manage. The idea of management staff will be investigated in terms of need, cost, etc. Any decision on increased spending would be put to members.

Communication with members/member engagement

Stewart Robertson had previously agreed to have weekly conference calls with the Club 1872 Board as well as the monthly meetings that had been taking place up until March 2017. This was not taken forward in recent weeks. Joanne and Laura have now arranged a meeting with Stewart. This will take place next week, and a summary of the discussion will be sent to members. When Joanne and Laura met with Stewart in March, he agreed to attend a meeting with Club 1872 members. This was not taken forward during the time Laura and Joanne were not in position as Directors. This will be discussed with Stewart again next week and a date confirmed to members in due course.

The Board discussed the importance of making it as easy as possible for members to engage with Club 1872 and its functioning. One area where improvements could be made is member polls. Laura will contact the webmaster to discuss ways to make it easier for members to be directed to the area of the website on which votes are cast.

Elections

The Board discussed the timing of the next Club 1872 elections. It was agreed to start preparing for elections now. Supporters Direct will be contacted to ascertain whether they will oversee the process, to check their availability and request their thoughts on the timescale of the vetting process.

Safety of member donations

Given the level of funds currently held in Club 1872’s bank accounts, it was agreed to seek advice from the CIC Regulator and others on steps we can take to ensure the security of member funds. It was recognised that with over £1m on deposit the responsibility of ensuring the integrity of the monies donated by members required careful consideration and discussion with those experienced in dealing with similar situations. Club 1872 needs to ensure the monies can be accessed quickly when opportunities arise but it was felt that substantial transfers should require greater formality.

AOB

Laura advised that season tickets for Erskine veterans had been renewed earlier that day.

Communication with the Crowne Plaza hotel has been ongoing with regard to the Club 1872 inaugural dinner, and arrangements will be finalised in the coming days. Joanne and Laura have arranged a meeting with a member who will assist in the planning of this event and advise on other issues relating to advertising, marketing, etc.

The date of the next Board meeting will be agreed via email and communicated to members in due course.

 

Are Laura and Joanne doing everything? Seems like nothing happened during their absence. What were the remaining board members doing during this period?

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Are Laura and Joanne doing everything? Seems like nothing happened during their absence. What were the remaining board members doing during this period?

 

James Blair is currently the only other director.