Constitution
of
SPECIAL NEEDS PARENTS ASSOCIATION
Registered Charity Number: CHY 19675
1. Name: The name of the body is Special Needs Parents Association
2. Main Objective: the main objective for which the body is established is to support all parents of persons with special needs and disabilities. This will be done by providing assistance and advice for parents of persons with special needs and disabilities and by promoting the improved treatment, services, education, welfare and acceptance for our children.
3. Subsidiary Objectives(s): In furtherance exclusively of the foregoing main objective, the body shall have the following subsidiary objectives:
1. to watch over, protect and act in the interests of persons with disabilities and special needs.
2. to familiarise and advise the community of the special skills, services and understanding necessary for the care and management of persons with disabilities and special needs so as to assist such persons to develop their full potential.
3. to encourage and promote the establishment and improvement of day care and residential centres and other facilities for the training, development and support of persons with disabilities and special needs.
4. Powers. To the extent that the same are essential or ancillary to the promotion of the main object of the body as heretofore set out the body may exercise the following powers:
1. provide and maintain suitable premises and equipment for the purposes of the charity.
2. provide publications, courses and other facilities for imparting knowledge and exchange of ideas in respect of disabilities and special needs.
3. liaise with government departments and other organisations, agencies, professionals and other persons within the country and outside, interested in and having expert knowledge in the welfare of persons with disabilities and special needs.
4. fundraise in an efficient manner according to methods that are deemed socially acceptable.
5. Rules
5.1 Membership
Membership will be open to all persons and corporations who subscribe to the objects of the Charity. Membership shall consist of the following classes:
a.Ordinary Membership
All Parents/Guardians/Carers who have a child with a diagnosis of a ‘disability’ or ‘special needs’ shall be eligible to apply for Ordinary Membership in the Charity. The Committee will be allowed to use their discretion in allowing any other person to join the Charity.
b.Honorary Membership
The Committee may from time to time elect as an Honorary Member any person who has achieved eminence in the field of disability or has distinguished himself/herself by contributing financially to the Charity.
5.2.Patrons-in-Chief and Patrons
The Charity may, on the recommendation of the Committee at any General Meeting, appoint:
a.A Patron-in-chief and/or
b.Patron(s), not exceeding four (4) in number.
The appointment of a Patron-in-chief and/or Patron(s) shall be from amongst persons who have achieved eminence or distinguished themselves in the medical, academic, business or professional community or in public life, or have rendered distinguished services to charitable organisations
5.3 Rights and Duties of Members
a.Members shall be entitled to nominate or second a candidate for election, vote at the General Meetings or be elected to hold office in the Committee, provided he/she is not in arrears of subscription.
b.It shall be the duty of each member to see that their subscriptions, if applicable, are paid regularly without demand
c.If at any time it is the opinion of the Committee that the interests of the Charity so require, the Committee shall request any member to resign from the Charity within seven (7) days and in default of such resignation to expel such member at a special Committee Meeting convened for that purpose. The defaulting member shall be given notice of such meeting, which notice shall also inform the member of his/her opportunity to present his/her case before the meeting, either orally or in document form. A resolution of expulsion shall require a two-thirds majority vote of the Committee Members present. The Committee shall have power to deny the member the privileges of membership and exclude him/her from the Charity’s premises until such meeting has been held.
5.4 Application to Membership
a.A candidate for membership shall complete an application form and membership form which shall be sent to the Secretary.
b.A candidate shall be elected to membership by the Committee at their sole discretion and no reason needs be given for an application being rejected.
c.Upon election to membership, the name of the candidate together with such particulars as the Committee shall require shall be entered into the membership register and the fact of his/her election shall be communicated to the candidate.
d.A successful candidate shall be given a copy of the Charity’s constitution upon the payment of the prescribed subscription fee.
5.5 Annual Subscription (if applicable)
a.The annual subscriptions may be decided and varied from time to time at a General Meeting. Any additional funds required for special purposes may only be raised from members by a majority vote at a General Meeting.
b. The annual subscriptions shall be payable in advance on 1st May in each year,
c.If a member falls into arrears of subscription for one (1) month, he/she shall be notified by the Treasurer. In default of his/her settling his/her subscription within six (6) weeks after it is due, the Committee may order that his/her name be posted on the Charity’s notice board and that he/she be denied the privileges of membership until he/she settles the same. If he/she remains in arrears for more than three (3) months, the Committee may delete him/her from the Register of Members.
5.6 Committee and Management
a.The management of the Charity shall be vested in the Committee consisting of the following who shall be elected at the alternate Annual General Meetings:
A Chairperson
A Vice-chairperson
A Secretary
An Assistant Secretary
A Treasurer
An Assistant Treasurer
A Public Relations Officer/Fundraising and Events Co-coordinator
b..Five (5) ordinary Committee Members of whom at least two (2) shall be parents of persons with a disability or special needs unless such parents shall not be available for election or decline to be elected.
c.Candidates for election to the Committee must be proposed and seconded by two (2) members of the Charity and their names must be submitted to the Secretary at least two (2) weeks before the Annual General Meeting, and every candidate for election must signify in writing his/her consent to the nomination. Nominations shall be closed seven (7) days before the date of the Annual General Meeting. If no seconder is provided for the written motion, the Chairperson will seek a seconder from the attendance at the AGM in order to validate the resolution.
d.Election of members as office bearers shall be on a simple majority vote of members present at the Annual General Meeting. Voting shall normally be conducted by a show of hands or, at the request of any member and by a majority vote of those in attendance, by secret ballot.
e.Except for the 1st Annual General Meeting, a candidate for election to the Committee must have been a member of the Charity for at least one (1) year before he can be proposed as such candidate unless there are insufficient candidates with the requisite qualifications to fill all the posts.
f.The duty of the Committee is to organise and supervise the daily activities of the Charity. The Committee shall not act contrary to the expressed wishes of the General Meeting without prior reference to it and always remains subordinate to the General Meeting.
g. TheCommittee may:
1.Co-opt such ordinary Member(s) as may be needed to fill any casual vacancy to serve until the next election at the Annual General Meeting
2.Appoint any special Committee(s) or Sub-Committee(s) of three (3) to ten (10) members with such powers and duties as the Committee may determine
3.Invite any person(s) to be present at any Committee Meeting and to participate at such a meeting provided that such person(s) shall not have the right to vote.
h.The Committee may from time to time appoint a paid officer or officers to carry out such duties as the Committee may determine, save that nothing shall be construed as the Committee or any member of the Committee abdicating the responsibilities or which the Committee and/or its members have been elected/co-opted into.
i.All employees of the Charity shall not be eligible for election to the Committee.
j.Committee Meetings
1.Committee Meetings shall be held at least once every four (4) months in person after a minimum of seven (7) days' notice to members. The Chairperson may call a Committee Meeting at any time by giving five (5) days' notice.
2.At least half of the members of the Committee present shall form a quorum.
3.Any member of the Committee who is absent for three (3) consecutive meeting without satisfactory explanations shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the Committee. A successor may be co-opted by the Committee to serve until the next Annual General Meeting.
k.The Committee has power to authorise all the expenditure as necessary from the Charity's funds for the purposes of carrying out the activities of the Charity.
l. In the event that the full compliment of the Committee, as outlined above, is not elected at a General Meeting, the minimum permitted compliment required to be elected for office will be six members organised as follows;
Chairperson
Secretary
Treasurer
Three other members
5.7 Rights and Duties of Office Bearers
a.Without prejudice to the rights and duties usually attached to such office bearers, their duties shall be as follows:
1.Chairperson
The Chairperson shall preside at all Committee and General Meetings and shall sign the minutes of such meetings after they have been duly confirmed as a correct record thereof. He/She shall represent the Charity in its dealings with outside persons. The Chairperson shall have a casting vote in the event of a tie. The incumbent shall be a parent of a person with a disability or special needs.
2.Vice-Chairperson
The Vice-Chairperson shall assist the Chairperson and deputise for him/her in his absence subject to Rule 9(f), the incumbent shall be a parent of a person with a disability or special needs.
3.Secretary
The Secretary shall keep all records (except financial) of the Charity and shall be responsible for their correctness. He/She shall, when instructed by the Chairperson, convene and keep minutes of all meetings, conduct correspondence (except financial), maintain an up-to-date register of members, prepare the annual report and perform such duties as may be entrusted to him/her by the Chairperson. Subject to Rule 9(f), the incumbent shall be a parent of a person with a disability or special need
4.Treasurer
The Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining proper accounts of all monetary transactions of the Charity. He/She shall receive all monies, keep all funds and disburse all monies on behalf of the Charity and be responsible for their correctness. The incumbent shall conduct all financial correspondence on behalf of the Charity and prepare an annual statement of accounts for presentation at the Annual General Meeting.
5. Assistant Secretary/Treasurer
The Assistant Secretary and the Assistant Treasurer shall assist respectively the Secretary and the Treasurer and will deputise for them in their absence
6.Public Relations Officer/Fundraising and Events Co-ordinator
The Public relations Officer/Fundraising and Events Co-ordinator will raise the profile of the group to relay the key messages and work of the Charity to the public. He/She shall have a good understanding of the Charity, have the ability to write articles for local media and in general have the ability to develop contacts and liaise with the media. The role will also involve the creation and organisation of fundraising activities. Guidelines as outlined in Section 15 must be adhered to.
7.Ordinary Members
Members not having any specific duties shall perform such duties as shall be entrusted to them by the Committee from time to time and shall assist in the general administration of the Association.
b.Every office bearer, by virtue of his agreement to stand for election, undertakes that he has no conflict of interest between his outside activities and his service to the Charity.
5.8 Finance
a.The financial year shall be from 1st April to 31st March.
b.The Treasurer shall as soon as possible, upon receipt of monies thereof, deposit such sums of money with the Charity’s bankers.
c.All cheques of the Charity shall be signed jointly by two members of the Committee.
d.Only Committee members will be the named individuals on any financial documentation.
e. Bank accounts operated by the Association, will include on line banking with full access established for the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer with viewing access established for the Chairperson and Secretary
5.9Audit
a.The accounts of the Association shall be audited by a firm of Public Accountants to be appointed at the Annual General Meeting for the term of one year. It may be re-appointed year after year.
b.The firm of Public Accountants:
1.Will be required to audit each year's accounts and present a report upon them to the Annual General Meeting.
2.May be required by the Chairperson to audit the Charity’s accounts for any period within their tenure of office at any date and make a report to the Committee.
5.10 Supreme Authority and General Meetings
a. The supreme authority of the Charity is vested in a General Meeting of the members presided over by the Chairperson.
b.Annual General Meeting
1. The Annual General Meeting shall be held annually not going over an 18 month period. Notice of meeting stating the date and place of meeting will be communicated by the Secretary to members not less than twenty one (21) days before the date of the meeting.
2.At least Five (5) members present and entitled to vote shall form a quorum at an Annual General Meeting. Provided that if a quorum is still not present after an adjournment of thirty (30) minutes from the time fixed for the meeting, those present and entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum, but they shall not have the power to amend the constitution of the Charity.
3.All motions for amendments to the constitution and all resolutions to be considered at the Annual General Meeting shall be formulated in terms of a documented proposal by the member proposing same along with a separate document from another member seconding the proposal for inclusion in the agenda of the meeting, so as to reach the Secretary not less than fourteen (14) days before the date fixed for the meeting. If no seconder is provided for the written motion or resolution, the Chairperson will seek a seconder from the attendance at the AGM in order to validate the motion or resolution.