THE CONSTITUTION

THE BRAHMIN SOCIETY ‘NORTH LONDON’

CHARITY REGISTRATION NO: 287810

REVISION: December 2016

THE BRAHMIN SOCIETY ‘NORTH LONDON’

NAME

  1. The name of the society is THE BRAHMIN SOCIETY ‘NORTH LONDON’ (hereinafter referred to as “the BSNL".

OBJECTS

  1. The objects of the BSNL shall be:-
  1. To promote the advancement of the Hindu religion.
  2. To promote the relief of poverty and sickness.
  3. To advance education.
  4. To promote participation in healthy recreation

POWERS

  1. The BSNL shall have the power to do any lawful act or thing in furtherance of the above objects and in particular:
  1. To provide the means and facilities for education, religious, cultural and recreational activities and where possible, provide Hindu Priests for other communities.
  1. To support other local charitable organizations or institutions having objects similar to those of the BSNL provided they are of a non-political nature.
  1. To promote and foster activities pertaining to the philosophy of the Hindu religion amongst the people of Greater London and exchange views and ideas with communities of other religions.

MEMBERSHIP

  1. Membership

i) Membership is open to individuals over eighteen, who must apply on the BSNL's membership application form which will be subject to approval by the Board of Trustees provided he / she

a) Accepts and actively supports the objectives of the BSNL;

b) Pays a voluntary amount as annual membership fees.

ii) The Board of Trustees:

a) May only refuse an application for membership if, acting reasonably and properly, they consider it to be in the best interests of the BSNL to refuse the application.

b) Must inform the applicant in writing of the reasons for the refusal within twenty-one days of the decision.

c) Must consider any written representations the applicant may make about the decision. The Board of Trustees’ decision following any written representations must be notified to the applicant in writing but shall be final.

iii) Membership is not transferable to anyone else.

iv)The Board of Trustees must keep a register of names and addresses of the Full and Associate members, which must be made available for review by any member upon request.

v) Membership will be of two types:

a) Full membership of the BSNLwill be limited to members on record who are deemed to have adopted this constitution. An annual subscription will be paid by all members. The amount to be paid yearly will be decided by the Board of Trustees at its first meeting following the adoption of this constitution, and reviewed for appropriateness annually by the Board of Trustees.

b) Associate membership will be available to those who would like to join the BSNL and accept and actively support the objectives of the BSNL, on payment of an annual membership fee which will be decided by the Board of Trustees at its first meeting following the adoption of this constitution, and reviewed for appropriateness annually. Following a period of three years of being an Associate member (or at the discretion of the Board of Trustees) and being actively involved with the BSNL, the Board of Trustees may co-opt them into full membership following receipt of a written application.

c) Family Membership of each person of the family will also include the other direct family members resident at the same address i.e. spouse, partner, and children. The membership fee which will be set by the Board of Trustees at its first meeting following the adoption of this constitution and will extend to the family as a whole and rather than a separate fee for each person in the family. This fee will be reviewed for appropriateness annually by the Board of Trustees.

  1. Associate Family membership will be available to those who would like to join the BSNL and accept and actively support the objectives of the BSNL, on payment of an annual membership fee which will be decided by the Board of Trustees at its first meeting following the adoption of this constitution, and reviewed for appropriateness annually. Following a period of three yearsof being an Associate Family members and being actively involved with the BSNL, the Board of Trustees may co-opt them into Full membership following receipt of a written application.
  2. Full Family membership of the BSNLwill be limited to members resident at the same address who are deemed to have adopted this constitution. A Family member’ssubscription will be paid in full. The amount to be paid yearly will be decided by the Board of Trustees at its first meeting following the adoption of this constitution, and reviewed for appropriateness annually by the Board of Trustees. Only one person for each Full Family Membership will be entitled to vote at meetings.

d) Life Membership is also available to Full Members after a period of 3 years qualification to be approved by the Board of Trustees and the payment of a Life Membership fee that will be decided by the Board of Trustees following the adoption of this constitution and reviewed on an annual basis. (Current Full Members are immediately eligible for consideration by the Board of Trustees following the adoption of this constitution.

vi) Non-members can take active participation in social and religious activities, however in the event of any restrictions of number(s), preference must at all times to be given to the Full, Life and Associated members.

vii) Termination of Membership

Membership is terminated if:

a) The member dies or, if BSNL, ceases to exist;

b) The member resigns by written notice to the BSNL unless, after the resignation, there are less than two members;

c) Any sum due from the member totheBSNL is not paid in full within two months of it falling due;

d) The Full or Associate member is removed from membership by a resolution of the Board of Trustees that it is in the best interests of the BSNL that his or her membership is terminated. A resolution to remove a Full or an Associated member from membership may only be passed if:

i) The member has been given at least twenty one days’ notice in writing of the meeting of the Board of Trustees at which the resolution will be proposed and the reasons why it is to be proposed;

ii) The member or, at the option of the member, the member’s representative (who need not be a member of the BSNL) has been allowed to make representations to the meeting.

MEMBERSHIP FEES

5 i) The annual membership fee is payable on approval of Full and Associated membership and thereafter at the commencement of the BSNL’s financial year.

ii) The membership fees must be paid by all Full and Associate members within 2 months of the commencement of the BSNL’s financial year.

iii)If any Full or Associate member has not paid the fees within the above 2 month period, he or she shall cease to be a member, per clause 4 vii sub section c.

iv) The Board of Trustees shall review the membership fees of all classes of membership for appropriateness on an annual basis and shall have the right to set the annual membership fees with any changes notified in writing to Full and Associate members giving at least one month’s notice.

RIGHTS OF MEMBERS

6 i) A Full member, provided he has paid the current Fees, shall be entitled to attend and vote at all general meetings of the BSNL but a person whose membership fees has not been paid at the commencement of the BSNL’s financial year shall lose his entitlement to vote or stand for election for any elective post of the BSNL.

ii) Life Members shall be entitled to attend and vote at all General Meetings of the BSNL.

iii) Associate members shall not be entitled to vote at any meeting nor stand for election of any post of the BSNL under clause 7.

iv) Patrons and donors shall not be entitled to vote at any meetingnor stand for election of any postof BSNL under clause7.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

7 (a) The management of the BSNL shall be vested in the Board of Trustees under the overriding authority of the AGM or Extra-ordinary General Meeting convened for the purpose. The real property and investments (if any), other than bank and building society deposits, of the BSNL shall be held in the names of not less than three nor more than four individuals as Trustees who shall administer the same in all respects in accordance with the direction of the decisions taken at an AGM or EGM. The decision of the Board of Trustees in respect of the condition for the use of the property and investments (if any) shall be final. Such a decision shall not be arrived at without consultation with the membership of the BSNL.

(b) The Board of Trustees shall consist of up to 9 and not more than 15 members elected by and from Full and Life members of the BSNL as hereinafter provided

(c) The qualification period for election as a Trustee shall be at least one year served as a member of a sub-committee or having served as an office bearer or as a management committee member for at least 1 year at any time prior to the adoption of this constitution and its revised governance structure.

(d) The nominee for the post of Trustee must have been a Full member of the BSNL for at least two of the previous four years. For the purpose of this clause, a year is the period between one AGM to another AGM and any such period of less than a year will be treated as one year.

(e)The Board of Trustees shall invite nominations for the post of all Trustees by sending a request for written nominations and nomination forms for this purpose shall be issued with the notice of the AGM and shall also be made available via the BSNL's website or other media as may be agreed by the Board of Trustees from time to time.

(f)A duly completed nomination form, signed by the candidate, proposer and seconded, as specified in clause 7 (e) must be delivered to the Chairperson of the Board of the Trustees at least 14 days before the date of the AGM in a sealed envelope. A Full member can submit nominations for more than one Trustee. The candidate, proposer and seconder must all be Full members of the BSNL.

(g) The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees shall with the help of the Secretary arrange a joint meeting of The Board of Trustees at least 10 days before the AGM to open all sealed envelopes received from the nominees. The Secretary will submit the names of the candidates to the AGM. If no nominations have been received or the nomination received, is withdrawn by the nominee, then nominations can be accepted from the floor at the AGM, however, a nomination formsigned by the candidate, proposer and seconder, must still be completed.

(h)If the total number of nominations received for the membership of the Board of Trustees is equal to or less than required given rotation of Trustees, then all the nominees shall automatically be declared elected in the AGM. The AGM shall invite nominations from the floor, if the total number of the nominations is less than required then an election shall be conducted only for the remaining number of the Trustees to make up their total number.

(i) Clause 7(d) will not be applicable if nominations have not been received for the aforesaid posts, to ensure that the BSNL has due oversight and governance in place of a full number of trustees.

(j)A person will not be eligible to be a nominee as a Trustee of the BSNL if he or she is disqualified by virtue of clause 7(u).

(k)Paid Officers

The Board of Trustees shall have the power to appoint and dismiss any paid officers of the BSNL as it may from time to time determine

(l) All Trustees shall retire after having served a period of two years consecutively, but shall be eligible to be elected or co-opted again.

(m) A meeting of the Trustees at which a quorum is present shall be competent to exercise all the authorities, powers and discretion given by the BSNL, for the time being vested in the Board of Trustees generally. A quorum for a Board of Trustees meeting shall be a minimum of 5 Trustees which must include at least one of: Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretary or Treasurer.

(n)The Trustees shall have powers to appoint such sub-committees as it may from time to time decide and determine their powers and terms of reference. All acts and proceedings of such committee must be reported for approval to the Board of Trustees at the earliest opportunity and in any event no less than 48 hours after the sub-committee has met. The meetings and the proceedings of any sub-committee shall be governed by the provisions of the Board of Trustees.

(o)The Board of Trustees shall meet formally at least once every month and notice of every such meeting together with the Agenda to be discussed thereat and a copy of the minutes of the previous meeting shall be sent individually to all members of the Board of Trustees either by post or electronic means, at least seven days before the meeting.

(p) A resolution in writing signed by all the members of the Board of Trustees for the time being entitled to receive notice of a meeting thereof shall be valid and effective as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Board of Trustees duly convened and held.

(q)In the interest of the BSNL and to avoid any possible conflict of interest, no member of the Board of Trustees may be involved in any personal/commercial activity that may conflict with similar activities normally undertaken by the BSNL.

(r) The Board of Trustees may invite any person or persons to attend their meetings as observer(s) or advisors but without powers to vote. Any full member of the BSNL may also attend meetings as observers, again without the power to vote.

(s)The Board of Trustees shall act as liaison between other institutions and the BSNL.

(t) The Board of Trustees shall foster harmonious relationships between the Full, Life and Associate members of the BSNL and people of different religions and cultures.

(u) A member of the Board of Trustees shall cease to be a Trustee if he or she:

  1. resigns;
  2. fails Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks performed on appointment of Trustee’s election;
  3. is convicted of an offence involving moral response;
  4. is adjudged insolvent or is an un-discharged bankrupt;
  5. has made compositions with creditors and has not been discharged or has un-discharged County Court Judgment against his name;
  6. has been convicted at any time of any offence involving deception or dishonesty;
  7. has at any time, been removed from office by the Charity Commissioners or by the Courts in England, Wales or Scotland because of misconduct;
  8. is disqualified from being a company director;
  9. has failed to make payments under the county court administration orders;
  10. is found guilty of misconduct or is carrying on activities which in the opinion of the Board of Trustees are detrimental and harmful to the interests and reputation of the BSNL, provided that he or she shall have the right to be heard by the Arbitration Committee. The decision of the Arbitration Committee will be final. The Trustee involved shall remain suspended and shall also be disqualified to be part of any other BSNL sub-committee until the Arbitration Committee has concluded the matter;

(v) The Board of Trustees shall appoint and maintain an independent five member Arbitration Committee consisting of persons of good standing who have contributed to the cause of the BSNL and/or the Community (at least three of the five members of this Committee should be past-Presidents of the BSNL);

(w) If the Chair of Trustees is unable to act due to ill health, holiday or for any other reason, the Deputy Chair will assume the responsibility of the Chair during the period when the Chair is unable to so act.

(x) If a seat on the Board of Trustees becomes vacant, the Chair of Trustees will issue an invitation to the membership for eligible Full members to be proposed and seconded in writing per Clause 7 (f). The Board of Trustees may invite applicants to a meeting to consider their application and make their decision accordingly. In cases, such as these, the appointed Trustee will fulfil this role only until the next AGM and will be asked to stand for re-election with any other Trustee roles that may be up for rotation. If re-elected, he will continue serving only for another year to make up his full 2 years in office.

(y) The Trustees shall with such consent as is by law required deal with the property so vested in them by the way of sale, mortgage, charge, lease or otherwise however directed by any decision taken at an AGM or EGM.

(z) The Board of Trustees will elect a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and a Secretary as well as allocating areas of responsibility, such as finance, membership and fundraising from amongst themselves to conduct their business, hold monthly meetings, record minutes and liaise with the membership of the BSNL at all times.

(aa) The Trustees will be reimbursed such expenses they may incur on BSNL’s business which will be reasonable and justifiable.

(ab) In case of any dispute with the membership, which remains unresolved, the Trustees shall have the right to be heard by the Full and Life members at an EGM of the BSNL with that matter clearly specified on the agenda of such meeting.