Model Constitution for an Inter-Varsity Club
Revised : August 1999 by Stephen Craven, AIVC Secretary
Revised : May 2001 by Bob Clifford, AIVC Chairman
note Parts of this text shown in italics, like this, are optional or require further definition to suit a particular Club's circumstances. Do not include them unaltered without careful consideration. Guidance notes are also printed in italics and should be deleted from the final version of your document.
The use of either male or female gender anywhere in this document is taken to include both men and women.
NAME
1. The name of the Club shall be "The Anytown Inter-Varsity Club" hereinafter referred to as "the Club".
note remember to change this title! Compliance with article 5.1 of the Association of Inter-Varsity Clubs Constitution (given below) is a requirement of membership of the Association.
5.1 The name shall include the words "Inter-Varsity Club" or "Intervarsity Club" or "IVC", otherwise the club must state that it is "a member of the Association of Inter-Varsity Clubs" on all media.
OBJECTS
2. The objects of the Club are:-
(a) To provide opportunities for social, cultural and recreational activities among graduates and other people of similar interests resident in and visiting catchment
note define 'catchment' here in such a manner as to indicate the area in which your club operates, e.g. 'Borsetshire' or 'the districts of Ambridge and Casterbridge'
(b) To provide facilities for visitors or temporary residents from other Inter-Varsity Clubs, in accordance with the Reciprocal Agreement of the Association of Inter-Varsity Clubs.
note Reference to the Reciprocal Agreement should be made, if not here then elsewhere.
(c) To promote and encourage subsidiary societies for the furthering of the above aims.
note Clause 2(c) is optional; if deleted, delete reference to subsidiary societies elsewhere, see also note to clauses 21-23.
3. The Club and its subsidiary societies shall not hold or express any political, religious or racial opinions, nor shall it be associated with any organisation which does.
MEMBERSHIP
4. The following shall be eligible for ordinary membership of the Club:- full time students and graduates of Universities, teaching hospitals or similar institutions, professional people and others considered by the Committee to have similar tastes and interests. Admission to membership shall be subject to approval of the Committee who may take such steps as they see fit to determine the applicant's suitability for membership. All applicants for membership shall, if required, produce evidence of their eligibility for membership. The Committee may, at its absolute discretion, refuse any application for any class of membership without assigning any reason.
note Clause 4 or something equivalent is a requirement of membership of the Association and should not be deleted. If you want to amend it, please consult the AIVC Committee first.
5. The Committee may, by resolution, invite any person of standing to become an honorary member. A General Meeting may invite any person of standing to become an Honorary Vice-President.
6. People staying in the area defined in clause 2a for a short period, and otherwise satisfying the criteria for membership, may become temporary members. No entrance fee shall be charged to temporary members, and subscriptions shall be fixed by the Committee. Honorary and temporary members shall not be qualified either to vote at General Meetings or to hold any office except President or Honorary Vice-President. They shall be entitled to all other benefits and privileges of membership, except as provided in Article 43.
7. Any person, other than a current member of another Club belonging to the Association of Inter Varsity Clubs, applying for membership of the Club for the first time shall first apply to the Committee for introductory membership for a period of three months. At the end of the three month period, introductory members who have obtained the signatures of three full (ordinary or joint) members, including at least one Committee member, recommending them, may apply for full (ordinary or joint) membership. The Committee may, at its absolute discretion, refuse any application for full membership without assigning any reason.
note clauses 5 to 7 are optional. Most clubs do not use all the categories of honorary, temporary and introductory members and Vice-President. Some don't have any of them. If you wish to use them, remember to include reference to them in relevant clauses elsewhere in the document, e.g. 7, 24 and 43. If you do not use them, it is preferable not to renumber remaining clauses, for compatibility between clubs . You may wish to use these clause numbers for other categories of membership, e.g. country or joint members. Remember to check the rest of the document for references to each class of membership.
8. All ordinary members, having paid their current subscription, shall be entitled to the facilities afforded by the Club, and shall be entitled to join any of the subsidiary societies of the Club. They shall be bound by the Constitution, Standing Orders (see Article 23) and other rules of the Club and those of the subsidiary societies they join or intend to join.
9. The Club shall not knowingly admit as a member any person who has been expelled, or who has been refused membership by any Constituent Club of the Association of Inter-Varsity Clubs without consultation with such Association.
note Clause 9 is a requirement of membership of the Association and should not be deleted.
10. Members of other Inter-Varsity Clubs which are members of or affiliated to the Association of Inter-Varsity Clubs may, subject to the payment of such supplementary fees or subscriptions as may from time to time be laid down by the Committee, enjoy all the privileges of membership of the Club, provided that at the same time they comply with the rules and regulations of the Club.
note Reference to such reciprocal facilities should be made, if not here then elsewhere.
11. The annual subscription for each class of member, and entrance fee (if any), shall be fixed by resolution of a general meeting, provided that notice of intention to change such fee or subscription shall first have appeared in the Agenda or notice of the meeting.
12. Every ordinary member shall be notified of the date on which his subscription falls due. If, after one month from that date, he has not paid his subscription, his membership shall lapse forthwith. If any lapsed member wishes to renew his subscription within twelve months of the renewal date, he shall be liable to the full subscription from that date and any entrance fee that may apply at the time. If after twelve months a lapsed member wishes to renew his subscription it will be necessary to submit a formal application to the Committee.
13. Any member may resign membership by giving the Membership Secretary notice in writing to that effect.
14. Members are expected to behave in accordance with the clubs "Code of Conduct". Disputes and complaints about behaviour will be dealt with in accordance with the clubs "Guidance on Handling Disputes". Both these documents can be obtained from the club Secretary. In the event of serious or repeated misconduct by a member, which is incompatible with their continued membership of the club, their membership may be revoked.
note This is a difficult area and one where care is needed. All clubs should have a Code of Conduct and some kind of process for dealing with complaints. You should make sure that members are treated fairly if they are complained about and that they are able to lodge a complaint if they feel they need to. You should also make sure that you have the power to expel members where regrettably this is needed but only while respecting their right to be treated fairly. The documents referred to were approved by the 2005 Conference and are available on this web site.
15. Upon a person ceasing to be a member of the Club he shall forfeit all right to and claim upon the Club and its property and funds except for any claim notified to the Membership Secretary in writing at the time of resignation under Article 13 or 14 or within one month of a notice of expulsion being sent to him.
16. Every member of the Club shall communicate to the Membership Secretary any change of his own address. All notices posted to a member's address shall be considered as having been duly given on the second day following the date of posting, in the case of first class mail, or on the fourth day following the date of posting, in the case of second class mail. Notices served by electronic means such as e-mail or fax shall be considered as having been duly given if no delivery failure message has been received within 24 hours.
17. No proceedings of the Club shall be invalidated solely because of the discovery subsequent thereto of some accidental omission to give notice.
MANAGEMENT
18. The officers of the Club shall include a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Association Liaison Officer (ALO), etc.
note The first four listed are required by AIVC. It is quite permissible, and common in small clubs, for one person to hold more than one office. Others are optional, but advisable for medium/large clubs, and should be listed above. Examples are Membership Secretary, Bulletin Editor, Publicity Officer and Activities Secretary. If there is no membership secretary, the AIVC Communications Officer should be told whom to contact instead.
19. The management of the Club shall be deputed to a Committee consisting of:-
(a) The officers mentioned in Article 18.
(b) Those ordinary members of the Committee elected in accordance with Articles 26 and 27 of the Constitution.
20. The Committee or any Sub-Committee of the Club may by resolution co-opt any additional members for the remainder of the meeting only, unless otherwise empowered by their parent body in accordance with Article 19. At least two-thirds of the members present and eligible to vote must vote in favour of such resolutions.
21.
(a) The Committee may appoint such Sub-Committees as it considers necessary or expedient and may depute or refer to them such powers and duties as it may determine. Such Sub-Committees shall periodically report their proceedings to the Committee and shall conduct their business in accordance with any directions which the Committee might give.
(b) The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer shall be entitled to attend any Committee or Sub-Committee of the Club.
22. Any Committee or Sub-Committee may act despite any vacancy thereon.
23. The Committee may make standing orders to govern its own meetings and those of Sub-Committees of the Club and may make regulations governing the conduct of officers of the Club and the use of Club facilities by members.
note reference to sub-committees is optional; amend these and other relevant clauses if you don't want to have them.
24. The Committee shall have the power to appoint, pay and dismiss such servants of the Club as it deems necessary and may elect any such servant to temporary member of the Club during his tenure of office or for shorter time as it thinks fit.
25. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the funds of the Club, which shall be kept in a recognised bank or building society. Cheques must be signed by both the Treasurer and the Secretary or Chairman.
note Some clubs only require one of the senior officers to sign a cheque. This is acceptable to AIVC but it is good practice generally to require two signatures.
ELECTIONS
26. At the Annual General Meeting an election shall be held for:-
(a) The Officers of the Club as defined in Article 18.
(b) Two ordinary Committee members. [amend as required]
27. All nominations must be signed by at least two members of the Club and the written consent of the nominee obtained. All nominees must be ordinary members of the Club.
28. Any vacancies remaining from the Annual General Meeting or occurring during the year shall be filled by election/co-option at a meeting of the Committee. At least seven clear days notice shall be given of all such elections.
29. A Committee member may be dismissed by the unanimous vote of all the other Committee members on grounds of either a breach of the Constitution or for some other serious reason showing that he should no longer remain in office. An explanation shall be given to all Club members without delay and to the next General Meeting.
MEETINGS
30. Not less than fourteen days' notice shall be given of any General Meeting.
31. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held during month in every year, the date to be fixed by the Committee and published by the Secretary at least fourteen days in advance.
note remember to name the month, and let the AIVC Secretary know when it is.
32. The business of the AGM shall include:
(a) Reception of a financial report to include the audited accounts for the preceding year.
(b) Reception from the Chairman of a report of the Club's activities during the previous year.
(c) Election of Officers and Ordinary Committee Members as laid down in Article 26.
(d) Any motion relevant to the meeting of which seven days' notice has been given to the Secretary.
(e) Any other business agreed to by the Meeting.
33. The Committee may at any time order an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). The Secretary shall convene an EGM within twenty one days of the receipt of a written requisition signed by at least twenty of the Ordinary Members stating the purpose for which the meeting is required, or within such longer period as is stated in such requisition. The principal business of an EGM shall be stated in the notice of meeting or in a preliminary agenda circulated at least fourteen days before the meeting.
note the number shown as twenty may be varied; it is suggested that for small clubs a figure of around 20% of the typical membership figure is appropriate.
34. The final agenda for an EGM incorporating any motions relevant to the purpose of the meeting received by the Secretary shall be drawn up by the Secretary and be available to any member at least seven days before the meeting. No business shall be discussed at an EGM other than that on the Agenda.
QUORUM AND VOTING
35. The quorum for any General Meeting shall be twenty-five per cent of the ordinary members or xx whichever is the lesser number. If any General Meeting held does not reach a quorum within one hour of the designated start time it shall proceed, with any decisions taken being reviewed at an EGM convened for the purpose. If the second meeting is not quorate at the start time specified in the agenda then the decisions of the original meeting shall be deemed to be ratified.
note the phrase in italics is appropriate for smaller clubs where 25% represents very few people. Set a value of x that you are happy with, but 10 would be a sensible minimum for all but the smallest clubs. There are alternative ways of dealing with inquorate meetings; consult the AIVC Committee for advice.
36. At all General Meetings of the Club every ordinary member present shall be entitled to one vote on every motion and in case of an equality of vote the Chairman shall have a casting vote. Voting shall be by a show of hands unless xx members request a secret ballot. Proxy votes cannot be accepted.
note the suggested value of xx is ten, but obviously it needs to be less than the figure in clause 35!
37. The Committee shall meet at least once in each calendar month.