1. Title
The name of the organisation shall be the Oxfordshire Family History Society.
2. Society Objectives
a. to advance education in family history and genealogy primarily within the post-1974 county of Oxfordshire
b. to collect, index, co-ordinate, publish and make accessible in the interests of family history and genealogy any relevant document or records relating to the county
c. to promote the preservation of such documents or records
d. to encourage the study of family history and genealogy
e. to assist educationally by lectures or otherwise in record research
f. to co-operate with family history and other societies with similar interests.
3. The Executive Committee
a. The Executive Committee shall consist of four officers: a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Editor, together with no fewer than three and no more than eight other committee members. Members of the Executive Committee are trustees of the Registered Charity and must not be disqualified by law from acting as a trustee.
b. The Executive Committee shall administer the affairs of the Society and shall hold meetings at least four times in any period of twelve months and shall determine the rules and procedures to govern its own meetings.
c. Nominations for officer roles and for membership of the Executive Committee must be submitted to the Secretary of the Executive Committee, either by post or by electronic mail, so as to arrive not less than 21 days before the Annual General Meeting. If there are more candidates than vacancies on the Executive Committee then the said committee shall, in advance of the meeting, appoint two scrutineers to hold a ballot at the meeting.
d. Minutes of the proceedings of the Executive Committee shall be taken by a member of the Society appointed by the said committee and filed in a manner approved by the Executive Committee. They shall be confirmed at the next relevant meeting.
e. If there is a vacancy on the Executive Committee, the said Committee may co-opt any other eligible person to serve until the next Annual General Meeting.
f. The Executive Committee may appoint, or dissolve, sub-committees, either ad hoc or permanently, which under the authority and with the approval of the Committee shall be empowered to deal with particular matters. The Executive Committee may nominate such persons as they consider appropriate, including persons not members of the Committee. All recommendations of sub-committees must be submitted for approval by the Executive Committee.
g. The Executive Committee shall have the power to establish Groups in the furtherance of the Society’s objectives.
h. The Executive Committee shall lay down the form and manner in which candidates shall apply for membership of the Society.
i. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to elect Honorary Members of the Society.
j. The Executive Committee shall from time to time determine the annual subscriptions for each category of membership.
4. Groups
a. The objectives of any Group shall reflect the objectives of the Society, but may specialise within them. The constitution, officers and rules of any Group shall be decided in consultation with the Executive Committee. Any Group shall be subject to such conditions that the Executive Committee may from time to time prescribe for its operation.
b. Each Group shall identify itself as “Oxfordshire Family History Society, identifier Group”, may use the Society’s letterhead, suitably modified, and the Society’s logo. Its meetings shall be open to any Member of the Society.
c. A Group may be suspended at any time by resolution of the Executive Committee. The Group shall forthwith cease all activities and its assets shall be frozen. The Executive Committee shall investigate the situation promptly and with due diligence and may, at its discretion, either allow the Group to resume operations or require it to be wound up, all assets being transferred to the Society.
5. President and Vice-Presidents
The Society may elect at the Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting, a President or Vice-Presidents whose names have been proposed by the Executive Committee.
6. Membership
a. There shall be such categories of membership as the Executive Committee may decide.
b. Any member who has not renewed their subscription two months after its becoming due will automatically cease to be a member of the Society.
7. Finance
a. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the Administration of the Society’s funds. The Committee shall have the power to invest funds in Trustee Securities or to place them on deposit or loan with financial institutions or to hold funds in current account or in a clearing bank. The Executive Committee shall not, however, raise loans or mortgages chargeable on the funds or properties of the Society without the express approval of an Annual General Meeting.
b. Two members of the Executive Committee, one being the Treasurer or an appointed deputy, shall authorise all transactions cheques and documents governing the finances of the Society.
c. The Treasurer shall keep a regular account of all receipts and shall present to the Executive Committee when requested an interim statement showing the current state of the Society’s finances.
d. The income and property of the Society wheresoever derived shall be applied solely to the promotion of the objects of the Society as set forth in the constitution.
e. No payment shall be made from the Society’s funds to any member of the Society, except as payment of out-of-pocket expenses incurred on the Society’s business, without the approval of the Executive Committee.
f. The Society’s financial year shall end on the 31st December. The Accounts, examined according to the current requirements of the Charity Commission, shall be submitted to the Executive Committee at least 14 days before the Annual General Meeting.
g. The person or persons who shall examine the Accounts according to the current requirements of the Charity Commission shall be appointed annually at the Annual General Meeting.
h. Individual members of the Executive Committee must declare any personal financial interest in any matter under discussion and shall not vote on the matter in question.
i. Sub-committees shall not have power to incur any expense beyond any sum voted to them by the Executive Committee.
8. The Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting shall be held at such time and place as shall be decided by the Executive Committee, including, if appropriate, an online meeting. Minutes of the proceedings shall be taken by a member of the Society appointed by the Executive Committee and be made available to the membership. They shall be confirmed at the next relevant meeting. The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to:
a. approve the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and any intervening Extraordinary General Meetings.
b. receive reports on the activities of the past year.
c. receive and approve the accounts of the Society, duly examined according to the current requirements of the Charity Commission
d. elect a President and Vice-Presidents in accordance with Section 6
e. elect the officers and other members of the Executive Committee of the Society
f. appoint an Independent Examiner of the Society’s accounts
g. transact any other notified business of the Society. The business can be proposed by any member of the society and must have a seconder that resides in a different household. The item must be received not less than 21 days before the AGM so that it can be included in the circulated agenda.
9. Extraordinary General Meeting
The Executive Committee shall have the power to call an Extraordinary General Meeting and shall be bound to call such a meeting within 28 days on receiving notice in writing specifying the business and signed by not less than 20 members of the Society. The business to be transacted must appear on the agenda and no other business may be discussed.
Minutes of the proceedings shall be taken by a member of the Society appointed by the Executive Committee and be made available to the membership. The Executive Committee may decide to hold the meeting online if appropriate.
10. Amendments to the Constitution
The Constitution can be altered or amended at an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting if the proposed alteration or amendment receives two thirds of the votes of members of the Society present at the meeting, provided that no such alteration or amendment shall cause the Society to cease to be a charity at law.
11. Expulsion of Members
If the conduct of a member shall be judged such as gravely to damage the welfare of the Society as a whole then a meeting of the Executive Committee may expel the member concerned. The member shall have the right to appeal against this decision at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting at which he or she may speak but not vote. The appeal will be decided by a simple majority of the members of the Society present.
12. Dissolution of the Society
A motion for the dissolution of the Society may be submitted to the Executive Committee three months before the Annual General Meeting or in accordance with the rules governing an Extraordinary General Meeting. If such a motion shall have been passed, any assets remaining on dissolution of the Society after satisfying any outstanding debts and liabilities shall not be distributed amongst the members of the Society but will be given to such charitable organisation or organisations with objectives similar to those of the Society as the meeting may direct.
1st amendment 20.3.1978 – 2nd amendment 15.5.1985 – 3rd amendment 28.10.1996 –
4th amendment 26.10.1998 – 5th amendment 26.6.2017- 6th amendment 25.6.2018 – 7th amendment 24.1.2022
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