Area meeting charities

Trustee Declaration of EligibilityTrustee Declaration of Eligibility[QUOTE-START]

Trustees must be well-grounded in the life and concerns of the meeting for which they act. […] Just as they care for the life of the meeting, the meeting should support and uphold them and their work.

- Quaker faith & practice 15.07

[QUOTE-END]

Area meeting report and accounts

All area meetings and certain other bodies within Britain Yearly Meeting should send their annual report and accounts to Quaker Life, supportmeetings@quaker.org.uk, ( Qfp 4.10m)

The following documents are available to help Quaker trustees produce their reports:

• Support from BYM and what to report (2022) - a document for all trustees and treasurers with advice on who to contact and what to send to BYM annually.
• Annual Compliance Reporting to BYM (new form in 2024) - online form, https://forms.quaker.org.uk/am-governance-annual-return/.
  
• Checklist for reports and accounts - a checklist so trustees and treasurers can check whether their annual report and accounts are complete. England & Wales checklist (Word) and Scotland checklist (Word). These documents were revised in 2024.
• Public benefit guidance notes Public benefit reporting guidance (PDF)
• Functional properties: choice of accounting policies for fixed assets Functional properties in accounts (word)
• Sustainability: Trustees' annual reports & accounts sustainability reporting (PDF)

Memorandum of Understanding

Trustees from across the yearly meeting, together with BYM staff, have written a memorandum of understanding which helps to set out our governance obligations to each other. This document was endorsed by Meeting for Sufferings at its meeting in October 2023, and has been sent to Area Meeting Trustees to minute their agreement to entering into it or ask for further conversation if this is not possible. A final version of the memorandum of understanding is available at this webpage and will be updated as necessary.

Safeguarding

Area meeting trustees are responsible for safeguarding in their local meetings, and at area meeting events. It is essential to have a lead trustee for safeguarding (otherwise this falls to the clerk of trustees), and an annual report to trustees about safeguarding. Each area meeting appoints a safeguarding coordinator, and many have a deputy. Support and resources are available on the safeguarding coordinator page, and the Safeguarding page which contains new model documents. Each area meeting is strongly encouraged to take out membership of Thirtyone:eight (formerly known as the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service), who provide support Quaker meetings with expert advice and resources. They also offer a service to review the area meeting's safeguarding policies and procedures (see contacts on the main Safeguarding page). The Safeguarding page now contains the new model documents for area meeting safeguarding coordinators.

Governance Update

Keep up-to-date with advice and information for trustees (and treasurers), including upcoming training courses provided by Woodbrooke, by reading Governance Update. This is emailed to clerks of area meeting trustees on publication via the Friends House database. If other interested trustees would like to receive the news, please subscribe on the Role Holder updates page.

Charitable registration

Area meetings have to register with the Charity Commission when their income rises above £100,000 a year (unless their income is over £100,000 for one year only due to exceptional circumstances).

Those with an annual income under this figure will have to register before 2031. We will publish the government's schedule for registration here when it is made available.

Documents in the list below are available from Quaker Life (contact details at the bottom of this page) or through the link given;

• Charity registration can be done online at www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-register-your-charity-cc21b
• Some help with some of the questions on the online registration form (word)
• Template governing document (revised November 2022) agreed with the Charity Commission (England & Wales) in keeping with the guidance and principles laid down in Quaker faith & practice. Your area meeting will already have a governing document. If you have made any changes to this template you will need to list these and the reasons why you made them
• If you are thinking of becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) or a company - this document covers issues to consider.
• Template CIO governing document (Word) (revised November 2022) agreed with the Charity Commission (England & Wales).
• Transferring to a CIO – Luton & Leighton AM's experience (pdf). There are AMs that have been through this process more recently. For details get in touch using the contact details below.

Charity schemes

Area meetings that register as charities should also set up a scheme to combine the area meeting with its various trusts, including property trusts ("specie" land). This means that the accounts from these trusts can be included in the area meeting's accounts as restricted funds. It is also an opportunity to update some aspects of old trusts.

If an area meeting is considering selling some property, then it should check whether the property is specie as the Charity Commission needs to be consulted. If an area meeting is planning to change the use of some property it should check whether the deeds allow this. Contact Quaker Life (details at the bottom of this page) to arrange for someone to check property deeds held by Friends Trusts Ltd. If the use of the property laid down by the deeds is no longer practicable then the Charity Commission is usually very helpful.

We are having to reconsider Scheme clause 9(5) relating to Friends Trusts Ltd. If you are working on a scheme, please do not finalise it until we have sorted this out. Please contact Quaker Life (contact details below) if this affects you so we can keep you up-to-date with developments.

• Guidance on assessing whether a property is specie (Word)
  
• Creating a scheme: guidance for meetings (Word) covering applying for a scheme and the scheme document to be completed

Trustees and treasurers conferences

15 October 2022

• Bates Wells Solicitors slides from the presentation on the Charities Act 2022 changes (pdf).

Laura Soley and Jamie Huard from Bates Wells Solicitors talk through the presentation linked above about changes the Charities Act 2022 brings and when they are expected to come into force. Pressing play on the video below will set a third-party cookie. Please see our cookies page to find out more.

• Data protection, record-keeping & archiving presentation (pdf)
• AM and BYM trustees' memorandum of understanding update presentation (pdf)
• Keep it Simple, the experience of work being done by area meetings' in Wales: Keep it simple approach, The DIY Keep it Simple Manual, Keep it Simple Appendices.

29-31 March 2019

Links to handouts, etc, following the Trustees and Treasurers Conference, held 29-31 March 2019.

• Good practice in faith-based charities (pdf): Nick Donaldson, Head of Faith Charities Engagement, Charity Commission
• Simpler Meetings (pdf): Jonathan Carmichael, Simpler Meetings Project Manager
• Reducing the load on treasurers (pdf): by Jonathan Carmichael, Simpler Meetings Project Manager
• Can Quakers do buildings? (pdf): Huw Davies, Project Manager, Property Support Project

Policies for area meetings - models and examples

Some of these are models, offered for area meetings to adapt and adopt. Where examples are given, these are to provide ideas: no assurance of their quality is offered by BYM.

Employment

These model policies form part of the Employers' resource and template documents, on the employers and wardens page:

• Bullying and harassment policy (Word)
• Employee data protection policy (Word)
• Equality and diversity policy (Word)
• Disciplinary and capability procedure (Word)
• Grievance Procedure (Word)
• Sick absence procedure (Word)
• Whistleblowing procedure (Word)

Reserves

Advice on drawing up an area meeting reserves policy (pdf) and Reserves policy presentation (pdf) given at Annual Conference of Treasurers 2017.

Examples: Central England 1, Central England 2, West Weald, Wirral and Chester

Investment

See BYM's ethical investment policy on the BYM Trustees' page. This could be adapted for an area meeting.

Examples: East Cheshire, Ipswich and Diss, Central England, Leicester, Sussex East

Data Protection

A model Data Protection Policy and a Privacy Policy is on the Data Protection page

Safeguarding

New model safeguarding documents are on the Safeguarding page

Complaints

Here is a model complaints policy and procedure (Word) and notes on establishing a complaints policy and procedure for area Quaker meetings (PDF), agreed by Quaker Stewardship Committee February 2021.

Conflicts of Interest

See the advice in the Trustees Handbook.

Examples: West Kent, Northumbria

Risk

An advice sheet on managing risk is being prepared.

Model meeting house risk assessment, Model employment risk assessment

Examples: York, Southern Marches, Glasgow,

Other documents of interest to trustees

Available through the link given:

• Useful information sources for trustees (pdf) highlights the many ways trustees can access support.
• Advice on drawing up a Memorandum of Understanding (word) between an area meeting and a local meeting. Examples: Worcester and Shropshire, West Weald, Sussex East, Staffordshire, Southern Marches, Pendle Hill, East Cheshire
• A model for revitalising an area meeting (pdf) produced in response to an enquiry from an area meeting
• Advices and queries on Quaker stewardship (pdf) to help local Friends reflect on how well they work together, to share responsibility and leadership
• Financial security queries for Meeting Trustees and Treasurers (word)
• 'Right Ordering' Luton & Leighton Area Meeting's handbook of business practice within an area meeting
• Area meeting policies shared by Cumberland Area Meeting (equal opportunities; safeguarding of children, young people and adults in need of care and attention; risk management; health & safety; data protection; grant making, investments, general reserves; and records)
• Clerk to area meeting trustees' role description (word) - an example from Hampshire & Islands Area Meeting
• Advice on giving to non-Quaker organisations (pdf)
• New (introduced 2018) Trustee Declaration of Eligibility (pdf) form for trustees to sign plus the expanded list of reasons for disqualification..

Training and events

• Trustee training at Woodbrooke: Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre offers a range of courses for trustees. For more details visit www.woodbrooke.org.uk email learning@woodbrooke.org.uk or phone 0121 472 5171

Header image © Richard Oliver 2014