Committee Conundrums
Have you ever been in a board or committee meeting situation and not sure how to handle it? Here are some real life conundrums you could face and how to handle them.
- Voting at the meeting
- Are board members volunteers?
- We cant find a date that suits everyone for the next meeting
- How do we get people to join the executive positions?
- Public Liability Insurance
- Not enough committee members to have a quorum
- What do I write in the meeting minutes?
- We want to hold a fundraiser
- We can’t find a copy of our constitution
Committee Conundrums
Working in groups and committees is common, but meetings can be tedious. Find out the answers to your committee conundrums below.
Voting at the meeting
Question: There will be a vote on an important issue at our next committee meeting but I can’t attend in person. Can I still vote?
Answer: The first thing to do is to check your constitution.
You may be able to request to attend and vote online e.g. via zoom.
Your constitution may also allow voting by proxy. A proxy vote is where you complete a form, providing another member who will be present to vote on your behalf. You should make it clear how you want that person to vote. They will generally have to provide the proxy form to the meeting chair at the beginning of the meeting.
There may also be by-laws or standing orders for meetings that allow you to provide your vote in writing ahead of the meeting.
Are board members volunteers?
Question: Our board members are remunerated for their time, does that make them employees?
Answer: Volunteers can be paid in cash, given non-cash benefits or given a combination of both cash and non-cash benefits. These payments have various descriptions, including honorariums, reimbursements and allowances. This does not necessarily make your board members employees, but it could in some circumstances. Read more here: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/not-for-profit-organisations/types-of-not-for-profit-workers/not-for-profit-volunteers/paying-volunteers make it clear how you want that person to vote. They will generally have to provide the proxy form to the meeting chair at the beginning of the meeting.
There may also be by-laws or standing orders for meetings that allow you to provide your vote in writing ahead of the meeting.
We cant find a date that suits everyone for the next meeting
Question: We can’t find a date/time to suit everyone for our next committee meeting. What can we do?
Answer: Unfortunately you might not be able to always accommodate everyone’s schedule. It is important to schedule and advertise your meetings in line with your constitution. When struggling to find a suitable time for your meeting, offering an online meeting might enable more people to attend and participate. If you would like to consult with your membership you could invite members to share their thoughts via email or an online survey.
It is important to check your constitution to see when and how you can hold meetings via technology (e.g. conference calls, online streaming, hybrid meetings) and if proxy voting is allowed.Watch this video to learn more about holding meetings via online meetings or email: https://www.iclick2learn.com.au/meetings-via-technology/
How do we get people to join the executive positions?
Question: We have multiple executive positions that we need to fill at our upcoming AGM. How can we interest people in taking on these committee positions so the organisation can continue to operate.
Answer: Many people are motivated by purpose, clearly state the difference they will make to your members, cause and community.
- Send an email to all your members.
- Advertise the vacant positions on social media, in your local newspaper, or radio
- Call people you think might be interested/suitable in the position.
- Be clear about the specific requirement of each position: how many hours per week, what specific tasks are involved, what if any skills or experience is required.
- If possible have existing office bearers available to meet and discuss the role with people interested.
- Have a clear induction and onboarding process.
Public Liability Insurance
Question: We are holding a fundraising event and have been advised to get public liability insurance, but can’t afford it. The venue has their own public liability insurance, isn’t that enough?
Answer: If you hold an event and someone has an accident or hurts themselves, then your organisation may be liable, even if the venue has its own public liability insurance.For example, You hold a cake stall as a fundraiser at the local community hall, who has their own public liability insurance. Your volunteers set up the tables and chairs. One patron trips over a chair, falls and breaks their hip. Your organisation could be liable. That’s one reason why it’s so important to undertake risk management. You can do a read a short article on event risk management here: https://iclick2learn.com.au/events-common-mistakes/
Not enough committee members to have a quorum
Question: We don’t have a quorum for our meeting and need to make a decision before the next meeting, can we still go ahead?
Answer: You must have a quorum to hold an official committee meeting and vote on any items. A quorum is the minimum number of members needed for a meeting to proceed – you will find the number required for the type of meeting you’re holding in your constitution.
If you have a time sensitive matter that the committee needs to vote on before the next scheduled meeting, the first thing to do is to check your delegations, if you have any. Delegations for urgent decisions generally provide the executive (position holders) with the authority to make decisions. The delegation will provide information on the type of decisions and any limits, such as you can make decisions on paying a contract up to the amount of $5,000 and over that limit, it must be taken to the full committee. If you don’t have any delegations, it’s a good idea to consider putting these in place to help you next time. The other thing you could do is call an extraordinary meeting of the board, or you can email the committee members and have a discussion and vote via email if your rules permit. Just remember if you made a decision outside of the meeting, you will need to bring that decision to the next meeting for ratification.
What do I write in the meeting minutes?
Question: I’m a new Secretary on our committee and I’m unsure what to include in the meeting minutes. Do I write everything verbatim or just summarise? Is there a standard style I need to use?
Answer: It is important to refer to your constitution to check if there are any specific requirements for your individual organisation. There is no specific style or format that you are required to use when taking minutes, but a minimum your minutes should include the below:
- Quorum – was a there a quorum
- Attendance – who was present, including apologies and absences
Times – start and end times, and if anyone leaves the room and why (e.g. conflict of interest) - Conflicts – any declarations of conflict
- Business arising – business arising updated
- Business done – full and accurate record of all business done (recording the pros and cons of discussions). Note this is not a record of conversation. You don’t need to write who said what. You just need to record the decisions in the format your committee has agreed to.
- Voting – voting process and outcome (abstained etc.)
- Resolutions – all resolutions passed
We want to hold a fundraiser
Question: Our organisation wants to hold a fundraiser, what do we need to consider?
Answer: It’s important to check the laws and regulations before you start fundraising to make sure your organisation is compliant and you have transparent processes to establish trust with the public.
Different states and territories have different laws and regulations around fundraising.
Let’s use NSW as an example.
In NSW, you must apply for an authority to fundraise via the NSW Fair Trading.
If you are an ACNC registered charity based in NSW is automatically eligible for an authority to fundraise but must still apply to NSW Fair Trading for an authority.
A fundraiser will be exempt if:
- gross annual fundraising is $15,000 or less,
- it does not receive any remuneration for conducting fundraising appeals, other than the payment of lawful and proper expenses, and
- only use volunteers to participate in its fundraising appeals.
Note: there are special rules around fundraising via gaming and trade promotions such as bingo, raffles, lotteries, etc. In NSW, click this link for further information: https://www.nsw.gov.au/money-and-taxes/community-gaming
Remember legislation and regulations do get updated, so it’s important to call your relevant authority to check you are compliant before starting any fundraising activities.
Here is a helpful article on different types of fundraising your organisation might consider for raising funds.
We can’t find a copy of our constitution
Question: We can’t find a copy of our constitution, what should we do?
Answer: Some organisations keep their constitutions in hard copy and electronic form. Some places to look for your constitution include: in your paper files, in your online filing system (this could be cloud based like google or on the hard drive of someone’s computer), or on your website.