12 Baylis Mews, Amyand Park Road, Twickenham, Middlesex,TW1 3HQ, United Kingdom.
Tel.: +44 (0)20 8891 6600; Fax: +44 (0)20 8891 6599
e-mail: info@minersoc.org
Map and Travel Information
Registered Charity No. 233706 VAT Reg. No. GB 238 7676 17
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12 Baylis Mews, Amyand Park Road, Twickenham, Middlesex,TW1 3HQ, United Kingdom. Tel.: +44 (0)20 8891 6600; Fax: +44 (0)20 8891 6599 e-mail: info@minersoc.org Map and Travel Information Registered Charity No. 233706 VAT Reg. No. GB 238 7676 17 |
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Home | Society information | Trustees Trustees Handbook - Information for Mineralogical Society Council Members (Charity Trustees) GENERAL All new members of Council will be advised to read
through the Trustee's Handbook, which will tell you all you
need to know about the workings of the Society. They should
also visit the 'published material' section of the
Charity Commission’s
website
which contains some useful general points on charity
trustees responsibilities and liabilities.
INFORMATION FOR TRUSTEES GENERAL SOCIETY INFORMATION
THE SOCIETY AS A LEGAL ENTITY SOCIETY POLICY DOCUMENTS
CHARITY TRUSTEE'S DUTIES ROLES FOR OFFICERS AND STAFF
SOCIETY AWARDS
EDITORIAL
SOCIETY LIBRARY SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS
OFFICE FUNCTION OTHER ORGANISATIONS LINKED TO THE SOCIETY
DONATIONS SUPPLIERS GENERAL SOCIETY INFORMATION The object of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, with which the Crystallological Society was amalgamated on 11 December 1883, is to promote and encourage the study of the science of Mineralogy, and its applications to other subjects including Petrology, Geochemistry, and Crystallography.In furtherance of the said object of the Society but not otherwise the Council of the Society may: (a) publish or cause to be published such periodical and other publications as it thinks fit, (b) establish special interest groups, (c) hold or arrange to be held seminars, conferences or other forms of discussion, (d) award prizes, medals and exhibitions, (e) receive donations or bequests for any general or special purpose connected with the object of the Society, (f) establish or support any charitable institution having objects similar to the object of the Society, (g) do all such other things as shall further the attainment of the object of the Society. The Society is an unincorporated body and its legal status is as a charity under UK Law, Registered Charity Number 233706. Its governing document is its Bye-Laws and these can only be altered by the agreement of Council and ratification by a majority of members at a General Meeting of the Society. Any changes to Bye-Laws 1, 37, 39 and 45 will require the approval in writing of the Charity Commission. The Society’s affairs are governed by its Officers and Council who are the Charity Trustees of the charity ex-officio. General On election to the Council of the Mineralogical Society, an individual assumes a number of responsibilities. It is incumbent upon those new council members to familiarise themselves with their new responsibilities. This is achieved by reading the Society's Bye-Laws thoroughly as well as reading the Charity Commission Document 'What Trustees need to Know' on the `Responsibilities of a charity trustee’ N.B. THESE ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS. Trustees are reminded that they are accountable in law for the good governance of the Society. Note also that as a general rule, trustees are individually responsible for decisions taken by the charity trustees as a whole (i.e. Council). Council members cannot normally derive any personal profit from their trust or allow themselves to be placed in a position where their duty conflicts with their personal interests. Under almost all circumstances, Council Members are expected to give of their services gratuitously, though out of pocket expenses may be claimed from the Executive Director. The legislation that governs the operations of charities is complex but as a general principle, Council Members should exercise the same degree of prudent care that they would be expected to exercise in conducting their personal or business affairs.The term of office for a Council Member is three years, meaning that there will be nine Council Meetings during a term of office. Members are expected to attend all of these meetings. It is also taken that you they have familiarised themselves with the paperwork circulated prior to these meetings and be prepared to contribute to the relevant discussions.Membership of any of the standing or impromptu subcommittees is encouraged and sometimes may be a more direct means of contributing to the development of the Society.
The Society has two formal administrative committees which meet regularly to discuss the running of the Society, i.e. its finance, publications, meetings etc., as well as all matters of policy. These are: the Finance/Officers Committee, a committee which includes the President, the General Secretary, the Treasurer, the Publications Manager, the Principal Editors of each of the two journals and up to four Custodian Trustees. Since the beginning of 2004 the Finance Committee has been subsumed into the new combined Finance/Officers' Committee. In acknowledgement of the increasing volume of work in the publications area with the advent of online publishing a revival of the Publications Committee was re-introduced in February 2004. The decisions of the Publications Committee are reported to Officers by the Publications Manager. The governing body of the Society is the Council, which comprises the actual charity trustees of the Society, i.e. those who are legally responsible under charity law for the running of the organisation. The Council includes the officers, the chairpersons or nominated representatives of the seven special interest groups, and six Fellows or Members who are elected to the position of ordinary member of Council.
FINANCE/OFFICERS COMMITTEE The Finance/Officers Committee of the Society meets three times per year, usually in early February, early May and mid-September. The purpose of this committee is to deal with any matters of policy, finance or business arising and to make recommendations to Council. These meetings are normally chaired by the President and the Secretary of the meeting is the Executive Director. The make up of this and other committees is given here.
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE The Publications Committees of the Society meets three times per year, in early February, early May and mid-September (morning meetings, followed by meetings of Officers/Finance in the afternoon). A buffet lunch at 1.00 pm is provided in the Office for those attending these meetings. The Publications Committee is chaired by the Publications Manager and the Secretary of the meeting is the Executive Director.
COUNCIL The Council meets in March, June and November. It is here that all decisions on policy are made. All members of Council are charity trustees and therefore have a responsibility to see that the Society is run in a legally and financially sound fashion. Council has the power to delegate authority to any subcommittee or working group, e.g. Finance/Officers' Committee. Council meetings are normally chaired by the President. At present, the Finance/Officers' committees and Council Meetings are chaired by the President or in his absence by the General Secretary, by the Treasurer, by a Vice-President or any other nominee of the President. A meeting of Council may be called by the General Secretary on the order of the President, or by a minimum of three ordinary members of council. The quorum for a meeting of Council is six members of Council at least one of whom must be the President, General Secretary, Vice-President or Treasurer.
THE EXECUTIVE The final part of the Society’s administrative structure are the paid staff of the Society who run the Society’s Office at 12 Baylis Mews, Amyand Park Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 3HQ, UK under the Executive Director.
ROLES OF OFFICERS AND STAFF At present, Presidents are elected by a ballot from members of Council, for a period of two years each. Nominations for President and Council members are sought from Members and Fellows of the Society and voted on by Council Members. The President's duties include: Business meetings Conferences Awards Promote the Society Nationally and
Internationally Elements Staff The General Secretary’s term of office is up to six years long. Nominations from Fellows and Members are welcome when the position becomes or is about to become vacant. The General Secretary works closely with the Executive Director – who does much of the work for the items listed below — and is frequently in contact with the other staff and involved in many areas of Society business. The main responsibilities are as follows: Business meetings Conferences Awards Promote the Society Nationally and
Internationally Elements Administration Staff Outreach Byelaws The term of office is for up to six years. The Treasurer is responsible for all matters relating to finance within the Society. Business meetings Awards Financial Administration Accounts Staff Outreach Elements/E-Bulletin The Publications Manager serves for a period of up to six years. Their main duties are to oversee the production of all Society publications including the special book series, the journals (although in practice, this is covered by the respective journals' Principal Editors) and any other publications including the electronic publications. The role is strategic, involved in commissioning books for the series in order to meet the needs of the members. He is ex-officio Series Editor of the Book Series. He chairs the Publications Committee. Business meetings Oversee the publication of the Landmark Series, the Society Book series, the journals (including e-journals), the website, and any other publications considered Encourage and review all proposals for publications and present them to the Publications Committee Conferences Awards Promote the Society Nationally and
Internationally Elements/E-Bulletin Staff The Principal Editors of each of the journals are responsible for editorial policy and for the processing of material for publication. This is in association with an editorial board and the Publications Manager. The editors, assisted by their editorial boards, choose referees for manuscripts and on the basis of reports received, then decide whether or not to accept manuscripts for publication. Principal Editors are paid small honoraria. Associate Editors for Mineralogical Magazine and Clay Minerals receive gratis subscriptions to the respective journals in return for their services. Journal Conferences Awards Promote the Society Nationally and
Internationally Staff Elements/E-Bulletin Elements representative (three-year term) The Society has a representative on the Elements Executive Board who also attends meetings of Council and of the Publications Committee. He serves a three-year term, renewable by agreement with Council. Business meetings Report news from the Executive Committee of Elements to the Society officers and council. Act as liaison between the Society and Elements, informing officers of the need for input when required. Each Group Chairperson represents their Special Interest Group (SIG) at meetings of Council. They lead the special interest group;
organizing meetings and other events, and participating in
the meetings of others. Business meetings Provide an annual report (covering the period 1st July-20th June, separate from those listed above), for inclusion in the Society’s Annual Report. EDITORIAL The Society's two journals are edited by Principal Editors, assisted by Associate Editors, Editorial Boards and a Production Editor. In the case of Mineralogical Magazine the position is advertised in Elements and elsewhere and candidates are interviewed by a panel. The Principal Editor of Clay Minerals is appointed by the committee of the Clay Minerals Group. Principal Editors are appointed for three-year terms which are renewable by agreement with Council. They are regarded as volunteers and are Members/Fellows of the Society; they are paid a small honorarium and expenses for their work. The Society’s website is located at www.minersoc.org and contains up-to-date information about the Society, its publications and its meetings. Society Meetings (Special Interest Group and Society-organised) Please see list of Society Meetings as an example of the type of meetings which the Society runs. There are currently seven special interest groups and each of these organises its own meetings. This is supplemented by the 'centrally organised' Annual meetings. Organisers should seek to avoid clashes with other meetings, where possible. The finances for meetings should be run through the Society office, with the assistance of the Finance and Operations Manager. Other administrative support is also available from the office. For information, contact the Executive Director. Meetings Guidelines are available here. Funding for meetings may available from a relevant special interest group. Please contact the appropriate group or the Executive Director. If the area of interest of the meeting is not covered by any of the special interest groups then central funding is unlikely to be be available from the Society but exceptionally support may be given. Please write to the Treasurer. General Staff at the Society's office act as the first buffer for all matters of administration, e.g. banking, dealing with solicitors, investment managers, etc. Points of action are passed to the appropriate officers for actioning unless the staff member is delegated by that officer to deal with the matter. Specific duties are agreed as within the power of decision of the Executive Director. Sales of all Society publications are carried out through the Society's office. This includes the journals, the Monographs and all special issues and occasional publications. The Society employs a full-time Finance and Operations Manager. He deals with recording of all day-to-day financial matters. In association with the Society's Treasurer and the Auditor, he is involved in the production of the annual accounts. He liaises with the Special Interest Group Treasurers in matters of recording income and expenditure, which from 1 July 1999 is handled centrally through the office. This ensures that the cost of auditing to the Society is kept to a minimum and that income to the Special Interest Groups (on their savings) is maximised, and that the risk of VAT and other legal transgressions is minimised. The Society's Financial Year runs from 1 July to 30 June. The annual accounts are passed by Council at their November meeting and they are published in March of the following year, after the Annual General Meeting. They are then published on the Charity Commission website (http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/). The Society welcomes donations at any time from Members and other donors. If you are a UK tax payer ask about how you grant Gift Aid your donation to increase its value to the Society. The Society's suppliers’ names and addresses are as follows: Printing and Journal Distribution Banking Solicitors Investment
HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited
Exchange Place Poseidon Way Warwick CV34 6BY Auditors Insurance |
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