New Societies - Financial Rules Page 4

Societies Committee Page 4

Subscriptions Page 4

Budget Page 5

Allowable Expenditure Page 5

Non allowable Expenditure Page 5

Resources available to Societies Page 6

Petty Cash & Cheques Page 7

Cheques Page 7

Member’s Monies Page 7

Societies Union Account Page 7

Equipment Audit and Inventory Page 8

Donations Page 8

Political Parties Page 8

Publicity/Posters Page 8

Entertainment/Social Events Page 8

Handover Page 8

Termination of a society Page 9

Malpractice Page 9

Debts/Losses Page 9

Insurance Page 9

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contents

What is a student society?A Student Society is a collection of students registered at the University who have common interests and network to further these interests. Student Societies can be cultural, religious, political or special interests. However they cannot conflict with the objectives of the Students’ Union as outlined in our Governing Document, the Constitution. To view the Unions constitution in full go to www.westlondonsu.com

Setting up a Society – What to do All you need is ten names to set up a society. Once you have got your ten names and you know the kind of things that you want to do, this is your guide for getting your Society started: (See new Societies form and model constitution attachment 1 and 2)

1) You will be recognised as a provisional Society by the Executive Committee, which meets every two weeks until your society is formally affiliated to the Union at Student Council which meets once a month during term time.

2) You will be affiliated by Student Council as an official Society at the next meeting, as long as what you want to do does not conflict with what the Students’ Union stands for. (See the Students’ Union Constitution on www.westlondonsu.co.uk

3) You need to set out a plan as explained in the new Societies form and hold a meeting of your Society members to vote on who will be the main officers of your society, such as: President / Vice President / Secretary / Treasurer etc. This is very important in order to establish a structure within your Society and to ensure that there are key recognised officers who can liaise with the Students’ Union and be responsible for the organisation of your Society. You will also have to decide who will represent your society at the Societies Committee of the Students’ Union. The Vice-President Sports & Societies of the Students’ Union or a nominee must be present at this meeting and needs to be notified in plenty of time.

4) At this same meeting you need to decide on specifically what resources you require to function as a society and what kind of events and activities you wish to run.

5) You need to produce a written proposal detailing any events and activities that you wish to hold that requires funding. A Societies’ Funding Proposal Form is attached (Attachment 3).

Please contact the Vice-President Sports & Societies on su.sports&Societies@tvu.ac.uk or the Sport & Societies / Administrator on calley.wilson@tvu.ac.uk if you have any, questions or problems that you wish to discuss with regards to Societies for the coming year and are not answered in this Handbook.

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New Societies – Financial Rules

1. Financial YearThe financial year runs from the 1st August to 31st July, which is the same as the Unions for auditing purposes.

2. Societies CommitteeThe Societies Committee will meet at least once a month during term time and is there mainly to allocate funds to each society. Your society will need to decide who will represent your interests at this Committee. The Committee is made up of the Students’ Union Vice-President Sports & Societies (Chair), a nominated member from each Society, plus the Activities Officer of the Students’ Union. The Societies Committee is advised by the Sports & Societies Administator, a staff member of the Students’ Union. There needs to be at least three members present, not including the staff member, for this to be a legitimate meeting. In order to hold a Societies Committee meeting the Vice-President Sports & Societies must inform all Societies that this will take place.

All items for the agenda including grant funding proposals must be submitted to the Vice-President Sports & Societies on su.sports&Societies@tvu.ac.uk or the Sports and Societies / Administrator on calley.wilson@tvu.ac.uk at least 5 working days prior to the meeting. Societies requesting funds must be represented and must fill out a Societies’ Funding Proposal Forms (see attach-ment 3) these will be brought to this meeting and copies given to all attending members. Failure of attend when requesting funds will delay the process of allocating any funds to that Society until the next scheduled meeting. No retrospective funding will be available to Societies and should a society not attend three meetings in a row then the society will forfeit any further funding for the reminder of the financial year. The committee is allowed to propose funding of equipment which is beneficial to all Societies, if agreed this will be held in storage by the Students Union and be available to all Societies. The committee will then decide on which funding applications should be approved on a case by case basis. The Chair has the first vote and the casting vote. Allocation of funds can only be made if the proposal falls within the remit of the objectives of the Students’ Union.

3. SubscriptionsStudents’ Union Clubs & Societies have to agree a membership fee. This fee must be agreed by the majority of the Society’s membership at a meeting called according to the Societies own Constitution. It is recommended that your Society levy a realistic fee in order to increase your income. The Vice-President Sports & Societies must be given a list of Society members with the total fees collected from them for membership. (See Societies Membership fee form attachment 4) All monies must be held by the Students’ Union. Societies are under no circumstances allowed to open bank accounts in their own name.

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4. BudgetAs part of the overall Union budget there is an allocation of funds for Societies. This is fixed once the Block Grant is decided upon by the Board of Governors of the University and expenditure by Societies cannot exceed this. Further more if this allocation of funds is not used by the end of the financial year the remaining funds do not role over to the next financial year. Societies expenditure will only be paid out against approved SU funding, a completed financial proposal and upon presentation of relevant paperwork. In most cases this will be in the form of a cheque. Written quo-tations for purchases, followed by the relevant invoice/receipt will be necessary for the Students’ Union Finance Department, before any payment will be made.

5. (A) Allowable ExpenditureAlthough not exhaustive, the following items, subject to annual limits may be included in budgets as allowable expenditure. Items not included in this list may be allowed, provided they are agreed by the Societies Committee and fall within the objectives of the Students’ Union.

- Equipment (Capital Items) - Fees (e.g. Guest Speakers, Affiliations (also see section 12), Referees) - Travel – reasonable travel expenses- Conference and Courses linked with Society- Equipment that is available to be multi used by Societies

5 (B) Non allowable Expenditure-Drink-Food-Payment of DJs-Hall Deposit-Security payments-Uninsurable activities- Course specific expenditure- Clothes-This list is not exhaustive

Regulations relating to the expenditure of grant aid membership income by Societies shall be as follows:-[a] Any income, shall be subject only to the democratic decisions of the Society, all transactions must be in line with point 4.(Budget) of these financial requirements.[b] Any amounts in excess of limits laid down must be placed before the Vice-President Sports & Societies and Societies Committee before the proposed expense is incurred.[c] Any Society receiving financial or other resources from any source outside the Union will have these taken into consideration in the event of applying for a grant and must supply details to the Societies Committee on request.[d] All financial transactions shall be through the Students’ Union Finance Department.

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6. Resources available to SocietiesAll Societies have resources available to them for administration purposes. Most of the resources are found in the Students’ Union. Societies can make use of the following.

Vice-President Sports & Societies and Students’ Union staff

The above are your biggest resource and are here to support you.

PhotocopyingEach society is entitled to use Student Union photocopying at cost price. All photocopying must be done on a Students’ Union photocopier. The cost will be deducted from the society’s budget.

Internal PostAny material, which needs to be posted internally, may be done so through the Students’ Union reception.

FaxThere is a FAX machine situated on the ground floor of the Students’ Union in the reception which is available for Societies use.

Lawrence Hall and Meeting RoomThe Students’ Union meeting room is available for you to hold meetings with your society and should be booked through the Students’ Union Receptionist at the Students’ Union Reception 020 8231 2276 or Tanya.Lloyd@tvu.ac.uk.

The Lawrence Hall is also available and should be booked through the Students’ Union Reception or se our website for an events booking form. www.westlondonsu.comAlso available for booking are the Union Bar and University Lecture Rooms and Class Rooms.Most of the rooms at UWL are available for use by all Societies to hold meetings, training, watching videos etc. If you need media equipment your society can hire them form Media Resources, which is situated in the Library or you can book equipment from the Publications Office on the first floor of the Students’ Union building. You will need your unique card in order to borrow any equipment.

UWL Publication - EdifyThere are various UWL media resources available to Societies such as Edify Magazine and SU Website, www.westlondonsu.com. The editor and webmaster of these media resources always welcome well-written articles on student related issues. If you would like to submit anything please email them to the Vice-President Sports & Societies su.sports&Societies@tvu.ac.uk they can then be passed onto the relevant members of staff at WLSU.

University of West London SU WebsiteWebsite training is available to all Societies who want to use the WLSU website to update their own minisite. Dates will be given throughout the year with regards to training and refresher training.

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7. Petty Cash & Cheques

[a] Petty CashSocieties shall not operate their own petty cash unless it is through the Union’s Petty Cash sys¬tem. All claims shall be approved at a meeting of the Society. Petty Cash claims should be kept to an absolute minimum. The Petty Cash limit for Clubs & Societies is £15; items over £15 will be paid by cheque. No Petty Cash shall be paid out, unless acceptable receipts and paperwork are supplied. 48 hours notice must be given to the Students’ Union Finance Department and Sports & Societies Administrator for collection of monies.

[b] ChequesCheques shall only be drawn on production of satisfactory paperwork, invoices and receipts and a cheque request form (see attachment 5). Cheques shall not be paid to individual members of a Society in order to protect individual member’s interests. Cheques will always be made out to the company. 48 hours notice shall be given to the Students’ Union Office for collection of monies.

8. Member’s MoniesThe Students’ Union will set up an account for each society for monies raised by the society. All society monies will be banked with the Union to ensure the safe keeping of the members monies. This will be called the Social Account The Societies Social Account will contain all monies gener¬ated by the Society themselves i.e. membership fees, sponsorship, raffle money and any other funds raised by the Society through various promotional activities.

Withdrawals can be made from this account providing the Sports & Societies Administrator has been informed and the withdrawal is made by two nominated officer signatories of the Society and the Vice-President Sports & Societies, having been agreed by a meeting of the Society. Written support of this must be provided to the Unions Finance Department at least 48 hours prior to withdrawal before a payment can be made.

9. Societies Union AccountThe Societies Union Account shall contain all money allocated to the Society by the Students’ Union. This money will only be available providing the Societies Committee has agreed to the allocation of such funding from the Students’ Union Societies Budget. It can only be withdrawn for the specific purpose of that agreed by the Societies Committee and must be withdrawn by a nominated officer of the Society.

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10. Equipment Audit and InventoryAll equipment that is purchased by the society through funding will be the property of the Students’ Union. This equipment will be stored in the Students’ Union or in a locked cabinet that will be accessible by Societies and Staff members of the Students’ Union. Any equipment that is used has to be logged out and logged back in at Students’ Union Reception. At the end of every financial year each Society needs to provide a detailed list of equipment that is held in storage by them. This is to be emailed or handed to the Vice-President Sports & Societies by the 1st August. This is essential for insurance purposes and to ensure there are no irregularities. Any misappropriation of equipment will not only be charged to the society but will also (if necessary) involve police action.

11. DonationsStudents’ Union budget monies may not be used for donations - this would be classed as an ultra-vires payment and is illegal as this is public money. Member’s monies which have been collected for a specific purpose are acceptable, provided the members know exactly where their money is going at the point when it is collected. It is wholly unacceptable to collect money from members for one purpose, then decide at a later date to send it else where instead. Monies collected for any purpose should be passed out via the Students’ Union over as soon as the collection is complete. Payment will be in the form of a cheque.

12. Political PartiesAffiliations or donations to political parties must be through membership subscriptions and agreed at a meeting of the society. Union monies cannot be used for the purposes of affiliation to a political party, although the Union does encourage Societies to affiliate to their relevant national organisation in order for them to gain additional support and development.

13. Publicity/PostersAll posters must be approved and marked with the official Students’ Union stamp before appearing on the notice boards.

14. Entertainment/Social EventsThis is a complex area due to licensing requirements. No event may take place on Students’ Union premises until approval is given by the Entertainments Committee, (see Events Booking Form attachment 6). Each event must be discussed at the beginning and on a regular basis leading up to the agreed date. Although the Union cannot use Societies money allocated via the Societies Committee to pay for bands, musicians, discos etc., the Union is able to make payments from your Societies members money held for safe keeping by the Students’ Union. However the Union will be are unable to make payments to organisations unless they meet the right criteria and produce appropriate paperwork, this is as the Union holds your society members money in custody and therefore is responsible for the the money being spent according to the wishes of your members. It is therefore essential that Society Officers liaise at each step with the relevant Students’ Union Staff Member (s).

15.HandoverAt the end of each year the society is required to have an election to vote for a new committee, no member shall remain in the committee unless voted in again. The new and old officers are required to forward the contact details for the new committee to Vice-President Sports & Societies before the summer holidays.

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16.Termination of a societyShould your society come to a point where it does not have the sufficient number of members to continue please meet with Vice-President Sports & Societies in order to shut the club down appropriately.

17. MalpracticeThe Officers of any Society accused of malpractice will immediately have their funds frozen pending investigation.

18. Debts/LossesThe Students’ Union does not accept responsibility for unpaid debts by Societies and on no account may the Union’s name be used to obtain credit.

19 InsuranceSocieties are responsible for insuring all off site activities. Union staff will assist with any Risk Assessments etc. Additional information can be found in the Students’ Union Constitution please see www.westlondonsu.com

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