GOVERNANCE
We have been established formally for just over two years and Trumpington Stitchers has evolved and grown as part of our local community. We have an enthusiastic Steering Group with some key people who put in a lot of work to make sure things run smoothly.
We have recorded our decisions and plans along the way, and although we do not need to register as a formal group, we do need to set out our structures & policies in order to steer decision making in the future, and to clarify the roles to be fulfilled as people move in and out of the group. When applying for grants we may be required to demonstrate that we have a structure and agreed policies, including financial procedures and data protection.
We do not fulfil the criteria for a charity, and we are not a profit-making group. The technical term for our kind of group is an ‘unincorporated association’. This fits with our idea of a ‘pay as you go – drop in’. ‘Stitchers’ willing to share contact details will be kept up to date with news etc.
The Steering Group consists of members who are proposed, volunteer or persuaded from the wider group of Stitchers. The Steering Group shares responsibility for overseeing our finances, booking the venue, organising the hosting rota, managing the Time Credit scheme, organising our stocks of material, machines and arranging workshops, fundraising and work contributed to various charities.
We need to have a Constitution setting out the aims of Trumpington Stitchers, what we do and how we are organised. We need to set out our financial procedures and some policy statements about such things as photo consent, equality & diversity, health & safety and safeguarding.