HOW TO JOIN THE FRIENDS - AND WHY!
Dear Sir/Madam
“FRIENDS OF HUGH MILLER” MEMBERSHIP INVITATION
I have pleasure in inviting you to consider subscribing to a charity, named The Friends of Hugh Miller, to support the Hugh Miller Museum & Birthplace Cottage.
The Friends’ annual subscription has been set at £10 per person. We have an initial target of 100 members, contributing a revenue stream of £1,000 pa to the museum’s budget. We will also seek donations from time to time in aid of specific projects. Among the exciting projects which may be the subject of future appeals are: A natural sciences-themed Garden at the rear of Miller House; re-publication of Miller’s geological masterwork, The Old Red Sandstone; temporary exhibitions, and “Living History” events in the museum buildings and grounds.
Subscribers will receive a Membership Card, a copy of the constitution, a periodical newsletter and an annual report. The organisation will be run by an NTS staff-based Management Committee, supported by three distinguished Patrons (see below).
I look forward to welcoming you as a Member of the Friends, a very worthwhile new venture which I am sure will generate significant benefits.
Yours sincerely
Martin Gostwick
Secretary
(See contact details below)
PS: Please make your cheques payable to “The Friends of Hugh Miller”, and, most importantly, include an email address, if you have one. Thank you.
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CONSTITUTION OF “THE FRIENDS OF HUGH MILLER” (SC 037351)
(AS REVISED BY ANNUAL MEETING, 10/04/2010)
1.0 NAME
The organisation shall be known as “The Friends of Hugh Miller”, hereafter referred to as “The Friends”, or “the organisation”, as appropriate.
2.0 AIMS
The objects of “The Friends” shall be to advance the education of the public concerning the name and work of Hugh Miller in the fields of Scottish science and literature, and to develop increased public interest in Scotland’s heritage by supporting the Hugh Miller Museum and Birthplace Cottage, Church Street, Cromarty IV11 8XA, Ross & Cromarty, Scotland.
The subsidiary objectives of the organisation will therefore include:
2.01 Endeavouring to enrol and maintain a subscription membership whose role will be to assist the custodians of the museum, namely the National Trust for Scotland, in pursuing the above aims.
2.02 Encouraging and assisting in attracting as many visitors to the Hugh Miller Museum as possible.
2.03 Furthering all the organisation’s aims by encouraging others to become Friends.
2.04 Fund-raising in support of developments at the Museum buildings and grounds, with emphases, for example, on projecting Miller’s legacy through publications in print and other media, the acquisitions of artefacts, and enhancement of the gardens.
2.05 The Friends will endeavour to assist Museum salaried staff through the services of volunteers from among its members.
3.0 MEMBERSHIP & SUBSCRIPTIONS
Membership is open to all who wish to see the achievement of the organisation’s primary and subsidiary aims. The Friends as an organisation will encourage those who have not yet done so, to become members of the National Trust for Scotland.
There shall be a single membership category of Friends, with an annual subscription of £10. The Financial Year of the organisation will run from 1st April to 31st March of the following year. The first year begins from 1st April 2006, and subscriptions will be renewable from the 1st April of each following year, payable within 30 days, after which membership automatically lapses.
4.0 FINANCE
The funding of “The Friends” shall consist of membership subscriptions, individual and corporate, donations, and appeals for funds to finance specific projects. A bank account shall operate in the name of “The Friends of Hugh Miller,” whose signatories shall be the organisation’s Secretary and Treasurer. Accounts shall be kept by the Treasurer to show income and expenditure. The accounts will be audited, presented for approval to an annual general meeting (AGM), and subsequently submitted to OSCR, the Scottish Charities Regulator.
5.0 STRUCTURE
The Friends shall have up to three honorary patrons. The administrative structure shall consist of a Management Committee comprising Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, and up to five additional members. They will be representative of Hugh Miller’s interests, and of the membership as a whole, and people actively involved locally in supporting the Museum.
5.1 NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS
Each AGM will nominate and elect the three office bearers, namely the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, and the members of the Management Committee. Posts on the Committee must be open to alternative nominations, and existing office-bearers must be willing to offer to stand down after three years’ service.
5.2 INFORMATION & MEETINGS
The Secretary will submit an annual report on the organisation’s activities for approval to each AGM. The annual meeting will be held conjointly with a public meeting, to be addressed by an invited speaker on a key facet of Miller’s legacy. The organisation will produce reports of all its meetings, including the annual meeting, in periodical newsletters, and other communications, for circulation to the membership, and to any other interested parties by agreement of the Management Committee.
6.0 BENEFITS
The primary beneficiary will be the Museum itself, through the generous support of the Friends. For members of The Friends, the benefits will include a membership card, free entry to the Museum, attendance at annual and other meetings, and the periodical newsletters.
7.0 REVIEWS
All aspects of The Friends’ constitution and administration shall be subject to review and change, on the initiative of the Management Committee, and/or on the basis of proposals from Friends’ members placed before the annual meeting. Items of future consideration may include the subscription rate, meeting attendance charges and other financial factors. All suggestions made by Friends members for the development of the property and for events and activities will be considered by the Management Committee.
7.1 DISSOLUTION. The Friends may be dissolved as an organisation in the event of a failure for whatever reason/s to sustain itself as an active body. A winding up would be effected by a Management Committee recommendation to the existing membership at the time, which recommendation would require acceptance by at least 50 per cent of those responding. Following wind-up, any remaining assets would pass to the National Trust for Scotland.
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