Committee roles

The President is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Club’s operations, and providing direction and guidance for the committee to carry out their roles successfully. They should have experience within the Club, a strong belief in the values and purpose of the Club and a vision to move it forward. 

Whilst the Secretary, Treasurer, IT Officer and Webmaster have specific tasks related to their role, the responsibilities of a President are more general. These involve:

• Overseeing the smooth running of all Club activities
• Ensuring that your Club carries out its purpose in line with the constitution and regulations
• Delegating and managing key tasks or new projects for the maintenance or improvement of Club activities
• Chairing meetings
• Overseeing all committee decisions and communicating these to members
• Providing support, advice, and guidance to committee members to fulfil their responsibilities
• Representing the Club to the wider student body, the University and external organisations and communicating with key contacts

BEST PRACTICE GUIDE

Representing your Club

As the President, you will be a key representative and of your Club, to your members, the wider student body, the University and external organisations. When starting your role, you should introduce yourself to the Senior Member and any other key contacts, such as sponsors or charity partners. Try to ascertain from the previous President the nature of their relationship to ensure continuity.

Throughout your role, you could also explore new ways that your Club could establish new contacts and increase its impact for members and for the wider community. This could include collaborations (with other Clubs, colleges, universities or external charities and businesses) or events (member volunteering days; external speakers).

Overseeing Club Activities

The exact tasks of the President will vary significantly depending on the activities and operations of your Club. When planning an activity or event, you should consider all the tasks and people required to carry it out successfully, and delegate accordingly. You must also ensure that all Club activities are in line with University rules and regulations.

Given the various tasks and people you will be coordinating during your role, it is useful to write a plan for each term to ensure that you do not forget anything.

Working with Committee Members

It is your responsibility to provide direction and guidance for your committee members to carry out their responsibilities. It is important to find a balance between managing and improving your Club’s operations whilst avoiding putting too much pressure on yourself and the committee, who will likely be juggling several other commitments. You may want to consider having a Welfare Officer on your committee who is responsible for overseeing the welfare of the committee and members.

It is likely you were elected for the role of President because you showed a passion for the Club’s activities and purposes, and a vision for where you wanted to take the Club forward. Work with your own strengths and the skills and ideas of the rest of the committee to carry out this vision.

Meetings

You have the right to attend all meetings of the Club and the committee. The quorum is the minimum number of attendees required to make the proceedings of the meeting valid. If you are absent or unable to take the chair, the committee can elect another member of the committee to chair the meeting. All matters discussed in meetings of the committee or members are determined by a majority of members present and voting. If votes are equal, the President has the casting vote.

How to chair a meeting

• Before you start, ensure that a quorum is present. The quorum is the minimum number of attendees required to make the proceedings of the meeting valid. For committee meetings, the quorum is 4. For the AGM, the quorum is 10 members present in person or by proxy, including at least 3 committee members. If financial business is to be transacted in any meeting, the Treasurer, or a committee member deputed by the Treasurer to represent their views, must attend. Where a member is deputed to represent the Treasurer, only financial business included in the agenda can be discussed.
• During the meeting, work through the items on the agenda, guiding the discussion and trying to stick to the timings. Ensure that everyone participates and has their opinion heard before decisions or votes. Try to highlight the things others may not want to mention or to ask the difficult questions. Before making a decision or voting, you could summarise all the points in favour and in disagreement.
• After the meeting, if you have discussed an event or project, you could make an action plan based on the minutes, to set manageable deadlines for each committee member and ensure the tasks discussed are completed. Examples of an action table can be found in some of the Word templates for meeting minutes. See the Secretary section on 'keeping minutes’ for how to access these.

The Oxford SU's Training Page offers a ‘chairing effective meetings training’ which can be accessed through your SSO.

The Treasurer is responsible for everything related to the Club’s finances, including the Club’s accounts, insurance, income, and expenditure. This involves keeping accurate and updated accounts, drafting budgets, and finding sponsors. If the Club is disbanded, the treasurer must submit to the Senior Member and to the Proctors a full statement of the Club’s accounts.

Responsibilities include:

• Keeping proper records of the Club’s financial transactions in accordance with current accepted accounting rules and practices.
• Developing and implementing control procedures to minimise the risk of financial exposure, which can be reviewed with the University’s Internal Audit Section. Ensure that bills are paid, and cash is banked, in accordance with these procedures.
• Managing the Club’s expenditure: includes preparing an annual budget for the Club and keeping the committee informed of progress against this budget; writing individual event/ project budgets.
• Managing the Club’s income: includes applying for grants; finding sponsors or partners; fundraising; receiving membership subscriptions.
• Maintaining an inventory of the Club property.
• Presenting all records, procedures, and accounts to the Senior Member, the Proctors on request.
• Checking that the Club’s bank accounts are secure and suitable for the purpose of the Club.
• Ensuring that you have the correct insurance cover: including keeping an equipment inventory so that your Club’s equipment can be covered by University insurance.
• If applicable, ensuring that all statutory returns are made including VAT, income tax and corporation tax.
• If applicable, submitting the Club’s accounts for independent professional inspection.

BEST PRACTICE GUIDE

Regulations

As a treasurer you should be aware of the following regulations from the constitution, just in case they could apply to your Club:

• No Committee or Club member can enter an arrangement, contract, or transaction on behalf of the Club that exceeds £1,000, unless this has been approved in a committee meeting.

• If the Club has a turnover of > £25,000 in the preceding year or is confidently expected to reach this within the current year, you must submit the accounts (in a format prescribed by the Proctors) for independent professional inspection and report by a reporting accountant approved in advance by the Proctors. Accounts are to be ready for inspection within four months of the end of the Club’s financial year and the costs of the inspection and report shall be borne by the Club. If requested by the reporting accountant, the Club shall submit accounts and related material as a basis for a review of accounting procedures, the cost likewise to be borne by the Club.

• Ensure that all statuary returns are made, including VAT, income tax and corporation tax
  • Income tax and corporation tax are almost never applicable to student clubs and societies.
  • Clubs are considered as individual entities for VAT purposes, meaning that they are not covered by the University’s VAT registration. Check the gov.uk VAT registration page for details on whether you need to register for VAT (the current threshold is an annual turnover exceeding £85,000). Given that your Club’s income is unlikely to exceed this threshold, you do not need to charge VAT on your subscription fees, ticket sales, etc. However, note that you will not be exempt from paying the usual VAT on goods and services that you buy.
  • You can seek some advice on tax matters from the University Finance Division, but it is your responsibility to research and manage your taxes if you are required to pay them. 

Club’s Financial Records

You must keep proper records of the Club’s financial transactions, which includes the date, description, receipt, and amount for all income and expenditure. You can download and use the Specimen Accounts document to help you. During the first year of registration, Clubs may be required to submit termly accounts. It is good practice to review your accounts at each committee meeting and update the Officers on progress against the annual budget.

At the end of week 9 in Trinity Term every year, you must forward a copy of your annual accounts for the financial year to which they relate to the Proctors. These must be signed by the Senior Member. You will also need to present the annual accounts at the AGM in each Hilary Term. 

At the end of your term in Office, ensure that your accounts are accurate and updated, and that you hand them over to your successor.

Managing Money

Managing money efficiently and securely involves planning the Club’s budgets and procedures to minimise risk, as well as selecting and managing an appropriate bank account. 

You are responsible for preparing an annual budget and regularly updating the committee on progress against the budget. You could also create budgets for individual projects or events that may require several transactions.

Bank Account

The Club’s bank account must be held in the Club’s name, not the name of any individual. An account must have a minimum of two signatories, who must be current committee members (usually the President and the Secretary). This means that writing a cheque or withdrawing money requires the signature or approval from two committee members, which ensures that money is handled in a manner agreed by the whole committee, and not just the Treasurer. At the end of your term in office, you must hand over full authority to the Club’s bank account(s) and ensure that signatories are changed.

Different banks will have different steps you have to follow before opening an account. If you choose a community bank account, you may be required to provide certain documents, for example your constitution or meeting minutes. Signatories will usually be required to go into a bank branch with proof of identity and proof of address.

The Clubs Office does not endorse any specific service providers. If you are a new society, or wish to change your bank account, there are various things to consider before opening an account. One of these is whether to choose a high street bank branch (e.g., Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC) or a digital bank (e.g., Starling, Monzo, Revolut). You can read about the pros and cons of each on Money Guru's page on 'High street vs digital banking'. Most high street banks offer community bank accounts which you may be eligible for. A breakdown of the provisions of various community banks is provided in Business Financing’s list of the Top 20 Community Bank Accounts For UK Charities. If you decide to go for a digital bank, have a look at the list of The Top 10 Best Digital Banks by Compare Banks.

Income 

A Club’s income can come from various channels, including subscription fees, sponsorship, and grants. As the Treasurer you should assess how much money the Club needs to carry out its purpose (based on your budget) and raise money accordingly. 

When seeking or agreeing to sponsorship from external parties the Clubs should consider that any form of sponsorship or funding:

• Does not impinge on the club’s freedom to conduct its activities as set out in the constitution, or create potential conflict of interest (that cannot be disclosed or appropriately managed), or otherwise harm the reputation of the collegiate University.
• Does not originates from or is associated with illegal or unethical activity, such as where the funding is believed to be a result of criminal activity, is linked to money laundering activity;
• Is not suspected to be associated with terrorist financing activity.
• The conditions attached to funding would not require or incite the club to act illegally of unethically in any way.

The guidance below provides information on managing grants, sponsorship, and subscriptions. The University Development Office is able to facilitate donations for registered clubs.

Grants

Club Office Grant

Every term, the Clubs Committee meets to decide on the provision of small grants to registered Clubs to support their activities. Information about the type of grants available, eligibility and the application process is available on the Club grants page.

Other grants 

Depending on the activities and aims of your organisation, you may be able to apply for external sources of funding. This will require some research, to find the grants which you are eligible to apply for. Key questions to think about whilst researching grants include:

• Do you have a specific project in mind that you require funding for? How can you give evidence that this will significantly benefit your members or improve your ability to carry out your Club’s aims?
• How much money do you need and how exactly will the grant be spent?
• Do you want to apply to local, regional, national, or international grant bodies? Consider how competitive the grant scheme will be and whether it is worth your time to apply for it
• As well as general grant providers (see below), are there organisations that allocate grants specifically centred around the activities and purpose of your Club?

Below are some general sources to get you started: 

• Oxford City Council’s list of External Funding Opportunities
• Oxfordshire County Council’s Funding for community groups page
• Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action’s list of Funding sources
• The National Lottery Community Fund
• The ‘Funding Categories’ section of the Grants Online website
• Oxfordshire Community Foundation’s Grants page

Writing a Grant Application

The grant application process will vary depending on the organisation you are applying to, and there are several online guides to help you with this. In general, the most important things to consider are:

• Make sure to research the funding organisation in detail – including the projects they have funded before and how much money was allocated, whether they publish any grant-writing tips for their organisation, and checking that you are definitely eligible.
• Have all the necessary documents updated and ready – this may include accounts, the constitution, other policy documents, details on the management of the Club, and committee information. You are trying to show the grant provider that you are a trustworthy organisation that will use their money effectively, so try to make sure everything is as organised as possible.
• Clearly set out the details of the project you require funding for – including who, what, where, when, and how; and the impact the project will have.

Sponsorships

Whilst applying for grants, and other forms of fundraising, are generally a one-way process (i.e., funding is provided to the Club and is unlikely to directly benefit the funder), sponsorship tends to benefit both the Club and the sponsor. The Club could receive funding, equipment, resources, or venue hire, whilst the sponsor will gain access to a valuable student market and improve their reputation. There are several stages to securing a sponsor, as outlined below.

How to secure a sponsor

Step 1: Research

• Compile a list of potential sponsors. This could include past supporters; companies with a personal connection to a Club member; companies with a vested interest in your Club’s purpose and activities; any other individual or company who is closely associated with the University or who would have an interest in connecting with the student body
• Find out the goals and business targets of the company, so that you can tailor your proposal around how you can help them achieve their goals. Try to find out when the company plans their budget, as you may be more likely to receive sponsorship if you ask the company around this time, so that they can factor you in to their future plans.  

Step 2: Planning your proposal 

What you are asking for?

Make sure you are being realistic and reasonable: remember that sponsorship should benefit both parties relatively equally. You do not want to ask for a huge sum of money from a small company, but you also should not offer too much from your Club if it will not yield a worthwhile benefit in return. As with writing grant applications, be clear on exactly what you need the money for, how it will be used, and the impact it will have.

What you can offer to the potential sponsor?

• Positive exposure to students and access to a student market
• Promoting the sponsor on your content (event tickets, posters, website, social media)
• Attendance of/ participation in your events
• The opportunity to collect feedback about their brand/ products
• Running Club events at their venue and publicising them
• Potential future employees

Provide both quantitative and qualitative information to sell yourself to a potential sponsor. Quantitative information could include the number of members you have, number of website visits or social media likes, how many competitions you have won, how many people have attended your events etc. 

Once you have considered these two aspects, you can write a sponsorship proposal. This should include:

• Why the company should sponsor you – include details of your past successes; how you benefit members/ wider community; and what you can offer them
• What you hope to achieve with their money and exactly how it will be spent
• How you fit in with their business objectives and how both you and the companies’ business objectives will be achieved
• Contact information 

Step 3: Asking for sponsorship

Depending on the type of organisation you are contacting, you may choose to start the initial conversation via phone call or email.

Phone call: find the companies’ contact information online and try to work out which number you want to ring. If you call the reception, you could ask if they can put you through to the appropriate person. Once connected with the right person, you can briefly introduce yourself, outline why you are calling, and ask them what the best way is to discuss your proposal (e.g. schedule a phone call, face-to-face meeting, or email). Make sure to note down the details of all correspondence between yourself and the company (e.g., the names of people you speak to) to avoid confusion.

Email: introduce yourself and the Club, outline why you are writing, give a very brief summary of your proposal and mention that you have attached the sponsorship proposal to the email. Make it clear that you would be excited to work with them and that you would love to continue the discussion (via email/ meeting/ phone call) if they are interested.

If your proposal is rejected, don’t be disheartened. It can be useful to ask for feedback regarding your proposal or approach, to help you next time. If you still need the funding, go back to your list of potential sponsors and try someone new.  

Step 4: Closing the deal

If a sponsor agrees to your proposal, it is important to write a contract to ensure that both parties are clear on what they are agreeing to. Your sponsorship contract should include:

• The project title or names of the Club and sponsor
• Relevant dates (e.g. start/ finish or event dates)
• Financial terms – the amount, date payable and VAT inclusions/ exclusions
• What the Club will do for their sponsor and what the company will do for the Club
• Signatures and dates of you and the sponsor

Step 5: Maintaining a relationship

Maintaining communication with your sponsor increases the likelihood of building a long-term relationship and receiving further support from them in the future. Some ways you can do this include:

• Sending a thank-you email or card summarising the positive outcomes of the project and expressing your interest in working with them again
• Inviting sponsors to attend your events
• Keeping them up to date with your activities and successes
• Showing examples of you following the terms of the contract (e.g. branded tickets and posters)
• Arranging a mid-contract meeting (if they would like one) to receive feedback and discuss the ways you could continue to work together 

Subscription Fees

Depending on the size of your Club and the cost of membership, subscription fees could constitute a significant part of your Club’s income. You should assess whether your subscription fees are realistic – both to fund the activities of your Club and ensure its financial sustainability, and for students to afford. You want to find a balance between your Club having enough money and being accessible for all students. Having a process in place for students who cannot pay their subscription fees could help with this.

Refer to the ‘Membership’ section in the general guidance for more details. 

The role of a society’s Senior Member is to act as an intermediary between a society and the university. This might involve representing the society to the Proctors, ensuring that the society’s accounts are in order, and resolving disputes between a society’s members. As a member of the Congregation, and with a tenure of up to five years, a Senior Member can bring experience and institutional memory to a society, serving as a member of the society’s committee to ensure that the correct decisions are made for the society.

Role and Responsibilities 

Officially, as set out in the standard constitution for non-sports clubs, the responsibilities of a Senior Member are to:

• keep abreast of the actions and activities of the Club;
• provide information relating to the Club to the Proctors on request;
• seek to settle any preliminary disputes between the Committee and the members;
• following paragraph 22(i), consider whether the accounts of the Club are in order and, if so, sign them;
• ensure that adequate advice and assistance is available to the Secretary and the Treasurer in the performance of their responsibilities under paragraphs 21 and 22; and
• be available to represent and speak for the Club in the public forum, and before the University authorities.

As a member of the society’s committee, the Senior Member is also responsible for the actions of the society. While the full extent of a Senior Member’s involvement may differ between societies, they have voting rights at committee meetings, which they can exercise if they choose to do so. This means that the Senior Member can function as a form of institutional memory for a society, offering justifications for past decisions so that societies can learn from themselves despite other committee members graduating and leaving the society.

The standard constitution also requires that Senior Members assist the club’s Secretary and Treasurer with their constitutional duties. The help which Senior Members offer to the Secretary and Treasurer will vary depending on the specifics of the club and its organisation, but in many cases the Senior Member would be asked for advice from these office holders about how to fulfil their responsibilities. For the Secretary, these responsibilities include maintaining a register of the club’s members, drawing up an agenda and minutes of general and committee meetings, and notifying the Proctors of any changes to the club’s Officers. While the Senior Member is not expected to undertake a burden of administrative work, they should be available to advise the Secretary about best practice. The Senior Member’s role in providing institutional memory may also be useful here: they might be able to access previous meeting minutes to inform the agenda and discussions at committee and general meetings.

The Treasurer may also request help from the Senior Member with their constitutional duties – which include keeping financial records, a budget, and financial exposure control procedures, as well as ensuring statutory returns are made. The Senior Member also carries formal responsibility for working with the Treasurer to ensure that the club’s accounts are in order. By the end of 9^th week of Trinity Term each year, the Treasurer must send the club’s accounts to the Proctors, and these must have been signed by the Senior Member. A specimen of the format of accounts is available on the University website. The Senior Member should ensure that the accounts are in good shape, and that all forms of income and expenditure are legitimate and accounted for. This should mean that the society is both spending money in a sustainable way and earning money through acceptable sources. Furthermore, the Senior Member should ensure that the accounts add up, and that they are satisfied with the areas of expenditure which are included.

Since the Senior Member’s term is limited to five years, they should ensure that a replacement is found for them when they are nearing their term limit, as it is possible that the remainder of the committee would not know when this is. If possible, and in agreement with the rest of the club’s committee, they should organise a handover with their successor, to make sure that knowledge is passed down, furthering their role in maintaining institutional memory. If a club is unable to find a new Senior Member when the previous Senior Member’s term expires, they may in exceptional circumstances apply to the Proctors for the term limit to be waived, so that the Senior Member may remain in their position until a replacement can be found.

As a member of the Congregation, the Senior Member is connected to the University itself. This means that they may act as a liaison between the society and the University’s leadership. Ideally – and indeed in practice – this responsibility need rarely be acted upon, for most societies are excellent at operating without significant Proctorial intervention. However, there may be occasions in which the Proctors might be forced to intervene or enquire about the operations of the club, and in these circumstances the Senior Member will act as a go-between for the society. This might involve providing information about the club to the Proctors upon request and explaining and advocating for the society’s decisions to the relevant University authority. This latter requirement goes in tandem with the Senior Member’s responsibility to represent the club in a public forum: in most of these cases, this would involve providing statements to the media on behalf of the club, in partnership with the remainder of the committee. This is, however, rarely required, and further practical guidance would be available from the Proctors in such a situation.

Which are the key University policies that clubs must specifically follow?

• Equality – Ensures that no member of the University is discriminated against on the basis of their protected characteristics
• Freedom of speech – Requires that free expression be upheld in line with the law
• Safeguarding – Protects children and vulnerable adults during club activities
• Harassment – Aims to take proactive steps to stop and punish harassment

Summary of the Senior Member's Responsibilities 

• The Senior Member acts as a liaison between the club and the University, providing information to the Proctors and representing the club to the University.

• In the event of a dispute within a Club which cannot be settled amicably, the Senior Member should attempt to resolve disputes before recourse to the Proctors. (Further guidance can be obtained from the Clubs Office.)

• The Senior Member may also take a responsibility for following University policies, including the harassment procedure if the need arises.

• With a maximum term of five years, the Senior Member can provide institutional memory for the club. 

Overview of University Policies

The fact that Senior Members are members of a club’s committee means that they, together with the other committee members, are responsible for the following of the University’s regulations for clubs. Notably, the club must follow the University’s policies on equality, freedom of speech, safeguarding, and harassment. The University’s equality policy stresses the importance of “an inclusive culture which promotes equality, values diversity and maintains a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all its staff and students are respected.” This means that “no member of [the University] community [may be] unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, or sexual orientation” – these are all protected characteristics. All staff and students, and certainly those who are involved in the operation of a club, thus have a duty to “treat others with dignity and respect” and to “respect the University’s commitment to promote good relations, advance equality of opportunity and eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment."

University Policy on Freedom of Speech

The University’s policy statement on freedom of speech must also be followed by societies. The statement emphasises the importance of free expression at the University, both as “the lifeblood of a university” facilitating knowledge, truth, and humility, and as a key value enshrined in the law. Societies have a duty under the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 to take “reasonably practicable” steps to ensure that free speech is maintained at the University, meaning that except for in a limited range of scenarios, speakers must not be barred from speaking due to their views. A fuller explanation of how societies can preserve free and productive debate can be found in the Freedom of Expression guide.

University Policy on Harassment 

This is particularly pertinent for Senior Members, as their responsibilities both in acting as a liaison between Proctors and students and in resolving any preliminary disputes between members of the club will likely interact with the University’s harassment procedure. The University’s policy “make[s] it clear that harassment is unacceptable and that all members of the University have a role to play in creating an environment free from harassment.” It gives club committee members, due to their position of power, a formal responsibility to take proactive steps to prevent harassment, which can occur through “violating another person’s dignity” or “creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for another person.” Examples of harassment which may be particularly noticeable in the context of a society include offensive comments on the basis of protected characteristics, constant criticism, persistently overloading an individual with work, unwanted sexual advances, and causing an individual to be isolated from social events.

If a person alleges that they have been harassed by another student at the University, then they may in the first instance write to the alleged harasser to explain that they are unhappy with their behaviour. They may also contact the Harassment Advisory Service or the Student Welfare and Support Services for further guidance. If this is unsuccessful or inappropriate for the specific situation, the student should make a formal written Report to the Proctors. This Report may be written in conjunction with the Oxford SU Advice Service, who can ensure that the Report contains all necessary information. Senior Members – and indeed all club committee members – should familiarise themselves with the full Harassment Policy and Procedure, which may also be found in the form of a flowchart. 

Welfare Support

The Senior Member is also responsible for ensuring the welfare of those who have been affected by harassment. The Senior Member’s role in such a situation will often be one of signposting, whether this be to people within the club or within the University’s infrastructure. If the society has a Welfare Officer on their committee, it can be worth referring anyone affected – with their consent – to them for welfare support, particularly if the Welfare Officer is a Peer Supporter or has undertaken similar training. A comprehensive guide to welfare support is available on the University’s website, with full contact details for welfare assistance. If a Senior Member has concerns about a student, they can contact the student’s college welfare team, who have been trained to deal with welfare issues in a confidential and professional way. For further advice, Senior Members can contact Student Welfare and Support Services, who are able to provide assistance with dealing with welfare matters. 

Safeguarding Policy 

When working with children and ‘at risk’ or vulnerable adults, societies must also ensure that they follow the University’s safeguarding policy. This policy stipulates that “any member of the University who has responsibility for organising an activity involving adults at risk or children must nominate an individual to act as the Designated Safeguarding Lead for the activity.” Furthermore, these activities should “be designed so that appropriate training and supervision is available to those working with adults at risk or children, minimise occasions on which members of the University will need to work alone in an unsupervised way with adults at risk or children, [and] be appropriately risk assessed.” Lastly, “any member of the University who will be planning activities with children should have completed the e-learning 'Introduction to Safeguarding' training” at a minimum.