Surrey Hindu Cultural Association

1. Why was an AGM Conducted on Sunday, 22nd Oct, 2017

The Surrey Hindu Cultural Association is a Charitable Incorporated Organization (CIO), registered with the Charity Commission. We formally launched operations on 20th Feb 2016 and our constitution strongly recommends holding the first AGM within 18 months of registration. We were also preparing to submit the financials to the Regulator, and it was, therefore, important to share this information with the public in advance.

 

In addition to the regulatory requirements, an AGM is a way to engage the community at large, help make the community feel more involved in the running of the organisation and its initiatives. It also presents a way for people to have their questions and queries answered, and offers an opportunity for the Trustees to present a report of the initiatives to date, discuss the financial position with the people  in preparation for submission to the Regulator, and additionally review future plans.

 

2. When was the AGM announced, and how was the general public made aware of it?

In the committee meeting on 2nd September, the topic of the AGM was tabled and minuted and it was decided that a date proposed and socialised to conduct the AGM. A notice of the intent of the AGM was circulated on Oct.5, 2017, via all our communication channels i.e. the Website, the Facebook Page, Email to registered members and messages on the SHCA Whatsapp Groups (1,2 & 3).

 

3. Why was registration required to attend the AGM?

A registration page was created and shared to help get an idea of numbers, and to allow people to provide their contact details, in case they weren’t already connected to us via one of our communication channels.

 

In addition, as elections were due to be held at the AGM, it was important to have a count of the voters in order to arrange for sufficient numbers of ballot papers for the election process to run smoothly. Regular Reminders were posted, principally on Whatsapp, to encourage people to register to the attend the AGM. 118 people registered to attend the AGM. Some quick background research reveals that this is a very healthy registration count, even for very large temples in the UK, which have annual attendance in the hundreds of thousands. We, therefore, like to thank you for your enthusiasm and support.

 

4. Why were elections held during the AGM on 22nd Oct 2017?

As per our governing document, the CIO Constitution , which has been filed with the Charity Commission, mandates that all current Trustees step down at the first AGM. (Please see Clause 13) It, therefore, becomes imperative, to ensure the smooth running of the organisation, that the members are able to elect new trustees, based on the information shared with them on past performance and future plans by the current committee.

 

5. Why has the number of committee members reduced from 9 to 7?

The governing CIO Constitution mandates a minimum of 3 Trustees. It was felt that we needed to compact the team to increase focus and cohesiveness, whilst still maintaining the ability to represent a good diversity of views. It was therefore proposed that the Committee be resized to 7 members, and for purposes of continuity and guidance, 4 places would be reserved for existing members, and 3 places would be opened up to new members.

 

6. Why were new committee members elected to the board of Trustees?

SHCA's governing document, the CIO Constitution, in addition to mandating all trustees step down at the first AGM, also mandates that 1/3rd the current Trustees retire. It was therefore important to onboard new trustees to provide a level of continuity in future elections. New Trustees also bring fresh new ideas and help reinvigorate the cause.

 

7. How was the election process shared and agreed?

A slide deck was created and circulated, and a conference call was arranged for the Board of Trustees on Sat, 14th October to discuss and agree on this proposal, where the general consensus was to go with the proposal, despite some minor differences on the date of the election.

It was however felt that decoupling the election from the AGM was not desirable, as the Constitution very clearly mandates that existing Trustees step down at the first AGM, and moreover it would be particularly onerous to expect the public to attend two meetings in quick succession.

It was therefore in the best the interest of the organization to present an opportunity to the people attending the AGM to select and elect the new committee members.

 

8. How were the elections conducted?

An independent team of volunteers led by two very respected members from our community were given charge of conducting the elections, none of the candidates were involved in executing the election process on the day of the election. The volunteers signed a sheet attesting the vote counts for complete transparency.

 

9. Why was a weighted election system (Preferential ballot) used?

A ‘first past the post’ system is usually suitable for electing a single candidate, however, it doesn’t work as effectively when more than one candidates have to be elected, which was the case with our committee elections. The method of preferential votes is employed quite widely across a variety of private organisations, in addition to being used to elect members of parliament in some countries. (Please see Preferential Votes on Wikipedia for more details on the history and usage of this system)

 

10. How can I be more involved and collaborate with SHCA to share ideas, and help with events and operations?

SHCA is a completely volunteer-based organisation, and therefore we rely heavily on your support. Recent events like the Diwali Mela have highlighted the power of the community when we all come together as one united entity. We are always open to ideas and constructive comments on how we can improve on our current programs and introduce new initiatives.

 

A very good suggestion was raised at the AGM, one about quarterly meetings with the public. We propose to take this suggestion onboard and conduct quarterly meetings, where new ideas and initiatives could be discussed. In addition, you can always email us at temple@shca-woking.org.uk, we aim to get back to you with a response within a week of receiving your emails.