GOOD IDEAS AND
PRACTICES
This page provides all participating clubs with the opportunity to indicate
what works well in their Club to make it more efficient or more enjoyable.
Maybe it is the way you collect money or manage your finances, an
unusual or occasional activity which has become popular, what you do to
acknowledge and deal with the death of a member, what you do to streamline
General Meetings or make them more interesting or enjoyable.
Whatever it is that you feel proud about
in your Club, let us know about it.
Contributions to this
page will normally remain for several months until most Clubs have had time
to access and pass on the item to the relevant members in their Club.
The length of time items remain will depend upon the overall number
of contributions.
REPORT OF THE 2008
INFORMATION DAY IN
In 2008 the Probus
Club of Barwon Valley Belmont Inc. hosted the Geelong Information Day.
Following this day a comprehensive report was prepared by the
Secretary which was then mailed out to all the Clubs that participated.
This report contains a lot of good advice arising out of the four
discussion groups plus answers to questions that were submitted by clubs
beforehand.
General Points that were made on the day:
·
Promoting Fellowship, Friendship and Fun
is the primary role of all Probus Clubs.
·
The Welfare Officer.
This is a most important
role and this person should follow up on non attendee’s to determine their
wellbeing, but be aware of privacy issues.
·
Managing the age of membership
and continually seeking younger members to join.
·
All office bearers to consider starting a succession
plan early in their term of office.
One way is to invite some
of your members to Committee meetings and getting them involved.
·
Life membership should not
be conferred on members simply because of age, but to members who have
rendered outstanding service to their Club.
Clubs should incorporate their procedure in the Club’s By Laws.
·
The need to ensure that
appropriate privacy statements are included on Club forms, directories and
bulletins/newsletters. Examples
are provided in the Probus Handbook.
·
Clubs need to develop their Risk Management policies
in line with Probus Guidelines.
If in doubt use the Probus website, or contact the Secretariat at the Probus
Centre South Pacific Inc., on 1800
630 488.
·
On the basis of anecdotal
feedback from Club members it was felt that having around 100 members in a
Club was about the right number.
·
The practice of five minute talks
at the monthly General meeting should be encouraged.
The practice in one Probus Club is for a Committee member to be
responsible for lining up sufficient members to give the 5 minute talk
during the year. The following
year a different Committee member has that responsibility.
·
Annual fees payable to PCSP
must include an amount to cover Honorary Members.
·
Some clubs work out the
cost of trips and then put it to their Committee for approval.
Some clubs work out their trip prices based on 30, 40 or 50 taking
part and publicise these prices on trip lists.
·
It is essential for the
Trip Coordinator to have an up to date list of emergency numbers/contacts
for all Probians traveling on a trip. Members
must be encouraged to advise the trip Coordinator of any recent medical
history before boarding the coach.
·
For insurance purposes it
is recommended that each person participating in a Probus trip sign a tour
attendance sheet for each day they are on that trip.
Points Arising Out of the
President and Vice Presidents Workshop:
Building Your Club
In summary, a President or Vice President of a Club should be caring, a good
listener, and be impartial, i.e., do not be party political. The President
should not be afraid to delegate or ask members to take on various roles.
All members can make a contribution. Make them active members of your
club by involving them in activities or at Club committee level.
Some suggestions to foster community spirit within a Club included the
making of a club banner, singing the National Anthem at every general
meeting, or the production of a Club Handbook, produced within the Club,
which includes the names and photographs of all members.
However, in doing so, and for
privacy reasons, the handbook's use is restricted to club membership only.
Unpleasant or Difficult Members
In response to a concern of what to do when your club has some unpleasant
members, suggestions included:
·
Any applications for membership should be more thoroughly vetted.
·
In the future be more vigilant when considering applications.
·
Suggest to the offending member(s) that resignation is an option.
·
Committees need to be strong and prepared to confront the recalcitrant(s).
·
It is useful to keep records of any dispute/grievance including recording
conversations and/or listing
witnesses.
Applications for Membership and Waiting Lists
A number of Clubs spoke of the
problems associated with age in a small community and trying to encourage a
balanced membership from a small community.
Most Clubs were cognisant of the problems of managing the age
profile, and whilst it would be desirable to have an even mix of female and
male members, Clubs with older memberships cannot afford to be
discriminatory.
Problems with Finding Office Bearers and Publicity
Clubs spoke of the reticence of members to volunteer/nominate for office.
‘A been there done that’ mentality.
Suggestions include that Clubs:
·
Work actively to welcome and accept younger people along the way.
·
Encourage the organisation of ‘Open Days’ to which visitors are invited.
Use shop windows, local papers, etc., to publicise the Visitors' Day.
·
Use publicity in local papers to disseminate information, report on club
activities, or encourage interest (perhaps a regular column).
·
Invite spouses, friends, neighbours to meetings and also invite friends to
go on Probus trips.
Tenure in Executive Positions and Encouraging Involvement by Members
The advice given on periods of tenure was:
·
The Constitution has recently been amended to 1 year for Presidents (except
when a club is new, where tenure can be extended for another year).
·
The tenure for other Committee positions is three years.
Extensions can be negotiated and the Clubs can decide.
However, this could result in a lack of opportunity for someone else.
In general therefore the advice is to encourage tenure of three years
and that's it!
·
Some Clubs invite new members to a Committee meeting to see a Committee at
work and be aware that tasks are not onerous.
They also have open days to encourage members.
·
There are no restrictions on the number of Probus clubs of which one could
be a member and Probus Clubs can recruit members from other Clubs such as
Rotary.
General Discussion
One Club advised it has a small sub-group which produces craft items which
are sold to raise money. What happens when the amount that is raised reaches
$50.00? Advice was given that
the money is being raised under the auspices of Probus and as such would be
Probus money, not funds which the sub-group is free to disburse.
However, the craft group could ask the Committee to donate the funds
to a particular cause on behalf of that Probus Club.
ABN Numbers - should Clubs have one?
It is not necessary, but if Clubs want further information they
should approach Consumer Affairs.
Are members who deliver Club newsletter covered by insurance?
Provided any Club activity is mentioned in monthly or in Committee
minutes, or in Club By-Laws it will be covered by insurance.
A Probus Concert
Grant Goldsmith, President of the Probus Club of Barwon Valley Belmont
raised the idea of staging a concert by Probus members in the
President Grant indicated he would follow this up along the lines suggested. A member of the South Western District reported that a little more than $1000 had been allocated for a "friendship day" and this had not been used. Perhaps those funds could be used in such a venture as was being suggested.
Points Arising Out of
the Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries Workshop:
The Role of Secretary
The group concluded that the role and duties of Secretary
were substantial and a crucial factor in successfully carrying out this
function for a Club was the need to share that load.
A number of Clubs had devised ways of doing this by dividing the
duties between a Secretary, an Assistant Secretary, or a Minutes Secretary
and/or Newsletter Editor. It
was also very important to set up a succession plan early in the term of a
Secretary’s tenure of office in order to groom a successor. This would apply
to any of the office bearers.
Another suggestion was for Clubs to examine their By Laws
to ensure that they incorporated reference to the office bearers needed in
each Club (ie, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, or Minutes Secretary,
Membership Officer etc.).
Office bearers to fill those positions could then be elected at each AGM.
Constitution
Delegates sought clarification on the length of the term
of office of President and other Committee Members.
Delegates were urged to read the guidelines contained in the new 2008
Probus Club Handbook in conjunction with the recently amended Probus Club
Constitution and the By- Laws.
Contact Probus Centre South Pacific Inc. on
1800 630 488 for information, if
in doubt.
Minutes/Newsletters
In response to a query on whether or not Clubs read out
their minutes at meetings, some Clubs advised they provided minutes as
attachments to their newsletters, other Clubs as inclusions in their
newsletters. Some Clubs read
them out at meetings. Whichever way, the accuracy of the minutes is the
responsibility of the Secretary and the importance of having the minutes of
previous meetings moved as read and endorsed as correct was reinforced.
Furthermore, when the motion is seconded it must only be seconded by
a member who attended the previous meeting.
Members were urged to discuss with their local Post
Offices bulk postage rates to mail out their newsletters, as considerable
savings are possible this way.
Record Keeping
All delegates agreed that proper record keeping was
essential. Secretaries were
urged to ensure that all minutes are to be signed by the President at the
subsequent meeting. All Club
correspondence should be listed and/or read out at the General meeting. The
practice by some Clubs of listing all correspondence in/out in the
newsletter, then reading out only correspondence after that date will
suffice. Any correspondence in
the form of junk mail, brochures etc, does not need to be recorded.
Apologies
The correct procedure for recording attendances and
apologies was discussed. A tick
on an attendance record, beside the name, is sufficient.
All apologies must be recorded. There is no need to read names out as
long as they are recorded in the next minutes.
No apologies must be accepted from the floor. Procedures for
apologies should be clearly set out in the Club’s By Laws.
Frequency of Management
Committee Meetings
Some Clubs meet monthly, others less frequently.
The Constitution indicates that Management Committees may determine
the frequency, but meetings must be at least every four calendar months.
A quorum at Committee Meetings shall be a majority of
elected members, ie, if there are 10 elected members, a quorum is six.
Points Arising Out of the Treasurer’s
Workshop:
Computer Packages
The response to a query on computer packages used by Club Treasurers was
that no computer package has been recommended by Probus Central.
In summary, for succession planning the simplest method is
recommended. For example:
·
Some clubs used excel spreadsheets.
·
Most clubs tended to use manual cash books.
·
Standard packages such as Quick Books are a very efficient way of
book-keeping for clubs. The
disadvantage of this method is that the Treasurer must be computer literate
and have access to a computer.
Budgeting
To satisfy the Probus Constitution a budget must be prepared at the
beginning of each financial year so that the new annual fee structures can
be struck.
It was suggested that an insurance excess of $500.00 be included in the
annual budget in the event that a Club is required to pay an excess when
submitting an insurance claim.
Trip Payments
In many clubs the tour leader collects the payments for the various trips
and pays a lump sum to the Treasurer.
In other clubs, the payments are received by the tour leader in
labeled envelopes which are then forwarded to the Treasurer.
The procedure for collecting money for outings/trips and
policy re refunds should be clear in the Club’s By Laws.
Some clubs have set up a separate bank account to be used for trips only.
Other clubs have one account, but record their Income and Expenditure
separately.
Fees
There are various fee structures used by the clubs.
Some clubs have a flat rate that covers the annual fee, morning tea
and hall hire, whilst other clubs opt for an annual fee plus a meeting day
payment to cover morning tea and hall hire.
A Club’s annual budget will determine its annual fee rate.
Speakers Gifts
Crafted pens were a popular gift.
It was suggested that some consideration be given to covering the
speaker’s fuel costs, particularly if there was long distance travel
involved.
GST Implications
It was suggested that in order to avoid registration for GST and the extra
paperwork and reporting to the Tax Office this entails that a club’s
turnover be kept under $200,000.00. This is the amount which is the ATO
trigger for GST collection. This should not apply to many Clubs.
Financial Records
All financial records must be retained for at least five years in line with
tax requirements for business.
Signatories
All cheques must be signed by at least two committee members. It is
recommended that four committee members be registered with the bank as
possible signatories. It was
discussed and recommended that having two signatories from the one family be
avoided if at all possible.
Banking Institutions
Clubs should ensure that no bank fees are charged for a non profitable
organisation. However, this is
traded off against earning no interest.
It was suggested that the Bendigo Bank tended to favour club
accounts.
Petty Cash
Most clubs prefer to not to have a petty cash system, instead most Clubs
rely on a reimbursement system.
Consumer Affairs
Please note that Consumer Affairs will deal only with the elected Public
Officer. The elected Public
Officer must therefore be recorded on the Incorporation Document.
Incorporation (Inc)
It is strongly recommended that all clubs become incorporated as soon as
they are chartered. Operating a
club in a non incorporated environment leaves its members vulnerable to
litigation and/or liable for debt incurred by the Club.
Points Arising Out of the Trips,
Networking
The discussion group concluded that the information Day had provided an
excellent opportunity for tour organisers from other Probus clubs in the
region to network. As a result
of discussions the group agreed to start up a network of tour organisers.
A member from the Lara Combined Probus Club volunteered to compile a
database of those clubs in the region who wanted to participate.
The intention would be to forward this list on to the tour organisers
at those clubs, with a view to them meeting two or three times throughout
the year.
Medical Card
It was stressed, for good practice and for insurance purposes, that all
members maintain up to date and accurate medical cards, particularly
concerning medication. One Club
member advised that their Club included a ‘green spot’ on a members’ medical
card to indicate that this gives permission to access their handbag in an
emergency. Clubs may want to
adopt this or something similar.
Insurance
This issue was discussed at length during the question and answer session.
In brief the $2.00 annual fee per member paid to Probus Central
covers accident claims by individuals for day trips.
However, Clubs would need to take out an excess waiver policy at a
cost of $20.00 per day trip to cover the first $500.00 excess to be paid in
the event of a bus/hired vehicle accident.
There is also optional domestic travel insurance with Probus for
overnight trips at a cost of $50.00 per person.
Members were urged to note the policy conditions carefully and be
aware of age 80 exclusions. If
in doubt, call Probus Central on
1800 630 488
for information.
Questions
A range of other questions were addressed by trips and tours participants
which was helpful for all concerned.
Topics covered were:
·
Is it OK for the tour leader’s fare to be written into the costs of an
outing or trip?
-
It was a unanimous view that only administrative costs and phone calls
should be reimbursed.
·
What tour companies do you use for local or extended travel?
-
Clubs participating used a variety of tour companies.
The prevailing view was that the selection of tour companies used for
trips was at the discretion of the Club’s tour organizers, but also being
mindful of suggestions put forward by any member of their club.
·
What percentage of members of a Club normally attended outings?
-
It was estimated that approximately 30 to 35% of members usually attended
organised outings.
·
Is it possible for tour leaders to network with each other, if so, when and
how often, and can we combine tours to fill quotas?
See the section on ‘Networking’
above.
-
Web sites of interest mentioned during the discussion session were:
www.walkabout.com and
www.whereis.com.
Also
www.grandpacifictours.com. Trade Travel indicated they were in the
process of setting up a website which would soon be available for Probus
tour organisers.
QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY
CLUBS WITH THE ANSWERS THAT WERE PROVIDED
Management
·
Can a non paying Honorary
Member serve on the Management Committee?
Answer:
No.
·
Does Probus have any
stipulations about the length of time for retaining financial documents?
Answer:
The same as
for Tax purposes. A 5 year requirement.
·
Has Probus made any
recommendations about computer programs for finances?
Answer:
Probus Centre
has NOT made any recommendations.
·
What are the advantages and
disadvantages for a Club to have A.B.N. numbers?
Answer:
There is no
requirement for an ABN if turnover is under $200,000.00 in a financial year.
Extra paperwork and quarterly reporting to Tax Office when it is over
$200,000.00.
·
How do Clubs overcome the
following contradiction in the
Incorporated
Constitution?
6 (e) An
Annual General Meeting shall be held
on or before 31st March each year …………
8 (b)
The financial year of the Club shall begin on the 1st day of
April and end on the last day of March.
8 (c)
An Income and Expenditure Account (and Balance Sheet if
appropriate) together with the auditors report for the twelve months
to the end of the financial year
shall be presented to the Annual General Meeting after being audited by the
person(s) appointed at the previous Annual General Meeting.
Answer:
The financial
year shall begin on 1st day of February and end on the last day
of January.
General Meetings
·
Recording of Attendance
Details: What is the standard
approach to recording those members who have been granted leave and those
members who are apologies?
What motion should be put to the members and should it contain the
names of the apologies and/or those on leave?
Answer:
Announce
number only of apologies and those on leave.
No apologies to be accepted from the floor. Can write names in the
minutes, but do not read them out.
Merchandise
·
Where can a Club buy blank
cards and envelopes (for birthdays etc.) at the best price?
Answer:
From a normal
merchandise shop or at cheap shops sales.
Trips and Outings
·
On a trip do participants
have to sign any paperwork or can the Trip Leader just have a list of those
members?
Answer:
Each person
must sign for each day on the trip.
·
Is there an Insurance
policy available to cover members who have paid money (partially or fully)
for a Trip or Outing and then have to withdraw because of illness, accident,
bereavement or other extenuating circumstances?
Answer:
Yes, Probus
Insurance has policies, but depends on illness if refund is given.
·
Is it OK for the Tour
Leader’s fare to be written into the costs of an outing or trip?
Answer:
It is up to
the particular Club to makes its own decision, provided it is fair to all
concerned.
Protocols
·
Can the Constitution
include some or all of the By Laws recommended by the Probus Centre or must
they be separate?
Answer:
By Laws need
to be separate from the Constitution.
That way there is no cost involved when they are changed.
·
Can a club use its own logo
in conjunction with, or in lieu of, the standard Probus Logo?
Answer:
Only if the
correspondence is within the Probus community.
Otherwise there may be trademark implications.
·
Privacy Act Information
with regard to death notices in local paper and member reports relating to
illness, hospital and death in Club Newsletters.
Answer:
The Club
should check with the family first as some members may not want details to
be broadcast.
From the Probus Club of Blue Lake Inc. (C)
·
When a member dies, it is acknowledged in the newsletter
and members stand in silence for one
minute near the beginning of the General Meeting in memory of the
departed member.
·
Our usual gift for visiting speakers is a basket of seasonal fruits.
Expenses may be offered in addition to
this if speakers have travelled a
significant distance to come to us.