HARINGEY WELCOME CONSTITUTION

The name of the organisation shall be Haringey Welcome.

AIMS:

The aims of the Group shall be:

(a) To work collaboratively to make the London Borough of Haringey welcoming and inclusive for all residents;

(b) To carry out activities that benefit the community and provide a supportive, inclusive and welcoming environment where all migrants and refugees, and all other residents, can live with dignity and safety;

(c) To build authentic and effective connections from the grassroots up working across sectors and networks, engaging in creative partnerships with groups and individuals on a micro/local level and more widely;

(d) To create space for marginalised voices and experiences to be heard, acknowledged and included;

(e) To actively promote comprehensive policy reforms at local and national levels that address systemic barriers and promote transformative social principles of equality, inclusivity, solidarity, dignity and justice.

POWERS:

To further these aims the committee shall have power to:

(a) Obtain, collect, receive and spend money or funds by way of contributions, donations, grants and any other lawful method towards the aims of the Group.

(b) Engage with others in the voluntary, community, public and private sectors as well as residents of Haringey in a common effort to carry out the aims of the Group.

(c) Do all such lawful things as will further the aims of the Group.

MEMBERSHIP:

(a) Membership shall be open to anyone over the age of 16 who lives or works in Haringey, or any former resident or worker who became a Member prior to leaving Haringey, who support the aims of the group.

(b) The Management Committee shall have the power to approve or reject applications for membership or to terminate the membership of any member provided that the member shall have the right to be heard by the committee before a final decision is made.

(c) Voting Members will be those Members approved to be added to the Voting Members List (Appendix 2) by the Management Committee, with all other members being Non-voting Members.

(d) All Voting Members will automatically become part of the Management Committee.

MANAGEMENT:

(a) A Management Committee elected annually by Voting Members present at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall manage the Group.

(b) The committee shall consist of a Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and all other Voting Members.

(c) The committee shall meet at least 8 times each year.

(d) At least 3 committee members, including at least one of the Chair, Secretary or Treasurer, must be present at a committee meeting to be able to make decisions on all relevant matters, other than the ones separately defined in the constitution and relevant appendices.

(e) A proper record of all transactions and meetings shall be kept.

GENERAL MEETINGS:

(a) An Annual General Meeting shall be held within 12 months of the date of the adoption of this constitution and each year thereafter.

(b) Notices of the AGM shall be published three weeks beforehand and a report on the Group’s financial position for the previous year will be made available at the same time.

(c) A Special General Meeting may be called at any time at the request of the committee, or not less than one quarter of the membership. A notice explaining the place, date, time and reason shall be sent to all members three weeks beforehand.

(d) Proposals to change the constitution must be given in writing to the Secretary at least 28 days before a general meeting and approved by both i) a minimum of eight Voting Members and ii) a two thirds majority of those present and voting.

ACCOUNTS:

(a) The funds of the group including all donations, contributions and bequests, shall be paid into an account operated by the management committee.

(b) The funds belonging to the group shall be applied only to further the aims of the group and according to the expenditure policy approved by the Management Committee (current version attached in Appendix 1).

(c) A current record of all income, funding and expenditure will be kept.

DISSOLUTION:

(a) The Group may be dissolved by a resolution passed by i) a minimum of eight Voting Members and ii) a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at a Special General Meeting.

(b) If confirmed, the committee shall distribute any assets remaining after the payment of all bills to other charitable group(s) or organisation(s) having aims similar to the Group or some other charitable purpose(s) as the Group may decide.

Chair: Lucy Nabijou

Secretary: Valerie Grove

Treasurer: Tsvetan Pavlov

Approved by consultation from 23-27 January 2025 with Haringey Welcome Membership. 

Signed by the above named on February 13th 2025