Basic Introduction to Community Work - Central

decisions along the way, altering the systems as needed. In doing
this, the committee or board carries out governance.
All community groups and community organisations should have a
set of rules and guidelines on what they will do and how they will do
them, and how they will be governed. These are normally set out in a
constitution for non-incorporated groups and organisations, and in
memorandum and articles of association for incorporated groups and
organisations.
For the purpose of this course we will concentrate on groups and
organisations that operate with a management committee and
constitution.
Constitution
A constitution is a set of agreed rules governing how an organisation
will be run, how the members will work together, and what they are
working towards.
Not all groups require a constitution and prefer to remain informal,
however, this could have an impact on how the group are perceived
and could prevent them from securing funding and charitable status.
Although a constitution is an effective organisational tool, it is also a
way of ensuring that the community and public/funding bodies feel
confident that the group is being run properly and its money is
managed properly.
For a constitution to be effective it must have the following elements:
1. Title
2. Objects
3. Powers
4. Membership
5. Officers
6. Committee
7. AGM
8. Rules of Procedures at all meetings
• Special and General Meetings
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