Minutes and Documents

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE

FRIENDS OF

THE BOSCASTLE MUSEUM OF WITCHCRAFT

 

September 2011

1          Chairs Welcome

Apologies had been received from Lyn Sharland and Martin Shepheard.

Present:  Judith Noble, Deborah Westmancoat, Nick Miller, Kerriann Godwin, Elayne Hoskin, Julian Vayne (present for part of meeting).

2          Minutes of the Last Meeting

All present accepted the last minutes as a correct record.

3          Finances

It was noted that MS had submitted a finance report prior to this meeting.

a          It was agreed that to facilitate administrative issues, copies of the ebanking statements would be send to the Chair, who will then circulate as appropriate.

b          It is understood that the previous Co-operative Bank account is now closed (as per the resolution at the last trustees meeting) and that all monies have been transferred to the Friends new CAF account.

c          It was restated that any queries about the running of the Friends – whether about finances or any other matter  – must be referred to the Chair, as per guidelines established by the Charity Commission.

d          Paypal.  It was agreed that the second named user for Paypal should be DW.  It was noted that the initial security checks required by Paypal had yet to be completed.  JN to email MS, DW and KG re completing this step.

e          It was noted that trustees currently registered as in association with the CAF account were:  JN, KG, MS, EH.  It was further noted that changes at AGM would change this listing to:  EH, KG, DW, MS.

f           Agreed payments to the Museum.   Cheques for £400 and £1700 for previously agreed items would shortly be sent:  in future these types of payments would be undertaken electronically.

Approximately £500 was due to be paid in. 

g          GiftAid.   The situation was unclear re claiming GiftAid.  JV offered to liaise with MS and then undertake any necessary outstanding work to facilitate the claiming of GiftAid.

h          BAFM meeting.  Four trustees were attending, cheque required for tickets.  JN to undertake.

i           Petty Cash.  New petty cash system working well, will be supported electronically.

4          Membership

DW asked the meeting to note that she needed to reduce time spent on membership.  It was agreed that JN should take over correspondence re donations:  KG held the back up list:  changes re banking outlined above needed to take place urgently.  These measures should reduce the time DW needed to devote to membership issues.  She agreed to continue as membership secretary for the time being.

All present thanked DW for her work on membership.

DW reported

a          Membership presently stood at 191, and was therefore on track to equal last year’s final figure of 221.

b          Of the memberships, two were group memberships and family membership was increasing.

c          It was noted that the Friends leaflet needed some minor changes and also needed refreshing.  KG to oversee changes/refreshing and the new print run.

5          Events

It was noted that trustees would be attending the following events:

PF Conference, BAFM, Witchfest, GlastonburyWitches Market.

6          AGM

  • Email notice of AGM would be sent ASAP, using the membership list as held by DW/KA.
  • There were concerns re venue capacity and possible numbers attending.  Members would therefore be asked to confirm whether they would be attending.
  • JN confirmed that she would be standing down as Chair at the forthcoming AGM and staying on as a trustee.
  • EH to become Chair as that point.
  • DW to become Vice Chair:  MS to remain as Treasurer.

7          Website & Publicity

  • Blog on Friends site to be stood down:  link provided to blog on Museum’s site.
  • JV to discuss website with members at AGM.

(JV left the meeting).

8          AOB

  • NM to provide music information to KG.
  • It was noted that trustees were not being advised of all events being held in support of the Friends.   All present agreed to restate the necessity of support events etc being put before the trustees.

9          Date of Next Meeting

It was agreed that the next trustees meeting would be held in January 2012, actual date to be agreed at the AGM.

Draft Minutes of the Annual General Meeting

Held on 4th December 2010

 PRESENT: Judith Noble (JN), Kerriann Godwin (KG), Deborah Westmancoat (DW) and Martin Shepheard (MS) (Trustees) plus many Friends

Apologies for absence: Due to the inclement weather apologies had been received from many people too numerous to mention. Judith had received a letter from Adrian Bryn-Evans (Hon President) with apologies, and also from Julian Vayne (JV), Lyn Sharland (LS) and Elayne Hoskins (EH) (Trustees).

JN welcomed all who had managed to make it to Boscastle. Graham King has indicated his wish to retire in the next few years. JN thanked him for all his work over the years and the Friends had a debt of gratitude to him.

The Minutes of the 2009 Annual General Meeting were read. Motion to adopt             Proposed: Francille Smart

Seconded:

Approved by the meeting.

There were no matters arising that were not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

REPORTS:

 TRUSTEES:

JN gave Trustees report. Good year as membership increasing thanks to DW’s hard work. Trying to raise profile by attending various events. People visiting Museum impressed with new lighting. Active role in BAFM thanks to KG and DW. At end of meeting there would be a showing of a pleasing short film by Tom Chick on the Museum.

MEMBERSHIP:

DW said a positive year target was 200 members against previous 97. Now 222 giving subscriptions of £4,235. Growing thanks to Friends of Friends hope for another 100 next year. Increase in Family membership up from 7 to 38, which was very good. DW thanked committee for support.

PUBLICITY:

KG said trying to raise profile by spreading the word through various events. Friends attended Witchfest. Joyce’s book was published. “Moot with no name” offered additional publicity. Newsletter nearly all going via e-mail saving costs of about 90%. 60th Anniversary book now 75 -80% done hopefully going to print December to January. Will cover Cecil Williamson to flood.  Book launch hopefully April.

FUNDRAISING:

As Lyn was absent report read by Beth. We are going to receive a portion of raffle proceeds from Witchfest. Lots of interest shown hopefully more members.

TREASURER:

MS presented the accounts. Subs up those paying through Paypal pay extra £1 to cover charges, donations up. Insurance up as paid 2 years in one year. Outreach costs are for Witchfest, PF conference etc. Museum putting money from Tarot machine into donation box.  Donation received at meeting from Willow Moon in Tintagel.

Gift Aid due to end this year so please try to pay subs before April.

Accounts be approved

Proposed: Simon

Seconded: Chris

Passed

Change bank to CAF due to problems with Co-Op.

Proposed: MS

Seconded: KG

Passed

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

Trustees proposed no increase.

Proposed: Sally Shepheard

Seconded: Brigit

Passed

TRUSTEES:

Trustees propose to number of Trustees from 7 to 10 so additional Trustees can be appointed if required.

Proposed: JN

Seconded: MS

Passed

MEMBERSHIP:

Proposed to amend membership categories. Corporate and Institutional to be discontinued. New Group membership to be implemented. Group to have 2 votes at AGM.

Proposed:

Seconded:

Passed

CONSTITUTION:

It is proposed to add:

“In the event of the Friends of the Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft being wound up, no membership fees will be refunded.”

Proposed:

Seconded:

Passed

All the above require amendment to Constitution.

NEXT AGM:

Proposed to move to Mid November from 2011.

Proposed:

Seconded:

Passed

ELECTION OF TRUSTEES:

Nick Miller proposed as an additional trustee.

Proposed:

Seconded:

Passed

Trustees seeking re-election.

JN (proposed MS, seconded EH)

EH (proposed JN, seconded DW)

JV (proposed DW, seconded JN)

Passed

OTHER BUSINESS:

Chris of Pagan Pride SW run events, schools, councils offered to do further fund raisers.(www.paganpride.co.uk for details)

Dates for diaries

PF Conference 12th March

Wessex Conference in April at Glastonbury

Beltane Bash 2nd week of May.

Next AGM to be in Boscastle at date to be decided.

JN thanked all those who attended, Graham, KG and staff of Museum for the arrangements and the Wellington Hotel for the accommodation.

Meeting Closed

18th April 2010, Taunton

Trustees present, Judith Noble (JN), Deborah Westmancoat (SW), Kerriann Godwin (KG),

Martin Shepheard (MS), Lyn Sharland (LS) , Elayne Hoskins (EH)

1.            Apologies received from Julian Vayne, and Adrian Bryn Evans.

2.            Minutes of the last committee meeting were read and the proposal to accept them was carried unanimously.

3.            A request was received from Mike Howard to have copies of the AGM Minutes.

Agreed unanimously.

4.            The Treasurers report was discussed, and accepted unanimously.

It was agreed that MS would contact paypal to look onto costs.

JN thanked MS for the work he had done in preparation of the accounts.

5.            DW gave membership report. We are now up to 127 members

Vote was taken to change the leaflet making it clearer especially for gift aid, and to send newsletter by email.  Carried unanimously

6.            Life membership was raised but it was agreed that this would be discussed at the AGM

7.            Kerriann reported on marketing:

Article for BFM had been done on membership update.

Twitter site had been set up, plus facebook which now has Friends page .

Thanks were given to Gina and Joe for the great job they did with website.

It was agreed that Pagan Dawn and Pentacle should be contacted.

Kerriann proposed that a film competition for students based around the museum should be set up with £250 prize for the best film on U tube.  –The idea was approved in principal, but postponed until next year when the value of the prize and details of the assignment will be agreed. Unanimously agreed to postpone until next year.

8.            Judith raised a discussion on the new book about the museum, history, people and artefacts.  She described it as a really plush book with a 100 as a limited edition first print. Contributors were discussed.  Plans for the book were agreed unanimously

9.            The AGM date was set for Saturday 4th December 2011, to be held at The Wellington, Boscastle.   Speakers were discussed but still to be finalised.

The meeting closed at 4.45

29 August 2009

Friends of the Museum of Witchcraft Trustees Meeting Minutes
August 29 2009

Attendees: Judith Noble, Deborah Westmancoat, Kerriann Godwin, Martin Shepheard

Apologies: Julian Vayne, Elayne Hoskins, Adrian Bryn-Evans, Helena Sharland

1.Minutes from last meeting approved.

2. Judith Noble (JN) proposed to co-opt Martin Shepheard as trustee and treasurer – Kerriann Godwin (KG) seconded, Deborah Westmancoat (DW) voted yes. JN to contact other members for their vote.

3. JN to follow up Ian Jamieson re becoming a trustee

4. Professor Marion Cox has declined the offer to become a trustee

5. Finances
– DW to take in signatory form documentation w/c August 31 to finalise addition of KG & DW signatures to bank account
– KG to update incoming/outgoing spreadsheet then send to Martin Shepheard (MS) when his treasurer status approved by remaining trustees, & to pass over the receipts folder in October
– KG to post expenses folder to Adrian Bryn-Evans (AB-E)

6. Running costs and administrative expenditure
– It was agreed that running costs and administrative expenditure are currently at unsustainably high levels and must be reduced. FBMW exists to raise funds for the Museum; currently too much is spent on services for members and in running the organisation.
– The trustees considered a letter from Graham King detailing this expenditure over the last 18 months. It was noted that some items of expenditure were essential for the charity to function and would continue. There were:

Bank charges
BAFM membership and public liability insurance
Website/ internet costs: these will continue but KG will check current rates and level of service provided and report back.

It was also noted that recent efficiency savings have been implemented as follows:

Printing: these costs will in future be reduced to approximately £100 per annum as the newsletter is now printed in house and PDF copies
are being promoted to members by KG. JN will in future print membership cards, Friends leaflets and newsletters on a materials only basis which will dramatically reduce costs.
Computer consumables: these costs are now negligible as mostprinting will now be done in house (see above)
Stationery and postage: these costs will be greatly reduced with take up of PDF newsletters but there will still be some costs for membership card postage and for members who still require hard copy newsletters.

Computer equipment: this was a one off cos
It was agreed that further major savings need to be made in the area of expenses claimed by trustees and the Hon President for attendance at meetings and the AGM
–
– :Travelling expenses:
– After discussion it was agreed that in future trustees and the Hon President will not claim for petrol and other travel costs. Meetings to be sited to keep costs down as much as possible and car sharing to be encouraged.
–
– Accommodation – trustees to pay own accommodation charges, Friends will only cover transport & accommodation for speakers at AGM
– Entertainment – only speakers meals will be paid

Petty Cash:
It was also agreed that the current petty cash system will be discontinued as it makes precise accounting difficult. The revisions to operating practices (see above) mean that there will in future be very few incidental costs for which reimbursement is required. In future all items of administrative expenditure are to be agreed with the Chair and treasurer in advance and then reimbursed on production of receipts in line with accepted good practice. JN will purchase advance supplies of stamps and envelopes if required.
–

7. Trustees Roles
– After some discussion it was agreed that roles be taken on to maximise the strengths of trustees, hence it has been decided that DW take on the role of database/membership officer, the reason being that DW’s husband Nick is a database analyst & has kindly offered to update the current version which has been developed by A B-E (please see letter from JN outlining details and reasons for the need to change)
– This will have the added benefit of freeing A B-E from the excess administration which he has been working on since the inception of Friends and allow him to concentrate on the Ambassadorial role of Honorary President.
– The trustees wished to place on record their thanks to A B-E for the immense amount of work he has done on maintaining the membership database.

– There will be a transition period while the transfer of information takes place so the mechanics of the transfer of roles will be subject to a different email.

8. New Friends Leaflets & membership cards
– KG to work on a new design for in-house printing which will incorporate a Gift Aid section in the body of the form & DW’s address
9. KG to organise a meeting with Jane Cox to discuss the website to make it more user friendly & informative.

10. KG was formally thanked for the new style newsletter

19 April 2009

Friends of The Museum of Witchcraft Trustees’ Meeting
19th April 2009
Attendees:
Judith Noble (Chair), Adrian Bryn-Evans (Hon President), Kerriann Godwin, Helena Sharland, DW
Apologies: Julian Vayne, Elayne Hoskin
Trustees
1. Judith officially welcomed the three new trustees which were voted in at the Dec 2008 AGM
2. Judith to send a formal letter of invitation to Prof Marion Cox requesting her to become a trustee (following on from previous emails)
3. Judith to formally invite Ian Jamieson to become trustee
4. Judith happy to carry on as chair for up to two years & then happy to hand over to a new person
5. DW will take over as Treasurer. She would like it to be noted she is not a trained accountant but has basic bookkeeping skills and already acts as Treasurer for Wessex Pagan Federation. Adrian Bryn-Evans vouches for her proficiency in this particular task to date.
NB: a meeting with previous Treasurer Olwyn to be arranged by Judith ASAP to facilitate continuity and handover of specific tasks, in particular, Gift Aid.
6. Helena Sharland to act as Pagan Federation liaison – point of contact for sharing information, and has offered to help with any backlog of paperwork and attend BAFM appropriate conferences to feedback updates to the group.
7. Kerriann Godwin will focus on Press and publicity. Adrian to supply her with a publicity list (auctioned 20 April 2009)
8. Julian Vayne will continue with IT

Finance
1. £4,902. 65 currently in CO-Op Bank Account which comes entirely from memberships and donations
2. Some moneys are currently sitting in Paypal which need to be transferred to the bank account. KG to contact Julian to facilitate movement of moneys and ensure password for Paypal has been shared with at least one other trustee so that moneys can be transferred by more than one person.
3. DW to write a piece for the next newsletter incorporating financial situation.
4. DW and KG to be added as signatories to the bank account.
5. JN to renew BAFM membership w/c 20 April 2009
6. Graham King informed that he can spend up to an initial £1000 on archive items, mylar sleeves & other conservation equipment for reimbursement by Friends for 2009. This figure can be increased after consultation.

Fundraising
1. Press release to be sent to BAFM re 5 yrs on after the flood by KG by end May
2. 5yr follow up letter to be sent to post flood donors to update on museum news, what their money has gone towards and a Friends leaflet (by KG)
3. Existing Powerpoint presentation to be updated to include more info on Friends by KG. DW & HS to liaise with PF to look at distribution of presentation to PF groups & moots, or setting up talks by museum staff/Friends.
4. Researchers who use the museum are currently being asked to join Friends when using the library – ongoing.

Website
1. KG to contact Jane Cox to update website & discuss possibility of transferring Dreamweaver files to KG so she can update it herself.
2. Photos of DW & HS taken to add to website
3. HS to email KG short profile of self for new Trustees page of Website
4. Twitter set up for museum
5. What are hosting costs for the site? KG to find out.
Newsletter
1. A B-E would like submissions by end July
2. Each new trustee to write a small biog/ how they became involved in museum
3. Ron Hutton (patron)to be asked to write a piece – JN to contact

AGM
1. Suggestions for speakers as follows: Simon Costin on his new Museum of British Folklore, Geraldine Beskin on Atlantis Bookstore & history with the museum, Emma Willoughby, Prof Lionel Sims (HS to make initial contact with him & inform A B-E of progress)
2. Museum of Witchcraft to develop a professional display stand for meetings to display Friends info as well as museum info & Occult Art Company museum retail.
AOB
1. Date of next meeting fixed at 12th July 2009
2. Formal thanks to Adrian & Ann Bryn-Evans for hosting the meeting

Dec 2 2006

Friends of The Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft First Annual General Meeting Minutes Dec 2 2006

Attendees:
Levannah Morgan, Chairperson
Julian Vane, Vice-Chairperson
Graham King
Adrian Bryn-Evans, Secretary

Apologies:
Olwen Porter, Treasurer
Elayne Hoskin

Focus of the meeting:
Adoption of constitution
Election of Trustees
Application for charitable status
Subscriptions

1. Membership – staff unable to be on the committee but able to attend meetings for information purposes
2. Committee members will not be paid but are able to claim back travelling expenses
3. Subscriptions will be due April 1st
4. Finance – A separate bank account to be opened, held by the friends, not the museum and it will be subject to an annual audit.
5. Standard charity constitution rules apply
6. Query raised re Clause 22: A suggestion made re having a codicil e.g., that the point in question needs to be discussed with the committee prior to signing. The committee will look at making amendments in the future but at present will adopt it until charitable status secured.
7. Amend Membership Clause 5 ‘Membership’ to read ‘four’ categories of membership instead of ‘three’.

8. Motion 1 – ‘It is hereby proposed that The Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft adopts the draft constitution presented to this meeting.’
Proposed by Graham King
Seconded by Keith Yardy
Aye vote unanimous

9. Motion 2 – Annual Subscription Rates for The Friends of the Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft will be:

Individual Membership £20.00
Youth £10.00
Institutional £50.00
Corporate £100.00

In the case of individual & youth subscription after the end of September, 50% of the membership fee will be payable.

Proposed by graham King
Seconded by Adrian Bryn-Evans
Aye votes unanimous

10. Motion 3 – It is proposed that the following people are elected to the committee:
Levannah Morgan (Judith Higginbottom) Chair
Adrian Bryn-Evans Secretary
Olwen Porter Treasurer
Julian Vayne
Elayne Hoskin

Proposed by Graham King
Seconded by Joanie
Aye votes unanimous

11. Motion 4 – It is proposed that The Friends of the Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft will apply for charitable status

Proposed by graham King
Seconded by Brigitte
Aye votes unanimous

12. Motion 5 – It is proposed that the committee appoint an auditor when & if required

Proposed by Graham King
Seconded by Ralph Harvey
Aye votes unanimous

An informal brainstorming session was held after the formal part of the meeting. Notes taken separately.