Lions 105SC - Convention 2024

9th March 2024

Acting District Almoner - Lion Tom Sayers

Acting District Governor's report for Cabinet March 2024 - ADG Sandra Manktelow

Firstly, I would like to say what a great honour it was to be voted in as 1^st VDG back in March 2023 and then before I knew it, I was asked to be District Governor. Having given this consideration, I declined but was willing to take on the role of Acting District Governor with a District Governor team supporting me.  

I do believe that this decision has been beneficial for our district as I have had the wonderful support of IPDG Dave Ebsworth, PDG Brian Donovan, PDG Peter Burnett and PDG Jarvis Macdonald. My thanks to them.

Sadly, this year, membership has again been an issue. We started the year 1057 and at the end of January had 1039 members – many of whom have passed to higher service. But as Lions we are resilient and do not give up and I have been heartened by clubs being proactive in seeking new members.

Our Autumn Forum took place in Portsmouth back in November and 13 clubs were involved.  Many Lions have come forward this year to take part in leadership training – 3 Lions travelled to Frankfurt for the last ever Advanced Lions Leadership training, 5 Lions attended the Symposium, one Lion went to New Voices and 5 Lions have requested Regional Lions Leadership training. 

Reporting continues to be an issue with some clubs actively doing so on a regular basis but others not. Reporting helps everyone from the International President, District Officers, and clubs to see how many people we are serving and what service activities we are doing.  This could give such a powerful message to the public if all clubs reported. I am more than happy to support clubs with how to report and urge you to contact me.  Let's try and beat our target of 75% of clubs reporting this year.

As always clubs continue to support Lions Clubs International Foundation giving to the humanitarian and disaster relief funds.  It is also good to know that we have our own Foundation which gives support in the British Isles.

The highlight of my year to date has been the warm welcome I have received when visiting clubs and being able to celebrate being part of such an incredible organisation. It is also good to see clubs supporting each other in many ways uniting in the bonds of friendship, good fellowship and mutual understanding.

I would like to thank you all for the service you give to your club, your community, our district, and the wider world. Together we can and do make a difference.

2VDG Dianne Hopkins

Well, where do I start, we kicked the year off without a District Governor and trying to sort LCI was not easy, but in the end, they appointed Lion Sandra as our acting DG.  

It has been my pleasure to work with Sandra for the past seven months and with Lion Di as 2ndVDG.  I am also privileged to be mentoring them both they are characters, we have had several team meetings so far, I am pleased to say all over very nice lunches.  

I have enjoyed working on the GAT team and assisting in various meetings.  

To make sure that our District has been represented fully the Council Chair has allowed me as IPDG to attend and support Sandra which has been very interesting. 

Unfortunately my health has not been good over the months prior to the New Year due to having Chemotherapy and unfortunately it has not improved, and I am still having treatment. This wasn't helped by falling off an electric bike and fracturing my kneecap, but I carried on.  

I attend the Young Ambassador competition in Dudley together with Lion Sandra & Lion Di.  All of the Candidates were outstanding, and the judges found it hard to choose a winner, Unfortunately Jasmine Folkes our Ambassador did not win but I look forward to hearing her again at Convention.  

You may have realised that I have a second term as IPDG along side Lion Sandra and look forward to working with the team. 

District Admin Team

CONSTITUTION, NOMINATIONS AND RESOLUTIONS ADVISOR - PCC John Goodchild

1.  Progress since the last Convention of 105SC:

1.1  The Call for Convention was circulated to all Clubs on time, together with a call for nominations and resolutions.

1.2  At the 15^th December 2023 closing date for receipt by me of nominations, resolutions and invitations to be considered at the District Convention in March 2024, I can report that:

• One nomination had been received for the post of DG, 105SC, 2024-2025, that being for Lion Sandra Manktelow, Lions Club of Petersfield, the only qualified candidate.
• One nomination had been received for the post of First VDG, 105SC, 2024-2025, that being for Lion Dianne Hopkins, Lions Club of Basingstoke, the only qualified candidate.
• One nomination had been received for the post of Second VDG, 105SC, 2024-2025, that being for Lion Tim  Hanton, Lions club of Wokingham.
• No resolutions had been received. 
• No invitations to host Conventions 2025 or 2026 had been received. Invitations from the floor of Convention can therefore be considered.
• The above nominations are all valid and comply with LCI requirements.
• The above nominations were duly circulated to Clubs and are posted on the District Convention Website, together with the CVs of the candidates seeking election. 
• Subsequently at their January meeting, the District Cabinet proposed two Emergency Resolutions regarding District Dues and the appointment of Independent Examiners for the District Accounts for the forthcoming Lionistic year. These were circulated to Clubs in January, but not within the 60 day time slot from Convention prescribed by our Constitution. That is why they have to be discussed as Emergency Resolutions.

1.3  I can report that at the closing date for the receipt of amendments to the two emergency resolutions (28 February 2024), none had been received. Thus, with Convention's permission, these two resolutions will be debated as tabled and as attached to this report at Appendix 1. They are also posted on the Convention Documentation website. The CVs of candidates for the posts of District Governor, First Vice District Governor and Second Vice District Governor for the 2024-2025 Lionistic Year can also be found there, by clicking on this link /convention/businesssession.html and then clicking on the relevant link for the individual.

2.  Delegate Registration and Check-In

2.1  Following the success of the electronic registration and check-in system for delegates and alternates at last year's Convention, the system will again be used this year. The system has many advantages, including live information on the number of delegates and alternates checked in at Convention at any time. Full details of check-in procedures for voting delegates were sent to all Clubs in January.

2.2  The success of this system was monitored during last year's Convention session and subsequently used at last year's MD Convention. Thanks are due to District Webmaster Tom and his son Ollie for working this process up.

2.3  One possible improvement to the system, would be to prevent Clubs from registering more delegates than they are entitled to. At present, each registration is checked manually by yours truly, and errant Clubs have to be contacted, having had their registrations cancelled by me!

3.  Matters

3.1. The District Constitution was updated in October 2023 to reflect mandatory changes required by LCI. Because these changes are mandatory, they do not require Convention approval. The latest version of the Constitution was posted on the district Website, following this update and is available at: https://www.lions105sc.org.uk/public/105SC_CONSTITUTION_2023_10.pdf  

3.2  Throughout the year, I have continued to provide advice to Clubs, Zones, the District Cabinet and its members relating to constitutional matters.

PDG John Goodchild,

CNRO, District 105SC  28^th February 2024

APPENDIX I to CNRA REPORT

The following resolutions have been received for consideration at Convention 2023.

Emergency Resolution 1: Proposed by the District Cabinet.

This Convention resolves that:

The District Per Capita Levy for the Fiscal Year 2024/25 shall be in the sum of £9.00 per Lion. This shall be payable in two equal instalments - £4.50 per Lion by 1 August 2024 based upon the known membership as at 30 June 2024 and £4.50 per Lion by 1 February 2025 based upon the known membership as at 31 December 2024.

Explanatory note:

Article VIII Section 1 of the By-Laws of the latest issue of the District 105SC Constitution States:

"To provide revenue for approved district projects and to defray the administrative expenses of the district, Cabinet shall table a resolution at every Annual District Convention to set the per capita levy for the following fiscal year.  If such resolution shall fail then the per capita levy for the time being in force shall be continued until changed by resolution.  The administrative subscription shall be levied upon each member of each club in the district and shall be collected and paid in advance by each club in two (2) semi-annual payments per club member by July 21^st of each year to cover the semi-annual period July 1^st to December 31^st and per club member on January 21^st of each year, to cover the semi-annual period January 1^st to June 30^th with billings of the same to be based upon the roster of each club as of June 30^th and December 31^st respectively……  "

Emergency Resolution 2: Proposed by the District Cabinet.

This Convention resolves that:

Messrs Gilroy & Brookes, Chartered Accountants of Farnham, be sincerely thanked for their services to the District in the past and the same are hereby, re-appointed as Independent Examiner to the District for the forthcoming year.

Explanatory note:

Article IX Section 2 of the By-Laws of the latest issue of the District 105SC Constitution States:

"The District Governor's Cabinet shall provide for an annual or more frequent audit or review of the books and accounts……"

GDPR - Steve Spencer 

Objectives for the Year:

To advise clubs as necessary, in co-ordination with the MD officer – continuing my successful working relationship with her.

To continue to encourage clubs to register with the Information Commissioners Office, as is required by law.

Progress against Objectives:

This has been a very quiet year in terms of queries from clubs.

We have 4 clubs yet to register with the ICO, despite my frequent blandishments and cautions as to the dangers of not registering versus the very low cost of doing so – £40 per year, or £35 if a direct debit is put in place (the preferred method). 

I can provide advice as to how to register, it is a simple process. We can and should achieve 100% sign-up.

District Secretary Report – PCC Peter Burnett

As we draw to the final quarter of the Lions year it means that I have now nearly finished my 4th year as District Secretary, hopefully I am beginning to work out what the role actually is! Thank you, ADG Sandra, for begging me to remain in post for another year.

Once again, the most important part of my report is to thank Lion Tom Sayers and his partner Juliet Browne for all their help this year. Most Cabinet officers have now got used to sending their reports to the dedicated reports email address from which Tom and Juliet collate them and publish them online for Cabinet. This saves me an awful lot of time sorting and sending reports and puts the onus onto the officers to look for the reports rather than have them sent to them.

This year the meetings have been a combination of face to face and Zoom and my job as District Secretary taking the minutes has been quite easy. I pride myself on getting the minutes published within 30 minutes of a meeting ending!! I am not promising that this will occur with the Convention minutes as they are a bit more complex, but I would hope that they can be published as soon as PDG Jarvis has checked them and allows them to be published.

Thank you to all of Cabinet for their support and efficient reporting during the year. Likewise thank you to the overwhelming majority of clubs who reported their delegates for both this convention and the MD one on time. Now that we are in the third year of online registration for the District Convention and the second for MD Convention things seem to have gone much more smoothly. Once again, my thanks to Tom and Juliet for all their hard work setting up a fool proof system.

Finally can I remind clubs that as soon as they appoint their new officers for the 2024-25 year they will need reporting on myLCI. Can you also please let both myself and Tom Sayers know your officers so that we can keep the District Mailing lists up to date.

District Treasurer Report – Tim Hanton 

The Finance Committee has met regularly during the year to monitor the finances of the District. Financial updates are given at each meeting of the District Cabinet.

Accounts to June 23

Final accounts for the year to June 2023 for both the Administration Account and Charitable

Trust have been examined by Gilroy & Brookes and are in the process of being approved by the Trustees. A copy of the accounts will be placed on the Financial Information of the District 105SC website as soon as they are approved.

Lions District 105SC - Financial Information (lions105sc.org.uk) https://www.lions105sc.org.uk/index/financialinformation/2021-22.html

Administration Account

The budget was set for a small loss but a surplus was realised as many District Officers did not fully claim items of expenditure allowable.

The end of year balance amounted to £24,090 at 30th June 2023. This includes the agreed contingency of £5,000 against a cancellation of Convention. The general reserves level is £17,414 which is sufficient to meet District liabilities for a 18 month period.

Charitable Trust

As at 30th June 2023, the reserves for the Charitable Trust amounted to £26,419. The key items making up this balance were:

- Youth - £8,552

- Sight Camera - £7,742

- Payments due to Charities - £9,305

Accounts 2023–24 & Budget for 2024-25

Administration Account.

The year-to-date income and expenditure against the budget for the year has been placed on the Financial Information of the District 105SC website. Expenditure for the current year is running in line with the proposed budget for the year.

Lions District 105SC - Financial Information (www.lions105sc.org.uk) https://www.lions105sc.org.uk/index/financialinformation.html

This link also contains the 2024-25 budget which has been approved by District Cabinet.

Administration budget for 2024-25 has been based on a membership figure of 1050 and subscription of £9 per member which will be proposed by Resolution at Convention. The budgeted expenditure equates to £11,950 and should this planned expenditure be fully realised, the balance will be taken from reserves. The level of reserves is sufficient to support this.

Charitable Trust Account.

105SC Club Donations for year to date are as follows:

LCIF	15368
Brain Tumour Research	3518
Dentaid (SC)	1150
Wateraid	900
Sightsavers	1150
LIBRA	650
Prostate Badge	323
DG Charity	2809
ROAR	2550
UNICEF School in a Box	300
Special Olympics	300
Activity Alliance	200
Korle Bu Trust	150
Heidi's Appeal	1850
Total	29368

US International Subscriptions

Please note that the US Finance department are taking a much stricter approach to any Club

that is not paying fees that are due. Please regularly check your statement on MyLCI and ensure that payments are made on time to avoid any issues and the possible suspension of your Club.

Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)

The District now has around 40 Clubs that have converted to a CIO. If your Club has not converted but would like to, please let me know. Benefits of being a CIO include:

1. Limited liability for Trustees

2. Gift Aid can be claimed from HMRC on your Club's subscriptions for any UK taxpayer.

3. Expenditure to promote your Club can be paid from your fundraising/charity account,

proving the amount is proportionate and approved by your Club Trustees,

Gift Aid Reminder

Clubs registered as a CIO will be eligible to claim gift aid on membership subscriptions, for any member who is a UK taxpayer.

Comprehensive guidance is offered via HMRC website:

Claiming Gift Aid as a charity or CASC - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) https://www.gov.uk/claim-gift-aid

Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme (GASDS) is available for cash donations of £30 or less (bucket or tin collections) and since April 2019 contactless card donations of £30 or less.

Again, Guidance is available on:

Claiming Gift Aid as a charity or CASC: Small donations scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) https://www.gov.uk/claim-gift-aid/small-donations-scheme

The process for claiming gift aid on your Club subscriptions and GASDS is very easy to administer and well worth claiming.

Insurance

A resolution to be discussed at the MD Convention proposes the abolition of the current annual fee for property and legal insurance of £44.25 which is currently charged to Clubs. Going forward this charge will be amalgamated within the insurance element currently paid as part of your MD subscription.

MD provides guidance each year on what proportion of your insurance costs can be paid from your charity/fundraising account to reduce your Club's administration costs. These are circulated to your Club Treasurer.

Other matters

It is recommended that donations to LCIF and other International/National donations continue be made via the District Treasurer. Where possible, please make the payments electronically for both Charity donations and also for District, MD & International Subscriptions, as this will reduce our bank charges. The monthly exchange rate for International subscriptions is updated on the 105SC website under Financial Information.

Charity Commission website guidance on managing your charity can be accessed via the following link on the Government website.

Online services for charities - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/online-services-for-charities

There are updated criteria for Trustee eligibility which need careful consideration prior to the appointment of your Trustees.

Finance Team - IPDG Dave Ebsworth

Convention 2025 - IPDG Dave Ebsworth

Live at Convention

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