Constitution

Name and address. The name of the club shall be STFC Official Supporters Club (abbreviated to STFC OSC or OSC) and the address for correspondence is STFC OSC, PO Box 4217, Swindon, SN2 9LH.

Mission and vision

Our mission is to provide both direct and indirect benefits to members and the football club’s wider fan base, making supporting STFC as enjoyable as possible. We will do this by putting the fans at the centre of our decision-making process.

Our vision is a positive and engaging atmosphere for all STFC supporters, resulting in:

• an increasingly engaged fan base
• a positive match-day atmosphere
• increasing Club membership volumes In scope
• Initiatives directly supporting the vision and mission of the club, its members and STFC fans

Out of scope

• Activities concerning the operational running of STFC
• Direct funding of the operational running of STFC
• Activities concerning the ownership or operational running of other clubs

Values

• We will operate in a transparent way
• We will operate in a way such that should any activity be reported on, we will be happy to stand by our actions and decisions
• We will support STFC but be clearly separate from it
• All significant decisions will be made via a formal vote and during committee meetings (which should be included in the minutes)
• We are open to working with other STFC-related supporters’ groups
• We will not discriminate on the grounds of age, race (including nationality, colour, ethnic or national origin) gender reassignment, religion or belief, disability, or sexual orientation.

Policies

Committee Makeup

The Club will be managed by a Committee, who will appoint an Chair-person, Vice Chairperson and other officers as they see fit. Normally this will be expected to include: Treasurer, Secretary, Membership, Media / Social Media, Events & Marketing, Matchday Draw Co-ordinator, and 1 general member. The Committee will comprise of no more than 10 individuals including the Chair. Committee appointees must be members.

Re-election

Existing Committee members will remain in office until such time as they need to seek re-election at an AGM, or there are grounds for removal, or they resign.
Grounds for removal will be they fail to attend three consecutive Committee Meetings without good reason, disclosure of any stated confidential committee information, or anything deemed as gross misconduct.

No committee member shall serve for more than 5 years without going through re-election at an AGM by the members entitled to vote.

The longest serving committee members shall be required to seek re-election if no other member of the committee has served for a 5-year term. A simple majority is needed to secure a position on the committee.

Qualification

To serve on the committee you must be a member for 6 months. However, if co-opted by an existing committee, this qualification may be waived at the committee’s discretion but must be ratified at the next available AGM (or EGM) in addition to those committee members seeking re-election. Any sitting committee has the power to co-opt individuals to fill any gaps in numbers up to the maximum of 10. Committee membership must be advertised to members.

Committee meetings

Meetings will usually be held monthly, in person or virtually No period of three months must pass without a meeting. Any expenditure made without gaining committee approval must be presented at the next committee meeting.

Committee powers

The committee is empowered to conduct all day to day business on behalf of members. The committee decision is final in relation to any matter involving the Supporters Club and it has the power to deal with any matters not covered by these rules. (For unresolved disputes see EGM).

Voting and procedures within the Committee

A minimum of 50% of serving committee members are required to form a quorum. At least 3 permanent committee members, or 50% (whichever is the larger), must vote on any proposal. A proposal must be seconded before it can be voted upon and must have the support of the Chairperson or Vice Chair.

If there is a tied vote, the Chairperson, but in their absence the Vice Chair has the casting vote. If neither is present then support of over 50% of those present is required to support a proposal. All methods of communication may be used outside of a meeting to facilitate urgent decision making. All decisions must be recorded by the Secretary and minuted, including:

• Re-election of Committee members.
• Receipt and adoption of the annual audited accounts and reports of the officers.
• Decisions on any possible changes to rules or constitution.

Changes to the constitution

Members must submit proposed changes at least 14 days ahead of the meeting to the Secretary. Proof of posting or electronic communication is required. Committee changes to the constitution must be communicated to members and 7 days given to oppose the change, received in writing.

Constitution and Policies review

The Constitution and associated Policies will be:

• reviewed at least annually
• version-controlled
• record the two committee members who approved the changes

EGM

Any member being in dispute and having all appeal processes, negotiations exhausted, may call an extraordinary meeting, providing they have the support of 10 qualifying voting members. The member(s) in dispute must cover, upfront, any cost of the notices to members, including postage, stationery and printing costs and other ancillary costs including time. The costs will be advised and must be paid upfront before commencement of the exercise of notifying members of the proposed meeting.

Voting at EGM or AGM

Each paid up member shall have one vote providing they have been a member for at least 6 months at the time of the AGM.
A majority of more than 50% of those voting is required to pass any proposal.
Voting in person by show of hands is the only acceptable voting method.
The Chairperson or Vice Chair holds any casting vote in the event of a tie.

Membership

The Committee shall set the cost of membership annually.

The Committee have to right to cancel/suspend membership of any member whose conduct, in the opinion of the Committee, unsuitable for association with the OSC.

Examples of this are, but not restricted to, physical or verbal abuse to Committee Members, any physical or verbal abuse to OSC members during a OSC event, any banning by STFC, or any other form of behaviour which brings disrepute to the OSC or STFC.

Complaints

Any complaints or concerns relating to the running of the OSC (by Committee Members, members or non-members) must be received, in writing, to the Secretary who will log and add to the agenda for the next Committee Meeting.
This can be escalated to the Chairperson if deemed serious and needing immediate attention.

Requests for Charitable Donations

All members must have the same opportunity to request a donation.
The committee must advertise the ability to make a request on each newsletter.
All requests for charitable donations must be formally submitted via the official request form.
The request for a donation can be for any charity or cause. All submitted requests must be presented and decisions made at a committee meeting. All approved requests must be communicated on the OSC website. Whilst all requests will be considered, the OSC cannot guarantee funding for every request.
Funding for requests can come out of any appropriate OSC source, including unclaimed Match Day Draw winnings

Charitable Donations

The Committee may make charitable donations as it deems fit, subject to normal voting principles.

Travel Partner

The Committee will notify members of and appoint a preferred away travel partner who may operate independently of the Supporters Club.

External Audit

An independent auditor is required to be appointed by the committee and examine the books annually.

Winding Up

Any winding up of the Club must be ratified by either an AGM or EGM.
Any assets remaining shall be distributed in accordance with the wishes of the meeting.

Communication

Communication with members will be primarily through digital media channels (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Email) Communication via physical media (e.g. by post) will be by exception only, and must be selected as a preference upon becoming a member/renewing membership.

Expenses

Any expense claimed must be accompanied by an auditable receipt.
Any expense claimed must be declared and receipts provided to the Treasurer at the next committee meeting.

Matchday Draw

Commission Any ticket seller who is not a committee member will be entitled to exactly 10% (rounded down to the nearest £1) of their ticket sales as commission. The commission will be paid out on the day of the match, via Bank Transfer.

Use of the WhatsApp committee group

The group is to be open only to current committee members, or leaving members during a transition period The group is to be used only for STFC OSC committee business. It is not to be used for any other purposes, either football or non-football related.

The group is to be used when a committee member wants or needs to communicate with all members. If one committee wants or needs to speak with one or more members, but not everyone, this group should not be used.

This is firstly to ensure that all other members do not get bombarded with multiple messages that they are not expected to act upon, and secondly as there is no expectation that all communication must be performed via this group.

This group is not a substitute for individual communication.

Key Success Measures

• Number of returning members
• Number of new members
• Percentage of unique members that attend two or more Supporters Club events
• Percentage of members that agree they get value for money for their membership fee
• Financial performance over the last 6, 12, and 24 months (to ensure sustainability of the club)