New Shop in Llandysul

GRW has opened a new charity shop in Llandysul. Liz Haines and her team of hard working volunteers report a busy first few weeks of trading and are looking forward to the run up to Christmas.

Swansea street collection - thank you volunteers! The first street collection of the Christmas season raised over £788.53 in Swansea on 26 November. This sets a target for the next collections and we are sure that GRW volunteers will be keen to step up to the challenge  - well done everyone.

Volunteer of the Year Award 2011Congratulations to Jennie and Graham Street and Sharon and David Lewis. This year GRW's Volunteer of the Year award was shared between four people. Congratulations to Jennie and Graham Street and to Sharon and David Lewis for their exceptional efforts to help the hounds over the past year in north Wales.  Developing GRW in the north has always been on the agenda for the charity, and with this kind of dedication, hard work and professionalism, this is a real success for GRW.  This richly deserved award is a massive thank you from all your co-volunteers and especially from the hounds that your work has helped so much.  

Changes at the AGM The 2011 GRW Annual General Meeting was held on 30 October in Cilfynydd.  There were a number of changes to the executive committee:  The committee is nominated by members of the organisation to act as trustees for the charity under the guidelines of the Charity Commission.  All paid-up members can be considered and nominated to join at the AGM.   Members of the committee are generally expected to commit for two years, after which time, they can be re-elected or chose to step down.

Chair and Treasurer:   Roger Thomas                               

Vice Chair:  Sarah Marsh

Secretary:  Lynda Anthony                                                 

Members:  Sian Edwards, Alain Thomas, Tara Trott, Sandra Wyne and Jon Trew (co-opted), Steve Searle (co-opted)

GRW wishes to express appreciation and thanks for all the hard work done by the following former executive committee members: Les Osborne Ford, Sandra Pine, Lyn Aitken, Sandra Morris, Angela Scott and Bradley Evans.  

We aim to answer fully queries from some members about the process of the AGM and a response will shortly be posted on GRW's website and facebook page.  During the AGM, differences in the views about the running of the organisation surfaced but there was insufficient time to address them. The new executive committee has been tasked with convening a special general meeting in January 2012. All members of the committee that were elected at the AGM in October will voluntarily stand down at this meeting and may present themselves for re-election. The new executive committee hopes that a range of members with various perspectives, experience and skills will want to stand for election in January 2012 and that a committee representing all views within GRW will be formed.

LEGACY have your say Greyhound Rescue Wales has received a substantial legacy. The funds now available to the charity represent a unique and long-hoped-for opportunity to achieve the aims of the organisation in the long term. In order to make this opportunity a reality, it is essential that a full and official investigation should be conducted into the possible options for use of the funds now available. Investing the money and just spending the interest is not an option.

The Charity Commission says this:

"Charity law requires any income received by a charity to be spent within a reasonable period of receipt. Trustees should be able to justify the holding of income as reserves... Reserves levels which are higher than necessary may tie up money unnecessarily. Holding excessive reserves can unnecessarily limit the amount spent on charitable activities, reducing the potential benefits a charity can provide. However, if reserves are too low then the charitys solvency and its future can be put at risk." 

Charity Commission Publication - Charities and Reserves CC19.

A careful assessment of risks and other factors will be needed to determine exactly how much GRW should hold in reserve but as the legacy represents about 10 years worth of expenditure at current levels, it is clear that most of it will need to be put to work to provide as much benefit as possible for greyhounds and lurchers in Wales. Speaker after speaker at the AGM stressed the importance of using this legacy wisely, not spending it on short-term needs but using it to ensure that GRW is better able to help more greyhounds and lurchers in the long term. The keynote word at the AGM was "sustainability".  The AGM considered a resolution to set up a working group to research thoroughly a range of possibilities and to prepare recommendations and proper business plans for the preferred options.

Setting up a working group is widely considered to be good practice.  Giselle Davies, a senior partner with Geldards solicitors is probably one of the foremost experts working in the field of charity law in Wales; she has worked on a huge number of charity projects including the legal work required for the building of the Wales Millennium Centre.  One of Giselle's top tips for charities who need to run a large scale project at a session she ran for the Wales Council for Voluntary Action was:  "Top Tip 2: To consider a dedicated committee to run the project with well written terms of reference and let them get on with it, while the rest of the trustees get on with running the day to day life of the charity."  Workshop at Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA)'s 2006 conference on charity law

At the AGM, there was a lively exchange of views and a number of very helpful comments were made but unfortunately we were running out of time. The meeting felt that members needed more time to think about the resolution so it will be submitted to a special general meeting of members to be held in February 2012.  All members will be told about the meeting well in advance, and the resolution (which has been amended in light of suggestions and comments made at the AGM), will be sent to members at the same time.

It's Business as Usual

The new executive committee started work straight away and the vital work of rescuing and homing greyhounds and lurchers continues without interruption. It is essential that GRW draws as little as possible from the legacy until a proper plan has been made for its use. As members made clear at the AGM, the legacy must be used in a sustainable way to help GRW rescue greyhounds and lurchers in the long term. This means that as much  effort as ever must go into raising the essential funds needed to look after the dogs in our care, while the longer term decisions are being made. 

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