Treasurer
THE ARTILLERY CLERKS′ ASSOCIATION TREASURER
Voluntary membership to any organisation carries with it individual obligations and responsibilities. These range from commitment of time and resources by active members, to simply adhering to minimum membership guiding principles by all enrolled members. To-this-end, the financial well-being of our Association relies on the payment of the annual subscriptions on time.
Subscriptions: The annual subscription which has been with effect from 1st January 2019, is £15 and should be paid on or close to the 1st January.
From 2013 subscriptions were raised from £5 to £10 and then to £15 as previously stated. There are 19 members who are currently undersubscribing. As of this update there are only 3 members who have not paid anything towards their 2022 subscription. This all means, that the fund is owed in unpaid subscriptions to the sum of £1,310. The Treasurer as always, is doing his utmost to chase outstanding subscriptions and has contacted those members by letter requesting their payment. There are a possible 3 suspensions in 2022.
Direct Debit: All members are urged to pay subscriptions by the preferred route of Direct Debit mandate. The administrative burden of the Treasurer would be significantly eased and simplified if all personnel paid their subscription by the Direct Debit mandate system. Those paying by Direct Debit should see an automatic £15 taken from their bank account by the Association on or close to the 1st January.
A Direct Debit can only be set up by the organisation to which you're making the payment. Normally, you sign a mandate that gives the company permission to take funds from your account in an agreed way – like a monthly gym membership or your mobile phone bill. It normally confirms who's receiving the payment, the account to be debited, the amount and the dates of the payment. The Direct Debit Guarantee scheme protects payees so that any amount debited in error is refunded immediately.
Standing Order: This method of payment requires members to manually setup an instruction with their bank to make the annual subscription payment to the Association. Once set up with your bank you can then enjoy peace of mind that your annual subscription will be paid on time, in one convenient payment. The onus is on members that are paying by Standing Order to change the amount they have instructed their bank to pay to £15 with effect 1st January.
A standing order is a regular payment that you can set up to pay other people, organisations or transfer to your other bank accounts. You can amend or cancel the standing order as and when you like.
Gift Aid: This is an excellent source of income to the fund. On the annual subscription of £15 the Association may claim £3.75 for every subscription paid. In 2021 the Association received £465,67 from HMRC. For the Association to claim our members must complete the Gift Aid Declaration form. The Treasurer encourages those Members who have outstanding subscriptions due, to commit to the Gift Aid scheme and to the Direct Debit payment method.
Charity Status: HMRC confirms that ‘The Artillery Clerks’ Association’ is a charity for tax purposes with effect from 9th October 2020.
Action List: The Action List provides those members with outstanding membership issues a reminder of things-to-do to bring thier membership fully up-to-date. The Treasurer will update the list periodically to take off those members listed who have fulfilled the required actions as necessary.
Insurance: The insurance for the fund is valid until 31st March 2023. It is placed with Towergate Wilsons. The cost this year was £331.80. This includes personal accident cover for the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Reunion Secretary, Standard Bearer and Regional Secretaries.
Regular Updates: There are regular updates on this the Association Notices and the quarterly Newletter. These updates bring members fully up to date during the year. It is urged where necessary, that members action individual areas to ensure our administration is improving year-on-year.