Charity meetings during the Coronavirus outbreak
Charity trustee meetings and AGMs are usually held on a face-to-face basis, however, during the coronavirus period charities will need to consider public health, while maintaining good governance at the same time.
When organising a trustee meeting or AGM, charities must normally follow the relevant clauses in their governing document. However, given the severity of the public health situation the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland has issued guidance to allow charities to postpone or hold meetings digitally during the coronavirus outbreak. Please note that charitable companies must follow company law.
Companies and mutual societies have also been given greater flexibility by way of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (and further secondary legislation) which includes provision for holding general meetings online until the 29 March 2021.
If you need to postpone a Trustees' meeting or an AGM
The Commission will not take any regulatory action against any charity if meetings are postponed as a result of the current circumstances. The Commission recommends that a note is kept documenting that the meeting has been postponed due to current health advice as a result of the coronavirus outbreak and, that plans to hold the AGM will be implemented as soon as reasonably possible after government advice changes.
Trustees may be concerned about missing their annual reporting deadline as their annual accounts and reports need to be ratified at their AGM before they are filed on the charity register. The Charity Commission has stated that no charity will be penalised for missing its annual reporting deadline and will not be marked 'In default' on the charity register. Companies can no longer postpone their AGM, they are however permitted to hold it online.
Normally companies need to apply for an extension to file their company accounts late however temporary changes have been brought in which gives a 3 month extension to companies who are due to file accounts during the following period 27 June 2020 to 5 April 2021. The revised due date is now on the company entry at Companies House.
Holding a virtual meeting to safeguard health
The Commission accepts that a quorate meeting of the trustees or members may be held by digital means even if the charity’s governing document prohibits this or is silent on it.
The Commission expects charity trustees to record this decision noting that it has been done to demonstrate good governance of the charity and in keeping with the government’s advice (on the management of the coronavirus outbreak).
To postpone or hold an AGM digitally
Companies, credit unions and other mutual organisations had to the end of September to hold their AGM if they had to postpone it in the period from 26 March 2020 by way of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (which became law on the 25th June). Companies, credit unions and mutual societies may validly hold an AGM or other general meeting by electronic means even if their governing document prohibits electronic general meetings until 29 March 2021.
Holding meetings remotely/digitally
There are various digital platforms that you could use to hold your meetings, it all depends on how many people will be invited to attend.
There are various free options such as Skype, Zoom and Google Hangouts, however the free options usually have a limit on the number of participants. For example, Google Hangouts is 10 people, Skype 50 whereas Zoom is 100 however Zoom has a 40 min limit on group meetings. Paid for services allow larger participant numbers and longer meetings.
Perhaps you may want to consider a paid for service in the short-term. The providers listed above also offer a more enhanced service for a small monthly fee.
If your organisation already uses Office365 then you may have free access to Microsoft Teams to hold your meeting via Teams Live Event, you just need to check your licence.
For more information on digital meeting/video conferencing providers please see the following article from TechRadar which compares the best free and paid for options:
If you're interested in using Zoom, here is a useful start up guide
https://itld.psu.edu/training/participating-zoom-meeting-quick-start-guide
For practical advice on hosting and participating in a meeting online
Webinar recording Effective trustee meetings online
https://info.copronet.wales/video-calls-with-zoom/
ICSA Good practice for virtual board and committee meetings
Association of Chairs: how Chairs can make online meetings work
For more detailed information, please see the Charity Commission's guidance on the coronavirus
www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/news/covid-19-coronavirus-information/
For more information on operating during the coronavirus period please see NICVA's dedicated coronavirus webpage
www.nicva.org/article/nicvas-advice-on-managing-the-impact-of-coronavirus
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