Important Notice to Exeter and District KPA Members From the Chairman 

Your charity, EDKPA, was established over 50 years ago as an Unincorporated Association. EDKPA Trustees see an urgent need to convert the formal structure to the Charity Commission’s new “Foundation” model for a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). 

 

The major reason for the change is that the existing constitution demands the yearly election of Trustees, and all major decisions must be voted on by the entire membership (currently 330). The meetings require physical attendance and voting in person, with a quorum required of 25 members for Annual General Meetings (AGM) and 33 (10%) members for Special General Meetings (SGM). 

 

This is virtually impossible to achieve with a membership made up largely of renal patients trying to manage their varying conditions and levels of illness. Also, our members are spread across the whole of Devon and into Somerset. After Covid, many people are finding it more difficult to commit themselves to organisations, to travel to meetings and this change in the way society works may prove to be a longer-term problem. Our last AGM, for example, had only 10 voting forms returned from the entire membership and less than 10 members attending. 

 

The change to a standard Charity Commission CIO would enable our Charity to continue with the support we provide for patients, in line with our existing constitution, by reducing the voting membership to just the active Trustees. 

 

A copy of the draft CIO Constitution will be sent to all members shortly. 

All members will be kept up to date on charity matters, as usual. Furthermore, there is always the opportunity to stand for election as a Trustee if you would like more involvement in our work. New Trustees are always welcome; indeed, we are searching for more right now. One or two posts are more onerous, but others require just a couple of hours a month. 

 

To proceed with our plan, EDKPA must hold a Special General Meeting (SGM) which must be formally requested by a minimum of 25 members. 

 

EDKPA has provisionally booked the Exeter Golf and Country Club on Sunday June 9th, 2024, from 12.30pm to 2.30pm for the meeting, with a light lunch and refreshments for all members attending. 

Please complete the request form below, (so that we can confirm numbers for the lunch). Please let us have your reply no later than 24 April. 

 

Thank you for your help, Chris Rolfe 

I would like to request a Special General Meeting of the EDKPA to consider and vote on a special resolution to change the EDKPA from an Unincorporated Association to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation with an amended constitution based on the Charity Commission’s foundation model for a CIO.