CENTRAL LONDON HUMANIST GROUP MINUTES OF THE 7TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. 20 January 2016, Conway Hall

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1 MINUTES OF THE 7TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 20 January 2016, Conway Hall 1. Welcome The total number of attendees was 37, of whom 28 were voting members of CLHG (list of names attached). 2. Apologies for absence Apologies were received from Abé Chekh-Dove El-Ghassani, Jim Craig-Gray, Richard Francis, Audrey King, Barry Latchford, Paula Palmer, Andy Rushton, Alison Stein, Chris Street and Dick and Janice Taverne, 3. Minutes of the 2015 AGM The minutes of the 2015 AGM had been circulated to members in advance. No comments were raised in the meeting and they were approved without objection. 4. Matters arising No matters were raised. 5. Chair s Address Baptiste Bourgougnon, Chair, noted the wide range of activities that had been organised during the last 12 months, including the monthly talks in Conway Hall, pub socials, Sunday lunches, walks, the book group, a theatre visit, a picnic and the Yuletide Party. The Group had also been involved in a number of jointly organised activities such as the croquet tournament with West London Humanists, the Ancestor s Trail and the Winterval Quiz with the UCL Atheist, Secular and Humanist Students. The Group had initiated a Humanist-Moslem dialogue process which had held its first meeting in October. There was every expectation that this level of activity would be maintained in the coming year. Highlights would include the Stand Up for Darwin comedy event in February and the Ancestor s Trail at the end of July. Baptiste invited members to propose other events that the Group might consider organising. He offered his thanks to his colleagues on the Committee and to the many others who had volunteered their time and energy to support CLHG s work.

2 6. Financial Report Alan Palmer, Treasurer, presented the Accounts and Auditor s Statement for 2015 (attached) which had been circulated to members in advance of the meeting. He thanked CLHG member Adam Leadbetter, FCCA, for agreeing to be Honorary Auditor and noted that he had raised no issues of concern. Alan noted that during 2015 the Group had maintained a small positive balance of income over expenditure. At the end of 2015 it had a reserve of 1,441 which was healthy for an organisation of CLHG s size and very similar to the position at the end of Income from monthly talks had increased by more than 25 per cent following the Committee s decision to charge a small entrance fee to events rather than soliciting donations at the end of each talk. The increased income had enabled the Group to increase its room hire payments to Conway Hall, which the Committee had agreed was appropriate. A question was raised as to the extent to which the Group used on-line payment systems. Alan replied that the website had a PayPal link and that Eventbrite was used for pre-paid events. There was always a charge involved in using electronic payment systems. The meeting approved the Accounts. 7. Membership Update Josh Kutchinsky, Membership Organiser, presented his report for 2015, which had been circulated to members in advance of the meeting. During 2015, membership of the CLHG (people who had provided the Secretary with their full name and contact details) had increased from 246 to 296, while voting membership (members who are also members of the British Humanist Association) had increased from 193 to 220. People who are not members but have joined one of CLHG s online presences (Meetup, Facebook and an independent mailing list) are recognised as being supporters of CLHG. During 2014 Josh had approved 588 requests to join CLHG s Meetup group, and he estimated that 209 people had left it. This compared with 510 people joining and 197 leaving in The total number of Meetup members now stood at 2,439 (compared with 2,060 in January 2015). Facebook membership had increased from 775 to 1,140 over the year, and the number of people who had clicked like on CLHG s Facebook page had risen from 541 to 638. Meanwhile, the number of people on an inherited mailing list, which is no longer being added-to, had fallen from 457 to 441. Taking account of the likely degree of overlap between these categories, Josh had calculated that the total number of individual supporters was now 3,915 compared with 2,252 a year ago. A few of those who had left CLHG s Meetup group had volunteered a reason for doing so. Most cited no longer living in London or having too little time to participate. One or two said they were unattracted by Humanism. 8. Report on Programme and Events Stells Dessoy, Events Organiser, reported that CLHG had enjoyed another very successful year. As Baptiste had noted in his Chair s address, a great variety of activities had been organised. Speaker

3 meetings had included talks by: Professor A C Grayling on the history of Humanism, Nikki Ray on Occupied Palestine, Jeffrey Herrmann on genealogy and genes, David Waldock on the experience of Accelerated Christian Education, Charlie Klendjian on Sharia law, Phil Walder on the Humanist case for vegetarianism, Prateek Buch on Sense about Science and the importance of evidence, Richy Thompson on BHA s faith schools campaign, Imad Iddine Habib on being an ex-moslem in Morocco, Bill Flavell on street epistemology, and Katie Sissons on social scientific research into Humanism. The speaker list for 2016 was close to being finalised. Rumit Somaiya informed the meeting about his plans for a Stand Up For Darwin comedy event at Conway Hall on 13 February. Tickets were selling fast. Mary Grove presented a photo-montage of the year s activities. 9. Affiliations to the IHEU and EHF Ian Symons, International Bulletin Editor, reported on CLHG s international activities during CLHG is affiliated to the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) and the European Humanist Federation (EHF). In May, Rumit Somaiya had represented CLHG at the IHEU General Assembly in Manila, while Ian had represented the Group at the EHF General Assembly and Conference in Athens. The Group also produces an international bulletin every four months to keep members up to date with Humanism around the world. 10. Election of Committee Members Since the number of candidates was fewer than the number of vacancies, it was proposed that the Committee be elected en bloc. No objections were raised. The 2016 Committee will be: Chair: Treasurer: Secretary: Baptiste Bourgougnon Alan Palmer Ian Symons Other members: Clive Aruede, Damian Belson, Steve Clapman, Stells Dessoy, Mary Grove, Josh Kutchinsky, and Rumit Somaiya. 11. Any other business None. At the end of formal business, CLHG member Andrew Copson addressed the meeting in his capacity as President of IHEU and Chief Executive of BHA. January 2016

4 Susan Alam Clive Aruede Christy Avraam Damian Belson Carl Blackburn Baptiste Bourgougnon Ned Clack Steve Chapman Andrew Copson Stells Dessoy Elizabeth Donnelly Kieron Duffy Ian Glendenning Mary Grove Jeffrey Herrmann Josh Kutchinsky Aisha Latif Catriona McLellan Graham Morris Alan Palmer Dean Powell Patricia Rogers Mike Shallcross Rumit Somaiya Richard Stein Ian Symons Phil Walder Chris Ward CLHG AGM, 20 January 2016 Voting Members Attending

5 AUDITOR S STATEMENT Auditor s report to the members of The Central London Humanist Group I have audited the financial statements of The Central London Humanist Group (the Group) for the year ended 31 December 2015, which comprise the Income and Expenditure account, Balance Sheet and Notes to Accounts. These are cash accounts derived from the Group s bank account plus debtors and creditors for outstanding receipts and payments as at 31 December This report is made solely to the Group s members. Respective responsibilities of committee members and auditor The Group s committee members are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. My responsibility is to audit and express an opinion on the financial statements. My opinion does not cover any transactions or matters arising that have not been presented in the documents I have audited. Scope of the audit of the financial statements The audit scope was a check of bank statement opening and closing balances, a review of presentation and calculation and a run through of a sample of transactions. Opinion on financial statements In my opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Group s affairs as at 31 December 2015, and of the Group s income and expenditure for the year then ended, and have been properly prepared. Opinion on other matters This audit was limited to the scope of the audit as described above. Matters on which I report by exception I have nothing to report in these respects. Declaration of interests I am a member of the Group but not a committee member, and have had, and continue to have, no involvement in the organisation of events, transactions performed, payments made or taken, or of preparation of accounts, except for the scope of the audit described above. Adam Leadbetter, FCCA, Accountant, 15 January 2016.

6 Income and Expenditure for the year ended 31 December 2015 Income Collections (see Note 1) Wine stall (receipts less cost of wine) Sale of badges Donations Sale of Ugandan leather goods Total income Expenditure Venue hire (excl. special events) Wine stall donations (see Note 2) Other donations (see Note 3) Campaign expenses (re 2013) IHEU membership BHA Partnership fee Meet-up fee PA system AGM expenses Sundries Total expenditure Excess of Income over Expenditure (excl. special events) 2, ,386 (1,760) (727) (344) - (100) (100) (118) - (112) (15) (3,276) , ,567 (1,114) (652) (832) (98) (100) (100) (88) (179) (95) (66) (3,324) 243 Special Events Science Museum Late Book sale at A C Grayling talk Theatre outing Muslim-Humanist Dialogue Wintervale party Creditor written off (104) (163) 50 Net surplus on Special Events (97) (44) Total Excess of Income over Expenditure

7 Net assets Balance at bank Balance at Paypal Add: Debtors Less: Creditors Balance Sheet as at 31 December , , , , , , , ,428 Accumulated reserves General Balance at 1 January Excess of income over expenditure for the period General Balance at 31 December 1, ,441 1, ,428 Alan Palmer, FCA Treasurer 15 January 2016

8 Notes to Accounts for the year ended 31 December Collections Talks New members socials Socials Book group Sunday lunches Walks 1, , , , Wine stall donations Palestine school Crisis Albert Kennedy Trust Tourettes Syndrome Humane Society Intl UK Plan International UK Sense about Science BHA Refugee Council St Catherine s Hospice Rape Crisis The wine stall donations do not match exactly the wine stall receipts of 732 due to the rounding of payments and the variable cost and timing of purchases of bottles of wine Other donations Shelter from the Storm