3 rd Annual General Meeting Sunday 24 September 2006 at Asti, Italy The International Society for Condensed Matter Nuclear Science N. B. Non ISCMNS members are welcome to attend. 1
Hon. Secretary’s Report • • • Elections & Appointments Membership Finances Charity Extraordinary General Meeting 2
Vacancies for 2006 Elections • • The following 8 are due to retire at 31 st December William Collis (Hon. Secretary) Francesco Celani Scott Chubb Vittorio Violante Jacques Dufour (Hon. Treasurer) Edmund Storms Andrei Lipson • Jean Paul Biberian 3
8 Executive Committee Candidates • • Scott Chubb Vittorio Violante Edmund storms Mahedeva Srinivasan* Jean Paul Biberian (CMNS editor) Francesco Celani Jacques Dufour Yuri Bazhutov* ( ICCF 13 chair) • No elections necessary 4
Situation 2007 • The following officers will retire on December 31 st 2007 • Akito Takahashi (Hon. President) • Xingzhong Li (EC Chairman) • Yuri Bazhutov (ICCF 13 Chairman) 5
New Appointment • Collis to retire from EC at 31 st December 2006 and will not seek re-election. • Offers himself as Chief Executive of the Society. 6
Membership • 163 Members at 14 September 2006 • Down from 175 at 30 November 2005 • Membership lapses if you don’t pay dues! 7
Finances • New financial year will end 31 st December so no accounts yet for the current period (18 months). • Surplus of € 5, 726 in 04/05 • Deficit of ~€ 3, 500 in 05/06 so far • (Deficit includes “capital” purchases of PC, laser printer, 50 x ICCF 11 Proceedings). 8
ISCMNS as a Charity Contro More Bureaucracy? More Costs More supervision Few tax benefits (in 2004) Pro Prestige Tax advantages Fund raising The Law discussion at http: //www. iscmns. org/charity. htm 9
What is a Charity? • Under English Law, it is any institution, whether registered or not, which acts exclusively in the Public interest. (not just “not for profit”) • The Public expect it to be managed prudently and properly in their interest. The Charities Commission checks this is the case as regulator. • Obligation to register if turnover greater than £ 10, 000 ($19, 000) 10
Why didn’t we start out as a Charity in 2004? • In 2004, UK tax law allowed us to earn £ 10, 000 in profits tax free! • In 2006, the law changed and we will now be taxed on all profits if we don’t become a Charity. • However income from membership subscriptions will not be taxable in any case. 11
Application for Charity Status Charitable status was discussed by the EC in the spring of 2006 and approved unanimously. Application was made to the Charity Commissioners in June 2006 Response received in August 2006. 12
Some questions raised by the Charities Commission • “Although I am satisfied that this organisation could advance education, I am concerned that it appears concerned with providing benefits to its members as well as a public benefit. ” • “What criteria do the trustees have for deciding on suitable recipients for grants to attend conferences? ” • “Do non-professional members of the public attend conferences / seminars? ” • “Regarding the medals, it is not necessarily charitable to reward excellence; what is the purpose of awarding medals and how does the public benefit from this? ” 13
CC: “Thank you for your prompt response which was very helpful. ” • “I am quite satisfied that this organisation is promoting science for the benefit of the public and that any benefit to members is incidental to the public benefit. ” • “However, the objects will need to be amended so that they are exclusively charitable. ” 14
Commission Proposal • “I suggest that a suitable object is: ” • "To promote the science of low energy nuclear reactions in condensed matter, also known as 'Cold Fusion' for the benefit of the public. ” • Instead of “…for the benefit of members and the wider community” 15
What does this mean for Members? • A cosmetic / legal change. No change to ISCMNS policy or management. • It will still be possible to offer discounts / grants to members to attend meetings • It will still be possible to make awards etc. 16
Amending the Constitution • Tomorrow evening an Extraordinary General Meeting will be held during dinner to consider the special resolution: • THAT the Memorandum of Association, be modified by adopting a New Memorandum of Association and that Article 35 in the Articles of Association be deleted. • We have a further day to discuss. 17
Documents available for inspection • Current Articles of Association • Current Memorandum of Association • Proposed Memorandum of Association • If you cannot attend the dinner, you may vote in writing. Ask at the registration desk for a form. 18
Looking to the future • As a Charity we will raise funds from the public. • Becoming a Charity is an opportunity for publicity. • Changes in Company Law may come into effect in 2007 and ISCMNS may wish to amend its constitution (again!) to take advantage. 19
Any Questions? 20
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