Virtual and Hybrid AGMs – ICSA guide for charities
ICSA, The Chartered Governance Institute, has published new guidance on holding virtual and hybrid AGMs.
The guidance aims to provide a practical ‘how to’ guide for charities that are approaching their first virtual or hybrid annual general meeting (AGM) as a consequence of the pandemic and resulting social distancing measures.
You can download the guidance on the ICSA website.
This guidance will primarily address charities structured as charitable companies limited by guarantee and charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs). The guidance refers to the flexibilities provided by the recent Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 20201 (CIGA) and draws on the experience of organisations that have already held virtual or hybrid AGMs.
In this guidance a virtual meeting means a meeting where none of the participants are physically in the same place for the meeting but are in communication with each other by video conferencing; a hybrid meeting means a meeting where some but not all of the participants are physically present in the same place but all are in communication by video conferencing.
The guidance covers key topics, including:
- Obligation to hold an AGM
- The business of an AGM
- AGM planning
- What happens if a charity has given notice of a physical AGM, but local lockdown restrictions later prevent that meeting from occurring?
- Choosing the right format – virtual vs. hybrid
- Voting arrangements
And many more.
The guidance is free to download, but you will have to register for an account on the ICSA website. This guidance is available in English only.
WCVA and our CVC partners have received a lot of questions about how to hold AGMS during the pandemic and we hope that this guidance will be helpful for trustees who are making decisions about their AGMs.
For more information on AGMs, please see our related news item COVID-19 – Can we hold our charity AGM?
Local organisations can contact their CVC for assistance with working through their options and coming to a decision. You can find contact details for the CVCs here: Third Sector Support Wales
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