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As a registered charity, York SU needs to abide by UK Charity Law. Ratified student groups have no separate legal identity from York SU. This means that UK laws regarding charities also apply directly to our affiliated student groups, and also that the Union is ultimately responsible for the actions taken by groups.
Because of this, there are various rules and requirements our volunteering projects must adhere to, which are covered on this page.
Contents:
Volunteering Committee is chaired by the elected Union Development Officer and is made up of representatives from each ratified Volunteering Project.
Volunteering Committee are responsible for ratifying new volunteering projects, allocating grant funding and sharing feedback to improve volunteering at York.
York SU's By-Laws, including the Code of Conduct
York SU's By-Laws, including the Code of Conduct
York SU's by-laws are the documents which explain in more detail how we run, how we make decisions, how students can get involved as representatives to propose ideas or how to form student groups. The by-laws also member and associate Code of Conduct which is applicable to all students and groups.
Volunteering Project Minimum Standards
Volunteering Project Minimum Standards
As part of ratifying with York SU, each project has minimum standards that they must adhere to in order to remain ratified with York SU.
The minimum standards for a project shall be:
The minimum standards for a project shall be:
Hand in all re-ratification documents by the deadline
Ensure that all volunteers purchase a Project Registration via the YorkSU website before they volunteer with the project
Complete all mandatory in-person or online training
Adhere to project constitution, Code of Conduct and all other agreements.
Complete an impact report or impact meeting, by the deadline set.
There is a penalty system in place if the minimum standards are not followed:
There is a penalty system in place if the minimum standards are not followed:
Hand in essential documents - if they are not in on time, you will get a warning and failure to comply may lead to de-ratification
Room Booking Agreement not agreed to, inability to book rooms for student group or room taken off you.
Grant application in after deadline - you may not be eligible for a grant, or receive less of a grant.
Failure to adhere to the project constitution, Code of Conduct and/or all other agreements could result in de-ratification and/or disciplinary action.
Failure to complete project committee training by the deadlines set will result in a warning, and continued failure to complete mandatory training may lead to de-ratification
Failure to submit termly impact reports may result in reduced funding due to inaccurate data on file and further disciplinary action.
Volunteering Project Constitution
Volunteering Project Constitution
Each ratified Volunteering Project must be constituted by YorkSU, it’s purpose being that the constitution outlines reasonable expectations for best practices which volunteers are expected to adhere to.
Each project must review their Project Constitution at their Annual General Meeting, and new committee’s must sign and agree to it. A copy of the constitution should also be made available to all members/volunteers.
You must use the most up to date template for your constitution.
Constitutional Amendments
Constitutional Amendments
If you wish to change something within your Project Constitution, this is known as a Constitutional Amendment. In order to do this, you must host an EGM or AGM where all members are invited to attend to discuss the proposals.
At the meeting you should:
Outline any proposed constitutional amendments to your membership.
You might choose to do this at the meeting or through a Google form where members can vote.
Outline the reasons why this amendment has been put forward, and any relevant arguments against it so members can make a fair choice.
Clearly outline to members how they can vote on the amendments and the timeline (for example, they can vote in real-time during the meeting, or you’ll leave a form open for a set amount of time (e.g. 48 hours, one week) to take votes
Constitutional amendments require a ⅔ majority to pass. Voters can vote yes or no to the amendment, or they can choose to abstain. Once the allotted time has passed, you can announce the results and inform the incoming committee of the changes so the amendments can be written into the constitution - or you can do this yourselves.
Room Bookings and Space Use
Room Bookings and Space Use
When you book a room on campus, you agree to the University room bookings terms and conditions. Please read this document before using a room so that you understand your responsibilities.
Failure to adhere to these terms and conditions may result in the withdrawal of your booking rights.
Data Protection and Confidentiality
Data Protection and Confidentiality
For general information about Data Protection, please visit our pages on Resource pages on Data Protection. All signatories are also required to complete our online data protection and GDPR training. It may be beneficial for other committee members to complete this training if they are involved in handling data.
Additionally, at re-ratification, projects have to agree to adhere to York SU's Confidentiality Agreement.
Training
Training
Training is a compulsory requirement for volunteering project signatories to esnure they are fully equipped within their role and can expand their knowledge, understanding and capabilities. For Volunteering projects, there are 5 compulsory training modules required to complete online which can be found in our online training section of the hub. In addition to this, all signatories must attend any in-person training alongside online training. This includes, but is not limited to:
Volunteering Project Induction Training (post-re-ratification)
Welcome Week Training session (September)
Handover, Re-Ratification and Reflection Workshop (pre-re-ratification)
Elections, AGM's and EGM's
Elections, AGM's and EGM's
Every student group is required to hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) at least once per year to summarise the year, vote on any proposed constitutional changes and elect the committee for the year ahead.
For further information on organising and hosting AGM's/EGM's, and running elections, please visit our Elections, Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings Advice page.
Volunteering Committee
Volunteering Committee
Volunteering Committee is chaired by the elected Union Development Officer and is made up of representatives from each ratified Volunteering Project.
Volunteering Committee are responsible for ratifying new volunteering projects, allocating grant funding and sharing feedback to improve volunteering at York.
Impact Reporting
Impact Reporting
Each Semester, projects are required to attend an Impact Reporting Meeting with York SU staff to share key figures and information about their project.
Projects should be recording key statistics throughout the semester to bring to these impact meetings. This includes, but is not limited to:
The number of active volunteers during the Semester
The number of hours active volunteers gave this Semester
Any impact the group has had on the student community or wider York community
Successes and challenges faced throughout Semester
All projects will receive a template to prepare ahead of the meetings, where a discussion will take place between at least one member of the project committee and a York SU staff member.
Projects may wish to use a template to record hours and volunteer numbers throughout the Semester. Please make a copy of a template and use as you wish.
Attendance Sheet for Impact ReportingSafeguarding
Safeguarding
York SU's Safeguarding Policy and Safeguarding Reporting Form can be found on the York SU website.
Safeguarding Training is compulsory for all York SU volunteers involved in volunteering with Children, Young People and/or Vulnerable Adults.
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