Director Induction Information

Role of the Board within Freegle

As a grassroots organisation the Board of Directors takes joint responsibility for Freegle Ltd and is answerable to the Members who elect us. You can find more details and the role description of a Freegle Director here:

http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/Freegle_Board

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HFgRRDk3N1R06bDOQpBERkNYFrcp_N8ptiMxSUmn-lY/edit

https://www.gov.uk/charity-trustee-whats-involved#how-to-become-a-trustee

All Volunteers are entitled to be Members of Freegle Limited. This means they have one share and entitles them to vote in AGMs and stand as a Director. They are required to pay a £1 membership fee.

There is a register of Members which is kept by the Company Secretary. You should be given access as Membership is subject to Board approval. This is delegated to the company secretary who informs us of new Members at each Board meeting. http://freegle.in/JoinFreegleLtd

Structure of the Board

The first Freegle Ltd Board allocated the following roles to individual board members:

• Chairman
• Company Secretary
• Finance Director
• CTO
• Head of Media
• Board Secretary
• Fundraising

The Board also appoints Board Secretary, 2 Ombudsmen, 2 Returning Officers and the Treasurer.

Relevant Policies and Procedures

Freegle accounts are held at

http://freegle.in/accounts.

We have online banking with Unity Trust Bank. 2 people are required before a payment can be approved.  ?[a] signatories are required for the account. The Treasurer is copied into board mails relating to financial matters.

We have a Conflict of Interest procedure at: Conflicts_of_Interest_Procedure

We also maintain a Risk Register, at:

https://docs.google.com/a/ehibbert.org.uk/spreadsheets/d/1RQ3Uzgt7Lf_RTRRH8vdySOYXzqnHI-JxG1SVBeykctI/edit#gid=0

The first Board approved and adopted a range of policies and procedures for Freegle Ltd. They are all uploaded onto the Freegle Wiki, and are listed here: http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/Freegle_Ltd_Adopted_Document_Summary

The Freegle Wiki provides extensive information on Freegle UK and Freegle Ltd decisions and resources for moderators: http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/Welcome_to_the_Freegle_Volunteer_Wiki

The pages specific to the Board are categorised together and can be found via:

http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/Category:Freegle_Board

Following Election/Appointment to the Board

The initial information exchange between the Board and a new Director will include:

• Access to the Board discussion group.
• Inclusion on the Board Register of Directors
• The new Board member will be required to present (either visibly or via sending copies to secretary@ilovefreegle.org) ID, including proof of identity (passport, driving licence) and proof of address (utility bill in the last three months). This will be logged as seen in the director's register. No copies of the proof of ID will be kept on file.
• A Fit and Proper Person Form must be completed at the induction stage and also at the re-election at an AGM for every board member.

Responsibilities of Directors

The Board discusses day to day matters on the Board Group and uses polls to help with decision-making. Board members are expected to read all mails on and contribute regularly to this group.

As well as Freegle UK Central there are 3 working groups to which all volunteers are entitled to join. All board members should be on at least daily digest on these groups, to gain an understanding of the current work and opinions of Members and Volunteers.

https://freegle.in/Tech

https://freegle.in/Development

https://freegle.in/Funding

A Board meeting is held once a month by Zoom; board members are expected to attend, submit reports of work they have undertaken and participate in discussion. Formal minutes are produced and can be found here:

http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/Category:Freegle_Board_Minutes

http://wiki.ilovefreegle.org/Board_Meeting_Procedure

There is a google spreadsheet which contains confidential details of the Directors and passwords for accounts accessed by the Directors.

LINKS:

• Freegle Board
• Document Approval Policy
• Glossary