morally or legally ( not sure if correct thread)

bobthesod

This is the scenario

Charity ( in reality a club with charitable status) wishes to erect a statue and a model is displayed asking for public donations.
Then a complaint is made about the statue and the design is altered.

Does/Must the Charity have to refund all monies donated explaining, 'that what you originally saw is not going to be what you eventually see, heres your money but would you like to donate to the revised figure

or write to all donators asking if they would like a return of the cash

or put an announcement in the press

or just refund when asked ( no publicity)

or just do nothing

A few feel that by not giving originsl donatoers a choice they are commiting some sort of illegal act but cant think what.
Can anyone put a bit of meat on this please?

Owain_Moneysaver

It depends somewhat on how the model was represented to the public and the purpose of the statue.

If it's a railway history group and the model was of a "Modified Hall" 4-6-0 locomotive, but the actual statue is going to be a "West Country" 4-6-2 then I don't think there's any grounds for objection. Models of proposed statues are just that, and not a guarantee that the final version will be identical. There is a difference between "this is what we propose to erect" and "this is what we will erect".

If on the other hand the statue was to be of a former local MP and it's being substituted with another local MP of a different party or association then it would be questionable whether the amended design is true to the nature and spirit of the original, and it would be understandable if epople were unhappy.

Savvy_Sue

I think it may also depend on how the invitation to donate was worded.

"Help us erect this statue" is one thing.

"Help us celebrate our work, we want to put a statue up" is another.

And it might also depend on the nature of the complaint: "this statue would be dangerous because children might impale themselves on that bit of it" is different to "we don't need another statue of Florence Nightingale: how about Mary Seacole?"

Then there's a question about whether or not the original donations were regarded as 'restricted funds', ie only to be spent on erecting a / this statue. Oxfam and the like are very clear in their small print that although they're inviting you to buy a goat / 10 chickens / a toilet, the money you give may be spent on something other than a goat / 10 chickens / a toilet.

In any event, if in doubt the Trustees might be wise to get some proper legal advice.

bobthesod

Thanks The situation is that a statue is being planned with a small addition, someone objected to it and it was removed. no consultation with members at all.and as far as we can tell no ocntact made with existing subscribers to advies them.
Following on from that,
Does anyone know how a proxy vote works, Say if i cannot attend the AGM can i verbally ask someone to vote on my behalf or must it be on an official paper issued by the company, or would written authority be sufficient?

Savvy_Sue

I'm not sure about proxy votes: I don't know if they HAVE to be allowed. We send a proxy voting form out with our AGM invitation, and would expect the proxy to have a signed form from you. I can't see how a verbal arrangement could be allowed - Fred rocks up and says "bob asked me to vote on his behalf" - really?

I'd ask the question.

bobthesod

Thanks Sue, will do some digging on this