NEW! WI Handbook
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Download the full colour pdf below:
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Download the Word version below for easier printing:
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Member Support
The Member Support Committee is here to help you with the running of your WI. Comprised of WI Advisers, the Resolutions Co-ordinator and WI Adviser helpers, this Committee is responsible for handling the promotion, formation, suspension, closure and enlargement of WIs in Buckinghamshire.
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We also:
- recommend suitable members for training as WI Advisers - help Group Convenors promote their Group Meetings - provide training to help members run their WIs - work with NFWI and other voluntary organisations - organise meetings to discuss Resolutions - arrange and support delegates for the NFWI Annual General Meeting |
NFWI - 2021-2022 Membership Subscriptions
In light of COVID-19 and the impact this pandemic has had on our members and WIs, NFWI have recently made some changes to our membership subscription.
At the 2020 National Council, it was proposed that we explore the possibility of WIs being given greater flexibility over their portion of the membership subscription, giving them the freedom to use their funds more freely.
NFWI and federations have fixed costs in order to deliver fixed aspects of the WI experience, such as WI Life, newsletters, promotional materials, member support, etc. However, we are aware that WIs may have saved on these fixed costs this year and in some instances may not always need their full portion of the membership subscription in order to deliver their WI experience to members. We have become particularly aware of this during the Covid period when some WIs have been able to continue relatively seamlessly – giving a member experience and using their funds as normal – but others have not.
National Council agreed that before any plan was rolled out nationally, we should first gather feedback for this proposal from a variety of different WIs about whether a change of this nature would be welcome and practical.
The feedback was largely positive, with the majority of WIs seeing the potential in this proposal both for this coming year and for future years. In light of this feedback from members and additional work from the Membership and Engagement team, the NFWI Board have authorised this new flexible approach, but with a set of simplified guidelines for its adoption.
Subscription flexibility will offer WIs the option to either waive the WI portion of the subscription, reduce the WI portion of the subscription, or charge the full amount of the WI portion (as set by the NFWI and National Council each year).
This will need to be determined annually by WIs based on their level of reserves and expenditure forecast. Any decision to reduce or waive the WI portion will need to be offered across the board to all members of that WI for the year.
This, in addition to the three-month extension to 2020’s membership subscription, is to acknowledge feedback many members shared with federations and with NFWI about the challenges of January payment dates, the 2021 subscription rate, and the disruption and difficulties we have all experienced this year.
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Please find here a budget tool to help you set out your WI budget, and 'model' different subscription rates, kindly created by Yve Robinson | ||
Please find here a breakdown of how flexibility could affect the subscription fee (log on required). This includes a breakdown of how flexibility could affect the pro-rata rate. This document was kindly created by Yve Robinson (IFE Trainer, Buckinghamshire Federation). |
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Training Opportunities
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Member Support provide training each year for Presidents, Secretaries, Treasurers and any one who thinks they might be able to take on these vital WI roles. This supplements the courses available on MyWI and WITraining.
Watch out for publicity in the newsletter and on this website. |
Think about who will succeed your current officers and try and encourage members to come along and see whether they could take on one of these roles.
Remember without the three officers the WI can't exist! |
Useful documents
There are some useful guides available from NFWI but to make it easy for you the WI Constitution, the WI Guide and the Membership Computer System (MCS2) are available as downloadable documents on the Tutorials and Library page of this website.
You can also download from there the BFWI Guide to WI Terms & Initials and a Publicity poster - plus a whole lot of other materials which you can customise for your own use. Could you be a WI Adviser?
Would you like to learn more about the WI?
Are you interested in helping members within Buckinghamshire? If so, please think about becoming a WI Adviser! For further information, please contact Stuart Lodge who can put you in contact with one of our existing WI Advisers for an informal chat Email: hq@bucksfwi.org.uk |
Do you know how long you need to keep your records? 
Keep Permanently:
Signed Rules, Record Book, Minute Books, Annual Committee (Trustee) Reports, Registration Certificates (Charity Registrations, etc.), Scrap Book or Record of Interesting Events, arrangements for special events, correspondence with Income Tax Authorities, correspondence with NFWI / BFWI about Rulings or other fundamental matters affecting the running of your WI, copy of your programme for each year, Financial Statements, Leases Keep for 7 Years: Financial Records, Insurance Keep for 1 Year After Completion Arrangements for your WI Programme Current Year and 1 Year back County Newsletter and a copy of WI Life Magazine Destroy as you go or at end of year All trivial correspondence |