Earlier this year the Management Committee decided on a new Reserves policy to reduce our current cash surplus to an appropriate level commensurate with Charity Commission and u3a guidance.
After extensive debate we resolved as follows:
Reserves should be set as close as possible to one year’s operating costs. Inevitably this will have some flexibility as subscriptions cannot practically be set every year to meet a precise target.
Currently we hold reserves that are close to £30 000 and under this new policy our reserves should be about £12000.
We have resolved that subscriptions are to be reduced to £10 per full member and £7 per associate member per annum from autumn 2025. Subscriptions will be held at that amount until our target reserve level is achieved.
Each year the management committee will review the policy to take account of any significant changes in spending and income patterns.
In reaching this decision the committee considered numerous options and in particular sought one that would be
- As far as possible equitable across all members and groups of our u3a
- In line with Charity Law
- In line with the principles on which the u3a is based
Ultimately this was the only solution that met our criteria.
The formal resolution of the committee can be found in the minutes of 19th April on our website.
Our previous Reserve Policy will be replaced in the Documents section of our website