The difference between Lionesses and other branches of the Organisation is that we do not pay any dues direct to International Headquarters. All paperwork for dues will emanate from:
The Multiple District 105 Lioness Clubs Advisory Body Treasurer for Multiple District Dues, and the District Officer for any District Dues, (Lions or Lionesses) if appropriate.
It is important that detailed records are kept of all monies received and paid out. These should be kept in a simple format that is easy for everyone to understand (See example to follow).
Where possible, payments should be made by cheque and the cheque number and date of payment marked on the original invoice or payment demand form. Once payment has been made, these should be filed in date order to facilitate checking by the examiner of your accounts at the end of the financial year.
Administration and Charitable transactions require separate sets of records and separate bank accounts.
This is used for the general administration and running costs of the Club including receipt and payment of members dues, postage and stationery costs, social income/expenditure (eg Formation/Certification Anniversaries), plus any other monies which are not generated from the general public.
From this account you will have to:
1. Pay Multiple District Lioness Dues. The amount per head on dues is agreed
annually at the Multiple District Lioness Clubs Conference and the charge to your Club is based on the number of members in your Club as at 1st July each year.
A Subscription (dues) form will be sent to you for completion (and is also available on the Multiple District 105 Lioness Clubs website) and should be returned to the Multiple District 105 Lioness Clubs Treasurer with full payment no later than 31st July each year. Upon receipt of dues, the Multiple District Lioness Clubs Treasurer will issue Membership Cards to the Club Treasurer for distribution to the members.
Any Club which has not paid its dues by the end of the month prior to the Annual Conference will not be eligible to vote at that Conference.
2. Pay any District Dues. In some Districts, Lionesses pay towards the running costs
of the District (lions or Lionesses). Please refer to your own District Lioness
Chairman for information on this matter.
3. Collect Dues from your Club Members. These are normally payable at the July
Business meeting of your Club, although some Clubs allow payment by two half- yearly instalments due in July and January respectively.
A member who has not paid dues by the required date is no longer in good standing
and is therefore ineligible to vote at Club Meetings; You should bring this matter to
the attention of the President so that their status can be discussed.
In April of each year, you should assess the probable financial situation of your Club
for the forthcoming year in order that a proposal can be submitted to the May Business meeting for members to agree the amount payable as annual dues for the next Lionistic year (commencing on 1st July).
Charity monies must be kept separate from all others and in no circumstances must money from the public be used for administration purposes. It is usual to have a bank account called “Activities Account” (or something similar) into which all fund-raising sums are paid and from which the expenses of running such events are paid.
Additionally some Clubs may also have a Registered Charity and a separate bank account must be used for such a Registered Charity.
Where there is no Registered Charity involved, the Activities Account may be used to make charitable donations as decided by the Club members.
Where a Registered Charity is involved, it is the Trustees who decide how the money is distributed or spent, albeit upon recommendation by the Lioness Club Members. It is usual for Trustees to be asked to approve all payments at a Club Meeting and this should be recorded in the minutes.
If at any time there are surplus funds in your Activities Account, the Club may donate round sums to its Registered Charity Account and such sums will then appear in the accounts of the Registered Charity as donations from “XYZ Lioness Club”.
The simplest way to record everything is to write all receipts (Credits) in one column and all expenditure (debits) in the next column, keeping a third column for a running total. At year end you can then summarise the different items under suitable headings to prepare your final accounts.
Remember to neatly file your paid invoices etc and to enter a cheque number on them when they have been paid.
The simple way is by far the best way!
You will need to prepare some form of “Annual Accounts” soon after 30th June and present to your Club Members. Except for the accounts of a Registered Charity (where either income or expenditure exceeds £100,000 for the year) there is no need to get them officially audited. However your accounting statements should be examined by an independent person who is suitable qualified or skilled (eg Accountant, Bank Manager, Lions Club Treasurer). An example of Year end accounts is attached for your reference. A person from your own Club is not excluded from being an examiner unless they are a Signatory to the account for signing cheques etc.
Once the
accounts have been approved by your Club Members
and examined copies should be sent to:
Multiple District Lioness Clubs Treasurer
Sponsoring Lions Club Liaison Officer / Treasurer
Lioness District Chairman
Lions District Treasurer
You may be asked to purchase supplies such as Lioness pins or other regalia. These are available from the Multiple District Lioness Club Supplies Officer (as detailed in the Multiple District Lioness Clubs Directory). A full list of supplies is also available on the Multiple District Lioness Clubs Website.
Full payment is required (including postage and packaging) at the time of placing an order. Orders will not be despatched until payment has been received.
It is advisable for such a mandate to allow for any two of three (or four) specified members to sign cheques. Before the end of the fiscal year, you should ensure that a new mandate is signed and presented to the bank (or Building Society), so that your appropriate Officers for the forthcoming year are able to sign cheques and obtain information from the bank.
Apart from informing the public that your charitable work is all “above board” being a Registered Charity means you are eligible for all forms of tax exemption, except VAT. This means that any bank interest is worth more to you and if you were to be left a legacy in someone’s will, you could well get the full amount of the legacy instead of just 60% (assuming the donor is liable to pay top rate of inheritance tax).
For more
information on Registered Charities, please contact:
Lion David Clark
Past District Governor 105SE
17 Hazeldene
BN25 4NQ
e-mail: ac-dc@tiscali.co.uk
Lion David has helped to form approximately 100 such entities for Lion/Lioness Clubs and indeed knows of a Lions Club who stood to lose £400,000 on a legacy because it was not specifically made out to its Registered Charity name and number!
Local
Authorities give permits for Street Collections, lotteries, raffles etc to take
place in a
XXXX
Lioness Club – Administration Account
Date
Description
Debit
Credit
Total
Balance Brought Forward as at
01/07
£300.00
DD/MM Dues from Members £40.00 £340.00
DD/MM Dues paid to MD (Chq No 0033) £35.00 £305.00
DD/MM Regalia/Badges (Chq No 0034) £22.47 £282.53
DD/MM Tailtwister £43.22 £325.75
etc….etc….. etc….
DD/MM Bank Interest £ 5.40 £331.15
Closing Balance as at 30/06
£331.15
XXXX
Lioness Club – Administration Account
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE
YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE YYYY
Receipts:
£
£
Subscriptions 323.50
Meetings:
Raffles 295.25
Tail Twister 58.67 353.92
Donations 96.25
Changeover 90.62
Formation Anniversary (including Raffle) 1686.00
Strawberry Tea 15.00
Multiple District “Free Place” 150.00
Sweatshirt 10.00
Scrabble Evening 9.00
Building Society
Interest
13.06
2747.35
Add Balance
brought forward from previous year
915.80
3663.15
Payments:
District & Multiple District Dues 192.00
President’s Bursary 300.00
Regalia and Badges 330.24
Members Welfare 5.00
Formation Anniversary Expenses 1693.74
Contribution to ‘Way Forward’ 50.00
Postage and Stationery 161.04
Raffle Prizes 37.84
Miscellaneous Exp
65.77
2836.37
_______
Balance in hand at XXXXXX Bank as at 30th June YYYY
826.78
=======
Signed:
__________________________ (Lioness Club Treasurer)
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Examiners Report:
I have examined the records of XXXX Lioness Club and obtained all information requested and this account is in accordance therewith. There are no matters to which special attention should be drawn.
Signed: __________________________ Date: _________________________
Name: ____________________________
XXXX
Lioness Club – Charitable Trust
Registered Charity No: 444444444
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE
YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE YYYY
£
£
£
Fund-raising events:
Concert 1972.00
Less Expenses 1240.20 731.80
Sponsorship 1000.00
Donkey
Less Expenses 1300.86 1483.99
Stalls (Net of Expenses):
XXX Church Hall 1709.28
Saturday High Street 2038.29 3747.57
Fun Day 141.73
Whistlers 235.13
Raffle 174.30
Safeway Draw 312.52
RNLI Fete 278.95
Late Night Shopping 13.63
Street Collection XXXton 59.77
Street Collection YYYton 146.86
Donations 136.00
Interest 100.47 8562.72
Add Balance from
Previous Year
3945.80
12508.52
Less Payments:
Charitable Donations (Per Schedule) 7180.75
Lottery Licence 17.50
Postage, Stationery & Advertising 15.00
Raffle Prizes 50.03
Christmas Gifts 49.64
Equipment 220.92 7533.84
Balance as at 30th June YYYY 4974.68
=======
Signed:
__________________________ (Lioness Club Treasurer)
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Examiners Report:
I have examined the records of XXXX Lioness Club and obtained all information requested and this account is in accordance therewith. There are no matters to which special attention should be drawn.
Signed: __________________________ Date: _________________________
Name: ____________________________
Although receipts and payments do not show where the balance of cash is held, it is customary for a Balance Sheet to be prepared which shows all assets and liabilities. In the case of a small Charity or even where there is a “Club Activity Account” a simple statement of assets and liabilities is usually quite acceptable.
The Charity Commission issues a form each year upon which it asks if the income is more than £10,000 for the past accounting year. In most cases the answer will be no, in which case all you have to do is tick the appropriate box (ie you do not then have to prepare or submit full accounts). However, you will need to confirm or update details of all Trustees and then submit the form to the Charity Commission. In the event that you are requested to submit accounts, please contact Past District Governor Lion David Clark (address as detailed previously).
Dear Lioness Treasurer,
At the Multiple District Lioness Conference in January, the annual subscription (dues) per Lioness was agreed for the fiscal year commencing in July. The amount per Club should be calculated on membership as at 1st July.
Please make the cheque payable to:
M.D. 105 Lioness Clubs Administration
Account
Then attach the cheque to the completed form below and forward it to the Multiple District 105 Lioness Clubs Treasurer (as detailed in the Multiple District 105 Lioness Clubs Directory of Officers).
________________________________________________________________________
Multiple District 105 Lioness Clubs
Subscription Form
Name of Club: ___________________________ District: ______________________
Number of Lionesses as at 1st July: __________ X £ _______ = £ ______
Name: _________________________________ Position: _____________________
Address: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________ Post Code: ___________________
Telephone Number: (H) ___________________ (M) _________________________
e-mail: __________________________________________________________________
In order to be
covered by the Lions Clubs International Insurance it is imperative that a copy
of the minutes from your Clubs Business Meetings are forwarded to your Lions
Club.
It is not necessary for your activities to be minuted in their entirety in the Lions Clubs Minutes, but receipt of the Lioness Club minutes must be recorded.
The Lions Club can not accept insurance responsibility for an activity which was unknown to them.
Please refer to
the Multiple District 105 Lions Officers, Organisation and Directory of Clubs
for details of Insurance arrangements.
DD/MM/YYYY
Dear Lion President,
XXXX Lioness Club Insurance
In order for a Lioness Club to be covered by the Lions Clubs International Insurance, we have been advised that the Sponsoring Lions Club must acknowledge the receipt of the minutes of the Lioness Club monthly business meetings.
I have therefore asked our Club Secretary to forward a copy of the minutes to both your Club Secretary and our Lioness Liaison Officer and would be grateful if you could ensure that the receipt of the minutes is recorded in the Lions Club Minutes each month. It is not necessary for you to record the detail of the minutes, just the receipt of them.
If this procedure is followed then it will ensure that all activities of the Lioness Club are insured as they are with the Lions.
Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your help with this matter
Yours in Lionism
President
XXXX Lioness Club
Click here to download the Annual Donations Form