How to run your club's AGM (a step-by-step checklist)

The Annual General Meeting is the one date every community club has to get right. It's where members hear how the year went, sign off the finances and elect the committee that will run the place next season. Done well, it takes an hour and everyone leaves clear on what's next. This checklist walks through the whole thing — before, during and after — so nothing important slips through.

Before the meeting

Most of the work happens in the weeks beforehand. Get these sorted early and the meeting itself is easy.

• Set the date and venue. Pick a time most members can make, and hold it within whatever window your constitution requires after the end of your financial year. Book a room that fits the crowd you expect.
• Give members proper notice. Send out written notice to all members within the timeframe and in the manner your constitution and state or territory rules specify. The notice should include the date, time, place and the business to be dealt with — including any committee vacancies and any special motions.
• Call for nominations. Invite members to nominate for committee positions, following the nomination process in your rules (who can nominate, whether a seconder is needed, and the cut-off). Also invite members to submit agenda items or motions ahead of time.
• Prepare the reports. Ask the president and other office-holders to write up their reports on the year. Have the treasurer prepare the financial statements — and, if your rules require it, arrange for them to be reviewed or audited before the meeting.
• Pull the paperwork together. Gather last year's AGM minutes, a list of members eligible to vote, the nominations received, the reports and the agenda, so everything is ready to hand out or display on the night.

A sample AGM agenda

Every club is a little different, but most AGMs follow a familiar order. Use this as a starting point and adjust it to match your constitution:

• Welcome and apologies — the chair opens the meeting, welcomes everyone and records apologies from members who couldn't attend.
• Confirmation of previous minutes — members confirm the minutes of the last AGM as an accurate record.
• President's report — a summary of the year: highlights, challenges and thanks.
• Treasurer's / financial report — the financial statements are presented and, where required, adopted by the meeting.
• Other reports — from sub-committees, coaching or team coordinators, or any other office-holders.
• Election of the committee — vacant positions are declared and filled, following the voting process in your rules.
• Special business and motions — any special resolutions or notified motions (such as rule changes or fee decisions) are discussed and voted on.
• General business — other items members have raised.
• Close — the chair thanks everyone and closes the meeting, noting the date of the next one if known.

Running the meeting well

A good AGM is orderly without being stiff. A few things keep it on track:

• Confirm the quorum. Before any decisions are made, check that enough members are present to meet the quorum set in your constitution. If you're short, your rules will say what to do — usually adjourning to a later date.
• Chair firmly and fairly. The chair keeps the meeting moving, gives everyone a fair go, and stops any single item from swallowing the night. It helps to state up front how long you expect to run.
• Handle voting the way your rules say. Some decisions are a simple show of hands; special resolutions or contested elections may need a formal count or ballot. Follow the process your constitution sets out, and make sure only eligible members vote.
• Keep to time. Park lengthy tangents for general business or a follow-up, and note action items rather than trying to solve everything in the room.

After the meeting

The AGM isn't finished when the chair closes it. A couple of tasks tidy everything up:

• Write up the minutes. Record who attended, the decisions made, the election results and any motions carried or lost. Circulate a draft while it's fresh.
• Update your records and lodge as required. Notify your state or territory regulator of the new committee and office-holders if your rules require it, and keep your association's records up to date. Check what your jurisdiction expects and by when.
• Hand over to the new committee. Pass on logins, keys, bank signatory changes, records and any handover notes so the incoming committee can pick things up without missing a beat.

Where a club app makes it easier

A fair bit of the AGM workload is really about reaching members and having your records straight — which is exactly where an app helps:

• Getting notice to everyone. Send the AGM notice, the call for nominations and reminders as announcements and notifications, so every member gets them rather than hoping an email lands.
• Checking who's eligible. Your member directory holds up-to-date membership records, so it's straightforward to see who's a current member and eligible to nominate or vote.
• Preparing the treasurer's report. With online payments and reporting, the treasurer can pull membership and payment figures together for the financial report instead of piecing them out of spreadsheets.

None of that replaces your constitution or the formal steps above — but it takes the busywork out of the parts that eat the most time.