Inspiring Women Working Together Conference 2014
The NFWI’s “Inspiring Women” Conference, for Presidents of branches from the Southwest, was held on March 25 at West Point Arena near Exeter, 7th in a series of 10 such events held nationwide. The series came about as a way to spend funds from a VAT return which, under charity law, had to be spent on the membership.
The conference was led by NFWI Chair Janice Langley and her team of Trustees. The content was divided between three sections under the headings of the strategies of the WI; that the WI is there to inspire you; that the WI is what you make of it; and that the WI is what you want it to be.
Diana Birch, WI Life editor, talked about the production of WI Life, especially with regard to how one should go about submitting material, and what sort of things they would be interested in as far as content and picture quality. The magazine has a 6 month lead time, so contributions must be received a minimum of 3 months in advance (or 2, for news items). She said she was often questioned about the leaflets for stair lifts that fall out of the magazine, citing that they hadn’t advertised that product for many years but that other such equipment such as walk-in baths weren’t just for the elderly, but also the disabled.
Much was said throughout the conference about communications, and having a presence on the internet, facebook and Twitter. The Moodle (on-line training system) was explained as was the WI Guide, the current operations handbook which is available also on the Moodle as well as each WI having a hard copy.
Attendees were given an information pack and free WI pen, and the pack contained red and green sheets of paper which were used to vote on various questions. One was with regard to pop-up “totem” signs to advertise the WI, which may go into production so that individual branches could purchase them for about £20. We also had an impromptu paper-folding session led by Stephanie Fort of the craft committee.
The role of WI Enterprises, the trading arm of the WI, was explained. All the branded products are produced and managed by a separate company, but the recipes are WI sourced and the WI has final control over the quality of the products, receiving 7 ½ % of the income from sales.
Denman College was discussed, and the current situation is that things aren’t as bad as they were, but Denman still needs our support to continue. It is a completely separate, self-funding enterprise, and if we lose it now we will never have it back. It was explained that it would not be possible to sell the NFWI office in London and move it to Denman, as any proceeds from the sale would not be allowed to be used at Denman, under charity law. New premises would have to be built, which would put further strain on Denman’s resources.
The three-tier structure of the WI was made very clear, as was the fact that we operate under charity law and responsibility for this comes right down to branch committee level. We were urged to make sure we had MCS (membership communication system) reps who would keep the membership records up to date (so new members get welcome packs and members who want it would receive WI Life, for example) and also to make sure subs were sent to head office in good time (at present, only 75% is received by the end of April). From subscriptions received, 45% currently goes back to local WIs, 22% goes to county federation and 33% to the NFWI, but they are working to improve this to a goal of 50% being received back at grassroots level.
And finally, preparations of the Centenary celebrations were discussed. There is a baton making its way across the country, to arrive at the Royal Albert Hall for the celebrations on 4th June, 2015. Two of the trustees will be making enough fruit cake from the winning competition recipe to feed everyone at the meeting- a huge task indeed! We are urged to celebrate on a local level, with the event being streamed live from London, and a DVD of highlights being considered. As yet, no speakers are booked but they do need a good resolution for debate, so start thinking! At present they have put forward three interesting requests to mark the event, all still awaiting confirmation: a garden party at Buckingham Palace, a commemorative stamp, and the Queen to attend the centenary celebrations. The symbol of the centenary is the rose especially bred to mark 100 years of the WI.
It was a very interesting, informative day with the opportunity to meet representatives of WIs throughout the southwest. And as one would expect of the WI, the catering was excellent!
Donna Heys
President, Broadwindsor WI
The NFWI’s “Inspiring Women” Conference, for Presidents of branches from the Southwest, was held on March 25 at West Point Arena near Exeter, 7th in a series of 10 such events held nationwide. The series came about as a way to spend funds from a VAT return which, under charity law, had to be spent on the membership.
The conference was led by NFWI Chair Janice Langley and her team of Trustees. The content was divided between three sections under the headings of the strategies of the WI; that the WI is there to inspire you; that the WI is what you make of it; and that the WI is what you want it to be.
Diana Birch, WI Life editor, talked about the production of WI Life, especially with regard to how one should go about submitting material, and what sort of things they would be interested in as far as content and picture quality. The magazine has a 6 month lead time, so contributions must be received a minimum of 3 months in advance (or 2, for news items). She said she was often questioned about the leaflets for stair lifts that fall out of the magazine, citing that they hadn’t advertised that product for many years but that other such equipment such as walk-in baths weren’t just for the elderly, but also the disabled.
Much was said throughout the conference about communications, and having a presence on the internet, facebook and Twitter. The Moodle (on-line training system) was explained as was the WI Guide, the current operations handbook which is available also on the Moodle as well as each WI having a hard copy.
Attendees were given an information pack and free WI pen, and the pack contained red and green sheets of paper which were used to vote on various questions. One was with regard to pop-up “totem” signs to advertise the WI, which may go into production so that individual branches could purchase them for about £20. We also had an impromptu paper-folding session led by Stephanie Fort of the craft committee.
The role of WI Enterprises, the trading arm of the WI, was explained. All the branded products are produced and managed by a separate company, but the recipes are WI sourced and the WI has final control over the quality of the products, receiving 7 ½ % of the income from sales.
Denman College was discussed, and the current situation is that things aren’t as bad as they were, but Denman still needs our support to continue. It is a completely separate, self-funding enterprise, and if we lose it now we will never have it back. It was explained that it would not be possible to sell the NFWI office in London and move it to Denman, as any proceeds from the sale would not be allowed to be used at Denman, under charity law. New premises would have to be built, which would put further strain on Denman’s resources.
The three-tier structure of the WI was made very clear, as was the fact that we operate under charity law and responsibility for this comes right down to branch committee level. We were urged to make sure we had MCS (membership communication system) reps who would keep the membership records up to date (so new members get welcome packs and members who want it would receive WI Life, for example) and also to make sure subs were sent to head office in good time (at present, only 75% is received by the end of April). From subscriptions received, 45% currently goes back to local WIs, 22% goes to county federation and 33% to the NFWI, but they are working to improve this to a goal of 50% being received back at grassroots level.
And finally, preparations of the Centenary celebrations were discussed. There is a baton making its way across the country, to arrive at the Royal Albert Hall for the celebrations on 4th June, 2015. Two of the trustees will be making enough fruit cake from the winning competition recipe to feed everyone at the meeting- a huge task indeed! We are urged to celebrate on a local level, with the event being streamed live from London, and a DVD of highlights being considered. As yet, no speakers are booked but they do need a good resolution for debate, so start thinking! At present they have put forward three interesting requests to mark the event, all still awaiting confirmation: a garden party at Buckingham Palace, a commemorative stamp, and the Queen to attend the centenary celebrations. The symbol of the centenary is the rose especially bred to mark 100 years of the WI.
It was a very interesting, informative day with the opportunity to meet representatives of WIs throughout the southwest. And as one would expect of the WI, the catering was excellent!
Donna Heys
President, Broadwindsor WI