Giant Schnauzer Health Fund

1. Introduction

a) The Committee of the Giant Schnauzer Health Fund (GSHF) shall be called “Giant Schnauzer Health Fund Committee” (GSHF Committee). The postal address of the Health Fund shall be the address of the GSHF Secretary. Banking correspondence, including the statements and donations shall be sent to the address of the treasurer.
b) The GSHF was founded by three initial nominees and supported by The Giant Schnauzer Club (GSC), The Northern Schnauzer Club (NSC) and The Schnauzer Club of Great Britain (SCGB) – (The three UK Breed Clubs representing Giant Schnauzers).

2. Membership

a) The membership of the GSHF Committee shall comprise a minimum of three and maximum of six members, who shall also be members of at least one of the three UK Breed Clubs representing Giant Schnauzers for a minimum of two consecutive years. Committee members shall be proposed and seconded by current members of the GSHF committee.
b) Term of office to be three years.
c) The Chairperson shall be appointed in rotation at the beginning of each committee meeting from the GSHF Committee’s membership.
d) The Secretary shall be appointed every three years at the first meeting of the year by the GSHF committee and will be a member of one of the three UK Breed Clubs representing Giant Schnauzers, and may or may not be a member of the GSHF Committee.
e) The Treasurer shall be appointed every three years at the first meeting of the year by the GSHF committee and will be a member of one of the three UK Breed Clubs representing Giant Schnauzers, and may or may not be a member of the GSHF Committee.
f) The same person may not hold the position of secretary and treasurer except in unforeseen circumstances.
g) No person whilst an undischarged bankrupt may serve on the Committee.
h) Members of the committee should comply with the HMRC guidance on the fit and proper persons test for charity trustees and volunteers.
i) Single membership to the GSHF shall cost a minimum annual donation of £10 per person
j) Membership to the GSHF shall allow the individual donor to attend the AGM and entitle them to one vote, but they may not hold a committee position unless they meet the criteria of point 2(a)

3. Terms of Reference

a) To raise money to fund the development of genetic tests for health conditions that are thought to be inherited in the Giant Schnauzer.
b) To raise the awareness of owners about the health conditions that may be inherited in the Giant Schnauzer e.g. Certain types of cancers, Hereditary Cataracts (HC), Epilepsy, Hypothyroidism, Multifocal Retinal Dysplasia (MRD), Hip/Elbow Dysplasia (HD/ED) and any other relevant conditions that may be highlighted via the Joint Schnauzer Health Surveys or any other credible source.
c) Collaborate and co-operate with the Animal Health Trust, Ophthalmic Veterinary Surgeons, British Veterinary Association (BVA), Kennel Club (KC) and also assist with the collection of buccal (cheek) swabs, blood and tissue samples both in the United Kingdom and other countries.
d) Allocate funds in consideration of the incidence, severity and quantity of genetic material available for the condition(s) requiring research.

4. Meetings

a) There shall be an Annual General Meeting (AGM) within five months of the end of the financial year. Members of the GSHF may attend the AGM and shall be notified within a minimum of fourteen days prior to the date of the AGM. In addition, the Secretary shall call meetings as and when it is deemed necessary. Each meeting shall be minuted by the Secretary and the approved minutes shall be kept by the Secretary as a permanent record of meetings.
b) Three members of the GSHF Committee shall form a quorum; the quorum must include either the Treasurer or Secretary of the Fund.
c) Other than for day-to-day activity, no transfer of funds may take place unless approved in line with 6(c) below

5. Voting

a) Each GSHF Committee member shall be entitled to one vote. In the case of an equal number of votes being cast the Chairperson will have an additional casting vote.
b) Each single member of the health fund, over the age of 18 years, shall be entitled to one vote at the AGM.

6. Finance

a) The financial year of the GSHF shall commence on the 1st January and end on the 31st December of each year.
b) Banking accounts shall be in the name of the Giant Schnauzer Health Fund at banks of the GSHF committee’s choice, into which all revenue of the fund shall be paid and from which day to day withdrawals shall only be made with any two of three designated signatories.
c) No single transfer of monies in excess of £1,000.00 (one thousand pounds) can take place, unless approved at a committee meeting of the Fund and agreed by a 75% majority vote of the full Committee. All such transfers shall only take place with any three designated signatories
d) The accounts shall be audited annually by an appointed external auditor and a copy of the audited accounts shall be sent to the committee of each of the 3 UK Breed Clubs representing Giant Schnauzers. The accounts shall be available for scrutiny by any member of each of the 3 UK Breed Clubs and shall be made available for publication by those clubs for the information of members.
e) An annual report of the Committee’s activities will be sent to each committee of the three UK Breed Clubs representing Giant Schnauzers along with a copy of the audited accounts for information and publication.

7. Amendments to Rules

a) The Rules of the GSHF may not be altered except with the agreement of a majority of the GSHF Committee and GSHF members, voted upon by those memberships at an Annual General Meeting at which a motion has been duly placed upon the Agenda.

8. Confidentially

a) The personal details of all donators will not be disclosed to any third parties.
b) Individual health issues may be discussed within the GSHF committee only, and may only be disclosed with the expressed consent of the owner of the Giant Schnauzer in question.

9. Dissolution

a) Should any accrued monies and other assets not be used, for whatever reason, in the funding of genetic tests for health conditions affecting the Giant Schnauzer, donors and the three UK Breed Club Committees representing Giant Schnauzers will be consulted by the GSHF committee, in line with 7(a) (Amendments to Rules) above, as to the future use of such monies.
Consideration to be given to various options, e.g.:
i. Future research into identified health problems in Giant Schnauzers.
ii. Any monies may be divided equally between the 3 UK breed clubs representing Giants, specifically for Giant Schnauzer health problems.

10. Constitution Revision Status

This constitution was adopted on 21/05/2014 by three initial nominees who expressed an interest in establishing the fund, and whose names appear below. These members of the committee remained so until the first AGM of the following year, where elections for the committee were held.

Deborah Allen – GSHF Secretary (GSC, NSC & SCGB member)
Lesley Parker – GSHF Treasurer (KC Breed Health Co-Ordinator, NSC & GSC member)
Michelle Humphries – GSHF Committee/Trustee ( GSC Secretary, SCGB & MSC member).

Updated 07/03/2023 amendment to clause 2(a) – AGM 2022