Special Members Meeting

Dear Members

Our September wishes to you!

At our follow up AGM this year, where we reported that the shop was struggling financially, we agreed to report back to our Members at a Special Meeting  to update you on the financial position of Dig-In and our progress in returning the shop to sustainable operations. We have spent the past 5 months working hard at this with much support from staff, volunteers and with much appreciated input from Community Shares Scotland and the Plunkett Foundation. Please see the invite below to the Special Members Meeting – we hope you can make it! 

There are two other exciting developments we would very much appreciate your support on too and one request for Management Committee members. 

Our Rules were agreed way back in 2013, and are very much in need of updating.  Please have a look at the new proposed rules and the information below.

Our team and customers have done a great job in increasing our sales (thank you, supporters!) such that we can proudly report a profit in each of the past 4 months which we hope to sustain, However, the business needs more resilience and improvements including renovating the shop and a new up to date Electronic Point of Sale system to replace our outdated system. To this end we are also seeking your support to raise additional funds through our second Share Issue. Our hope is that this will not only raise much needed capital to allow us to invest in improvements and  face risks going forward with the financial resilience required, but also raise our profile in the community and expand our membership.

We are also looking for volunteers to join our 5 strong Management Committee, in particular those who would be able to contribute financial and HR experience. Please see details below.

You will find  the formal meeting details below, and  more papers will follow.  We hope to have your support  and look forward to meeting you on the 21st of September.

Dig-in Management Committee
Amanda Lake (Chair), Sue Lane, Melanie Main, Will Sohler, Marie-Amelie Viatte

RSVP by letting us know via Email below:

 

Proposed new rules for the Society 

Your approval is needed to update the Dig In governing rules! 
The proposed new Rules are here attached and will be voted on at the Special Members Meeting on 21st September. We really need enough votes to be quorate and allow us to approve so please take the time to vote!  We would very much hope that you can attend and vote in person but if you cannot be there in person, you can email through a proxy vote (to chair@diginbruntsfield.co.uk), by Wednesday 20th September at the latest. It’s as simple as saying: “yes, I would like to approve the proposed new Rules and I give my proxy vote to the chair of the MC at the Special Members Meeting”.
 
‘Why new Rules?’ you might ask. Simply because the current ones (which you can read here) haven’t been updated since 2013 and the Plunkett Foundation (which supports community businesses like Dig In) have advised us to review them. To reassure everyone, this update doesn’t affect any of what Dig In is about; the changes are administrative, sensible, and help to strengthen our overall governance. We don’t expect any of this to be controversial, but need a majority to agree to the change before the new Rules can be formally adopted and registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. The key changes are: 

  • – Quorum for Members’ Meeting reducing to 5% of Members (it’s currently 10% and is hard to attain and cumbersome).
  • – Members’ minimum age increasing to 16 years-old (it’s currently 5 years-old and considered too low in view of the decision-making responsibilities of Members. Note that ‘gifted shares’ can still be purchased for under 16 year-olds.).
  • – Allowing for Management Committee and Members’ Meetings to take place online with the same quorum as if in person.
  • – Entirely new sections: complaint against a Member (3.8), voting at Members’ Meetings (4.16), annual return to FCA (6.14), transfers of engagements (7.6), settlement of disputes (9.12) – all sensible and nothing controversial.
  • – Explicit reference to a Share Withdrawal Policy (here attached).

Our proposed new Rules adopt the template provided by the Plunkett Foundation and we’re grateful to the Plunkett Foundation and Community Shares Scotland for their support in this work. A representative from Community Shares Scotland will be present on 21st September to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for your support and hope to see you on the 21st or in the shop soon! 

Our 8th AGM – Greens, Grapefruit & Gratitude

Dig-In Bruntsfield’s 8th AGM – Greens, Grapefruit & Gratitude

Open event – all welcome

Please join us for our 8th Annual General Meeting of Dig-In Bruntsfield, your local community greengrocer.

Monday 8th February 2021 – 7-8pm

This event will be held online, please register by the 6th February below to receive the Zoom link.

We want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to our amazing community, staff and volunteers for everything over the last year.

Come hear how we have fared, the obvious recent challenges, potential implications of Brexit (greens vs grapefruit?) and our plans to ensure the sustainability of the shop on our high street.

Register here.

Annual report and accounts

You can view our draft accounts with annual report here which we will talk through in more detail at the AGM.

You can also view the minutes of last year’s AGM here.

We will go through formal business of the AGM; the election of new Management Committee members and any motions.

Nominations for the Management Committee

It has been a tough year for all of us and we would welcome fresh energy from our community to join the Management Committee at this time. It would be especially great to have people with interest or experience in HR, managing staff and volunteers and in IT but welcome anyone who is keen to get on board.

If you’re interested in joining us, please send a short statement on your experience and motivations to our Chair – isla@diginbruntsfield.co.uk – by 6th February 2021. We are happy to chat to folk who may be interested in advance of the AGM, just get in touch.

Motions

If you wish to raise any constitutional issues at the AGM, you can raise a motion by sending an email to our Chair – isla@diginbruntsfield.co.uk – by 6th February 2021.

Community, Confidence and Carrots: Dig-In’s 5th AGM

Community, Confidence and Carrots: Dig-In’s 5th AGM

Notice of Annual General Meeting of Bruntsfield Community Greengrocer Limited, and Election of Management Committee Members

You are warmly invited to attend the 5th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Bruntsfield Community Greengrocer (trading as Dig-In) to be held in Christ Church (church centre next to the church) at Holy Corner, Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, arrival at 7pm for 7.15pm start on Tuesday 27th February 2018. 

Please register your interest in the event here so we can cater for appropriate numbers!

The formal AGM proceedings will be preceded by ‘Community Confidence and Carrots’: a talk from Rob Davidson, Manager of the Cyrenians Farm Enterprise from where we source a range of organic salads and vegetables. We’re delighted to be hearing from Rob about how by running a working farm they are also able to sustain a home for a community of young vulnerable people, many with experiences of homelessness.

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