An interesting rumor. Iāve not heard anything here.
I do however remember a certain letter written by Tony addressed to all CWCs a while ago. If you read between the lines it seemed like he wanted rid of squadron CWCs.
More than rumour. Source with strong oversight on such matters confirmed a desire directly to alter the way sqn funds are overseen - ātrustees consisting of enthusiastic amateurs are too high riskā.
However recognition was given during that conversation to the need to ensure proper allocation of funds to those who raised it.
In particular of the bequeathment states that the legacy is conditional on being to a specific unit or for a specific purpose. Maybe this hasnāt been thought through?
I have heard the rumour that their is a meeting and that Sqn civcom will no longer be allowed to retain direct ownership/control of money. With it held for by them by wings. How they wil enforce 900+ independent charities giving up their money to another charity I have no idea.
I also know from talking to other Sqns staff Iām friendly with that if the rumour is true their Sqns are going to go on a spending spree and spend every single penny they have saved. Which in some cases is considerable.
I am aware of at least one civcom that owns land & property worth many tens of thousands of pounds after a bequest many many years ago. The land has been rented by the Sqn CivCom to RFCA for a considerable period. Would you give that up?
With that sort of asset, any sequestration of the land/funds, it would be worth the Civ Com taking legal advice about the legality of such a move, particularly if the terms of the bequest stated that it was for Squadron ownership and use only.
Most CWCs charity aim will have something that specifically names their squadron, and benefiting them. If giving up funds/control to wing goes against those aims then Iām sure a non-insignificant number of those charities will fight back.
It will likely also make it harder/impossible to get certain grants.
This is of course assuming these rumours are true.
Better governance is a good thing. Generating more governance though, is not better governance, and Iād be concerned that thatās what will happen.
And of course āenthusiastic amateurs are too high riskā summarises the attitude towards many CFAVs. Surely that describes all of us who arenāt permanent staff?
In my experience on several Sqns, committees work well, have vital links with the local community and do a really good job. Holding funds centrally will damage that local enthusiasm.
So if this is on the agenda and comes to pass, how is it sold to the cadets who everybody is here for?
Normally very willing to assist the Civ Com in raising funds because they know it will go into their own Squadron for present and future benefit, will they be so willing if the money goes outside the Squadron into a big pot, for which they will receive marginal if any benefit.
What if cadets and Squadrons just turn round and say āon your bikeā weāre not turning up for any event that monies go to a Wing pot.
As governance has been mentioned, what is the oversight of any wing managed pot?
Subs get paid by parents to cover sqn costs and the Wing levy, if Iām getting it right (I think I am, but have little involvement, happy to be corrected).
If theyāre no longer going to be allowed to control the sqn costs part, whatās to stop every sqn simply charging enough to cover the Wing levy and zero additional costs?
No money to be misappropriated, no funding going to a central pot to be at risk of being used by the people who didnāt put in, and as far as Iām concerned, no skin of my nose at a sqn.
@FunVampire. Only issue with that idea is that means that any other kit or thing the Sqn normally funds couldnāt be done anymore. No canteen,no BBQ, no purchasing of kit for DofE/AT no computers nothing. So yes you could pay wing levy and basic running costs but no money for the big purchases.
We as a Sqn fundraising considerable for our big ticket items but if we had to give the money to a wing controlled pot where their was any risk they couldāve either refuse our spending of our money and say no you canāt use it for that or it might get spent on something else it will be hard to get anyone to help fundraise.
Also what about welfare cases right now their are a number of cases where cadets canāt afford things and itās handled locally by the Sqn civcom for either Subs or camps and so on now we would need to convince wing to do that for every single case adding considerably to delays and to the admin burden
You are correct, but this is more that any money raised through events, sponsorship, legacies etc goes directly to the Wing rather than the Squadron account. That means that Wing have control of spending the Squadron and cadets efforts etc. If only a small percentage of Squadrons have their funds taken, how will it be disbursed?
