Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The Annual General Meeting is the most important body in the association when it comes to making democratic decisions that are not the sole responsibility of the board or another body according to the statutes. Through them, all association members can actively help shape the work and life of the association.
The general meeting serves, for example, to hold elections, to solve legal problems, and to inform the members about all current affairs of the association. Your primary goal is to make effective decisions. This does not always happen unanimously and consensually. The validity of resolutions is therefore a frequent contentious issue in the association. Formal errors are usually cited to contest resolutions. We will explain the regulations in the context of a general meeting and what you must consider. – Everyone is in charge here!
AGM at a Glance
- Every association must hold an annual general meeting at the intervals specified in the AOA
- All eligible members must receive an invitation, but members are not obligated to participate.
- All eligible members must receive an AGM invitation email at least 21 days before the AGM date with details like Date, Time, Place, and List of Agenda and Amendment Proposed items in detail.
- The Virtual Annual General Meeting is also allowed without a corresponding entry in the AOA to make it easier for the associations to work during the coronavirus pandemic.
- A smaller group within the association may also convene an extraordinary general meeting at least 10 percent of the members can demand that the AGM be called.
- AGM Meeting is led by the President or Vice President
- AGM has a quorum of at least one-quarter of all members present. When there is no quorum.
- AGM Led is obliged to convene a second meeting with the same agenda, within 30 minutes, on the same day. This constitutes a quorum regardless of the number of members present.
- According to the German Civil Code, the AGM discussed important points that should be recorded in the Protocol.
- Secretary or board-appointed person is responsible for capturing AGM Minutes of Meetings.
- Treasurer is responsible for providing the financial status update for the AGM period.
- Every member of the association has the right to speak, and the right to ask for information.
- Every member is free to express their opinion, including sharp, negative criticism, but without being insulting.
- The leader of the meeting must be careful to treat each member equally.
- To pass an effective resolution in the AGM, the motion should be formulated precisely and lead to a YES/NO decision voting by raising their hands
- Votes at the AGM are generally decided according to the principle of the relative majority.
- When passing resolutions, each association member has one vote to cast.