Spurred on by our campaign, lots of members of the Ri wrote in to demand a Special General Meeting. That meeting is being held tonight, at 6.30pm, and I shall be attending – I will report back.
And thanks to your support, and the significant public outcry, we anticipate that at the meeting tonight we will hear that that the sale of no.21 is now firmly off the agenda.
I will tweet from the event, and I encourage other Ri members present to do the same, using the hashtags: #RiSGM and #SaveTheRi
Financial Situation:
It would seem that the immediate crisis has lessened. However, much needs to be done to develop a 21st Century vision for the Ri which will attract funding and secure its long-term future in its current building.
The day after I met with the CEO, Chris Rofe, and urged more transparency about the Ri’s finances, the Chair ‘went public’ with a piece in the Guardian. This details how the finances are at present, and you can read it here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2013/feb/08/building-sustainable-future-royal-institution
The key line: “Today, our financial situation is this: we are £5m in debt, we have an overdraft facility of £2m, we are operating with an annual deficit of circa £600,000 and we need to replenish the original endowment by about £7.5m.”
So, this means we need to raise, I think, £15 million to clear the debts. But we also need to look at reducing the annual deficit by developing a vision that will attract members, sponsorship, and other funds. Long term I think that the Ri needs to build up an endowment that can provide an ongoing income.
So, that is where we are up to.
A final comment: There will be another meeting, an AGM, at the end of May. At this time 3 of the current trustees will step down and 3 new ones will replace them. I have put myself forward to stand for election as a trustee. I believe that will give me the chance to put forward the views and ideas of this grass-roots campaign, and inject some fresh ideas and energy into the Ri, to complement those of the existing governance team.
Onwards and upwards! 🙂
And don’t forget to join the online supporters group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Save21AlbemarleStreet
Mary R. Crumpton (née Perkins),
Founder, Save21AlbemarleStreet Campaign
Save21AlbemarleStreet 