Once you receive confirmation that your hall has been accepted on to the programme you should start to prepare for the first part of your formal assessment by compiling a pack of documents to submit for your visitors to review before they come to see you. This process serves four functions:
- It enables the visitors to ensure that there is sufficient underlying evidence to justify making a visit. Visitors time is limited and every visit may cost you travel expenses so it is vital that we try to ensure fruitless visits do not occur
- By gathering some of the evidence in advance it reduces the time the visitors need to be with you for the formal evidence gathering visit and so that everyone can get on with their lives without the visit becoming a major burden on either you or the visitors
- Hallmark 1 awards are valid for three years before a follow up visit is needed. Retaining key documents will ensure the renewal process is a painless as possible
- It provides us with a file of evidence that we can use to show the central Hallmark administration team at ACRE that the halls we have recommended for Hallmark were indeed worthy of the award
We appreciate that getting this documentation together may take a bit of effort but it is well worth it for the benefits that will follow.
The documents that you will need to submit as part of the pre-visit document pack are:
- Your trust deed: the governing document for your charity
- Your hiring agreement
- Your hall entertainments licence
- Your bank mandate showing cheque signatories
- The policy schedule from your hall insurance policy
- The minutes of your last Annual General Meeting
- Your last approved set of annual accounts
- Your last annual report (this often forms part of the annual accounts)
- A list of trustees with signatures showing acceptance of office
- Minutes of the last two committee meetings
Some of these documents you can start to put together now, some will have to be done once you are requested to submit your pack. Remember, these documents are kept as part of your record of Hallmark compliance so please do not forward originals.
PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR PACK UNTIL WE ASK YOU FOR IT.