If you are interested in joining Grantham u3a, or if you wish to re-enrol, please read this page. It gives important information about Grantham u3a, how some of our policies will affect you, and what we expect of our members.
Our membership records are held in a system called Beacon, and members have personal access through a secure Portal.
To JOIN Grantham u3a online, using a Bank Card or PayPal, please click the link at the end of this paragraph.
When you have successfully subscribed, you will receive an automatic email asking you to create a password. Please ensure you do this immediately.
Then, you will be able to access and amend your Membership record details and renew your membership online in the future through the Membership Portal.
Click this link for New Member Application
To RENEW your membership or AMEND your details(including resetting your password) please click the following link
N.B. If you have NOT ALREADY CREATED a password, you will need to click on the "Register a membership account" link before entering the Portal and follow the instructions carefully.
If you really are unable to join or renew online, please attend a monthly meeting at 14:00 at the Guildhall on the 3rd Tuesday of most months or a coffee morning at 10:00 at St Wulframs on the 4th Tuesday.
Subscription and Method of Payment
The annual single subscription for 2025 is £10.00 (or £14 if you wish to receive 5 copies of the u3a Matters magazine). The subscription year runs from January to December, and subscriptions are due on 1st January. If you join in November or December, your initial subscription gives you up to two free months’ membership.
Please join or renew ONLINE.
You will be able to use your bank credit or debit card or PayPal account if you have one and wish to use it. You DO NOT need to have a PayPal account. You may join and re-enrol in person at our monthly meeting or coffee morning. Card payments only, thank you.
Gift aid
If you are a UK taxpayer, you can Gift Aid your subscription, in which case Grantham u3a receives a rebate from HMRC. This is currently worth about £900 per year to us and helps us to keep our subscription down. You may only Gift Aid your subscription if the amount you pay in Income Tax/Capital Gains Tax is at least equal to the amount Grantham u3a will reclaim on your subscription in the current tax year. Please tick the appropriate box in your application or renewal form.
ENQUIRIES
To make an enquiry to Grantham u3a, please contact the membership secretary via the contacts page above.
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
We recommend that members carry an ICE (In case of emergency) card at all times. Download here ICE
THIRD AGE TRUST
The Third Age Trust is the umbrella organisation for all u3as in the UK. As such, Grantham u3a accepts the Vision and Guiding Principles of the u3a movement as laid out by the Third Age Trust. They are shown here:
Our Vision is to make lifelong learning, through the experience of u3a, a reality for all third agers.
The Principles of the u3a Movement
The u3a movement is non-religious and non-political and has three main principles:
The Third Age Principle
• Membership of a u3a is open to all in their third age, which is defined not by a particular age but by a period in life in which full-time employment has ceased.
• Members promote the values of lifelong learning and the positive attributes of belonging to a u3a.
• Members should do all they can to ensure that people wanting to join a u3a can do so.
The Self-help Learning Principle
• Members form interest groups covering as wide a range of topics and activities as they desire; by the members, for the members.
• No qualifications are sought or offered. Learning is for its own sake, with enjoyment being the prime motive, not qualifications or awards.
• There is no distinction between the learners and the teachers; they are all u3a members.
The Mutual Aid Principle
• Each u3a is a mutual aid organisation, operationally independent but a member of The Third Age Trust, which requires adherence to the guiding principles of the u3a movement.
• No payments are made to members for services rendered to any u3a.
• Each u3a is self-funded with membership subscriptions and costs kept as low as possible.
• Outside financial assistance should only be sought if it does not imperil the integrity of the u3a movement.
INFORMATION
Terms and Conditions of Membership
We expect you at all times to
- Abide by the Aims and Guiding Principles of the u3a movement as shown on our ‘Welcome’ page
- Act always in the best interests of Grantham u3a and the u3a movement in general, and never do anything to bring the u3a into disrepute
- Be bound by the Constitution of Grantham u3a. Click here for the constitution
- Treat fellow members with respect and courtesy
- Comply with and respect the decisions of the elected committee
- Advise the Committee of any change in your personal circumstances
Data Protection Policy
- We will ask you for personal and contact information when you apply for membership and when you renew your membership.
- we will keep that information securely in a database or in other electronic or paper files.
- Your information will be used to communicate with you, manage your membership and run our u3a.
- Your information will not be used for purposes other than our u3a business and communications, and will not be passed to or shared with people or organisations outside our u3a.
- You have the right at any time to check with us the information we hold about you and to change or withdraw all or part of it; but withdrawal may affect your ability to remain a member of our u3a.
To view our policy please see Grantham u3a Data Protection Policy
Privacy Policy
Grantham u3a (hereafter ‘the u3a’) treats your privacy rights seriously. This privacy policy sets out how we will deal with your ‘personal information’, that is, information that could identify, or is related to, the identity of an individual.
To view our policy please see Grantham u3a Privacy Policy
Health and Safety Policy
Grantham u3a is not a place of work and it and its activities do not fall within the scope of the Health and Safety at Work Act. However, we all owe a duty of care to each other within our u3a activities as in other aspects of our lives. Each member of Grantham u3a is responsible for his/her safety and well-being at all times. Grantham u3a will take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety and well-being of its members at u3a activities.
Communications Policy
When completing the application form, please bear in mind these points:
- From time to time we will need to communicate with you in order effectively to manage our u3a, and to inform you about events and other relevant activities in our u3a. Our preferred method of communication is email since it is cheaper and quicker than post or hand delivery. If you give us an email address we will use it in this way.
- Occasionally we may need to telephone you, and in future, we may develop text services. If you give us a landline or mobile telephone number, we will use them in this way.
- We produce a short Newsletter every month, for every member, which contains essential information and lists forthcoming events. We would prefer to deliver this by email, but a printed option is available for collection, either at the monthly meeting/talk or from the Guildhall box office when it is open.
- ‘u3a Matters’ is a magazine produced by the Third Age Trust five times a year. You can elect to receive it in printed form via a tick box within your membership record. It is also available online through the main u3a site.
Approved Minutes of our Committee Meetings are available from the Secretary at the Monthly Meetings/Talk on request.