Nationally, CAMRA is a Company Limited by Guarantee, whose aims and objectives, as well as rules of governance, are contained in its Articles of Association. The board of directors, the National Executive, are unpaid volunteers, elected by the membership.
Each year, at least a quarter of the National Executive members come to the end of their terms of office, retire or have to retire, and elections are held to replace them, with the results announced after the first session of Conference.
Changes to the Articles can be made by resolutions to the AGM. Changes to CAMRA policy can be initiated by writing to the relevant Committee chair, or if that proves unsuccessful, by a motion to Conference.
Various national committees and working groups, usually headed by an NE member, are responsible for actions and campaigns, designed to further the Campaign’s aims and objectives.
There is a small paid staff, based at St Albans, who do the hard work needed to implement the actions and campaigns decided on by the volunteer leadership.
European Beer Consumers’ Union
The formation of CAMRA in the 1970s inspired similar groups across the world, and is credited with revitalising two of the most important beer cultures, in Belgium and the United States. In Europe, consumer led beer groups, including CAMRA, joined together to form the European Beer Consumers’ Union or EBCU.