TUNBRIDGE WELLS UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE Charity No: 1018835
Annual Report & Financial Statements For the year ending 31st March 2023 Draft
http://www.tunbridgewellsu3a.org/
Chairman’s Report to the AGM on 15[th] June 2023
The last year has been a period of both consolidation and growth as we threw off the restraints of the pandemic. After a considerable drop in membership during lockdown, our numbers are continuing to grow steadily and in early April (just out of this reporting period) we shall top the 1000 mark once more. We have held two lively New Members’ Meetings during the year in which new members learnt about the history and ethos of u3a and were able to chat to group contacts and committee members in an informal manner.
Our groups continue to be the core of our activity, and many have been created during the year, though some fail to get off the ground because of the reluctance of members to act as group contacts. Groups come in all forms and sizes and have different aims. Our Quiz Group collects their prize money and, this year, celebrated having donated £5000 to charity! As a new departure, our Groups Coordinator arranged two working breakfasts for group contacts where common problems and possible solutions could be discussed.
Our Outings Team arranged a varied and very popular programme of outings during the year as did the Events Team. The Barn Dance, for example, which had had to be postponed for 2 years because of Covid, finally took place in October. Sandra McDonald, our Vice Chair and Short Breaks and Holidays organiser, arranged two short breaks, one to Devon and one to the Midlands, which were, as always, very popular. She is stepping down this year after six years in which she has been a tireless and forceful member of the committee. Thanks are due to her from us all but I would like to add my personal thanks especially for her help and support during the last year when she has been our Vice Chair. Members will be delighted to hear that she has kindly agreed to continue to organise short breaks, trips to South Wales and Luxembourg in 23/4 already being fully booked and plans afoot for 24/5. Bob Slater, our Talks Organiser, will also be handing over at the end of 2023 after six years in the role. He has continued to provide us with a varied and interesting programme of talks at monthly meetings which have been very much appreciated. Christiane Higgins has volunteered to take over the role. We wish her well and hope that she will have a less stressful time than Bob who not only had to produce two speakers each month while we held the meetings on Zoom during the pandemic, but also to contend with all the problems associated with the uncertainty of the Camden Centre roof once we returned to meeting face-to-face.
We had hoped to return permanently to the Camden Centre for our monthly meetings in January. Storage space is available there which makes setting up the meetings, which continue as hybrid meetings with some members joining in on Zoom, much easier for our AV team, and also allows us to have a book and jigsaw exchange as well as to display group and other information. Unfortunately, after only two months, the ongoing repairs made it impossible for the Camden Centre to house us and we returned to the Tunbridge Wells Christian Fellowship in March. We are most grateful to the latter who allow us to use their Hall at short notice. Special thanks are also due to the AV Team, the T Team (as the tea team is now known), and the Jigsaw and Book Exchange organisers who cheerfully and without fuss adjust their arrangements for whichever venue we are at.
As well as the programme of monthly talks, we have hosted two exceptional talks this year. The first, “Over Berlin at Night in a Mosquito Bomber” was given by Colin Bell then aged 102, though no one would have guessed it. The second was the idea of Sandra Blacker, the Science and Technology group contact who invited Greg
Clark, our MP who is chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Science and Technology, to speak to us. Both talks were fascinating. Both were reported in the local press.
The success of our display at the Queen’s Jubilee, encouraged us to buy a gazebo which we have taken to local fetes and erected under the Millenium Clock on u3a Day to help raise the profile of u3a. It was hard work but the Gazebo Volunteers thoroughly enjoyed meeting the public and are looking forward to being out with the gazebo again this summer. The display undoubtedly helped our recruitment drive, as did the help of two local journalists who have been actively supporting TWu3a in the press. We need to extend our publicity and this I am hoping to undertake with the support of the committee when I stand down.
Behind the scenes, the committee has been active and this year we adopted an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy which can be found on the Small Print section of our website together with our Constitution and other policies. We are indebted to Sandra MacDonald and Anne Goldstein for all the hard work which they put into compiling the policy and who will be continuing to monitor its implementation. TWu3a is an active member of the u3a Kent Network which enables u3as throughout Kent to discuss common problems and concerns and to share information such as details of the SE Forum Summer School, which several of our members attended last summer. This year several of our committee members have also taken advantage of the new peer-to-peer groups between committee members in different u3as which the Network has set up.
This will be my last report to the AGM as I, too, am stepping down after six years on the committee. I took over as Chairman three years ago just as the pandemic had started which certainly provided a lot of challenges. I think I shall be remembered as the Chairman who was forever asking for volunteers. We always need more, but it is with the help of those of you who volunteer that we have come through Covid and settled once more into a normal rhythm and I cannot thank you all enough for your help and support. I have mentioned a few by name above but there are so many – members of the Committee itself, the Group Contacts, Talks Organiser, AV Team, T- Team, Events Team, Group Organisers, Gazebo Volunteers, Jigsaw and Book Exchange organisers, the EDI specialits, Beacon Administrators, the Webmaster and her helper. If I have omitted anyone, it is not intentional but merely that there are so many people who, quietly and unobtrusively, make things in TWu3a work ... a true example of our motto: by the members, for the members .
I have enjoyed my time as Chairman very much, with all its ups and downs, but now is time to hand over. I wish the new team every success and look forward to seeing TWu3a grow in new and exciting directions.
Eryll Fabian
May 2023
TREASURERS REPORT 2022 – 2023
The year was characterised by a full return to normal activity, with a busy programme of Meetings, Outings, Group visits and centrally organised Events.
As at 31[st] March 2023 we have TOTAL FUNDS of £37,835.
TOTAL INCOME was £44,978 compared with £41,983 in the previous year.
Subscriptions and related Gift Aid were up slightly year on year, with membership now once again around the 1,000 level.
TOTAL EXPENDITURE was £41,842 compared with £38,720 in the previous year.
Our affiliation costs to the Third Age Trust were up slightly compared to the previous 12 months due to an increase in the per capita charge. In general central charges from U3A Head Office have been held to a tight budget.
Our own Administration Costs have been reduced following a reduction in our printing costs following a review of the need for printed Newsletters and related reduction in postage costs. We also had a big push on automated payments last summer in the subscription renewal process and now more than half the members are paying by Direct Debit. The consequent reduction in cheques is a significant saving as the Bank is charging 60p to clear each cheque. Where possible I would ask members to pay for outings and events as well via online banking to keep these costs down.
We are also now benefitting from the improving interest rate environment and have transferred our savings from Virgin to an account with CAF Bank. This makes it easy to move money between our accounts and maximise our interest earning potential.
Our overall surplus for the year is £3,136.
The income and expenditure figures and the balance sheet are as follows:
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Tunbridge Wells u3a
Statement of Accounts - Income and Expenditure
All figures in £
2022/2023 2021/2022
INCOME
Subscriptions 16,124 15,722
Gift Aid 2,507 2,334
Donations 263 155
Group Educational Visits 13,505 10,022
Group income other 7,674 4,682
Events income 4,803 9,016
Bank Interest 102 52
TOTAL 44,978 41,983
EXPENDITURE
Affliated Third Age Trust 6,634 6,175
Central Expenses 5,276 6,089
Bank Charges 528 554
Monthly Meetings 2,715 3,002
Group Educational Visits 12,100 8,526
Group Expenses Other 8,081 4,825
Event expenses 6,508 9,549
TOTAL 41,842 38,720
Surplus 3,136 3,263
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Balance Sheet at 31st March 2023 2022
Carried forward from previous year 34,696 31,433
Surplus for the year 3,136 3,263
Year end Balance 37,832 34,696
Represented by:
CAF Bank 6,873 23,826
PayPal 200 200
Savings 30,762 10,670
TOTAL 37,835 34,696
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As the figures show we continue to build a small surplus each year and this will allow us to hold our annual subscription once again at the current level of £16 for the 2023/2024 subscription year. The high rate of inflation has had an impact on our costs for printing, postage, venue hire and travel but we will continue to make savings where we can.
David Brimlow, Treasurer May 2023
Independent Examiners Report
I have reviewed the accounts of the TWU3A and am satisfied they are compatible with the requirements of section 30 of the Charities Act 2011. No matter has come to my attention which would indicate they do not comply with the requirements of the Act.