## Annual Report Wallingford Chameleon Arts Year ended 31 December 2024
## 1. **Status**
Wallingford Chameleon Arts, registered charity no. 1021045, is an unincorporated association governed by a Memorandum of Association dated 6 May 1993. It promotes a series of concerts in Wallingford, Oxfordshire under the name “Wallingford Chamber Music”
The contact address for the association is The Firs, Reading Road, Wallingford OX10 9DT.
## 2. **Trustees**
During the year, the Trustees of the Association, who also constitute its management committee, were:
Laurence Attewill (Chairman) Jeremy Boughton Elinor Carter (Secretary) - appointed 4 March 2024 Julia Cottee Julian Gallop - resigned 13 December 2024 Amanda Hines Carol Heaton - appointed 4 March 2024 Roger Morgan Kate Spence (Treasurer)
Additional or replacement Trustees are elected by the existing Trustees.
## 3. **Charitable Purposes and Public Benefit**
The primary activity of the Association is the promotion of public education in and appreciation of music by the presentation of public concerts of a high quality. These concerts are open to any member of the public; an admission charge is made, but the Trustees endeavour to set this at an affordable level representing the minimum necessary to cover the costs of operation and to maintain prudent reserves. Wallingford Chamber Music also provides free admission to under-25s. The artists employed include young professional musicians, giving them a valuable opportunity to develop their careers. In making decisions during the year, the Trustees have had regard to the public benefit guidance issued by the Charity Commission.
Wallingford Chamber Music is presented by Wallingford Chameleon Arts, a registered charity (no. 1021045)
info@wcm.org.uk | **wcm.org.uk**
Registered office: The Firs, Reading Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 9DT
## 4. **Activities during the year**
Nine concerts were held during the year at the church of St Mary-le-More, Wallingford.
Concert attendance was:
|Date|Performance|Attendance|Of which,
U25|Gross
Sales|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|19-May|Coull Quartet|104|5|£1,880|
|01-Jun|Flutes & Frets Duo|84|1|£1,620|
|22-Jun|D'Attellis and Miletic|119|4|£2,140|
|20-Jul|Lipatti Piano Quartet|96|-|£1,760|
|10-Aug|Kyan Quartet|98|1|£1,880|
|24-Aug|Excalibur Voices|133|8|£2,360|
|07-Sep|Sacconi Quartet with Neary|133|2|£2,420|
|28-Sep|Thames Consort|123|1|£2,460|
|12-Oct|Ashwell with Fadina|79|-|£1,560|
|||969|22|£18,080|
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## 5. **Financial Report**
The aim of the Trustees is normally to break even each year, and budgets and ticket prices are set with that objective. The continued support of the Friends, together with a generous one-off donation, were major elements in a total income.
## 5.1. **Income**
|For the year|2024 £|2023 £|
|---|---|---|
|Gross ticket sales|18,080|15,399|
|Sponsorship|2,600|1,000|
|Programme sales|1,077|505|
|Audience donations|1,023|1,054|
|Friends' annual subscriptions|2,290|2,335|
|Gift Aid: PY|787|1,202|
|CY|1,228|-|
|Other miscellaneous income|41|152|
|Bank interest|241|176|
||27,367|21,823|
## 5.2. **Expenditure**
|For the year|2024 £|2023 £|
|---|---|---|
|Concert artist fees and expenditure|17,062|14,850|
|Performing Rights Society royalties|716|218|
|Venue hire, licensing and preparation|1,901|2,322|
|Printing programmes|1,004|-|
|Refreshments|376|594|
|Payment processing fees|627|515|
|Provision of Friends' events, ofset by contributions|71|337|
|Making Music fee and insurance|-|449|
|Website redesign|700|-|
|Website hosting and domain fees|257|69|
|Publicity: design|400|650|
|printing|1,223|1,063|
|email marketing|97|-|
||24,434|21,067|
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## 5.3. **Financial summary, including Assets and Liabilities**
|As at 31 December|2024 £|2023 £|
|---|---|---|
|Current Assets|||
|Cash foat|70|
-|
|Bank accounts: current|13,462|12,757|
|savings|20,436|20,195|
|Prepayments|709|-|
|Accrued income|1,228|-|
|Wine stocks|25|-|
||35,930|32,952|
|Current Liabilities|||
|Creditors|-45|-|
|Net Current Assets|35,885|32,952|
||||
|Cash reserves brought forward|32,952|32,196|
|Income for the year|27,367|21,823|
|Expenditure for the year|-24,434|-21,067|
|Reserves|35,885|32,952|
The net operating income for the year was £2,933 (2023: £756). Ticket sales from the concert season were up by 17.4% from 2023 and audience attendance up by 18.5% (under-25s by 144.4%).
Current assets include prepayments for software licences which extend into 2026, and Making Music fees and insurance for 2025. Accrued income is represented by the 2024 Gift Aid claim from HMRC.
Current liabilities include an invoice for 2024 charges received post-year-end. The Trustees believe that there are no other outstanding liabilities; all amounts due having been paid.
## 5.4 **Policy on Reserves**
The policy of the Trustees has been to retain as reserves funds equivalent to at least half of the expected expenditure for the year.
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## 5.5 **Payments to Trustees**
Apart from reimbursement of actual costs incurred by Trustees on behalf of the Association, only one Trustee, Jeremy Boughton, received a payment from the Association during the year. This was a fee for professional services as Musical Director for the Thames Consort event, which was approved by the other Trustees at the AGM.
## 5.6 **Independent Examiner's Report**
"I have examined the financial records, without completing an audit, of Wallingford Chameleon Arts for the year ended 31st December 2024 and certify that the Financial Statements are in agreement therewith." - G R Hobbins, 28th February 2025
## 6. **Friends of Wallingford Chamber Music**
The Association is heavily dependent on the annual donations made by the Friends to support its activities, together with Gift Aid recovered from HMRC on these donations, and is grateful to its Friends for their continuing support. The number of Friends fell to 55 from last year's 68, although of those, 17 had not paid their annual subscription and so technically, their membership had lapsed.
Benefits to Friends' during the year were as follows:
- A 23-day priority booking window for concert ticket sales.
- A preseason reception, held on 27 April.
- A garden party, held on 1 July.
- The organisation of a visit to a CBSO afternoon concert in Birmingham on 7 November. Attendees contributed funds to cover the cost of running this event.
## 7. **Subsidies**
A donation of £1,000 was received from Grundon Business Waste Management as sponsorship for the 2024 season.
Donations from individuals to sponsor two concerts in the season were received, totalling £1,600, plus Gift Aid recovery from HMRC.
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## 8. **General meetings and changes in Officers**
The Annual General Meeting for 2023 was held on 4 March 2024, at which the Annual Report for 2023 was formally adopted and the Accounts for 2023 (which had been endorsed by the Independent Examiner of Accounts) were formally received, and the Officers and Committee for 2024 elected.
David Pick stood down as Trustee and Treasurer on 31 December 2023.
Elinor Carter and Carol Heaton were appointed as Trustees.
Kate Spence was elected to the office of Treasurer.
Elinor Carter was elected to the office of Secretary.
Graham Hobbins was re-appointed as the Independent Examiner of Accounts for 2024.
Subsequently, Julian Gallop stood down as Trustee on 13 December 2024.
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