Annual Report of the Trustees of Dorking Choral Society for the year ended 30 April 2023
Charity reference details
Name of charity: Dorking Choral Society Charity Registration No: 1038608 Principal Office: 16, Yarm Close, Leatherhead KT22 8NZ Trustees: Mr James Glaysher (Chair, appointed 15[th] June 2022) Ms Hilary Bennett (Secretary, appointed 16[th] June 2021) Mr Nick Wright (Treasurer, appointed 16[th] June 2021)
The above constituted the Society’s Trustees throughout the year to 30[th] April and to the date of signature of this report.
Structure, Governance and Management
Dorking Choral Society is administered in accordance with its Constitution, the current version of which was approved and adopted by members at the Annual General Meeting of 01 July 2020. This Constitution was based on a model document supplied by Making Music.
The Constitution states that the management of the Society shall be in the hands of a Committee consisting of the following Officers: Chairman, Secretary and a Treasurer, and no fewer than two and no more than six other members: the Officers and the other Committee members shall be elected by and out of the Society’s members at the Annual General Meeting; they shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting and be eligible for reelection. Up to three ex-officio members can be appointed by the Committee to assist with specific tasks. The committee members are the charity trustees. The Chairman may hold office for up to three years and may not immediately be re-elected. At the end of his or her term of office, the retiring Chairman will be invited to attend Committee meetings for the ensuing twelve months but will not have voting rights.
At the 16 June 2021 Annual General Meeting, due to the unforeseen events of the COVID pandemic, which meant that the activities of the choir had been on hold for the previous 18 months, a vote of 2/3[rd] of the members attending the AGM was obtained to enable the following amendment to the Constitution to allow for the extension of the term of office for the Chair for a further 12 months to enable continuity of the Committee and ensure adequate supervision as activities return to ‘normal’. The members voted in principle to amend constitution so that a 4[th] year is permissible in extraordinary circumstances.
Financial Review for the year ended 30[th] April 2023
Dorking Choral Society prepares its accounts in the form of a Receipts and Payments Account with a Statement of Assets and Liabilities.
In respect of the year ended 30[th] April 2023, the Society had total receipts of £27,868 (’22: £50,356) less total payments of £40,621 (’22: £29,471), resulting in a net loss of -£12,753 (’22: £20,884 profit). The previous year’s receipts included the legacy of £30,000 from the late Iris Mary Williams.
In addition:
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Subscription Income increased to £10,423 (’22 - £8,924) as paying membership increased from 54 to 59 (with an additional 2 non-paying student members).
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A grant from the HR Taylor Trust of £2,000 for the year was secured once again.
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Donations and other gifts from Friends of DCS totalling £1,065 (’22 - £1,371) were received.
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An HMRC Gift Aid refund of £2,032 (’22 - £1,062) was received, the increase reflecting increased membership and at the full “post Covid” rates.
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Fundraising activities (coffee morning, sales of refreshments) yielded £97 profit.
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To mark the society’s Centenary year, and as an exception, both summer and autumn concerts had full orchestral and soloist support. With sluggish ticket sales (partly a post-Covid impact), the concerts made a combined loss of -£13,654 (’22: - £8,545). Offset by Friends donations, Grant income and Fundraising, this resulted in a net loss of -£10,426.
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To celebrate the Centenary year a highly successful dinner was organised at Betchworth Golf Club, attended by 70 members, families and friends. It was decided that this should not be a fundraising event and a £67 loss was reported.
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With the appointment of both a new Musical Director and Accompanist early in 2022 and a full programme of rehearsals the society covered its regular operating costs through Subscriptions and Gift Aid refund with a profit of £1,299 (’22: -£1,479) before administrative costs.
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Hire/purchase of music to support the concerts is intended to be cost-neutral. Because of timing differences of receipts and purchases, there appears to be a profit of £603. However, the actual results are Summer: £18 profit, Autumn: £21 loss, Christmas: £118 profit. Note – additional music costs for orchestral accompaniment are charged to concert expenses.
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The Society participated, as usual, in the Leith Hill Music Festival and though intended to be cost neutral, because of promotion and remembrance flowers a loss of £196 was incurred (’22: -£607).
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This year the final invoice for the new website was paid of £3,942. Apart from an annual web hosting fee, there are not expected to be any other costs for supporting the website.
As at 30[th] April 2023 total bank balances and cash amounted to £31,606 (2022 - £44,359).
Other Monetary Assets were £163 (2021 - £585) consisting of Music Folders (£113) and a prepayment for booking the Summer Concert (£50).
The Society operates a policy of ensuring that cash reserves are maintained at a minimum of £6,000, being the average cost of a large concert, should, for any reason, a concert have to be cancelled at short notice. As can be seen from the above figures, the Society was compliant with this reserves policy at both the beginning and the end of the financial year and was also compliant throughout the year.
The further impact of COVID 19
The combination of lower membership numbers than pre-Covid, together with the Committee’s decision to support the society’s Centenary year with two large concerts, and the final payment of the website, led to a loss of -£12,753. This has reduced reserves to £31,606 – only a little higher than the £30,000 bequest received in the previous year. The Trustees are satisfied that there are sufficient financial reserves to enable rehearsals and concerts to continue, with the summer concert reverting to piano-only accompaniment and a proposed inflation related increase in subscriptions.
Public benefit statement
The trustees are of the opinion that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the Charity Commission's public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.
Objects and activities
The objects of the society are to advance, improve, develop and maintain public education in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music in all its aspects by any means the trustees see fit, including through the presentation of public concerts and recitals. Membership of the society shall be open to any person interested in furthering the objects of the society, and who has paid the subscription in the relevant singing year at the appropriate rate or rates applying.
5 July 2023
DORKING CHORAL SOCIETY ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2023 RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT
| RECEIPTS Grants and Donations Sundry Donations Friends Donations Iris Mary Williams Legacy H.R. Taylor Trust Grant Investment Income Bank Interest Received Subscription Income Membership Subscriptions Gift Aid Receipts from Donations Income from Fundraising Weekly Refreshments/coffee morning Autumn Supper Zimbe workshop/Come & Sing Bibi Heal Song Surgery Centenary Dinner Income from Concerts November 2021 Christmas 2021 Summer 2022 Autumn 2022 Christmas 2022 Other Income Receipts for music LHMF singing fees Grant for soloists Sale of Folders Deposit Release (Mickleham Village Hall) Miscellaneous (petty cash) TOTAL RECEIPTS PAYMENTS Financial Costs Bank Charges Expenses for Fund Raising Weekly Refreshments/coffee morning Autumn Supper Bibi Heal Song Surgery Centenary Dinner Concert Costs November 2021/2020 Christmas 2021/2020 Summer 2022 Autumn 2022 Christmas 2022 Summer 2023 |
2023 2023 9.81 1,055.40 2,000.00 3,065.21 121.41 10,422.80 2,032.03 12,454.83 96.50 2270.00 2,366.50 2339.21 2418.10 551.18 5,308.49 1,590.50 2,162.80 660.00 72.00 50.00 16.24 4,551.54 27,867.98 2023 2023 85.52 0.00 0.00 0.00 2337.00 2,337.00 0.00 0.00 9,050.13 8,838.66 1,368.19 50.00 19,306.98 |
2022 2022 50.00 1,321.00 30,000.00 2,000.00 33,371.00 3.05 8,924.00 1,061.80 9,985.80 375.00 745.55 83.32 870.00 2,073.87 2,111.76 383.77 2,495.53 1,362.50 1,046.80 16.00 1.00 2,426.30 50,355.55 2022 2022 40.29 15.00 745.10 1,585.00 0.00 2,345.10 9,196.88 1128.78 55.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10,380.66 |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 0.00 0.00 0.00 2337.00 |
||
| 0.00 0.00 9,050.13 8,838.66 1,368.19 50.00 |
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Other Expenses
| Conductor’s Remuneration Accompanist’s Remuneration Hire of Rehearsal Hall Payments for Music Sale/Hire Making Music (NFMS) Membership & Insuranc PRS Royalty payment Misc. Expenses LHMF singing fees and promotion Logo and rebrand costs Website Redevelopment (2) Website Hosting Laptop for Secretaries Secretaries' expenses Retirement gifts/flowers Dorking Twinning Membership Promotion - A-Board and SumUp Reader Refunds - overpaid subs and Romania tour (3) Music Commissions Centenary Dinner Booking Fee TOTAL PAYMENTS Net Receipts/(Losses) for the year Cash and Bank balances as at 30 April 2022 Cash and Bank balances as at 30 April 2023 |
5,400.00 3,135.00 2,220.00 988.43 e 299.00 102.24 72.99 2,358.50 0.00 3,942.00 0.00 175.00 51.77 44.99 25.00 65.14 11.00 0.00 0.00 18,891.06 40,620.56 -12,752.58 44,358.94 31,606.36 |
6,074.50 3,384.45 1,680.00 1,477.15 295.01 30.53 5.85 1,654.00 199.00 630.97 90.00 0.00 0.00 33.86 0.00 0.00 0.00 800.00 350.00 16,705.32 29,471.37 20,884.18 23,474.76 44,358.94 |
6,074.50 3,384.45 1,680.00 1,477.15 295.01 30.53 5.85 1,654.00 199.00 630.97 90.00 0.00 0.00 33.86 0.00 0.00 0.00 800.00 350.00 16,705.32 29,471.37 20,884.18 23,474.76 44,358.94 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29,471.37 | |||
| 20,884.18 23,474.76 |
|||
| 44,358.94 |
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT 30 APRIL 2023
| MONET | ARY ASSETS Bank Balances and Cash Bank Current Account Bank Deposit Account Bank Deposit Account No.2 Cash at hand TOTAL Other Assets Stock of Music Folders (15 at Cost of £7.50) Summer Concert music prepayment Centenary Dinner prepayment IES Current Liabilities Summer concert music sales Nov Concert - Hire of St Martin's LHMF Accompanist Fee LHMF singing refunds still to be paid out Final balance - Web Design, Build and one year's Hosting |
2023 944.22 30,636.90 0.00 25.24 31,606.36 112.5 50.00 0.00 162.50 0.00 -365.00 -250.00 0.00 0.00 -615.00 |
2022 3,929.95 40,419.99 0.00 9.00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| (4) LIABILIT |
|||
| 44,358.94 | |||
| 180.00 55.00 350.00 |
|||
| 585.00 | |||
| 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -3942.00 |
|||
| -3,942.00 |
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
(1) These Accounts have been prepared on the receipts and payments basis and, as such, comply with section 133 of the Charities Act 2011.
(2) Web hosting included in Web Development Fee
(3) Music Commissions - none this year - Ian Assersohn Sea Shanties (£600 + £200 orchestration) in FY'22
(4) Nine folders sold this year (2 in previous year)
James Glaysher, Chair 5 July 2023 For and on behalf of the Committee
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