2020-12-31-accounts

Blackburn Community Church

Report and Accounts

Year ended 31 December 2020

1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB www.stewardship.org.uk

BLACKBURN COMMUNITY CHURCH

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE 7 Hawkshaw Avenue Darwen BB3 0HU CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1041251 GOVERNING DOCUMENT Declaration of Trust dated 12 September 1994 amended by supplemental deeds in 2001. TRUSTEES Angela Shanks - Chair Gina Berry - Treasurer Sylvanus Bowlin Miriam Hamilton (from 6 June 2021) Geoffrey Shanks INDEPENDENT EXAMINER Ajay Rajani FCIE Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB

INDEX

INDEX
Legal and Administrative Details	1
Report of the Trustees	2-3
Independent Examiner's Report	4
Receipts and Payments Account	5
Statement of Assets and Liabilities	6
Notes to the Accounts	7-8

Page 1

BLACKBURN COMMUNITY CHURCH

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

The Trustees have pleasure in submitting the Report and Accounts for the year.

Objects of the Charity

The primary objective of the Trust is the advancement of the Christian religion. This objective is met through the weekly services held locally at the Wesley Hall in Blackburn. The church also supports mission and relief activities in the UK and overseas.

Governance

The policy and operating decisions of the charity rest with the Trustees who meet regularly to monitor the activities of the charity.

New Trustees are appointed by the existing Trustees.

Review of the Year

Community Church Blackburn (a church of around 50 adults with their families) had to stop its physical gatherings in March 2020 in response to measures introduced to help stop the spread of Covid-19. From March 2020 the church met almost entirely on-line. Meeting online gave us opportunity to share our faith and vision much more widely as people from all over the world joined the on-line services.

The church employed an administrator to assist the leadership team.

The church continued to support a number of local refugees and other people in need both in the UK and overseas.

In planning the activities the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.

Financial Review

Receipts for the year were £66,581 (2019: £42,837). Expenditure for the year was £66,126 (2019: £34,452). As a result the surplus for the year was £456 (2019: £8,385) and the cash held by the charity increased by that amount to £146,256. Of this cash £103,019 was held for restricted purposes leaving £43,237 for the charity's day to day activities.

As explained in note 2 'Exceptional factors' in the accounts that follow, the charity did not have a bank account between mid September 2019 and early February 2020. In the period between September 2019 and 31 December 2019, the charity's supporters made payments totalling £15,294 for the charity so that it could continue to operate; these supporters were reimbursed when once the new bank account had been opened. Some supporters who make regular donations electronically held onto the donations they would have made during the period to 31 December 2019 until the new bank account had been opened; these donations totalled £10,445. These receipts and payments were not been included in the 2019 Receipts and Payments Account but have been included in the 2020 Receipts and Payments Account. If these receipts and payments had been included in the 2019 Receipts and Payment account then:

a) the income for 2019 would have been £53,282 and the income for 2020 would have been £56,136. b) the expenditure for 2019 would have been £49,746 and the expenditure for 2020 would have been £50,832. c) the cash surplus for 2019 would have been £3,536 and the cash surplus for 2020 would have been £5,304.

To date the outbreak of Covid-19 has not affected the charity's net income significantly nonetheless the Trustees are continuing to monitor income and expenditure closely; if it becomes necessary, steps will be taken to mitigate the financial impact.

Page 2

BLACKBURN COMMUNITY CHURCH

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES CONTINUED

Reserves Policy

The Trustees aim to hold unrestricted cash of no less than £25,000, which equates to about 6 month's usual unrestricted expenditure, so that the charity could continue to operate should income and / or expenditue vary adversely. At the year end the charity held unrestricted cash of £43,237 and the charity is complying with its reserves policy.

Trustees' Responsibilities

Charity law requires us as Trustees to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year.

We are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011.

We also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities.

Approval

This report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Angela Shanks

Date: 25 October 2021

Page 3

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF BLACKBURN COMMUNITY CHURCH

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Blackburn Community Church (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2020 on pages 5 to 8 following.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; or

2. the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Ajay Rajani FCIE Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB

Date: 25 October 2021

Page 4

BLACKBURN COMMUNITY CHURCH

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Note Receipts Voluntary receipts Gifts and offerings Gift Aid tax recovered Other receipts Interest received Total receipts 2 Payments Payments in furtherance of the church's objectives Premises 3 Ministry 4 Grants paid 5 Office and other expenses 6 Total payments 2 Net receipts/(payments) before transfers Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Cash funds at 1 January Cash funds at 31 December A	Unrestricted Funds £ 55,250 11,331 66,581 - 66,581 7,814 42,121 11,302 4,889 66,126 456 - 456 42,782 43,237	Restricted Funds £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - 103,019 103,019	Total 2020 £ 55,250 11,331 66,581 - 66,581 7,814 42,121 11,302 4,889 66,126 456 - 456 145,801 146,256	Total 2019 £ 34,687 7,996
				42,682 155
				42,837
				5,527 26,803 1,398 724
				34,452
				8,385 -
				8,385 137,416
				145,801

The notes on pages 7 to 8 form part of these accounts.

Page 5

BLACKBURN COMMUNITY CHURCH

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Note A Cash funds Cash at bank 2 Cash held by charity at year end 2 B Other monetary assets Gift aid due Refunds due Regular donations held over 2 C Liabilities Accounts preparation and examination fees Reimbursements due to supporters 2 Payroll taxes	Unrestricted Funds £ 43,237 - 43,237 8,294 506 - 8,800 1,020 - 345 1,365	Restricted Funds £ 103,019 - 103,019 - - - - - - - -	2020 £ 146,256 - 146,256 8,294 506 - 8,800 1,020 - 345 1,365	2019 £ 143,653 2,147
				145,801
				8,486 - 10,445
				18,931
				1,380 15,294 -
				16,674

D Assets retained for charity's own use

The charity owns and insures some items of moveable equipment used in its meetings. These assets belong to unrestricted funds; the market value of these assets at the year end was not significant.

The accounts were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Angela Shanks

Date: 25 October 2021

The notes on pages 7 to 8 form part of these accounts.

Page 6

BLACKBURN COMMUNITY CHURCH

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

1 Accounting policies

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis and comprise a statement that shows the charity's receipts and payments, a statement that summarises the charity's assets and liabilities and related notes. The accountancy profession have determined that only accounts prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards present a 'true and fair' view and, as these receipts and payments accounts have not (and cannot) be prepared in accordance with accounting standards, these accounts do not present (and are not intended to present) a 'true and fair' view of the charity's financial activities and state of affairs.

Unrestricted funds are funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity. Restricted funds are donations which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors; they include donations received from appeals for specific activities or projects.

2 Exceptional factors that affect the results reported by the charity

In September 2019 the charity's bank accounts with HSBC were closed and the charity received a cheque for £143,653, which was reported as the charity's closing bank balance on 31 December 2019 (see note A 'Cash Funds' in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities'). The charity was unable to open a new bank account (with CAF) until February 2020. In the period between the closure of the HSBC bank accounts and 31 December 2019:

(a) the charity received cash from weekly collections totalling £2,147, which was reported as the charity's closing cash balance at 31 December 2019 (see note A 'Cash Funds' in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities); this cash was subsequently banked in 2020 when the new bank account was opened.

(b) supporters who make regular donations electronically held on to their donations until the new bank account had been opened; these donations totalled £10,445 and were included in the charity's other monetary assets at 31 December 2019 (see note B 'Other monetary assets' in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities). These donations were received when the charity opened its new bank account and have been included in the income reported for 2020 in the Receipts and Payments Account.

(c) supporters made payments for the charity so that it could continue to operate; these payments totalled £15,294 and were included in the charity's liabilities at 31 December 2019 (see note C 'Liabilities' in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities'. Supporters were reimbursed when the charity opened its new bank account and these payments have been included in the expenditure reported for 2020 in the Receipts and Payments Account.

3 Premises Insurance Rent Equipment 4 Ministry Employment costs Staff expenses and training Children's and youth work Travelling expenses Training Outreach Website and email costs Worship and PA costs Gifts to visiting speakers Events and catering	General Fund £ 747 5,413 1,655 7,814 36,113 259 94 178 402 3,121 781 734 300 139 42,121	Restricted Fund £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Total 2020 £ 747 5,413 1,655 7,814 36,113 259 94 178 402 3,121 781 734 300 139 42,121	Total 2019 £
				618 4,766 144
				5,527
				17,085 249 4,557 468 332 961 97 28 270 2,757
				26,803

The employment costs referred to above are in respect of the church's minister who is the charity's only employee.

5 Grants paid Relief of poverty Gifts to support UK and overseas mission 6 Office and other expenses Independent examiner's fee for preparing and examining the accounts Other professional services Other costs	5,391 5,911 11,302 2,816 938 1,134 4,889	- - - - - - -	5,391 5,911 11,302 2,816 938 1,134 4,889	618 780
				1,398
				270 210 244
				724

Page 7

BLACKBURN COMMUNITY CHURCH

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

7 Restricted funds Building fund	At 1.1.20 £ 103,019 103,019	Receipts £ - -	Payments £ - -	Transfers £ - -	At 31.12.20 £ 103,019
					103,019

The restricted Building fund was created from donations given to help the charity secure suitable premises.

Page 8