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2021-12-31-accounts

Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) (Registered charity, number 1044031) Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021

Page Contents
2 - 6 Trustees’ annual report
7 Independent examiner’s report
8 Receipts & payments account
9 Statement of assets & liabilities
10 Notes to the accounts

Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) Trustees’ annual report for the year ended 31 December 2021

Full name Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham)

Other names by which the charity is known Nottingham Buddhist Centre

Registered charity number 1044031

Principal address 9 St Mary’s Place, Lace Market, Nottingham, NG1 1PH

Trustees

Lucy Jane Spence (Kusaladevi), Chair Joanne Kshantika Coates (Kshantika) Rachel Woodburn, Treasurer Dorry Lake (Karunavaca) Gareth Austin, Secretary Jyotida Melbourne Cornelia Anna Maria Remijn (Khemasiri) Paul Johnson, from November 2020 Jesus Marquez Briceno (Aryavacin)

Independent examiner

John O’Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus, Units 1 & 2 North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG1 5GL

Governance and management

The charity is operated under the rules of its constitution adopted 23 October 1994 and most recently amended 27 March 2011.

All new trustees are invited through discussion between existing trustees (the council), to ensure that they are in harmony with the aims of the charity. In practice this means that trustees are selected from the pool of ordained Buddhists and those who have requested Ordination in Triratna in Nottingham. Trustees are nominated by the charity’s members and appointed at the AGM as per the constitution. The constitution allows a minimum of 4 and maximum of 10 trustees. Sixteen regular trustee (Council) meetings were held in 2021.

Objectives and activities

The object of the Triratna Buddhist Community is the advancement of the Buddhist religion, in particular:

We are an international Buddhist movement bringing the Buddha’s teaching to the general public.

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Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham)

We have sustained a diverse range of events and activities that make available the teachings and practices of the Buddha to the local community. We run events for the general public and when possible, to educational establishments across the region. We run activities at the centre and in various locations outside. This year we have a mixture of online, hybrid (both online and in person) and some in-person events at the centre, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Public benefit statement

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, 'Charities and Public Benefit'.

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit

Meditation classes and Buddhist teachings can provide valuable support to people and assist them to deal with the uncertainties of their lives and meditation can improve mental health and decrease stress. This can enable people to more fully participate in all areas of their lives. During the difficult lockdown period people have continued to be able to access this support via our online classes and events, providing a valuable community network to overcome the isolation and separation faced by people.

Summary of the main achievements during the period

The end of 2020 and moving into 2021 saw the Nottingham Buddhist Centre moving our introductory and follow-on courses online, onto the zoom platform, since the Covid19 pandemic continued and prevented us from holding in-person classes and courses. We had successfully moved our sangha night and drop in meditation classes online in 2020, so these further classes were able to draw on what we had learnt from that.

These courses were very successful at reaching and introducing new people to the Buddha’s teachings, one of our main charitable objectives, at a time when isolation has been particularly present in society due to the pandemic. Through this, our sangha (community) has grown and flourished.

Events

Retreats – Three online retreats were held this year and one in person residential retreat at a new venue. We also held two, day retreat/workshops and two day or weekend events with guests.

The Buddhist centre runs regular classes for sangha members and also introductory classes for newcomers. Due to the pandemic, this year’s activities have been mainly online, but started to move towards in-person events from the summer. The activities at the Buddhist centre this year have been;

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Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham)

We have continued to celebrate the main Buddhist festivals and link with the worldwide Triratna community online (2 online and one hybrid online/in person, including connecting into online events run by the wider Triratna community).

Yoga – Bodhiyoga is now a regular part of the Buddhist centre offerings, on a donation basis. Three classes per week were offered until August, then two classes a week for the remainder of the year.

Rental of space. We were able to begin renting out the space again for Yoga (started in June), Shiatsu and a Women’s group.

Donations

Regular monthly donations fluctuated at the start of the year, then slowly decreased from May to August, possibly due to financial strains from the pandemic. General donations from events were slightly lower than expected in April and August. A fundraising appeal from October to December had a very generous response from the sangha, increasing regular donations by £512 each month.

Online activities

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we have continued offering some online events this year. The added benefit has been that people who would not have been able to attend classes at the centre have been able to access online events. Online donations have also made it easier for people to give. We updated our website, which seems to have reached a number of new people and we have improved and increased our advertising via social media platforms and this is encouraging broader take up.

Maintenance

There has been a significant amount of maintenance and decoration undertaken whilst the building was still out of use, including a new kitchen and decorating in the main centre reception room with new carpets and foot mats at the doors. Work continued on the windows and facades outside. Some work started on the floor and joists. A full electrical survey and emergency lighting work was carried out for the whole building

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Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham)

both the centre and the residential community. The floors have also had work carried out in the community and the radiators in the building were flushed through. CIO

We are in the process of transferring our charitable status to a CIO status as recommended by Triratna’s central body as this protects the trustees from personal liability. This work continued in 2021, but will still continue into 2022, as we transfer assets and accounts to the new legal entity.

Other activities

We have introduced a new team structure (nested circles), which is a way for volunteer teams and the centre team to work together. It enables volunteers to get involved and take ownership, but also enables good communication between the teams, with a clear structure.

We have continued developing interfaith connections in Nottingham and connections with two Universities.

The Council / Trustees agreed that there is a Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE). A Nottingham Buddhist Centre Triratna Earth Sangha group was formed. A new group of people interested in the Buddha’s teachings in relation to the Climate and Ecological Emergency.

Due to the generosity of volunteers in our community, we have been able to carry out lots of work on the building this year.

12 people made the commitment to become Mitras this year 3 people asked for ordination. There are currently 21 people who have requested ordination.

The Diversity group is continuing. A group of volunteers and some employees, who explore how best we can make our centre and its activities/events more welcoming and accessible for all. Our work around diversity has continued. Including the People of Colour group development and ensuring all are welcome, including those who are Trans or Gender Diverse.

The Nottingham Buddhist Centre is thriving and the community growing and we look towards increasing our donations to have a larger staff team, in order to build on this success.

Employee changes

The Council (with the exception of the financially supported people who also act as Trustees):

Our bookkeeper Padmasakhi stopped working for the Buddhist centre in September and a new bookkeeper started working with us in August.

Our women’s Mitra convenor Khemasiri retired in October, but will continue volunteering with us.

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Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham)

At the point of writing we now have two full time supported Order Members (one Centre Chair and one Mitra Convenor), a full time supported centre Manager and a part time salaried bookkeeper.

Financial review

We experienced a loss of £5,289 in 2021 where we had expected a loss of £2,700. This is following on last year’s surplus of just under £7,000. 2021 was a hard year to predict due to the ongoing pandemic and our loss was due to a combination of expected and unexpected factors. Most of the factors were positive and related to investments we’re making in our current and planned growth. These include; increased support costs through supporting another person full-time, and costs to do with necessary improvements to our building which we completed through taking advantage of continuing lockdowns. Other factors that contributed to the loss are in areas that we have already addressed or are addressing. A drop in regular giving linked to our not having run an appeal since the beginning of lockdown (we have now run a successful appeal in Oct-Dec 2021). There were a small number of events we had budgeted to run but then did not have the resources to carry out (we now have a clearer system for ensuring we run what we have budgeted for).

Financial risks

As stated above, we face financial risks from any decreases in regular donations, in event-specific donations or in rent. Of these three, the biggest risk is probably in regular donations, which is likely to be sensitive to the economic environment. As living costs and inflation increase, donors may have less income available to give us. We mitigate this risk by keeping a close eye on regular giving each month, so we will be able to respond quickly to changes. On the cost side, we also face risks associated with our building, particularly as the climate crisis leads to more frequent and more severe storms which may cause damage which we need to repair. We have done some significant electrical work to the building in 2021, so we feel confident that we shouldn’t need to do more in that area in the near future.

The charity’s policy on reserves

We rely on income from regular donations, from event-specific donations and from rent of our building to cover operational costs. If any of those were to decrease substantially, we would need to rely on our reserves to cover the costs until we were able to increase income again or cut costs in some way. It’s also possible that we will face an unexpected one-off cost, most likely if we needed an emergency repair or upgrade to our building.

We consider it prudent to maintain reserves representing 3-6 months of operating costs in order to protect against these risks. At the end of 2021, our reserves stood at £31,040 representing 4.7 months of projected costs. This in in line with our policy.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:

Signed ______ Date _ Lucy Jane Spence (Kusaladevi), Trustee

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Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) for the year ended 31 December 2021

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2021.

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 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 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no 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 respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the 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.

Signed ____ Date _______ John O’Brien MSc, FCCA, FCIE Employee of Community Accounting Plus

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Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) Receipts & payments account for the year ended 31 December 2021

2020 2021
£ Note £
Receipts
1163 Activities contributions 1467
81 Bank interest 24
7113 Gift Aid reclaim 9063
48916 Grants & donations 2 45108
17405 Rent 16272
1202 Sales 2242
75880 Total receipts 74176
Payments
241 Consumable items 94
898 Donations paid 1262
1590 Equipment, repairs & renewals 1304
805 Fundraising & publicity 1277
612 Independent examination fee 612
1974 Insurance 1896
882 Payroll & professional service 1016
8226 Premises 3 13791
89 Printing & stationery 54
449 Shop purchases 1000
733 Sundry payments 1175
48029 Support costs 51816
617 Telephone & postage 792
3776 Training, accommodation & retreat expenses 3376
68921 Total payments 79465
6959 Net receipts/(payments) (5289)
29370 Cash funds at start of this period 36329
36329 Cash funds at end of this period 31040

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Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) Statement of assets and liabilities at 31 December 2021

----- Start of picture text -----
2020 2021
£ Cash assets Note £
36321 Bank accounts 31032
8 Cash in hand 8
36329 31040
Other monetary assets
2062 Prepayments - Insurance 823
8403 Stock 7933
10465 8756
Assets retained for the charity’s own use
Land & building purchased in 1995, cost £135,000
General equipment retained for use by the charity.
Liabilities
(2000) Creditors 4 (889)
(2000) (889)
----- End of picture text -----

These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by:

Signed _____ Dated _____ Rachel Woodburn, Trustee

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Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021

1. Receipts & payments accounts

Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the period and a list of assets and liabilities at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand.

2. Grants & donations

£ Sundry donations 45108 45108

3. Premises

----- Start of picture text -----
£
Council tax 2215
Utilities & servicing 5876
Maintenance & repairs 5699
13790
----- End of picture text -----

4. Creditors

----- Start of picture text -----
£
Support costs 277
Independent examination fee 612
889
----- End of picture text -----

5. Premises

The premises are owned by the Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham). The cost of the property in 1995 was £135,000; the property was last valued in 2019 at approximately £350,000.

6. Trustees’ remuneration

Three trustees are ordained Buddhists and they received financial support, in the form of a salary totalling £32,521. They were also allowed £1,800 each a year towards retreats. Another trustee is also an employee who received a salary of £10,662 from the charity during the year.

7. Glossary of terms

Creditors: These are amounts owed by the charity, but not paid during the accounting period.

Prepayments: These are services that the charity has paid for in advance, but not used during the accounting period.

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