Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) (Registered charity, number 1044031) Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 Page Contents Trustees, annual report Independent examiner's report Receipts & payments account Statement of assets & liabilities Notes to the accounts 10- 11 capLUS COMN4UNITY Af¢i': NIINI; Triratna Buddhisf Community (Nottingham) Trustees, annual report for the year ended 31 December 2024 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 1 PH Trustees Lucy Jane Spence (Kusaladevi), Chair, Rachel Woodburn, (Pasannacitta) Treasurer Gareth Austin (Dayajava), Secretaty Joanne Coates (Kshantika) Cornelia Anna Maria Remijn (Khemasiri) Paul Johnson (Danabha) Upekshanandi Monika Podgorska Peter Robert Cox (Jnanaruchi). Independent examiner John O'Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus, Units 1 & 2 North West, 41 Talbot Street, Nottingham, NG15GL 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 hamiony 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. Ten regular trustee (Council) meetings were held in 2024. Objectives and activities The object of the Triratna Buddhist Community is the advancement of the Buddhist religion, in particular.. To encourage the members and others to live in accordan￿ with the teachings of the Buddha: To support ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Order and other duly ordained Buddhists, at the discretion of thp council of the Nottingham Buddhist Centre; To maintain close communication with, and work under the guidance of the Triratna Buddhist Order and in co-operation with other groups with the same objects. Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) We are an international Buddhist movement bringing the Buddha's tèaching to the general pbblic. In 2021 The Counciltrrustees revisited the centre's vision and agreed key themes.. 1. Facing outwardlrespondirig to the world with the Buddha's teaching. 2. Deepening practice of the Buddha's teaching within our community. 3. Making the Buddha's teachings accessible (by encouraging a diverse and inclusive sanghalcommunity). 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 most of our activities have been in-person events, although we have maintained both online and hybrid events (both online and in person) to make our activities more accessible for those who find it difficult to attend iri person. 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 an 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.. Summary of the main achievements during the period In 2024, we ran regular sangha nights for the whole community to gather. We maintained a hybrid (in person and online) element for our sangha (community) nights, to ensure that as many people as possible can attend and to ensure we are more accessible to those who find it difficult to attend physically. This was reduced to one session each month. There continued to be a high demand for Introductory courses in 2024. This meant that we could fulfil one of our main charitable objectives, reaching and introducing people to the Buddha's teachings. whilst also helping reduce the isolation present in society. We ran a number of other events to fulfil our charitable objectives. EVENTS The Buddhist Centre runs regular C￿SseS and events for sangha members and also introductory classes for newcomers. We have 3 weekly drop in meditation classes, open to anyone who wishes to learn meditation. These have been popular and full throughout the year. Triratna Buddhist Communi:y (Nottingham) Our main regular events this year were sangha night for the whole community (weekly), Drop in meditation classes (3x weekly), study sessions for Mitras and those doing the foundation course, pula nights (monthly), meditation mornings (occasional), Introduction to Buddhism and Meditation courses, follow on courses, men's aDd women's gatherings, sub 35 activities and the monthly People of Colour (EMPOC) group. We also had a residential retreat for the sangha, some guest, run weekends at. the Buddhist Centre and some Order Member and Mitra gatherings. We also celebrated the main Buddhist festivals this year and added some additional special events such as study seminars. We also had some guest Order members visit from other Triratna centres to offer events for our sangha. Yoga - Bodhiyoga is a regular part of the Buddhist c6ntre offerings, on a donation basis. These classes are a wonderful way for new people to meet the Buddhist centre, as well as supporting those who are regular in the sangha. This year there were a number of successful Yoga day ret￿ats, which had benefits'to our regular sangha, as well as introducing new people to the centre. DONATIONS Our regular monthly donations were £5,000 lower than expected in total for th'e year. That sum was made up in donations for activities, so that our total donations for the year weré pretty much exactly as predicted at £67,620. We are very grateful for these generous donations. MAINTENANCE Regular maintenance occurred in the building this year as required. cio Work continues to help us transition to being a CIO. OTHER ACTIVITIES We had a Presidential visit from Ratnaghosha. who met with the Buddhist Centre council, Mitras and Order members, as well as other sangha members. He led a special event for Mitras training for Ordination. We continued with Interfaith work this year. One of our Trustees, Rachel Woodburn (Pasannacitta) also continued her role as chaplain at the University of Nottingham. There have been some changes. in the men's residential community above the centre. New community members moved in during February, March and July and two moved out in February. Our Safeguarding policies can be found on our website- htt s:Ilnottin hambuddhlst￿ntre.0r lour- olicies Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) Our safeguarding officer has co-ordinated the work to address any safeguarding issues throughout the year. The details of what has been done by whom and why, have.been ' securely logged by her. Our Safeguarding officer, Upekshanandi Monika Podgorska, works closely with the Safeguarding Trustee, Gareth Austin (Dayajava). Many volunteers joined or continued with us in 2024, for which we are so grateful. As well as supporting the Centre's activities, volunteering is an opportunity for members of our sangha to creatively engage together on projects, as part of their Dharma practice. This year, two people joined the Order, which was very joyful. Also, eight people made the commitment of becoming Mitras and 3 people asked for ordination. There are currently 16 active Order members. There are currently 66 Mitras and 26 of them have requested Ordination. The Buddhist Centre and sangha are thriving, with rn￿nY people making commitments in their Buddhist practice and supporting each other, as well as newcomers, in their Buddhist practice. EMPLOYEE CHANGES There have been no changes in employees this year. At the end of 2024, there are 3 supported Order Members (Chair, Women's Mitra Convenor and Men's Mitra Convenor), a Part time salaried Centre Administrator and a Part time 6alaried bookkeeper. Financial Review We've ended 2024 with a £1 ,873 deficit. To put that into context, we ended 2023 with almost £2,000 surplus (after taking into account a £10,000 grant received in that year to cover £10.000 of 2022 building costs), so we have broken even over the two year period. We are mindful of the recent deficit however., particularly the shortfall of £5,000 in what we expected from recurring donations. Our recurring donations did not fall in 2024 from what they were in 2023, but they did not rise as we had expected. We aim to address this with a new way of soliciting recurring donations through a phone campaign planned in May 2025. We ran our campaign "February is Giving Month" again in 2024. This year we were able to once again raise close to £6,000 in one-off donations. but were not as successful in increasing regular donations. Hence the change to our way of approaching regular donations in 2025. Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottinghaml Financial risks As stated above, we face financial risks from any decreases in regular donations, in event-specific donations, or in reht. 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. We also plan to do a regular giving appeal each year. On the cost side, we also fa￿ risks associated with our building, particularly as the climate crisis leads to more frequent and more severe stomis which may cause damage which we'll need to repair. 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 our operational costs. If any of those three were to decrease substantially, we would need to rely on our reserves to cover those 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 2024. our reserves stood at £31,009 representing 3.3 months of projected costs. This is in line with our policy and a bit better than last year, but still on the low end. We will continue to monitor our reserves. It is still important to us to make good use of the funds generously donated to us,. and while remaining financially prudent, not tying up too much of them in reserves. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees: Signed Lucy Jane Spence (Kusaladevi), Trustee Date Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) for the year ended 31 December 2024 I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2024. 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 re6pect 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 John O'Brien M FAIA. FCIE Employee of Community Accounting Plus Date Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) Receipts & payments account for the year erfded 31 December 2024 2023 2024 Note Receipts Activities contributions Bank interest Gift Aid reclaim Grants & donations Rent Sales SurKJry ir￿rne Total receipts 3824 315 10512 64262 19225 3526 877 102541 3073 648 11130 67620 15964 2753 101188 Payments Activities & events Bank arKI transaction charges CorEumable items Donations paid Equipment. repairs & renewals Fundraising & publicity IndeperKJent examination fee I nsurance Payroll & professional services Premises PrintirKJ & stationery Shjp purc1I3ses Support costs TeleptrK)ne & postage TrainiThJ. accor7Jmodation & retreat expense.. sU￿1ry payments Total payments 132 1117 1748 2501 803 1204 630 2261 1273 11244 243 2222 58542 901 5734 1629 1587 2048 4233 500 1194 732 1794 1393 10127 336 1887 68359 993 6249 90563 103061 11978 20681 32659 Net receiptsl(payments) Cash furKJs at start of this period Cash funds at end of this period (1873) 32659 30786 Triratna Buddhist Community {Nottingham) Statement of assets and liabilities at 31 December 2024 2023 2024 Cash assets Bank accounts Note 32659 32659 30786 30786 Other monetary assets Debtors Prepayments - insurance Stock 142 942 6424 7508 265 747 5082 1012 ssets retained for the charty's own use Larmd & buildirKJ purckAsed in 1995, cost £135,000 General equipment retained for Ljse by the charity. Liabilities Creditors 1213 (1213) 1141 1141 These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the charity by: Signed Rachel Woodburn (Pasannacitta), Trustee Date Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham), Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 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 througb bank accounts and cash in hand. 2. Grants & donations Sundry donations 67620 67620 3. Debtors Bank interest Support costs 183 82 265 4. Creditors Support Costs Independent examination fee 1063 732 1795 5. Premises Council tax Utilities & servicirYJ Maintenance& repairs 2265 6859 1003 10127 The premises are owned by the Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham). The cost of the property in 1995 was £135.000; the propety was last valued in 2024 at £734,820. 6. Trustees, remuneratlon 3 Trustees are ordained Buddhists and they received financial support in the form of support pay totalling £46,295 (gross pay), this includes an allowance towards Fetreats. Another trustee received £1.112 which was 50 % of donation tskings for the yoga class she delivered. 7. Related party transactions There were no related party transactions during the period. 10 Triratna Buddhist Community (Nottingham) 8. Glossary of terms Creditors: These are amounts owed by the charity, but not paid during,the accounting period. Debtors: These are amounts owed to the charity, but not received in the accounting period. Prepayments: These are seniices that the charity has paid for in advance, but not used during the accounting period.