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2022-12-31-accounts

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Saturday 4th March 2023 10:15-16:00 Regent’s University London

Please read ahead of the meeting and retain for reference. If you are attending the AGM please bring your copy with you as there will only be a limited number of copies available

BUSINESS MEETING AGENDA

10:45 Tuke Hall

  1. Housekeeping

  2. Minutes of AGM held 5[th] March 2022 (vote for approval)

  3. Matters Arising

  4. Officers’ Annual Reports

  5. a. Chairman

  6. b. Treasurer, including Statement and Adoption of Accounts (vote for approval)

  7. c. Management Committee Report Summary (full copies in this publication)

  8. d. CLAS Academic Standards Board Report Summary (full copies in this publication)

  9. Proposals (vote for approval)

  10. Election of Officers

  11. Any other Business

REST OF THE DAY

See AGM programme and attendee pack (sent separately to attendees) for more details

1 – HOUSEKEEPING

Please ensure mobile phones are turned off, or on silent during the meeting, presentations, and lecture. Please respect each other’s comfort zones. If you have entered Art & The Letter, or the Fellows’ exhibition, please remember to collect your packaging and artwork at the end of the day. Photos of exhibits only after 1pm to allow people to view the work more easily. A reminder that the Business Meeting section is for CLAS members only.

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2 – MINUTES (2022)

Registered Charity No: 1046526

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society held at Regent’s University, London on Saturday 5[th] March 2022 at 10.15am

The Chair welcomed delegates to the 2022 CLAS AGM and officially opened the meeting at 10.56am following one-minute of silence in respect of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

1. Housekeeping

Present :

Chair Tony J Woodhams Treasurer Jenny Wholley

Members of the Management Committee and Members of the Society.

Apologies for absence were received from: Gail Mitchell, Janet Smith, Eunice Preston, Louise Goolnik

107 member delegates were recorded in the register.

Tony introduced the order of the meeting and events available to delegates after the business part of the meeting.

2. Minutes of 2021 AGM

Following the proposal by Mary Noble, seconded by David Bywater, a vote was taken by show of hands with the vast majority in favour of accepting the minutes of the last AGM held on 6th March 2021 and were agreed as a true and correct record of the meeting. There were no objections.

3. Matters Arising

No questions were raised and there were no matters arising from the previous AGM minutes.

4. CLAS Chairman and Officers’ Annual Reports

A full version of the Chairman and Officers’ Reports for 2021 had been previously circulated to all members in the AGM booklet sent out together with the February 2022 Edition of the Edge. Additional copies were available from the front of the lecture hall

a. CLAS Chairman Report

Tony read the Structure, Governance and Management of the Society from pages 5 & 6 of the AGM pack and highlighted some of the key points from the Officers’ Reports. No questions for the Chair were raised.

b. Treasurer’s Report, Statement of Accounts & Financial Report : Jenny Wholley

The accounts had been circulated to members in the AGM booklet. No questions were raised by the audience and following the proposal by Meg Chapman, seconded by Barbara Alldred, a vote was taken by show of hands with the majority accepting the accounts as published and no objections.

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Jenny further stated her thanks on behalf of CLAS to Heidi Poon for being our independent examiner for the past few years. She is now standing down, so if anyone wants to volunteer or can recommend someone, please contact me via treasurer@clas.co.uk

c. Management Committee Report Summary

Full copies of the Management Committee reports were available in the AGM booklet.

d. CASB: Josie Brown

Josie highlighted the following points from the published report:

National Diploma - a list of mentors (Accredited tutors or teaching Fellows) available to contact for individual support and feedback on their work – this will go online once the mentor guidelines have been completed.

Fellowship – Various small changes have been made to the Fellowship application process; Fellows will be able to organise and be invited to attend an annual meeting to enjoy topics of their choice. This is to increase the fellowship of the Fellows. A new Fellows’ logo has been designed by Tom Perkins and will be sent to each Fellow for their use subject to continued membership. There will be a display of Fellows’ work at all AGMs from this year onwards – constituting an accessible way for members to see what Fellows get up to and new application encouragement. A revised leaflet has been written and designed by Attilio Medda.

Charitable Activities – Hampshire Calligraphers were presented with a thank you card by Josie Brown for their work in producing the CLAS Calligraphy Colouring Book, which is a free, downloadable resource for use by anyone provided there is no commercial gain.

5. Proposals

i. Membership subscription rates

Whilst there is no proposal to increase individual membership subscription rates, the society has faced significant increased postal costs to Europe following the UK’s departure from the EU.

The Management Committee therefore proposed that the current EU subscription rate is dissolved from 1st January 2023; after which two rates would apply (for all new members and renewals): UK and Rest of World (RoW). Currently these are £40 UK and £50 RoW for standard membership. There is a 25% discount for full time students, first time members for their first year, and under 30s.

A vote by show of hands was taken following the formal proposal on subscription rates by Mary Noble, seconded by Mariette Hardman; the result was unanimous in favour with no objections.

6. Election of Trustees and Officers

All Officers are elected to serve for three years. Elected Officers become Trustees of the Society under the Charity Commission’s rules.

Following nomination by Jan Pickett and seconded by Bob Alldred, the following were voted in “en-masse” as Trustees of the Society by a unanimous vote of hands. The Trustees along with coopted and ex-officio officers form the CLAS Management Committee.

Trustees Chairman Treasurer Membership

Tony J Woodhams Jenny Wholley Meg Chapman

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Festival Director Lou Goolnik
Copperplate Special Interest Group Alejandra Gonaldi
Social Media Jane John
AGM Co-ordinator Sarah Walker
Webmaster Anne-Marie Delaney
Regional Affiliated Groups (RAG)
Officer		 Barbara Alldred
CLAS Academic Standards Board
(CASB)		 Josie Brown
Editorial Board Representative Janet Smith
Administrative Secretary Dave Cowan

Co-opted and ex-officio members of the Management Committee as well as sub-committees are voted in by the Trustees

7. Any Other Business

Tony invited items for ‘Any Other Business’ from the panel and audience. None were recorded. Mary Noble proposed a vote of thanks to the Management Committee.

Tony recorded his thanks on behalf of everyone involved in organising and attending the AGM.

There being no further business, the Chairman closed the business meeting at 11.25am.

The event would be followed in the afternoon with presentation and a lecture by Ewan Clayton and Ann Hechle.

Non-business items of interest

Presentations

Tony welcomed delegates back to the auditorium at 2pm.

CASB

Art & The letter

The awards were made for the Art & The Letter submissions in the following categories. The results were taken from the online member votes.

Christina Freeman David Simons Jennifer Thompson Kate Gravestock Jan Sambell Jennifer Thompson

The Brian G Walker Prize

The prize in the name their late father was presented by Sarah, Julie and Nicky Walker to David Simons. David received a £100 prize and a print from the Brian G Walker ‘Transformation Collection’.

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Afternoon Lecture

Tony introduced Ewan Clayton to the stage to present his lecture about Irene Wellington, the Irene Wellington Educational Trust and ‘Findings in the Calligraphic Work and Teachings of Irene Wellington 1904-1984’.

Following the engaging presentation, Tony thanked Ewan on behalf of the members.

There being no further business, Tony closed the AGM at 4pm.

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CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT 2023

The Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society (CLAS) is a Charity registered with the Charity Commission No 1046526

Trustees / Committee as follows (subject to change):

Management Committee

Chairman Treasurer Membership Secretary Exhibition Officer CSIG Representative Social Media Officer AGM Coordinator Webmaster Regional Affiliated Group Officer Administrative Secretary CASB Chair Editorial Board Representative Archivist Festival Director Festival Administrator Art & The Letter Officers

Tony Woodhams Trustee 1 Jenny Wholley Trustee 2 Meg Chapman Trustee 3 Jeffrey Bailey Trustee 4 Alejandra Gonaldi Trustee 5 Satvinder Nandhra Trustee 6 Sarah Walker Trustee 7 Anne-Marie Delaney Trustee 8 Barbara Alldred Trustee 9 Dave Cowan Trustee 10 Josie Brown Trustee 11 Jane John Trustee 12 Alison Allan Co-opted 1 Lou Goolnik Co-opted Charm Brown Co-opted 3 Julie Tallant & Nicky Walker Ex officio

Structure, Governance and Management

The Society is constituted by a Deed of Trust agreed by the Charity Commission. Membership is open to all over the age of 18 who support the aims of the Society.

Within the membership are Honoured Fellows who are calligraphers and lettering artists of high attainment and others of experience and high repute who have made a significant contribution to calligraphy and lettering; Fellows who are calligraphers and lettering artists who have achieved a high level of technical competence and have been successful when submitting their work for assessment; students in full time education who pay a reduced subscription; Honorary Members who are honoured by invitation; and Group Affiliation for Local Calligraphy Groups who wish to affiliate to the Society.

The Society is run by the Management Committee, which is the decision-making body with decisions being taken by majority votes. The Management Committee is made up of 12 Trustees, plus 4 co-options, all given specific roles. In 2022/23 there have been 12 Trustees with 4 co-options and additional ex-officio members with specific remits.

Co-opted and ex-officio members of the Management Committee are voted in by the Trustees of the Society. The Management Committee appoints the members of the CLAS Academic Standards Board (CASB) which meets twice a year to oversee all educational aspects of the Society and submits proposals to the Management Committee for approval.

The members elected to the Management Committee at the AGM are Trustees of the Society. They may be approached by the Chairman to take a specific position on the Committee or they may have volunteered. On becoming Trustees, they are acquainted with Charity Commission’s documentation on their duties and responsibilities, as well as the Society’s management documentation. The Trustees of the Management

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Committee are proposed, seconded, and elected by ballot at the AGM meeting in March each year at which the quorum is one twentieth (5%) of the membership. Election to the Committee is for three years. Potential Trustees are often co-opted to the Committee prior to their election so that they may become familiar with the operation of the Committee.

There are currently the following sub-committees:

CASB – CLAS Academic Standards Board Editorial Board Copperplate Special Interest Group 30[th] Anniversary Exhibition

See Appendix B at the back for a full list of members with specific roles. It is also recognised, and greatly appreciated, that so many of our members volunteer their time and skills in many ways to make CLAS a vibrant and active society.

Objectives, Activities and Achievements

The Aims and Objectives of the Society shall be to advance the education of the public in the practice, appreciation, and the use of all forms of calligraphy and lettering arts.

The Trustees have regard to the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission when exercising their powers and duties to which the guidance is relevant.

These objectives have been fully met during 2021 by planning and holding events and initiatives open to both members and non-members of the Society.

General Administration

CLAS has GDPR, Privacy & Cookies policies in place and is accessible to the public online or upon request.

Volunteers & Vacancies

There is a vacancy for a Sales Officer. Planning ahead, we will also need a Festival Director and Festival Administrator to shadow Lou and Charm in 2023 and take over the Festival in 2024. We are always happy to take expressions of interest for any future vacancies. Expressions of interest to me by email please chairman@clas.co.uk

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CLAS Chairman – Tony Woodhams

Dear all, thank you for joining us here at Regent’s University for our 2023 Annual General Meeting. I hope that you have enjoyed your day so far and look forward to this afternoon’s keynote speech and the other activities on offer.

I offer my gratitude to everyone who does so much for the organisation we love; we cannot maintain standards, develop new ventures, or evolve without your help. I am extremely proud of our offerings and the standard of all that we do; we take feedback onboard and make changes where we can, to continue to fulfil our charitable goals. Rather than repeat what can be read in the reports of my CLAS colleagues, I will pull out just a few points

This is a final plea for volunteers to take on the 2024 CLAS Festival of Calligraphy. For the past year we have been asking and approaching people, but if no one steps forward there will be no Festival in our 30[th] year, which would be a terrible loss to our community. We have a venue booked and some tutors have expressed interest, but our cut off is in July to avoid losing our deposit in August as have to pay this a year in advance.

The closure of some of our Regional Affiliated Groups in the past year is a loss to our community, and we hope that those members affected are able to find a new home, whether that is an alternative RAG or other group.

At the end of 2022, we lost Peter Halliday. Peter was integral in the formation of CLAS and our first Chairman; he was a friend to many, a mentor, and of course a great calligrapher who inspired so many of us. I remember with fondness the kind and supportive message he sent me when I took on this role in 2021.

And finally, as my second of a three-year tenure as Chair comes to a close, the search for a new Chair begins. It could be you! If you would like more information, or an informal chat about what is involved, please do come and find me today, or drop me an email and we can chat over Zoom or Teams over the coming months. The position would be from March 2024; our anniversary and exhibition year, so it promises to be exciting. I have found it an enjoyable and rewarding experience, and I am sure you would too!

Treasurer – Jenny Wholley

The financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2022 are shown in Appendix A. Total receipts have decreased this year from £76,644 to £65,266 and payments have similarly decreased from £96,631 to £71,082. The year ending with a deficit of £5,816 compared to a deficit last year of £19,987. The value of funds as at 31 December 2022 was £98,097.

2022 has been a tough year with added costs and the impact of Covid still being felt. Despite this we remain in a good place financially. £10k has been ring fenced to celebrate our 30[th] Anniversary with a travelling Exhibition and a further £50K for a year’s worth of expenses should income drastically fall. The take up for regional group grants went well with £17.5k being paid out to 35 groups, The remaining £2.5k is being reserved to help with the formation of any new groups.

Our accounts package Xero continues to work well and the GoCardless Direct debit payments now sync automatically.

Members can now pay for their membership by Credit/Debit card via our website using our PayPal account. (Members do not need a PayPal account to do this). I hope cheque paying members will consider using this option. Trying to find a bank to pay cheques in or queuing for ages in a Post office is very time consuming and the bank charges costly. Direct debit or bank transfer remain our preferred payment options. Sadly, the postal costs to the EU have increased and as of the beginning of this year EU member will now pay the same membership fee as the rest of the world which is £50 as tabled in the 2022 AGM.

The collection of the accommodation fees by festival venue leaving us just the course fees to process has worked well. Despite a good festival, it still ran at a loss but not as much as last year. Zoom continues to be a very useful tool, enabling LiveOnline classes and removing the need for the Management committee to travel for meetings, thus saving money.

We would like to thank Jo Sheehan who has kindly stepped up to be our Independent Examiner. A summary of the balance sheet, payments and receipts will be submitted to the Charity Commission. See Appendix A for Accounts and External Examiner’s Report

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Membership – Meg Chapman

Current membership is 836 including 31 free members.

Although new members continue to join, overall numbers are on a slight downward trend. People leave for a variety of reasons of course but the majority have declared the economic climate that has been throwing us all into disarray and having to examine their priorities. Ill health and the general age of our membership also take their toll.

Nevertheless, we remain positive that we will ride the storm especially with the Festival back on track with face-to-face contact and I am encouraged by the number of compliments received on the handwritten envelopes people receive which I feel makes us more personable.

CLAS Academic Standards Board – Josie Brown

Tutors and Talkers - Ann Mason

Both the interactive map and the Tutors and Talkers List are fully updated now and can be accessed on the website. There is the addition of Els Van Den Steen who has recently become an Accredited Tutor

Accredited Tutors - Josie Brown

There has been one successful application for Tutor Accreditation by Els Van Den Steen who will be awarded her Certificate at this AGM.

Certificate of Calligraphy - Angela Banks

There was a total of 56 entries for assessment this year from Turkey, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Poland, Germany, Iran and the UK. Entries included all seven of the scripts available for assessment.

Overall, the standard has been high and marks achieved ranged from 64 – 98%. A moderation took place in January this year, when none of the assessors’ decisions were refuted.

There have been some issues with returning non-UK entries – the complete loss of two from Turkey (duplicate assessment forms and certificates have been sent) and a package being held at Customs, unknown to CLAS or the sender, awaiting a significant duty payment due to an inaccurate description on the Customs Declaration form. An image of a Customs Declaration form with example wording is now on the website to avoid this problem in future. Due to these issues, it was decided to return entries using tracked and signed-for postage. This will increase the cost for entrants, but the security is felt to be worthwhile. The new costs will be clearly stated on the website and the leaflet.

There has been a review of the assessment criteria and leaflet which is now complete and the new version is with the Designer in preparation for printing and putting onto the website.

LiveOnline – Alejandra Gonaldi

Six LiveOnline courses have run between September and October 2022, and January and February 2023 – each with a different tutor. The most popular hands were Italic, followed by Copperplate and Roman Capitals.

Attendance has been lower than the previous year but, as of January 2023, students fees amounted to £2960 which covered the tutor fees of £2400.

The newer 4-session courses have received feedback confirming a preference for longer courses. A new schedule of courses will be planned for the autumn and following Spring, and this will be put onto the website giving the opportunity to plan for them.

The LiveOnline administrator is wishing to step down, so CASB is looking for someone to take this role on. The current administrator is willing to arrange a long handover period.

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Specialist Skills Awards (previously known as Certificates of Skills) – Ann Mason

The decision was made to change the name of Certificates of Skills to Specialist Skills Awards because there has been a longstanding confusion between these and Certificates of Calligraphy. CASB considers that this new title better reflects the amount and depth of work carried out at this level. Most of the SSA courses will soon be available to be delivered online, in-person or as hybrid delivery (partly online/partly in-person) so although a Regional group might raise the requirement for a course, if it’s online then people from other geographical areas will now find it to be accessible. CASB hopes this will increase the viability and uptake of these highly respected courses.

Two courses: Heraldry for SLLA and Copperplate for Sussex Scribes have both been completed and work is displayed at this AGM. South London Lettering Association’s Heraldry course with Tim Noad is in progress, Sussex Scribes are starting Italic with Gaynor Goffe via Zoom in June 2023

The new Design with Margaret Morgan is currently on hold.

The leaflets and certificates are being redesigned and an updated list of courses with mode of delivery details is to be uploaded to the website.

The Colour and Texture course has been updated and re-written. This can be offered as an entirely in-person course or one where the first session is face to face and the rest of the course is online.

National Diploma - Rebecca Osborne

The assessment day took place at Chichester College in August. There were 2 people who submitted modules at Foundation level and the marks were high. Four people entered full submissions at Foundation level, achieving one Pass, one Merit and two Distinctions. Two people achieved a Distinction and one achieved a Pass at Intermediate level. There were 4 modules submitted at Advanced level – all achieving the equivalent to Distinction.

There has been one enrolment, so far, for the Diploma in 2023 (from Japan). CASB is hoping for more as we near the 30 March deadline because, apart from continuing modular and deferred entries, we only have one other 2024 enrolment at this time.

From March 2023 candidates will pay an enrolment fee but not the return postage at this stage. They are expected to post their portfolio to reach CLAS, but the Diploma Administrator will weigh each parcel after it has been assessed, to ascertain the cost of return postage. Candidates will be invoiced for the cost of return postage which will be tracked and signed for, and their package posted once that payment has been received. This amended system will ensure all postage costs are covered accurately.

Each of the Diploma handbooks and the CLAS website have yet to be updated with recent amendments. This will be carried out as soon as possible and the new versions put onto the website and a number of handbooks will be printed. All the Diploma support material is now on the website: a gallery of works at all three levels and each of the pass categories; a list of mentors and their contact details; five informative videos; and a list of current courses with content supporting elements asked for in the Diploma. Posts on social media highlight these support mechanisms at fairly regular intervals.

The Diploma assessment day will be held in June 2023 at Chichester College – the number of assessors will be decided upon when all enrolments have been received.

Fellowship – Rachel Yallop

One member is in the process of working towards Fellowship. All the updates from last year have been put in place and the new leaflet is available. There is a display of Fellows’ works at this AGM.

Charitable Activities

At present, a big problem facing CLAS is the fact that several long-established Regional groups are having to close through lack of support – in terms of volunteers as committee members as well as insufficient numbers attending workshops, making them non-viable financially.

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Regional group numbers are decreasing rapidly due to Covid, the fraught economy and age! The main obstacle to rectifying this is making CLAS known to those who wish to learn calligraphy and having sufficient tutors to teach in areas where there are no classes at the moment. CASB is seeking a volunteer to take on the role of Education Liaison Officer – to help promote what CLAS offers, educationally, to Adult Education and Art Centres, as well as Graphics courses in colleges and universities.

CASB will use some of the CLAS funds ringfenced for charitable activities to initiate a course which will offer an introduction to teaching skills, especially covering how to teach online – in an endeavour to support more tutors in wider areas. The course is to be written and then promoted at the Festival, in CLASnews, via social media and through the new Liaison person – hopefully increasing the number of tutors and, therefore, the availability of classes around the country.

Much of the information from the February issue of the Edge will be used to create an A4 publication explaining the educational opportunities that CLAS offers – to be sent to appropriate colleges and centres – targeting a younger audience.

Regional Affiliated Groups – Barbara Alldred

We have a total of 36 groups. Of these groups 30 are Type A with PLI and 5 are Affiliation only. Birmingham Calligraphy Society decided not to reaffiliate this year.

Newsletters continue to be shared and also some Workshop Programmes which is very useful to Programme Organisers looking for inspiration. As many groups are now running online workshops as well as in person workshops this opens up the possibility of members of other groups joining a workshop via Zoom in a neighbouring or even further afield workshop irrespective of where they live. With numbers attending in person workshops still on the low side for some groups, sharing programmes opens up the opportunity to attend in person at neighbouring groups.

All groups seem to be experiencing difficulties attracting their members back to in person workshops and to take up roles on the committees. If you are a member of a Regional Group, please support the hard work of your committee in providing varied and interesting workshops by attending if and when possible and also consider taking a role on the committee and if not a committee role then to offer to take on a non-committee job to free up committee members.

Many groups paid for their renewal and PLI by Bank Transfer which is the preferred method but we are still able to accept and bank cheques for those groups who require this.

Thank you to all the groups who suggested venues and offered help for the CLAS 30[th] Anniversary Exhibition to be held in 2024. We greatly appreciate this commitment as it will help to ensure the smooth running of the Exhibition.

Copperplate Special Interest Group – Alejandra Gonaldi

Membership The number of members stands at 139. The membership renewal for 2023 will be in March when we hope to keep up with that number. The membership cost will be the same as last year, £13 for members in the UK and £21 for overseas members.

Schemes There is a change in the CSIG team. Ann Jamieson stepped down from organising the Envelope Exchange and we had accepted a volunteer to cover the position among our members. The Mentoring scheme by Heather McCombie and the Envelope Exchange, now by Joanne Taylor are still working very well and are an essential part of the group's success.

Bank account The group has enough to pay the printer for the following 2 CSIG newsletters and cover post charges.

Calendar Joy Daniels put together, sent to print and started to post the 2023 calendars to members. This year, its cover was a collaboration between David Simon and Anna Poponina. At the moment of this report, the orders are still coming and fulfilled by Joy Daniels.

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Printed Newsletter We have received collaborations, articles and works from our members, organisations and well know Copperplate scribes as Eleanor Winters. That made possible to start editing the next two issues, Spring 2023 and Summer 2023.

Other activities

Editorial Board

the Edge : Four issues have been delivered to members in 2022/3, including (November) a guest issue from Denis Brown / David McGrail, and (February) an issue updating everyone on the work of CASB, reminding us of the rich educational offer from CLAS. Although we ask often, we receive little feedback on the articles/issues; several people made positive comments about the excellent article (August) from Tim Sokell about the designing of logos.

The team of Janet (Commissioning Editor), Gail Mitchell (Copy Editor) Helen Scholes (Designer) and our proofreaders Susan Healy and Alison Catchpole have worked well, with changes to the software used for design and some slight changes to print timescales being absorbed with no impact on the end product. The Commissioning Editor role is to be handed from Janet to Jane John in the coming months.

CLASnews – Jan Sambell

CLASnews is sent out by email to members four times a year. As well as any updates, it also lists dates of events, exhibitions, courses, and workshops supplied by CLAS members or affiliated local groups.

Social Media – Jane John and Sofie Baker

Our Instagram and Facebook pages help to maintain and grow the CLAS profile by building an awareness and engaging with our members and wider audience of followers. They provide an important resource for communicating and attracting an international calligraphic community. Social media has also proved invaluable for publicising our LiveOnline courses to a new audience. Last year’s AGM and Festival postings created a real buzz and a platform for people to post their own comments ranging from the “How I wish I could be there” to “CLAS Festival is always brilliant - great tutors, a week of inspiring calligraphy shared with friends and lots of laughter!”

Website – Anne Marie Delaney

The 2022 monthly average 'unique visitor' numbers to the website was 3800 - which is significantly up from the 3000 visitors per month average for 2021. The most frequently searched topics were the Foundation Diploma Handbook, Certificate of Calligraphy, Festival, GDPR and Fellowship. Visitors Searches averaged 5 pages and the total number of website 'hits' for the year was well over 1.2million, underlying the Importance of the website for providing information to members and searchers alike.

Festival 2022 and 2023 – Lou Goolnik & Charm Brown

The Directors are very happy to report that CLAS Festival 2022 was another great success. We returned to our usual format of both UK and international tutors and delegates which made the event seem like we are back on familiar ground.

Four of our tutors were rolled over from 2020 and we were so glad their diaries allowed that to be possible. So, our line-up was Amity Parks, Andrea Wunderlich, Vivien Lunniss and Susan Moor from 2020 and we added in Julia Baxter. Sadly, shortly before the event, Susan Moor passed away. This was a great shock and left us in rather a tricky position for our delegates. We were lucky that Lieve Cornil from Belgium immediately filled the gap, agreeing to teach Susan’s sessions. We were also very lucky that those delegates in her classes were happy to remain in those sessions, making life much easier for the organisation of the festival.

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We returned to our fantastic venue at Warwick University, Scarman Conference Centre, which didn’t let us down on the luxury front. It was wonderful to meet up with old friends from home and abroad and to make new ones. We had a record number of first-time festival goers which is a step in the right direction.

We had the “Sale of the Century” at CLAS Sales. It was Bob’s last year in charge of this and we thank him very much for his sterling work on this front. He will be missed.

Now to CLAS Festival 2023. We have another great line-up including two roll-over tutors from 2021 who couldn’t make it because of the pandemic. We have Marina Soria teaching for the first time in the UK from Argentina; Monica Dengo from Italy; Gemma Black from Australia and Josie Brown from Herefordshire. Added to that we have Lieve Cornil who was already booked for 2023 when she helped us complete our quintet for last year. Our thanks go to her in particular.

So onward and upwards to August 13[th] to 19[th] 2023. There are still places available, please go to www.clas.co.uk/festival for more information.

Liaison – Gwyneth Hibbett

Discussions last year about public projects that reflect CLAS’s charitable status lead to the production of the free calligraphy Colouring book being produced by Hampshire Calligraphers, available to download from the website. Investigative work is ongoing into future educational and charitable ideas.

Some time was spent liaising with a media company who was interested in producing a TV pilot focussing on calligraphy skills. Regardless of the outcome, these discussions threw into focus how CLAS wishes to uphold high standards and communicate the value of calligraphic education with the public.

Report from the AGM Coordinator – Sarah Walker

The AGM 2022 was held on 5 March 2022 at Regents University in London. There were 135 registered participants in total and the feedback received was extremely positive, all members seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the day. Following the morning business meeting, participants were able to visit the CLAS Help Desks and seek advice on CLAS academic activities, tutoring and more. Toni Watts and Sylvie Gokulsing demonstrated their calligraphy and illumination skills, and Barbara Alldred, FCLAS, was the Fellow in Residence.

The Walker family set up a display of artwork by the late Brian G. Walker, which generated a lot of interest. CLAS Fellows also displayed a selection of their work.

Attendees also had time to view both the physical and digital Art and The letter exhibitions, and to shop for CLAS branded items and other calligraphy materials and books at the various pop up shops.

To conclude the day, Ewan Clayton gave a fabulous lecture where he discussed his collaboration with Ann Hechle on the Irene Wellington Educational Trust's latest publication.

It was agreed with the CLAS Committee to ask participants attending the AGM in 2023 to complete a short survey with the objective of making the AGM more attractive in the future, increasing presence – particularly new potential members/beginners, and further promoting CLAS.

Report from The Art & the Letter Coordinator – Sarah Walker

The 26th Art and The Letter exhibition was held on 5 March 2022 during the AGM 2022. It was the very first hybrid exhibition to be held, with a positive outcome.

31 pieces were received in total for the physical exhibition and 28 pieces for the digital exhibition. Most entries were from the UK, with 2 entries from Ireland and 1 from Hong Kong.

‘The Beauty of Nature’ was the most popular chosen category. Other categories included: The Elegance of The Pointed Pen, The Art and The Letter Inspired by a Great Artist and Aesop’s Fables. The exhibition was judged remotely by Michela Antonello, Julia Baxter and Jan Sambell. It was agreed that the judging in 2023 will be done in person.

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Archive – Alison Allan

Regular updating of records such as certificate and diploma results and indexing the Edge has continued. More digital items, such as photographs for events such as the CLAS Festival and revised versions of various CLAS documents, have been added to the archive. Cataloguing of these physical and digital holdings is continuing. Support has also been provided to the Management Board in updating job descriptions for the various officer roles and for the members of the CLAS Academic Standards Board.

30[th] Anniversary Exhibition – Jeff Bailey

Work continues apace on the planning of our exhibition in 2024 to mark CLAS’ 30[th] Anniversary. The exhibition sub-committee (comprising Barbara and Bob Alldred, Jeff Bailey, Gwyneth Hibbett, Janice McClelland, Mary Noble, Helen Scholes and Jenny Wholley) have been busy planning the locations for the exhibition which will open in London and then travel to venues in Wells, Shrewsbury and Halifax. The logo competition provided a winning design which was published in the February issue of the Edge and we hope that details for entries for the exhibition will be circulated with the May issue. Information about the exhibition will start appearing on our social media shortly.

5 – PROPOSALS

i. None received.

6 – ELECTION OF TRUSTEES

All Officers are elected to serve for three years. Elected Officers become Trustees of the Society under the Charity Commission’s rules.

Nomination for Trustees from AGM 2023

  1. Chairman

  2. Treasurer

  3. Membership

  4. Exhibition Officer

  5. Copperplate Special Interest Group (CSIG)

  6. Social Media

  7. AGM Coordinator

  8. Webmaster

  9. Regional Affiliated Group (RAG) Officer

  10. CLAS Academic Standards Board (CASB)

  11. Editorial Board Representative

  12. Administrator

Tony Woodhams Jenny Wholley Meg Chapman Jeffrey Bailey Alejandra Gonaldi Satvinder Nandhra Sarah Walker Anne Marie Delaney Barbara Alldred Josie Brown Jane John Dave Cowan

Co-options

  1. Archivist

  2. Festival Director (2023)

  3. Festival Administrator (2023)

Alison Allan Lou Goolnik Charm Brown

Ex-officio Officers / Other Management Committee specific roles

  1. Art & The Letter Organisers Julie Tallant & Nicky Walker

Co-options and ex-officio members are appointed by the Management Committee

7 – ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Any other business raised at the meeting.

14

APPENDIX A (1)

Receipts and Payment Accounts with Prior Year Comparison Year Ending 31[st] December 2022

Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society (CLAS) Receipts and Payment Accounts with prior year comparison Year ended 31 December 2022

RECEIPTS
A Voluntary income
Subscriptions
Non Gift Aided
Gift Aided
Gift Aid Tax Credit
Donations
Non Gift Aided
Gift Aided
Total Volunary Income
B Charitable Activities
Festivals
Fest' of Calligraphy 20
Fest' of Calligraphy 21
Fest' of Calligraphy 22
Fest' of Calligraphy 23
AGMs
AGM 22
AGM 23
Member Sevices
Art & The Letter
Certificate of Skills
Certificate fees
Diploma fees
Liveonline Courses
Tutor Accred' fees
Unidentfied Misc income
Total Charitable Activities
C Fund generating activities
Affilated Groups' PLI
Sale of goods
Total Fund generating activities
D Investment income
CAF interest
CC Interest
COIF interest
Total Investment income
Total Receipts for the year		 Notes Jan - Dec 22
Jan -		 Dec 21
1
2
3
4
5
6
7		 £
16,058
17,010
4,364		 £
£
15,643
17,749
4,341
37,432
309
73
753
38,185
70
-
24,670
1,497
13,314
180
2,165
1,845
552
4,432
25
124
6,651
22,130
2,042
3,220
4,089
1
11
862
65,266		 £
37,733
382
38,115
679
74
10,094
3,220
26,097
180
6,978
33,255
1,895
270
150
2,105
1,236
3,160
1,968
2,121
5,262
45
232
585
12
76,644

15

Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society (CLAS) Receipts and Payment Accounts with prior year comparison Year ended 31 December 2022

PAYMENTS
Notes
A Charitable activities
Art & The Letter
CLAS Academic Standards Board
Certificate fees
4
Certificate of Skills
Copying & printing
Depreciation
Diploma
5
Edge
Edge postage
Fest' of Callig 21
Fest' of Callig 22
2
Fest' of Callig 23
3
Exhibition 2024
Free calligraphy courses
8
Liveonline Courses
6
PLI (CLAS) insurance
Regional Day
Stationery
RAG Bursaries
Total Charitable activities
B
Fundraising costs
Goods for resale
Affiliated Groups' PLI premiums
Total Fundraising costs
C
Costs of generating voluntary income
Bank charges & Fees
CAF
PayPal & GoCardless
Internet, Postage etc
Internet - Other
9
Postage
Presentations
Total Cost of generating vol income
D
Governance costs
AGM 22 exp
10
AGM 23 exp
11
Management Committee mtgs
Total Governance costs
Total Payments
Receipts for the year
Net of receipts/(paymens)		 Notes Jan - Dec 22
Jan - Dec 21
£
141
230
1,054
252
1,792
13,456
8,147
1,546
17,997
582
139
-
2,124
648
85
7,000		 £
£
£
-
1,217
1,446
2,177
636
11,863
7,534
47,303
348
375
3,200
954
-
184
10,500
55,192
87,737
1,173
2,188
2,246
3,361
213
614
853
827
996
1,998
1,516
3,727
4,510
4,581
5,337
196
9,064
196
71,082
96,631
65,266
76,644
5,816
-
19,987
-
279
1,967
272
581
2,130
1,337
261
5,935
3,130
-

16

Notes
ASSETS
£
£
A Cash at bank and in hand
CAF Current Account
12
6,682
set aside bursary fund
12
2,500
9,182
CAF Gold
12
6,387
CC Bank
13
20,232
35,800
COIF charities deposit account
14
46,604
Exhibition Fund
15
10,000
Sponsorship for beginners' class
16
3,975
60,579
PayPal
923
Total Cash at bank and in hand
97,303
B Other Current Assets
Stock of Good for Sale
794
Total Current Assets
98,097
LIABILITIES
C Creditors
Membership overpayments
Total Value of Assets
98,097
CAPITAL RESERVES
Opening balance of funds
103,913
Net inflow / outflow of funds for the year
5,816
-
Closing balance of funds
98,097
Value of funds at year end
98,097
Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society
Balance Sheet with prior year comparison
As at 31 December 2022
Jan - Dec 22		 Notes
ASSETS
£
£
A Cash at bank and in hand
CAF Current Account
12
6,682
set aside bursary fund
12
2,500
9,182
CAF Gold
12
6,387
CC Bank
13
20,232
35,800
COIF charities deposit account
14
46,604
Exhibition Fund
15
10,000
Sponsorship for beginners' class
16
3,975
60,579
PayPal
923
Total Cash at bank and in hand
97,303
B Other Current Assets
Stock of Good for Sale
794
Total Current Assets
98,097
LIABILITIES
C Creditors
Membership overpayments
Total Value of Assets
98,097
CAPITAL RESERVES
Opening balance of funds
103,913
Net inflow / outflow of funds for the year
5,816
-
Closing balance of funds
98,097
Value of funds at year end
98,097
Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society
Balance Sheet with prior year comparison
As at 31 December 2022
Jan - Dec 22		 Notes
ASSETS
£
£
A Cash at bank and in hand
CAF Current Account
12
6,682
set aside bursary fund
12
2,500
9,182
CAF Gold
12
6,387
CC Bank
13
20,232
35,800
COIF charities deposit account
14
46,604
Exhibition Fund
15
10,000
Sponsorship for beginners' class
16
3,975
60,579
PayPal
923
Total Cash at bank and in hand
97,303
B Other Current Assets
Stock of Good for Sale
794
Total Current Assets
98,097
LIABILITIES
C Creditors
Membership overpayments
Total Value of Assets
98,097
CAPITAL RESERVES
Opening balance of funds
103,913
Net inflow / outflow of funds for the year
5,816
-
Closing balance of funds
98,097
Value of funds at year end
98,097
Calligraphy & Lettering Arts Society
Balance Sheet with prior year comparison
As at 31 December 2022
Jan - Dec 22		 £
£
4,127
9,500
13,627
8,348
20,000
41,975
46,019
10,000
3,975
59,994
1,065
103,034
964
103,998
85
-
103,913
123,900
19,987
-
103,913
103,913
Jan - Dec 21
46,604
10,000
3,975
103,913
5,816
-
97,303
794
98,097
98,097
98,097
98,097

NOTES TO ACCOUNTS : Year ended 31 December 2022

Accounting basis

Cash accounting method has been adopted as the basis for reporting from the year 2017 onwards. The figures in the financial statements represent the receipts and payments made during the year. Receipts and payments in relation to events taking place in a different accounting year are noted under the relevant headings.

For the year ending 31 December 2022 total receipts were £65,266 and total payments £71,082, giving an inyear deficit of £5,816. In the year 2021, the position for the year was a deficit of £19,987. Funds available as at 31 December 2022 are £98,097.

Statement of Receipts and Payments

  1. Gift-aid tax credit claim is made annually in January to HM Revenue and Customs for the accounting year ending in December of the previous year. The two components in the claim are the tax credit due on the subscriptions from members who are taxpayers and have made a gift-aid declaration, and on sundry donations to CLAS that have been gift-aided.

  2. Festival 2022. The net inflow of £11,591 is recorded as a receipt against Festival 2022. This is against an outflow of £17,997 which will increase when all expenses are paid.

  3. For Festival 2023 deposits in the sum of £3,220 have been received in 2022, with £582 expenses for Brochure costs.

  4. Fees for Certificate accreditation assessment of £2,105 were received from candidates, with related outgoings of £1,054.

  5. Fees for Diploma accreditation assessment of £1,236 were received from candidates, with related outgoings of £1,792. The loss is due to increased overseas postage costs which has been addressed for the future as candidates will now be invoiced actual postage and work returned once invoice paid.

17

  1. Receipts of £3,160 have been received for The Liveonline Certificate of Calligraphy courses and £2,124 has been paid to tutors.

  2. Affiliated Groups PLI (Public Liability Insurance) of £1968 represents the contributions from

  3. regional groups affiliated to CLAS towards the insurance premium borne by the Society.

  4. No free calligraphy courses were run this year.

  5. Costs for “Internet and Others” include the fees for maintaining the Society’s website, and the purchase of a Pro-Zoom Licence with televised storage capacity for launching the Liveonline courses. Zoom also is used for the quarterly Management Committee meetings.

  6. AGM 22 income received in 2022 was £1,895, with related expenditure outgoings of £5,935

  7. AGM 23 expenses of £3,130 represent the travel and subsistence costs for the management committee, helpers and speakers for the AGM gathering and deposit for the venue, Regent’s Conferences & Events, Hyde Park.

Balance Sheet

  1. CAF Accounts are historically the main operating and savings accounts for CLAS.

  2. CC Bank Fixed 2 year term deposit account Maturity date 29/08/2023 Expected Interest Over Account Term: £464.56. This was opened to ensure all banks accounts were under the £85k FSCS limit and to get a better rate of interest.

  3. COIF deposit account is the main account for holding funds due to slightly higher rate of interest earned on the deposits compared to holding funds with the CAF accounts. Attempts to find better interest rates were unsuccessful.

  4. £10K has been set aside for the 30[th] Anniversary Exhibition 2024/25

  5. CLAS sponsorship for beginners of £3,975 represents the balance after sponsorship of free courses of £375 were taken up in 2021. The fund is earmarked to assist beginners in taking part in calligraphy courses.

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. The accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. The accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. The accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

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:

Name: Joanna Sheehan IPFA

Relevant professional qualification or membership of professional bodies (if any):

Address: c/o Silver Howe Marlborough Grove Ilkley LS29 8QE

Date: 16 January 2023

18

Chairman Treasurer Membership Secretary Exhibition Officer CPSIG Representative Social Media Officer AGM Coordinator Webmaster Regional Affiliated Group Officer Administrative Secretary CASB Chair Editorial Board Representative Archivist Festival Director (2023) Festival Administrator (2023) Art & The Letter Officers

APPENDIX B

Team Members 2023

Management Committee

Tony Woodhams Trustee 1 Jenny Wholley Trustee 2 Meg Chapman Trustee 3 Jeff Bailey Trustee 4 Alejandra Gonaldi Trustee 5 Satvinder Nandhra Trustee 6 Sarah Walker Trustee 7 Anne-Marie Delaney Trustee 8 Barbara Alldred Trustee 9 Dave Cowan Trustee 10 Josie Brown Trustee 11 Jane John Trustee 12 Alison Allan Co-opted 1 Lou Goolnik Co-opted 2 Charm Brown Co-opted 3 Julie Tallant & Nicky Walker Ex officio

CLAS Academic Standards Board (CASB)

Chair & Representative on MC CASB Admin Secretary Diploma Chief Assessor Accredited Tutors & Live Online Live Online Administrator Diploma Administration Officer Certificate of Calligraphy Officer Fellowship Application Officer Specialist Skills Award Officer Tutors & Talkers Officer Standardisation Officer Designer Education Liaison Officer

Josie Brown Sofia Merchant Josie Brown Josie Brown Alejandra Gonaldi Rebecca Osborne Angela Banks Rachel Yallop Ann Mason Ann Mason Gaynor Goffe Nadia Chin Vacancy

Editorial Board

Commissioning Editor , the Edge Designer , the Edge Copy Editor, the Edge Proof-reader, the Edge Printer Liaison CLASnews & Commissions Contact

Janet Smith / Jane John (from May) Helen Scholes Gail Mitchell Susan Healy, Alison Catchpole Gail Mitchell Jan Sambell

Copperplate Special Interest Group

Representative on MC, Newsletter Editor & Treasurer Membership Secretary & proof-reader Envelope Exchange Coordinator Mentoring Scheme Organiser Calendar Editor

Alejandra Gonaldi Katy May Joanne Taylor Heather McCombie Joy Daniels

30[th] Anniversary Exhibition Team Representative on MC Other team members

Jeff Bailey Jenny Wholley, Bob & Barbara Alldred, Gwyneth Hibbett, Mary Noble, Janice McClelland

19

www.CLAS.co.uk www.facebook.com/clas.co.uk/ https://twitter.com/ClasArts https://www.instagram.com/ clascalligraphyletteringarts/

20