Somerset Churches Tnt Truste Report and Unaudftod Accounts For the year onded 30 June 2023 Reglstered Charlty numb•r 1055840
Somerset Churches Trnst 1055840 Wells BA5 IFD WEBSIIE.. BANKERS.. The Commons SP7 8JY CCLA Investtncni Mwanent 80 cheap EC2V 6DZ CAF Bank Limited 25 Kin8s Hill Avtnue West Mallin8 K¢nl ME194TA United Tnjst Bank Limi*d One RO¢r Street London EC2Y 9AW TrUSTEES.' The Tn&xs are listed in the appendtyJ TnLSt¢es' Rq SECREfARY: (Vacancy) rNDEPENDENf EXAMtNER: Roland J. Adamson BA FCA OBJECTS: The Tn i5¥n inthpmdent M)kninational iY to raise money and make8rnnts tsthe wesuvati(ffi and repair of churches amd chapels in the hiAoric county of kn¢r%L li aL%o exists io uKourage greater ll]ieTesl and involvemtxrt ty all manben ofthe community. wh¢ther churthgoing in the magnificent h¢ritsge of religi($ bulklin in the c(Amty.
Acting Chalrman'$ $ttrw¢nt on the artivitit4 ebievthents nd rtre plans ofthe Trnst Somerset Church¢s Tnst-'keeping Somerset's churches and ch4Je]s alive.. This ts the TTUSt,5'strEjne. and is a clear statement otour roifon d'etre. In this'FKJst-l(Kkdown' er4 there is a ser of thtngs starting to rebjrn to'notrnality.. The genernl feeling is that parish¢5 (predominantty njral) in SomeThet are wn¢¢nlraling actively building en8agetD¢nt with parisbioners in their own ¢ommunilies. Local people being Xtively ¢ngoged WTth thcTrown rArÉsh communiiies h&% Iw the beAlrock of parish life for eenti]rie$. This is &8 li should be but ll¢S grcalcT significance in the cutmit th]enging Konomic environment where churches and chapels fxe increasing COSLS and pwing their share of cler8y costs 14 iti a outnbeTof case& proving very diffieult. Meanwhile. there is rea] inteyesi in ¢hur¢hes and ChIS and their history: 'church touri5m' 15 a popular arta and where Somerset Churches Trust has had much sut¢¢Ss in the with ow pro8ramme of 'crnwls'. This a¢tivTty can make a real dirrerence to churches and chapels by rnising the profile and encouragÉng engagement in th¢ wmmunity- much better than witnessing dxlin< closure and sale. And vi$itots thould make dOnatTrS and prchw guidebwksl Against that bwk(trop, I wish to pay tribute to the of memiw thurches and our TnLgteo in rising to the challen8¢s. We have a very g)d website as our ÈYin¢ipal ¢ommunication thannel with membets. I would encourage everyone to use this resou¢. Newsletters are also v¢ry IMIrn1 IML as ediloT, I know providing 'conlent' is not at the top of everyone's priorities (this is a plea ftt information l 8rti¢l¢s). We know that fundraising is a thallenge: 50tne 8tant-8ivin8 or8aDiSations ¥r¢ rkfining their prioTitie& making the pumpprimin8 grants from the Somerset ChUh¢S Trust even more importanL As a Tru we are conscious ofthis and are looking at other funding m(Mle]s bui whai is imwytant to us is a sie stream of new members. Membership is the lifeblood of the Trust. Memberthtp income is the pruKipal source of funding (or 8r4nts- as the following Pt$ show, Tnt overheads are low I py tribute to our Trerer TY Davies fty ke¢pTng us on the 'straight and narrow,. An historic source of funds for the Trusi has been the onnual'Rid¢+Stride' fijndraiser. How¢v¢r, in T¢c¢nt years this a¢iivity ha5 produced diminishing returns. nolthSnding the sterling efforts of TTUSttt PhilÈp Skelhorn in managing the campaigns. W¢ have tried a number of different 4)proxhes, including employin8 a professional fundr4is¢r (with his fees cover by a generous benefactor) but after severnl years, the funds rais were less than the c4)stl T51¢¢5 therefore dxided to pause thi5 activity for the tjme king until th¢ ¢limate changes for spcffisottd walksl¢y¢le rides improves! Materials will be made available crt)line for parishes wishing to wn¢tnue. Clearty this is disappointing a5 w¢ note some other county trusts raise over £llXI.(W A$ part of 'keeping Somer5¢t's Churches and CThyls alive. we use our small resources to'pump prime, fiwdrni4ing efforts to faciliiate works 10 churches and chapels- the Trust usts its r¢sour¢es of committed volunteer assessors to appraise proj¢¢ts. Tht$ is of ¢sp¢cial value because. arnied with our &%e55rnent and a tangible granL projeci mana8er5 can approach major sources of fm¥n¢¢ (who I)k at applications on paper/online) with real eviden¢¢ and verification to support their r¢quesis. In 202W23, the Trusl awarded 13 grants towlIll £24.5. Our newest Trumee. F.mm4 Brown. is CUTrently on maternty leave (surely a first for th¢ Trust) and we congratulatc her on the birth of a datsghter. In other changes in Tn¢¢4 we saw the TeiiTements of Jim Allwoo4 Marion JeffTey and Bob Key. they all made significant cOnM10nS to the Trust: Jirn was our Membership Secretary and then. in addition, TTUSt Secretary while mario together with Chris Hawking& d¢veloF¢d our very fme website and Bob, of cottrse gav¢ us gteal guiilan¢¢ and the benefit of his wide experience. In recognising th ¢rustee5 are tfijsy people, we Want to find a way to improve our responsiveness to member quelon$ at)d enquiri¢5. So. we now have a PAI Her name is Cltiire #nd she is a "virtual PA", taking &Jvanta8e of m(wJern tec1]nolo {¢mail and Vid etc). This i8 a iimely reminder of the immense Value of volunteers to our charity. We are most 4)pIl¥e of all the work of trustees and helpers a]ike. In keepin8 with our rnison d'étre. we have hosd a series of exceueni Church Crawb Annual Talks. Ai the 2022 Annual Meeting, we were treated to William N¢wsom's 'S(nerset Churches- forgotten little gems, and in 2023. 'Somerset ChUh¢S.. more than just l8ty Iow¢r5- & celebration of Somerset churd) ts)wery spir¢s and bellcotes in all their wide variety.. Build]ng on thi& we are w¢paring a fvll programe for2024. We have ready a packed pAw4mme of visits. organi1 by a dedited team to wovide a bo18nce of QppoTtslthCS to learn rnore atK)ut our historic churches and chapejs. The Truste¢s' objKlive for the next 25 years is to continue to ke¢p Sorn¢ES¢¢'s churches and ¢hattls alive. l am most 8Eateful to thett4 and Ittvolv for their supkJt and commitmcnt. Axel Plmer, Ch*irma P November 2(ll3
TRUSTEES REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED30JUNE 2023 that they have c(MnplTed with theirduty utthr the awilies Act 2011 to have dueregxd fwguidallce by TRUSTEES u at 30June 2023 (ID 8lphbetital orderof J4rw¢) Emma Brovrn Bob Crtsft V¢n. Simon Hiu Dr Axel Palmer (Aetitig Chatrm•n} Philip Sktlborn ADtboDy Sutellfft Very Rev Bob Key ceased to be a tnjsttt 8 October 2022. Marion Jeffr¢y ¢¢awJ to be a trustee on 13th November 2022 and Jim AIlW( ¢¢8sed io be • tswte¢ on 311¢ De¢¢mber 2022. The Tn is gov¢moJ by Tn Deed dated 9 May. 1996. th l January 2014 the nwne of the Tn was changed from"Fri¢nd5 of kn¢r5¢¢ ChUh¢S and Chapels- to"sner5e£ Churthes Trust-. RECRUITMENT AND AppofMIMENT OF TRUSIEES The Tte¢S are ap[oint f¢x an initial tem) of five years whith is twable fiWUP to two fith t¢m of thtte years exh. Powu of apInneTrt is vethj in the Truste&4 havLfi8 regard to the differen¢ skills and bkNIS that infrn thextivitles0ftheTnL Tte¢Sar¢O(rtdtia1ilmg in theirrt4w)nsibilitsesasaTrus¢. ORGANISATION Th¢ Trust bas no paid employees. Day.ttrdty are cKrfmb by the Tnw by officus wbo &re appoint¢d by th¢ Tnwtts. RISK MANAGEMENT Th¢ TTUStee5 k¢ep un<kr review thini$trativ¢ and the ri5k5towhich the Tnrnay be subject and take su¢h steps Ès n¢¢¢&%ary in thos¢ resrt¢ts. A risk &¥e$Sm¢ h&% be (kv¢lryul which 15 wdica]ly revicw by theThstees. RESERVES GRANT.MAKING AND INVLSTMENT POLICIES The policy of the trust is to appty the whole of its apwt from the F)wMcnt F1 in grw)ts for the prwetvation and repair of. aThJ the provisi(m of c(Knmunity facilities thurches and chapeLs in the historic county of Somer8¢L The [JnrestrKI FuThLs are h¢kl to me¢t nets as they arise end the TIu aim to hold a reserve of funds to en$ur¢ th41 any UTgen¢ ¢an and a cim5i5t¢nt policy can be adW for the tnaking of grants. UEtrcstr Funds are wherc possible held in itkter&%t beanng (kwstt& ¢xW for fimds for IMml&le need8 which are mailltsin&l in a current Desigttaial FuDds e wh¥e W1b}e held in intEst bearing deSits. used for the puw set in n(rte 4 on pase 7. These monies investyj in the Clwtties Offtiaj Investmeni OD behllf of the Trte*S Axel Palmer Nov¢mbtr 2011
SOMERSET CHURCHES TRU IndepeTr41tht wminer's to th¢ Trkn ofSoThernt Tr( I rew)rt on the 4cc4)UDts of the Trth%t the year 30 Jutte 21Y23. 7¢h are s¢ LNrt on page6 5 to 8. Rptive respDMibilitxs of Trllstees and ETanbiner The charity's tnleeS are resyonsible fr the Weparati of th¢ Tr (knity'SIn c(m5i(kr that an audit is not required f(r thAs year w)thr wti(1 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Clkarities AL) and tbat an indepentht eXatnin&l( is need It is my rest$1])]11ty lo: examine the accounts under se£tith 145 of the Charities ALt follow the pr(ttdur¢s laid th)wn in the genffal Dir¢ctiO Ven by the (knity Commission {UDder se£tion 145(5)(b) of the Charities ACL" and State whether p&iKular maller5 have ¢(xne to my attentio B•$is of1ndendeknt examlner's report My examitlltion was caTrted out in with the genenl Duection$ given Fry the Chwity commi55(. An examination in¢ludes a review of the puounting records kept by the Charity and a ¢omparison of the accounts presented with those r(&. It also in¢ludeg conSideran of any unusual iiems or disc10511res Èn the xcoJnt% and seeking exp]anatiorL8 frffij the trustees conc¢rnin8 any matt¢r& The priK&Jurcs undertaken do not wovide th¢ ¢vidence that would reqU[r in an wdiL and ¢onsequently no Opinio is given as to wheth¢r the a true and far view and the tepxt is limid those matteys set o the statema)t below. lodepemdertl examitter's statement In cOnn10n with my ¢xaminalion. no matterh05 corne to rny attention.. (l) which 8iv¥ me rt&wnable Co to b¢Ji¢ve that in any rnr1 the Tequirem¢nts'. to k¢¢p accounlin8 records in with seth1( 130 of the Charities A a1 ouniing r4uirements of the Clwities A have beth m¢( or to whieh, in Myopinic. an¢ntirn slKMJJd drawn in iythr to able a und¢Th8 of the accounts to be reached (2) Roi*Dd J. Adamson BA FCA Chartered AceountsTrt 45 Shakespeare Avmue Bath BA2 4RG 2P October 2023
Somerstt Churches Tr•8t Receipts and Payme#ts A¢¢ount for the Ytar Ended 30 J•Be 2023 2022 Subserlptkns including tax lief OD 17 17 17,788 Donatlons Ixga¢ies (see not¢ 3) General (inc tsx reli¢fj 595 Interejt dlvld¢#th Deposit inteT¢St lJ14 lJ14 956 Ev¢ttts 2021 Ridtrbstride (itic llx telieo Cburch visits and ots events U76 376 2J76 370 6,731 Publl¢atlollJ and •dverttslng Trt*l IDeomi¢ 755 27.461 PAYMENTS SUbriPtIOns {521 (43) (46) Website develonertt (note 4) {3,3W) (29) 271) 155T) 11451 (149) (96) 4.732 Insurance Marketitig Bv¢nts TnLStee expenses {t 5) Bank charges (320) Q71) 12711 () (531 (63) 163 {1.O82) SURPLUS BEFORE GRAM PAJD 69hTJ 21729 GRANTS PAID {not¢ 7) (19 110,51MJ) EXCFSW)EFICIT) OF RECEIM OVER PAYMENTS 4(129 4sirJ 12229
Somerset Churches Tnut Ststement of knets Ind LlbilitieJ as at 30 June 21)23 unrestri D£igMted Endowmettt FuBds Total Fpnds Totsl Funds 2022 (n(rte 6) Investment (at market val¥¢) Charities OtTicial Invesllneni FuThl (COIF).. 1.779.3 Income UDits (note 6) 464 33,464 32,449 IOS627 16S627 120.454 TotAI FWJNIS 16S627 199,091 152.903 SOURCE OF FUNDS Funds Brolt Forn*nl 119,498 33.405 152,W3 142.465 Investm¢nt gain in year Slus for thc year Grants paid (note 7) 1,015 1.015 69,673 {24500) (1,791) 22,729 (10.J¢)o) 6&704 (22575) (1,92SJ rrIed fomrd 165fv27 33864 199,091 152.903 Grsnts #pproved bu¢ not
t 30 June 2023 (note 7)
Is Is) 28,5(K) Approved by th¢ Tnutett •Dd siped on tlelr beb•lf by: Anthony L Davlu MA MBA FIC CMC (HOD Trusurer)
Somersrt Churth¢J Tr•gt Notes to the Aeemnts for the Year Ended 30 JwDe 2fy23 l Th¢ accounts hav¢ beth in with th¢ CtrAriti¢s AL 2011 with ppiithle £41.097.80 £3.030.fy) £iJ23.36 £45.651.16 ProfD T DonovAo Mr A Mitcham S No Trustee received any remunernti(M or other benefits dwing the ¢wrent or W10& year. would be reimbwsed. This rewesents a lew of £20.( from the l Rokn Hill. The iK(rfneto be used ftr 8rants to thurthes in the Axbrid8¢ dew of the diocue of B•th Wells. Balanee #130 June 2022 31449 In¢ le£nl by 30 I¢ 2022 Invest1 8(lO$s) Investsnrt incorne Grants paid to Axbrid8e Dewy thurths (1925) Balanc¢ #t 30 June 2011 33A64
Somerset Churehes Trust Notes to the AeeouDts for the Year EDded 30 June 2023 Grants paid in the year 202&23 St James the Less. Hals¢ St Laurence. Ekst Harptree St Peter. West14untspill All Saints. Rockwell Green B VfvL Nettlecombe St Peter & St P1. Bishops Hull All Saints, Woolley Nexus Methodist Churcty Bath St Michael. Oth¢ry Holy Trinity, Nailsea St Andrew. Curry Rivcl All Saints. Fast Pennard St Petrr & St Paul. North Curry £2.000 £2.00O £3.000 £1.500 £2.000 £2,500 £2.0 £i.000 £I.(KN) £2,500 £I,IKN) £24.500 of which £1.925 paid from income g¢n¢rnted by the Endowment Fund- s¢¢ note 6 Grants outstsnding gt 30 J•me 2023 St Andrew, 14igh Ham St Peter & St Paul. Muchelney St Mary. Brid8water St P¢ter & St Paul, Wincanton St Peter & St Paul, ChiselborouBh St Mary the Virgin,Chedzoy Emmanuel Church. Weston super Mare St John the Baptist, Pawlett £1.51XI £3,000 £500 £1.5 £1,500 £2.000 £15,0(M)