Ackworth Community Church Trust Report of the Trustees Year ended 31 March 2021
The name of the trust is Ackworth Community Church Trust, the registration number is 1056207. The principal office of the charity is 15 Beech Street, South Elmsall, Pontefract, WF9 2HG. The names of the trustees as the time of this report are: Alyn Griffith, Tony Horsfall, Brenda Mallinson.
The objectives of the charity are: 1. To advance the Christian faith, in accordance with the statement of beliefs shown in the constitution, in the county of West Yorkshire and in other such parts of the UK or the world mission field (operating area) as the trustees from time to time think fit. 2. To relieve persons in conditions of need or hardship or who are aged and infirm and to relieve the distress caused thereby in the same operating area as the trustees from time-to-time think fit.
- To promote and fulfil such other charitable purposes beneficial to the community in the area of operation as the trustees think fit.
The governing document of the charity is a constitution which has been in place since 1996, the church was founded in 1991. The charity has 3 trustees selected from the body of the church depending upon their reputation and experience. The power to appoint trustees lies with the trustees. The day to day running of the church is managed by 5 elders, one of whom, Ashley Guest the Pastor, is full time and paid by the church. The elders make financial decisions about the management of the church with reference to the trustees for significant sums. Two of the elders (excluding Ashley Guest) are also Trustees, the trustees are fully involved in the decisions reflecting the impact of the pandemic on the life of the church.
The general reserve held by the charity increased during the financial year, which is remarkable during a period in which the church had not met together. Regular giving increased by £870 and unrestricted expenditure excluding donations decreased by £4341, which was primarily due to room hire costs not being incurred. The designated fund for the Little Oaks Parent and Toddler group decreased by £587 as they did not meet during the year; and the designated fund for the Needs account reduced by £400 as we made gifts to church members in need because of the pandemic. The Pastor has continued to work fulltime and be salaried throughout. There has been no negative impact on the Reserves. During the year, £500 was paid to trustee Tony Horsfall. Tony was not involved in the decision-making for this gift.
The Trustees have approved a budget for the church for the 2021/22 financial year with income of £33,760 and expenditure £33,278. This assumes that we will be able to start meeting together in July 2021.
In planning the activities of the church, the Trustees have applied the guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission.
Responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the charity is delegated to the church leaders (which includes two of the trustees) who meet regularly.
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Reserves Policy
The trustees have determined that the charity should aim to hold unrestricted cash of no less than £8,000 (which equates to about 3 months of unrestricted expenditure) so that the charity could continue to operate should income and / or expenditure vary adversely. At the year end, the charity held unrestricted cash of £25,135 and the charity is complying with its reserves policy, holding excess funds for the purpose of our desire to own or rent our own premises.
Our policy is to retain sufficient reserves:
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To ensure that the church and charity has sufficient funds to meet its financial commitments;
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To demonstrate that the church and charity is sustainable into the future;
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To ensure that the church and charity is able to manage future unforeseen financial difficulties;
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To ensure that excessive funds are not held without any identifiable reason or for any identifiable purpose.
Impact of Covid-19
Sunday 15[th] March 2020 was the last time that the church met together prior to the lockdown.
The impact of the lockdown restrictions on the church was immediate as the Ackworth Parish Council, in who’s building the church meets, closed the premises with immediate effect. This meant that we could no longer to meet on Sundays, midweek for bible studies, toddlers, Messy Church or coffee afternoons. We also followed the guidance issued by the Government on faith groups meeting together.
Within 3 days of the decision curtailing our meeting together, we had formed pastoral groups, so that each of the elders had a group of people to contact regularly, to ensure that they were well, coping in the strange circumstances and to assess whether they needed pastoral support.
The elders also considered who would require help from the Needs Fund as they were no longer able to work due to the lockdown.
We have become more adept at using technology for our meetings. On 29[th] March we started meeting by Facebook Live from the Pastor’s living room. This service continues and is also available on You Tube for those who don’t have access to Facebook. This format of service is being watched by about 50 people per week, many of whom aren’t regular attendees at church.
In July we started meeting via Zoom for our mid-week meetings: prayer, two bible studies and post-Alpha groups.
During the second lock down, the elders who were sharing the word couldn’t travel to the Pastor’s house to speak, so they recorded their message in their own homes and sent it to the Pastor for inclusion in the meeting.
The Toddler group also has a weekly online Facebook Live time.
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During the first lockdown we joined with our friends in Churches Together in Ackworth in providing a service of delivering prescriptions to those in the village who were self-isolating or shielding. This became a regular service to many in the village and extended beyond delivering prescriptions to fetching groceries and taking letters to the post box etc.
One of our members took the lead in providing a food bank to those in Ackworth who has suffered financially due to the lockdown. This service continues today.
Mission
We have continued to support the work of Salt Malawi, both in prayer and financially, as they continue their missionary work in Malawi. We also continued with our support of Your Mission, a charity who run missions training courses and often facilitate mission trips.
Trustees' Responsibilities
Charity law requires us as Trustees to prepare financial statements for each accounting year which record the receipts and payments of the charity for the year.
We are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable us to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011.
We also have a responsibility to safeguard the assets of the charity and to take reasonable steps to prevent fraud or any other irregularities.
Approval
This report was approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Tony Horsfall
Date:25 Aug 21_
Chair of Trustees
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Ackworth Community Church
Financial Statement for the year ended 31st March 2021
| Receipts and Payments Account Notes Receipts Donations, Legacies and Other Similar Receipts Weekly Offering Charitable Donations Gifts for Missions Operating Activities to Further Charitable Objectives: 4 Investment Income Receipts: Bank Interest Other Income Miscellaneous Income Payments Payments for Generating Funds: Charitable Payments: Designated and undesignated donation to Missions 2 Gifts Charitable Activities: Staff Salary and Pension 3 Pension Churches Together Outreach Support Costs: Children's work Books, Conferences and Training Premises Hire Insurance Equipment Sundry Expenses Management and Administration Costs: Accounts Examination Payroll Fee Stationery, Postage and Equipment Copyright (Deficit)/Surplus for the year Balance brought forward from previous year Transferred between funds Balance carried forward at the end of the year |
Restricted Funds Designated Funds General Funds Total for year 5,856 5,856 25,153 25,153 0 0 0 114 114 7 7 0 0 £0 £114 £31,016 £31,130 0 0 2,400 2,400 700 0 700 20,378 20,378 1,622 1,622 70 70 0 0 230 230 0 0 0 800 1,358 2,158 0 328 328 0 0 0 240 240 660 660 382 382 206 206 284 284 £0 £1,500 £28,158 £29,658 0 (1,386) 2,858 1,471 0 2,798 20,866 23,664 0 400 (400) 0 £0 £1,812 £23,324 £25,135 2021 |
2020 Total for year 7,147 22,992 430 1,823 28 255 |
|---|---|---|
| £32,675 | ||
| 3,200 0 20,378 1,568 70 0 157 310 4,442 507 98 2,615 480 382 319 278 |
||
| 34,804 | ||
| -2,129 25,793 0 |
||
| £23,664 |
Ackworth Community Church
Financial Statement for the year ended 31st March 2021
| ASSETS 2021 Monetary Assets Petty Cash (Little Oaks) 1 Barclays Community Account 8,255 Barclays Business Premium Account 15,067 Barclays Little Oaks Account 257 Barclays Needs Account 1,555 £25,135 Representing Balances on the following accounts General Fund 23,324 Designated Funds 1,812 Restricted Funds 0 £25,135 Non-Monetary Assets £0 There was a small amount of Fixtures, furniture and equipment at the church premises LIABILITIES Accrual for Accounts Examination by Stewardship 660 Pension 162 Rent creditor (Oct to Dec 2019) Rent creditor (Jan to Mar 2020) £822 |
2020 1 5704 15161 843 1955 |
|---|---|
| £23,664 | |
| 20,866 2,798 0 |
|
| £23,664 | |
| 540 162.17 594 912 |
|
| 2208 |
These accounts were approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Tony Horsfall
Position: Chair of Trustees Date 25 August 2021
INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
TO THE TRUSTEES OF
ACKWORTH COMMUNITY CHURCH TRUST
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Ackworth Community Church Trust ('the charity') for the year ended 31 March 2021 on pages 1 to 3.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; or
- the accounts do not accord with the accounting records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Jaimée Young
Stewardship 1 Lamb's Passage LONDON EC1Y 8AB
Date: 31 August 2021
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