2024-12-31-accounts

Triratna Southampton AGM Chair’s Report 2025

Principal Charity Aims

Triratna Southampton’s charitable aims concern the furthering of the Buddhist religion in the form of the Triratna tradition and using applications of the Buddha’s teaching to promote the health and well-being of all. We do this whilst maintaining a strong connection with the various structures and ethos of the broader Triratna movement.

We make teaching and meditation freely available to anyone in the local area who wishes to visit our centre and supporting those who wish to take their initial interest further with a deeper understanding and practice of Buddhism.

Fellowship and community (Sangha) is an essential supporting element to Buddhist practice and cultivating a welcoming centre culture is an important part of our work. This year has seen a continued increase in newcomers attending our centre as well as the continuing strengthening of the bonds of community and deepening in the practice of Sangha members of longer standing.

Open Saturday morning classes and courses have attracted new people to the centre some of whom have now joined new Dharma training groups for regulars. During the year three Sangha members have requested to train for ordination in the Triratna Buddhist Order.

Activities

Our regular weekly events this year comprised:

Wednesday, Thursday and more recently Monday evening Dharma Training for five separate groups of people, some long established and some who have come to the centre within the last year.

Saturday morning teaching of meditation and Dharma in the form of ‘Learn to Meditate’ and ‘Going Deeper’ sessions. We continue to welcome many new visitors who benefit from meditation teaching some of whom have progressed to our Going Deeper sessions and to the regular evenings mentioned above.

Meditation Mondays ran for three months from July to October. This was an open class with varying drop-in attendance that was ended to allow resources to be redirected to newcomers’ courses in the autumn and spring.

Less frequent events have been…

On a monthly basis we have held full moon meditation and puja evenings excepting those months where the puja is held on a festival day.

Six festival days (days for Padmasambhava and Tara were added to our more usual offerings).

Two six week newcomers courses in the autumn and spring.

Online monthly mornings for women

Three day retreats, two led by Jinapalita and one by Dhammavijaya

The monthly Parents’ Sangha led by Dan. Families with young children can come along, for crafts, meditation, chanting and other activities. These have continued to flourish over the course of the year. Connections have been made with other Triratna family activities nationwide.

Two weekend retreats, one at Rivendell retreat centre in Sussex and one on the Isle of Wight courtesy of Linda Lees and her family. Such retreats perform an important role in strengthening community and deepening experience and understanding of the Buddha’s teaching. They also are important in raising funds to support the running and development of our centre. Sangha members also participated in the week long autumn Sanghas Retreat at Adhisthana.

The centre also hosted a very successful fundraising quiz night in December organised by Dylan, Emily and Dhammavijaya.

Centre Team and Trustees

At the core of our centre activities is an Order team of six people, Amalasraddha, Dhammavijaya, Kalyanatara, Saddhabhaya, Sudarshini and Utpaladhi.

In June 2025 Saddhabhaya became chair following one year of a co chairing arrangement with Amalasraddha and Sudarshini. Dhammavijaya and Kalyanatara are our men’s and women’s Mitra Convenors respectively. Saddhabhaya and Amalasraddha lead on Safeguarding and Sudarshini is secretary to the trustees.

Essential to the centre’s functioning is financial monitoring and reporting and this role has once again been carried out expertly by Emily Smith.

Since the spring of 2024 Andy Whitehouse has been our centre manager looking after our building, utilities and bookings. He has organised volunteers in redecorating and general care for the centre.

In the autumn 2024, Jinapalita, who has been a great friend to the centre in recent years, became our centre president, providing support and guidance to the centre team and beyond. Jinapalita has continued to stay at the centre regularly offering mediation day retreats and will be taking a leading role in our 2025 August Sangha retreat at Rivendell.

Community

In addition to the team members mentioned above, our Sangha comprises around twenty five active Mitras of whom sixteen are training for Ordination.

Around this established core Sangha there is a wider circle of similar size made up of people who attend the centre regularly, semi-regularly or as newcomers.

Approximately fifteen people have deepened their involvement by joining regular

Dharma Training evenings on Mondays and Thursdays. This has almost doubled the number of people involved in such sessions.

Volunteer Contributions

Our centre benefits enormously from the efforts of a large number of volunteers. Sangha members are enthusiastic to support the centre and its activities, contributing both energy and creativity and developing fellowship in the process.

Contributions at various times during the year include:

• treasurer - Emily

• centre care team - Jan, Isabel and Katherine

• communications team - Merl, Dan and Andy

• Saturday morning team - Dan, Dylan, Jan, Wendy and Isabel

• shrine care and flowers - Rick and Paramajyoti

• festival day shrines - Merl and Linda Lees

• courtyard garden - Linda Marais

• maintenance - Dylan

• Parents’ Sangha - Dan

• home and business as a retreat centre - Linda, Stuart and Hugo

Outreach Activities

We have supported some school visits although limited resources have restricted our ability to respond to all requests. We hope to be able to do more going forward and make further connections in the local area.

In the autumn the centre hosted a large gathering of people from different faiths in the interests of inter faith dialogue.

Residential Community Above

During the year only one person has lived at the centre but the accommodation has also been used for guests and for visits by our centre president Jinapalita. The goal of a Buddhist community has yet to be realised and as such income from rental has been limited. Our centre manager Andy has led efforts with volunteers to redecorate and refurbish the accommodation.

Financial Report and Reserves Policy

Total income was almost £4,000 lower in 2024 when compared with 2023, £33,824 down from £37,695.

The reduction is due to reduced rental income for the accommodation above the centre, this fell by £7,155. Rental income is an important income stream for the centre but is dependent on people wishing live in a Buddhist community. Letting the accommodation more generally has not proved beneficial nor is it in line with our charitable aims.

Reduced rental income was offset by a very positive increase in income from centre activities and donations of £3,284 meaning that the surplus for the year was actually

very slightly higher than in 2023 at £2,606.

Total expenditure for 2024 was £4,100 lower than in 2023 at £31,218 down from £35,318.

Approximately half of this is due to reduced staff and support costs, down from £9,840 to £7,940

Reduced expenditure on gas and electricity account for most of the rest of the reduction, down by £1,793 in 2024, this is in part due to having less tenants above the centre.

Triratna Southampton operates a policy in accord with our constitution whereby the equivalent of three months average expenditure, including our loan repayments and insurance, is held in reserve. Based upon our 2024 expenditure this amount is in the region of £8,000. However, aware of the age of our building and the cost of potential repairs to the fabric of the building and appliances we intend to retain a higher figure than this.

We are also very aware that our current Windhorse Trust loan requires full repayment in December 2026 and wish to minimise any refinancing necessary. Some of this can come from reserves above our the amount set out in our constitution, some from fundraising and hopefully some from grant applications.

Saddhabhaya

2024 Annual Accounts

Triratna Southampton Buddhist Centre

Receipts & Payments Accounts Receipts Dharma Activities Retreats Courses Meditation Monday Women's Study Group Men's Study Group Saturday Class Learn to Meditate Going Deeper Study Groups Puja Evening Donations Standing Orders Fundraising Other Donations Gift Aid Tax Other Income Book sales & Library Rental Income Yoga Total Income Payments Administration Broadband/Internet/Phone Insurance Loan Interest (Windhorse) Professional Fees Building Costs Repairs & Maintenance Donations Central Dana Dharma Activity Costs Advertising Teaching materials Retreat Costs		2024 2023 3,579 4,284 622 883 163 0 203 123 444 84 0 1,635 591 0 2,163 0 416 208 248 178 8,429 7,395 12,845 11,672 164 0 1,227 652 3,886 3,865 18,122 16,189 693 405 6,545 13,700 34 7 7,273 14,111 33,824 37,695 418 378 1,152 1,179 4,343 4,473 576 735 6,489 6,764 880 1,221 880 1,221 452 120 452 120 100 397 381 776 2,792 2,305

Other Expenditure Shop Costs Staff Costs Support Costs Travel Rates & Utilities Council Tax Electricity Gas Water Assets & Investment Purchases Loan Repayment (Windhorse) Total Expenditure Net Income	3,273 3,479 286 304 5,040 9,840 2,900 0 226 157 8,452 10,301 1,431 1,365 841 1,577 3,138 4,195 709 745 6,119 7,882 5,553 5,553 5,553 5,553 31,218 35,318 2,606 2,377

Triratna Southampton Buddhist Centre

2024 Annual Accounts

Statement of Assets & Liabilities Fixed Assets Building & Land FFE (Mats) Current Assets Co-op Bank Account Total Assets Liabilities Windhorse Loan Capital Net Assets Represented By Funds brought forward Surplus for year Capital payments made in year to reduce loan liability		2024 2023 257,150 257,150 550 550 257,700 257,700 16,158 13,552 16,158 13,552 273,858 271,252 64,689 70,242 209,168 201,010 201,010 193,081 2,606 2,377 5,553 5,553 209,168 201,010

Independent examinees report on the accounts I reportto the trustee5 of TriratTha Southampton (charity no: 10596881 on myexamination of the accounts year ending 3VI212024. A5 the tharitytru5tees. you are responsible forthe preparation of the accounts in accordance wrth the requi￿rne￿ts of the CharitlesAct 2011 Iyhe ACVI. I report in iespertof the exarnination of the accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrwng out my examination, I have followed the appllcable Dirertions gfven by the Charity Commiwon under sertion 14515llbl of the ACL I ha¥e cornpleted myexarnination. I conffrn) that no material matters have eometo myattention In connection with the examinatlon which eive me cause to believe ihat in. any material ￿speCt. Accounting record5 ¥¥ere rK)t kept In accordance wlth section 130 of the Act or The accounts do r￿t accord with the accounting record5 I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which atteniion Should bedrawn in order to Ènable a prO￿r understanding of the accounts to be reathed. 5tgned: Date.. 0311012025 Nime: Fay Pritrhard Rde¥ant professlonal quallfi¢atton: AAT Ad**ess: 8 Darwin Street, Shrewsbury, SY3 8QE