## **Mothers Union Diocese of Birmingham**
Registered Charity: 1065815
## **Annual Report for Year ended 31st December 2020**
MU Diocesan Office The Church of England 1, Colmore Row Birmingham B3 2BJ Tel 0121 643 0938
Bankers CAF Bank Ltd 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Maling, Kent ME19 4JQ
Email: office@mubham.org.uk
CBF Church of England Funds 80 Cheapside London EC2V 6DZ
**Trustees** : Mrs Deirdre Moll (President) Mrs Rowena Nicholls, Mr Peter Johnson (Treasurer), Mr Tony Parker, (resigned April 2020) Mrs Val Warner, Mrs Anne Pycock, Mrs Tsitsi Dorcas Jongwe, Mrs Elaine Diskin (from March 2020), Mrs Kit MacLachlan (from March 2020)
**Patron and member** : The Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart
**Mothers' Union** is an international Christian membership charity of over four million members living in over eighty-three countries whose vision is to bring about a world where God’s love is shown through loving, respectful, and flourishing relationships.
**The Aim and purpose of Mothers’ Union** is to demonstrate Christian faith in action by the transformation of communities worldwide through the nurture of families in their many forms.
## **The Objectives are:**
- Maintaining a worldwide fellowship of Christians united in prayer, worship, and service
- Promoting conditions in society favourable to stable family life and the protection of children
- Helping those whose family life has met with adversity
1
- Promoting and supporting marriage
- Encouraging parents in their role to develop the faith of their children
Mothers’ Union, Birmingham has worked to fulfil the Aim and Objectives of the charity by supporting both local projects and the worldwide work. The charity works closely with the global charity at Mary Sumner House, London
**The Trustees** submit their report and financial statements for the Mothers’ Union – Birmingham Diocese, for the year ended 31[st] December 2020 and accepted at the meeting on 18[th] September 2021
The Board of Trustees met eight times during the year. The meetings in January and March were in person All others were held virtually by Zoom following the limitations on meetings imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.
There was one Members’ Meeting in the year. This was held virtually by Zoom, in October. The meeting was primarily worship followed by a short business meeting
The charity is dependent on its members for funding and is staffed by volunteers and one part-time salaried secretary. An annual subscription is levied on members to cover subscriptions to Central Mothers’ Union, Birmingham’s administrative expenses and Projects. In 2020 the subscription was £24.00 with £14.50 of that being the central charity levy
There were 617 members at the end of the year mostly in active branches attached to parish churches Some are Diocesan members who have no formal attachment to any branch. Some twenty of the members are housebound but remain linked to a branch and are known as Indoor members. Discussions continue as branches face challenges in finding volunteers to take on some of the necessary administration
In 2020 the Covid 19 pandemic had a significant impact on everyone. Lockdowns or restrictions on movement and meeting with others were imposed by the government. From the middle of March, no group activities took place for the rest of the year. All MU projects which involved meeting with others were unable to continue. No branch meetings took place in person. Generally, branches remained active by providing pastoral support for one another in their local communities.
The central charity was brought to the brink of collapse by the loss of income and an emergency appeal was made for £1 million . This was supported by MU Birmingham by a grant of £1000 from reserves and many branches and individual members from across the diocese made additional contributions. The central charity made radical cuts to its structures and reduced its staffing levels. and has been able to satisfy its auditors that it is a going concern. A balanced budget was agreed for 2021 which was based on increasing the subscription levy for each member to £20. A significant raise from the previous £14.
2
The charitable activities are grouped into four areas
- Action & Outreach
- Faith & Policy
- Fundraising & Communications
- Finance & Administration
## **Action & Outreach Group**
This Group is responsible for the projects in the Diocese and for communicating information about the work overseas.
AFIA - Away from It All . This a project that funds holidays for those in great need. In 2020 four holidays were arranged at a total cost of £2208. This was a significant reduction from previous years and partly reflects the difficulty of identifying recipients and making arrangements at a time of lockdowns and travel restrictions.
The work in the two prisons was reduced to the minimum. In HMP Birmingham Mothers’ Union works closely with Halow, a charity which supervises the Visits Centre, and supplied toys for prisoners’ families and cards at Christmas time. Similar provision was made for those in Swinfen Prison.
Donations of household goods, clothing, baby items and toiletries continued to be made to families affected by domestic violence through our association with Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid. .
Knit and Natter groups exist in many branches which support the production of goods such as premature baby items for local hospitals whilst also providing an opportunity for a social gathering easily inclusive of others who may be lonely or vulnerable . The groups could not meet but individuals continued to knit and over 1140 items were received and distributed. Face masks were amongst new items made by members. Some were donated to those in need . Others were sold to raise funds for projects Twiddle muffs and Fiddle pinnies were also made for use by dementia patients both in their own homes and in care homes.
The Birmingham Children’s Hospital project was put largely on hold as strict regulations were imposed which meant that only visitors with exceptional reasons were allowed to enter the hospital A small number of members were able to continue to help with the administration of sending cards of condolence to bereaved families
## **Faith & Policy Group**
In January we took our annual part in the continuous worldwide Wave of Prayer. The Worldwide Group nurtures these links by keeping in touch as much as possible with our links in Bukedi, (Uganda), Enugu, (Nigeria), The Seychelles (Indian Ocean), Marathwada, (Northern India) and the four dioceses in Malawi. They also assist in hospitality to overseas visitors and provide practical support for the container of goods which is sent annually to Malawi through the Church of England Birmingham Diocesan link. In 2020 the container was cancelled, and the Lambeth Conference was postponed so there was no opportunity for assisting with any of the planned hospitality.
3
The Annual Diocesan Festival Service planned in the Cathedral in April 2020 was cancelled due to Covid.
In November, a quiet day was held by Zoom. This proved a successful format and will be used as thought appropriate in the future
## **Finance & Administration Group**
Regular meetings were held to insure good governance and proper financial management
Additional Income is obtained from the sale of cards and goods through Mothers’ Union Enterprises, which is based at Mary Sumner House in London. Gift aid is also collected on subscriptions and donations where possible. The data base continues to be updated regularly.
There were no safeguarding issues reported in 2020. There were no reported breaches of GDPR in 2020. They both remain as standing items on the agenda at trustee meetings.
Branches are required to comply with Diocesan Child Protection and Safeguarding guidelines These were updated and sent out to all branches who are required to confirm that they have been implemented. Records of this are kept in the Mothers’ Union Office.
## **Fundraising & Communications Group**
The Diocesan magazine, ‘Birmingham Link’ was distributed twice a year to all members, also to other dioceses in this country and overseas. Both were distributed digitally.
Our Birmingham Mothers’ Union Facebook and Twitter feed are proving effective ways to spread news and highlight coming events. A bi-monthly e- newsletter was sent directly to members who have email, as well as to branch officers.
The pandemic inevitably had an effect on our branches both on their meetings but also on their ability to raise money for the various causes which we support. Even so over £3,700 was sent to Mary Sumner House for the ongoing appeals and, impressively, over £6,500 was sent to their Emergency Appeal. This included £1,000 from the Diocese's own Reserves and is on top of a sizeable sum sent directly to Mary Sumner House by members and branches. Finally, AFIA did well and their income of £4,642 was almost 90% of the previous year. So we can be very thankful for an acceptable result in a very difficult year and particularly to the many branches who took money from their Branch Reserves to make these contributions.
We have great pleasure in commending this report.
Approved by the Board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by Deirdre Moll, Chairman and Diocesan President.
4
Deirdre Moll
20" September 2021
## **THE MOTHERS' UNION - DIOCESE OF BIRMINGHAM**
**(Registered Charity No. 1065815)**
## **Consolidated Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2020**
## **1. Receipts and Payments Account - General Fund**
|**Receipts**
From voluntary sources:
Subscriptions from members
Donations
Income towards CDC Costs
Unit & Diocesan Activities
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
Fund raising events - branches
- diocese
Branch Outings and Visits
Sundry Receipts
From assets
Bank and other Interest
From charitable trading
Sales of MU enterprises Ltd goods
Turnover related grant from MU enterprises Ltd.
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**|**2020**
**2019**
**£**
**£**
14,664.00
16,196.00
5,546.81
8,928.95
-
833.44
-
193.00
1,863.32
1,706.83
3,710.19
8,562.01
-
555.31
-
2,429.00
-
494.00
36.88
76.34
3,455.97
3,923.10
578.59
612.39|
|---|---|
||**29,855.76**
**44,510.37**|
Page 1
|**2020**
**2019**
£
£
**Payments**
Direct Charitable Expenditure:
Members' Subscriptions paid to MSH
8,946.50
9,898.00
Printing of The Link
-
1,470.00
Branch projects
1,095.51
2,999.68
Unit & Diocesan activities
94.74
934.02
Purchase of MU enterprises Ltd goods
3,664.41
4,249.90
Donations to other charities
395.27
544.89
CDC Costs
-
4,957.08
14,196.43
25,053.57
Other Expenditure:
Secretarial Costs
5,319.24
5,385.24
Stationery, postages and telephone
529.50
696.46
Diocesan rent and room hire
3,210.00
3,518.30
Travel, accommodation and conferences
406.00
684.55
Insurance
430.00
990.62
Purchase of new Office equipment
-
893.99
Branch rent and room hire
125.20
1,697.25
Branch running costs
477.84
1,274.66
Fund raising costs:- Branches
648.48
2,458.93
- Diocese
88.70
51.71
Branch Outings & Visits
-
2,462.07
Sundry Payments
59.83
452.00
11,294.79
20,565.78
Transfers from Branches' General Funds to Other Funds:
Overseas
532.50
440.12
Relief
43.70
1,151.69
Literacy & Financial Education Programme
30.00
320.00
MSH Emergency Appeal
2,016.50
52.00
Away-From-It-All (AFIA)
2,930.00
2,780.56
Other MSH Appeals
-
-
Transfer from Diocesan General Fund to other Funds
MSH Emergency Appeal
1,000.00
-
**6,552.70**
**4,744.37**
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**32,043.92**
**50,363.72**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**(2,188.16)**
**(5,853.35)**
**Balance on hand 01.01.20**
**24,125.37**
**29,978.72**
**Balance on hand 31.12.20**
**21,937.21**
**24,125.37**||**2020**
£
8,946.50
-
1,095.51
94.74
3,664.41
395.27
-|**2019**
£
9,898.00
1,470.00
2,999.68
934.02
4,249.90
544.89
4,957.08|
|---|---|---|---|
||14,196.43
25,053.57|||
||5,319.24
5,385.24
529.50
696.46
3,210.00
3,518.30
406.00
684.55
430.00
990.62
-
893.99
125.20
1,697.25
477.84
1,274.66
648.48
2,458.93
88.70
51.71
-
2,462.07
59.83
452.00|||
||11,294.79
20,565.78|||
||**6,552.70**
**4,744.37**|||
|||||
||**32,043.92**
**50,363.72**|||
||**(2,188.16)**
**(5,853.35)**|||
||**24,125.37**
**29,978.72**|||
||**21,937.21**
**24,125.37**|||
Page 2
|**2. Receipts and Payments Account- Overseas Fund**
**Receipts**
Donations
Fund raising events
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
Transfer to AFIA Fund
Timing Difference (2018)
Timing Difference (2019)
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**Payments**
Funds transferred to Mothers' Union centrally
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**Balance on hand 01.01.20**
**Balance on hand 31.12.20**
**3. Receipts and Payments Account- Relief Fund**
**Receipts**
Donations
Fund raising events
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**Payments**
Funds transferred to Mothers' Union centrally
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**Balance on hand 01.01.20**
**Balance on hand 31.12.20**||**2020**
£
74.16
2,690.50
324.58
532.50
-
-
50.00|**2019**
£
7.00
3,674.49
238.45
440.12
(25.00)
419.00
(50.00)|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**3,671.74**|**4,704.06**|
|||3,671.74|4,533.06|
|||**3,671.74**|**4,533.06**|
|||**-**|**171.00**|
|||**-**|**(171.00)**|
|||**-**|**-**|
|||9.30
-
2.25
43.70|8.00
228.31
-
1,151.69|
|||**55.25**|**1,388.00**|
|||55.25|1,559.00|
|||**55.25**|**1,559.00**|
|||**-**|(171.00)|
|||**-**|**171.00**|
|||**-**|**-**|
Page 3
|**4. Receipts and Payments Account- Literacy & Financial Education Progamme**
**2020**
**2019**
**Receipts**
£
£
Donations & Fund Raising Events
20.00
80.00
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
-
20.00
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
30.00
320.00
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**50.00**
**420.00**
**Payments**
Funds transferred to Mothers' Union centrally
50.00
420.00
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**50.00**
**420.00**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**-**
**-**
**5. Receipts and Payments Account- Big Summer Appeal**
**Receipts**
Fund Raising Events
-
399.00
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
-
52.00
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**-**
**451.00**
**Payments**
Funds transferred to Mothers' Union centrally
-
451.00
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**-**
**451.00**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**-**
**-**
**6. Receipts and Payments Account- MSH 2020 Emergency Appeal**
**Receipts**
Donations & Fund Raising Events
2,813.50
-
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
682.50
-
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
2,016.50
-
Transfer from Diocesan General Fund
1,000.00
-
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**6,512.50**
**-**
**Payments**
Funds transferred to Mothers' Union centrally
6,512.50
-
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**6,512.50**
**-**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**-**
**-**|**4. Receipts and Payments Account- Literacy & Financial Education Progamme**
**2020**
**2019**
**Receipts**
£
£
Donations & Fund Raising Events
20.00
80.00
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
-
20.00
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
30.00
320.00
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**50.00**
**420.00**
**Payments**
Funds transferred to Mothers' Union centrally
50.00
420.00
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**50.00**
**420.00**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**-**
**-**
**5. Receipts and Payments Account- Big Summer Appeal**
**Receipts**
Fund Raising Events
-
399.00
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
-
52.00
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**-**
**451.00**
**Payments**
Funds transferred to Mothers' Union centrally
-
451.00
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**-**
**451.00**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**-**
**-**
**6. Receipts and Payments Account- MSH 2020 Emergency Appeal**
**Receipts**
Donations & Fund Raising Events
2,813.50
-
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
682.50
-
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
2,016.50
-
Transfer from Diocesan General Fund
1,000.00
-
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**6,512.50**
**-**
**Payments**
Funds transferred to Mothers' Union centrally
6,512.50
-
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**6,512.50**
**-**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**-**
**-**|
|---|---|
|
**Receipts**
Donations & Fund Raising Events
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
Transfer from Diocesan General Fund
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**Payments**
Funds transferred to Mothers' Union centrally
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**||
||**6,512.50**
**-**|
||6,512.50
-|
||**6,512.50**
**-**|
|||
||**-**
**-**|
Page 4
|**7. Receipts and Payments Account- Away-From-It-All-Fund (AFIA)**
**2020**
2019
**Receipts**
£
£
Donations: PCCs
550.00
400.00
Individuals
320.00
902.00
Members’ Donations & Fund Raising Events
284.20
906.15
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
558.00
148.85
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
2,930.00
2,780.56
Transfer from Overseas Fund
-
25.00
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**4,642.20**
**5,162.56**
**Payments**
Assisted holidays and trips
2,207.93
5,703.93
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**2,207.93**
**5,703.93**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**2,434.27**
**(541.37)**
**Balance on hand 01.01.20**
**4,245.77**
**4,787.14**
**Balance on hand 31.12.20**
**6,680.04**
**4,245.77**|**7. Receipts and Payments Account- Away-From-It-All-Fund (AFIA)**
**2020**
2019
**Receipts**
£
£
Donations: PCCs
550.00
400.00
Individuals
320.00
902.00
Members’ Donations & Fund Raising Events
284.20
906.15
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
558.00
148.85
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
2,930.00
2,780.56
Transfer from Overseas Fund
-
25.00
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**4,642.20**
**5,162.56**
**Payments**
Assisted holidays and trips
2,207.93
5,703.93
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**2,207.93**
**5,703.93**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**2,434.27**
**(541.37)**
**Balance on hand 01.01.20**
**4,245.77**
**4,787.14**
**Balance on hand 31.12.20**
**6,680.04**
**4,245.77**|**7. Receipts and Payments Account- Away-From-It-All-Fund (AFIA)**
**2020**
2019
**Receipts**
£
£
Donations: PCCs
550.00
400.00
Individuals
320.00
902.00
Members’ Donations & Fund Raising Events
284.20
906.15
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
558.00
148.85
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
2,930.00
2,780.56
Transfer from Overseas Fund
-
25.00
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**4,642.20**
**5,162.56**
**Payments**
Assisted holidays and trips
2,207.93
5,703.93
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**2,207.93**
**5,703.93**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**2,434.27**
**(541.37)**
**Balance on hand 01.01.20**
**4,245.77**
**4,787.14**
**Balance on hand 31.12.20**
**6,680.04**
**4,245.77**|
|---|---|---|
|
**Receipts**
Donations: PCCs
Individuals
Members’ Donations & Fund Raising Events
Gift Aid Tax Recovered
Transfers from Branches' General Funds
Transfer from Overseas Fund
**TOTAL RECEIPTS**
**Payments**
Assisted holidays and trips
**TOTAL PAYMENTS**
**NET SURPLUS (PAYMENTS) FOR THE YEAR**
**Balance on hand 01.01.20**
**Balance on hand 31.12.20**|||
|||**4,642.20**
**5,162.56**|
|||2,207.93
5,703.93|
|||**2,207.93**
**5,703.93**|
|||**2,434.27**
**(541.37)**|
|||**4,245.77**
**4,787.14**|
|||**6,680.04**
**4,245.77**|
## **8. Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31st December 2020**
## **MONETARY ASSETS**
|**Bank and cash balances**
**Diocese**
**Branches**
**Total**
**£**
**General Funds 31.12.2020**
Bank & Building Society Accounts
10,505.77
10,514.07
21,019.84
Cash in hand
-
917.37
917.37
**10,505.77**
**11,431.44**
**21,937.21**
**Diocese**
**Branches**
**Total**
**£**
**General Funds 31.12.2019**
Bank & Building Society Accounts
10,712.32
12,899.66
23,611.98
Cash in hand
-
513.39
513.39
**10,712.32**
**13,413.05**
**24,125.37**
**The Diocesan Bank Accounts are earmarked for use as follows**
**2020**
**2019**
Visit to Link Dioceses Fund
703.01
703.01
Visit to Diocesan Clergy Conference
200.00
200.00
Mums in Brum
500.43
800.43
General Purposes
9,102.33
9,008.88
**10,505.77**
**10,712.32**
Away-From-It-All-Fund (AFIA)
**6,680.04**
**4,245.77**|**Diocese**
**Branches**
**Total**
**£**
10,505.77
10,514.07
21,019.84
-
917.37
917.37|**Diocese**
**Branches**
**Total**
**£**
10,505.77
10,514.07
21,019.84
-
917.37
917.37|**Diocese**
**Branches**
**Total**
**£**
10,505.77
10,514.07
21,019.84
-
917.37
917.37|**Diocese**
**Branches**
**Total**
**£**
10,505.77
10,514.07
21,019.84
-
917.37
917.37|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**10,505.77**
**11,431.44**||**21,937.21**||
||**Diocese**
**Branches**
**Total**
**£**
10,712.32
12,899.66
23,611.98
-
513.39
513.39||||
||**10,712.32**
**13,413.05**
**24,125.37**||||
|||||**2019**|
|Visit to Link Dioceses Fund
Visit to Diocesan Clergy Conference
Mums in Brum
General Purposes
Away-From-It-All-Fund (AFIA)|||||
|||**10,505.77**
**10,712.32**|||
|||**6,680.04**
**4,245.77**|||
Page 5
## **OTHER MONETARY ASSETS**
## MU Enterprises Ltd
|Stock of goods for resale
Cash in hand from sale of goods
Sundry Debtors from sale of goods
Invoices unpaid as at 31.12.20|1,469.42
1,636.68
408.88
184.57
82.00
38.00|
|---|---|
||1,960.30
1,859.25
-
297.20|
||**1,960.30**
**1,562.05**|
## **OTHER ASSETS**
The charity possesses no other assets of material value.
## **LIABILITIES**
The charity had no material liabilities as at 31.12.20
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Independent Examiner's Report to
the Trustees of The Mothers, Union - Diocese of Birmingham
I report to the trustees on m), examinaiion of the consolidated accounts of The Mothers,
Union- Diocese of BirminbJham (the Trust) for the year ended 31 $1 December 2020.
Responsibilities and Basis of Report
As the Charity s trusiees. I'ou are responsible for ihe preparation of the accounts in
accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 {the 2011 Act).
I report in respeei of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section
145 of the 2011 Aci. and in ¢arr)"inLy out mv examination I haN'e followed all the
applicable Directions given b>. the Charit}" Commission under section 145(5}(b) of the
2011 Act.
Independent Examiner's Statement
I have completed my examination. I confim) that no material matters have come to my
attention in connection with the examination. giving me cause to believe that in any
material respect:
( l ) accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section
130 ofthe 2011 Act- or
(2) the accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other mallers in ¢onneciion with the
examination 10 which attention should be drawn in thi5 report in order to enable a proper
understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Rosamund J Douglas
39 Four Oaks Road. Sullon Coldfield
August 2021