2022-12-31-accounts

Annual Report and Accounts 31 December 2022 aim-museums.co.uk

Charity Registration No. 1082215 Company Registration No. 1350939

Contents

Reference & Administrative Information	3
Trustees’ Report	5
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities	24
Independent Auditors’ Report	26
Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA)	31
Balance Sheet	32
Statement of Cash Flow	33
Notes to the Accounts	34

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Reference and Administrative Information

The Trustees present their Annual Report & Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022, in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. The Accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in Note 1 of the Accounts and comply with the Charity’s governing document, applicable law, and the Statement of Recommended Practice, ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’, 2015. The Charity qualifies as a small entity under section 383 of the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013 and a Strategic Report is therefore not required.

Trustees / Directors: Claire Browne Sajida Carr Mhairi Cross Sarah Duthie Rhiannon Goddard Brian Gorski MBE Nathaniel Hepburn Emily Frankish Gurminder Kenth Andrew Lovett OBE (Chair) Marilyn Scott MBE (Vice Chair) (until 16 June 2022) Caroline Worthington (Vice Chair) (until 16 June 2022) Elizabeth Power (appointed 16 June 2022) Camilla Stewart (appointed 16 June 2022) Charlotte Morgan (appointed 16 June 2022)

Director (Executive): Lisa Ollerhead

Hon. President: Sir Neil Cossons OBE

Company Incorporated: 1 February 1978

Charity Registration: 30 August 2000

Charity Registration Number: 1082215

Company Registration Number: 1350939

VAT Registration Number:

355372196

Registered and Contact Office: AIM Office c/o National Waterways Museum South Pier Road Ellesmere Port Cheshire CH65 4FW United Kingdom

Hon. Vice Presidents: Sam P Mullins OBE Michael Day CVO Matthew Tanner MBE

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Reference and Administrative Information

Independent Auditors: Crowe UK LLP Chartered Accountants Black Country House Rounds Green Road Oldbury West Midlands B69 2DG United Kingdom

Principal Bankers: Barclays Bank plc (Barclays Corporate) Chesterfield Derbyshire S40 1LS United Kingdom

Aldermore Bank plc 1st Floor, Block B Western House Lynch Wood Peterborough PE2 6FZ United Kingdom

Telephone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Website: aim-museums.co.uk

Social Media: @Aimuseums

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Gl .HART S1iNREX BRQS, Trustees, Report and chair's review

Chair’s Review of the Year

At times like these, when major challenges continue, it is important not to lose sight of the positive benefits that museums and heritage sites provide, especially as the relentless energy required to maintain viability can be exhausting. The year began with a difficult Christmas/New Year period badly affected by the Covid-19 Omicron variant. As we cautiously started to open again in spring, the invasion of Ukraine precipitated a sharp rise in the cost of the energy we rely on to run our buildings and protect our collections, contributing to a cost-of-living crisis which has raised running costs at the same time as reducing visitors’ disposable income. AIM ran two surveys to better understand the impact of these issues on members, so we know it remains a difficult time for many. As ever, sobering as it certainly is, we encourage those at risk to contact the AIM team early, to be heard and supported.

In times of difficulty, it becomes ever more important to be governed well and to run an effective charitable business. It is crucial to have a precise understanding of finances, and staff and volunteer capacity – and of audiences and communities – in order to target precious resources towards the services, activities and programmes that mean the most to our visitors.

A major step for AIM in 2022 was securing further investment from Arts Council England, following a successful five years in the National Portfolio 2018-2023. In November 2022, we received the welcome news that AIM would be included in the 2023-2026 National Portfolio as an Investment Principles Support Organisation for ‘dynamism’: meaning AIM can continue to provide support on governance and leadership across the museums sector in England. The Arts Council funding covers core costs as well as supporting many of our activities, and we are grateful for this mark of confidence and recognition of the important role AIM plays in the sector. We also continued to be funded by the Welsh Government and are similarly grateful for their recognition of AIM’s value in supporting the museums sector and workforce in Wales.

In 2022 we delivered more rounds of grants kindly funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, our strategic investment programme, New Stories New Audiences; a final round of AIM Biffa Award History Makers; more crucial collections care and conservation support through the Pilgrim Trust schemes; and introduced a new scheme from the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars aimed at resilience for small museums.

The Board continued to be reshaped in 2022. We said goodbye to our two Deputy Chairs, Caroline Worthington and Marilyn Scott MBE, who stepped down at the end of their third (maximum) terms, and said goodbye to Charles Brien who also stepped down. We appointed three new Board members, bringing new expertise and perspectives to the Board, which continues to focus on strategic priorities in the run-up to AIM’s fiftieth anniversary in 2027. The AIM Board is keen to grow our membership in order to grow our offer, advocacy and impact, and with ACE funding now assured until 2026 we are excited to push forward with this in 2023 and beyond.

The AIM team has also been reshaped and has grown. Two new roles, a Programmes & Events Officer and a Grants Administrator, now take the team to seven colleagues. This revised structure has enabled a new focus on events in the year we returned to an in-person conference, with the sun shining on hundreds of members in Port Sunlight for two days of learning, discussion, and networking. Rebuilding and strengthening the sense of community between AIM members after Covid-19 is another key focus for AIM in the coming years.

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Chair’s Thanks

As ever I am grateful to the AIM Board for its support for me, and newly appointed Deputy Chair, Rhiannon Goddard, and for their time, expertise, and continued enthusiasm over the course of the year. I also wish to thank our funders for their support for AIM’s work and generosity to our members, including Arts Council England, the Welsh Government, Biffa Award and the Communities Landfill Fund, the Pilgrim Trust, and the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars through the Arts Scholars Charitable Trust. Their support for our programmes throughout 2022 has made our work significantly richer and enabled our members around the UK to improve their sites and galleries, care for their collections, and produce activities for their visitors.

I would like to thank the AIM team: Lisa Ollerhead, Catrin Salvatore, Helen Farress, Margaret Harrison, and Matt Smith, and introducing in 2022, Christine Andrews and Fiona Woolley.

My final thank you is to the AIM Members, for their continued belief in what we do. Each member makes an investment in the Association, and we strive to ensure a great return on that investment.

Thank you

Andrew Lovett OBE Chair

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Our Public Support for Public Benefit

The Origins of AIM

The Association of Independent Museums is a membership organisation, established in 1977 to represent the interests of a booming independent museums sector. In the 1970s and 1980s new, thematic museums began to spring-up, driven by the enthusiasm of individuals and communities fascinated by the history on their doorstep, who decided to take things into their own hands and save it, resulting in an extraordinary blossoming of a new type of museum – the Independents: or as Sir Arthur Drew of the Standing Commission for Museums & Galleries famously put it, “the primordial slime of the museum world.”

Today, over half of all museums in the UK are independent. Independent museums are longstanding, successful social enterprises, run in a business-like way. They play a valuable role in their communities, contributing to a sense of place and making up an important part of the tourism economy. As their representative body AIM is now widely recognised as a major heritage organisation, with a membership of over 1,250 and growing, including over 1,000 institutional museum and heritage organisations of all sizes.

AIM membership is predominantly made up of small museums with fewer than 20,000 visitors annually. However, the diversity and scale of membership is remarkable, and includes some of the largest and most visited museums in the UK, many of which hold Designated collections. AIM continues to offer friendship and community to independent museums, their volunteers, leaders, and trustees, alongside professional advice, best practice, and an encouraging atmosphere in which to try things.

AIM’s role and purpose

AIM’s role in the sector can be summed up as: Helping Heritage Organisations Prosper. AIM delivers public benefit through promoting a more effective and successful museums and heritage sector, well-governed and well-led. AIM occupies a unique position in the sector given our focus on independents and small museums – including non-Accredited museums. These are the museums that are on high streets and in town centres up and down the country: caring for, celebrating, and displaying the pasts of local areas; supporting the communities of the present; and educating and inspiring for the future.

Many of AIM’s members principally engage in the museums and heritage sector through their AIM membership. It is where they access best practice, engage in sector debate, and receive support from public investment. AIM’s access to small museums and representation of self-sufficient larger museums operating as successful attractions is why AIM is an increasingly important stakeholder: for decision-makers in governments across the four nations; for philanthropic funders; and for bodies giving out Lottery and public investment such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Welsh Government, and Arts Council England.

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AIM’s members

Membership of AIM is fundamental to our continuing underlying strength and relevance in the sector. The range of our membership is hugely important when deciding on the priorities of our work.

The below table summarises the comparative membership position at the first annual snapshot and reflects a modest growth of 1%.

----- Start of picture text -----
Jan ‘22 Jan ‘23
Associate Supplier 44 58
Individual / MDO / Freelancer 93 93
Large Museum 57 55
Largest Museum 56 51
Medium Museum 141 149
Non-Prof Supp Org/Library/Arch 29 27
Small Museum 810 840
Supplier / Consultant 30 n/a
Grand Total 1260 1273
----- End of picture text -----

Arts Council England investment

Arts Council England is an important stakeholder and valued funder for AIM. Following AIM’s work as a Sector Support Organisation in the 2018-23 National Portfolio, 2022 was a year of strategising and planning in order to apply for the 2023-26 National Portfolio. AIM was delighted to be able to celebrate a successful application towards the end of 2022, with the new support as an Investment Principles Support Organisation (IPSO) beginning in April 2023. At £305,520 annually, AIM receives the highest level of support of museums-specific IPSOs and is in the top ten of the forty-strong IPSO portfolio in terms of investment amount. This money is crucial to how AIM operates, supporting core costs as well as programmes, and demonstrates the external value placed on AIM’s work as part of developing the museums sector as a whole and helping individual museums to flourish.

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AIM’s Charitable Objects

Helping Heritage Organisations Prosper is a shorter way of expressing AIM’s legal charitable objectives, expressed in the Articles of Association revised in 2020 as:

(a) The objects for which the Company is established are the advancement of the educational and cultural facilities for the public benefit throughout the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man provided by independent museums, galleries, and heritage organisations. In respect of this the Company defines independence as taking responsibility for your own decisions, being accountable for them, and for not being subject to another’s authority, nor dependent on another for your existence.

(b) In furtherance of the above objects but not further or otherwise the Company shall achieve these objects through advocacy, representing Members’ best interests, sharing, and promoting best practice, innovation, and acumen, creating networks and connections, raising and distributing grants, developing policy, supporting skills and workforce development, promotion, and by providing support and advice for all museums and heritage organisations.

The benefits AIM delivers through these objects include:

• ¹

• (a) Support for independent museums which provide :

• i. enjoyable experiences for around 24 million people each year whose learning, health and wellbeing, and social connections are supported by visits

• ii. estimated gross economic impact of £730 million of expenditure annually

• iii. cultural infrastructure around the UK, from major cities to small high streets and

  • rural areas, which serve local people and attract tourism through providing both civic space and visitor experiences

• iiii. diverse opportunities for 34,000 volunteers and around 6,000 FTE jobs, the majority of which are in the organisation’s local area

• iiiii. formal learning programmes and resources for an estimated 1 million pupils and students in full and part-time education

(b) Improved governance of museums and heritage organisations in the UK, ensuring their accountability for delivering public benefit in return for the advantages of charitable status; (c) Improved care for and public and research accessibility of cultural collections, including some of the most important collections in the UK (i.e. Designated collections).

¹ Figures based on 2019 estimates using the AIM economic impact toolkit

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How AIM delivered public benefit in 2022

Leading the sector on governance, with pragmatic advice and support

embedding best practice in both individual organisations and the sector as a whole With the bulk of AIM membership being independent charities, AIM leads the sector on governance guidance and tailored support, as recognised by selection by the Arts Council under their ‘dynamism’ principle. Excellence in independent museums starts with strong governance: a diverse and passionate base of trustee volunteers ensuring that their organisations are accountable, well-run, and delivering public benefit in caring for collections and making them available for public education and entertainment. AIM supports governance through publishing advice and resources, in 2022 including an article on the new Charities Act and a new Success Guide on Setting Up a New Museum. AIM provided more tailored advice through events: paid trustee induction courses covering the basic requirements and knowledge to take up the role, and Hallmarks at Home and conference seminars including a popular session on diagnosing dysfunctional boards. Most intensively, 10 English and 4 Welsh members benefitted from AIM Higher consultancies (formerly Prospering Boards consultancies and microconsultancies) which match experienced consultants with museums in need of specific troubleshooting and support.

Enabling independent museum and heritage to operate effectively as organisations and in their local areas

Through the Hallmarks of Prospering Museums, our framework for what independent museums need to consider in order to succeed, we have provided further advice, resources, and events enabling members to select the level of engagement and support that suits their organisational needs and capacity. As well as relevant Hallmarks at Home, Success Guides, and responding to museums reaching out with specific questions and issues, in 2022 we took steps back into ‘real life’. This included the triumphant return of our in-person Annual National Conference in Port Sunlight in June, and the first pilot of Hallmarks Together, a new series of in-person training and networking opportunities, which brought together around a dozen members in Oxford to learn about refreshing operating models. Our events programme was supported by our training grants which enable members to come along to events – ours and others’ – they otherwise couldn’t afford. We supported leaders in running effective organisations through the successful Resilient Leaders for Wales programme as well as introducing libraries and archives colleagues into our Rising Leaders scheme in Wales (with kind funding from the Welsh Government) and ran a new round of the Spark! leadership programme aimed at improving resilience in senior museum practitioners.

We have also continued to keep members and others up to date with the Bulletin, eNews, and trustee newsletter. AIM’s integration of its communications efforts saw real progress in 2022 with the website attracting 23% new users compared to 2021 and over 4000 members and more benefiting from our weekly eNews. Social channels also saw significant growth, LinkedIn followers grew by 16% and Twitter by 5%.

Supporting members to use collections to tell diverse stories and welcome audiences that represent their communities

As well as providing resources and training as above for collections and tackling inequalities, including a new Success Guide in 2022 on Museum Displays and Interpretation, our grant streams are focused on collections care, refreshing, and creating displays, and projects on welcoming audiences. Grants in 2022 included our strategic investment programme funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund, New Stories New Audiences; the final round of Biffa History Makers; the continuation of conservation grants generously funded by the Pilgrim Trust; and awarding the first Brighter Day grants on collections and resilience kindly funded by the Arts Scholars Charitable Trust. AIM is grateful to these funders for their ongoing support of our members.

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Being valued by our members who consider us to be their champions

Throughout 2022 AIM continued to speak publicly and to decision-makers and funders on behalf of members, most importantly through a January survey on the impact of Christmas 2021/22 Covid-19 lockdowns and a subsequent September survey on the cost-of-living crisis (one of the earliest sector datasets available on these issues, including rising energy costs). With the generous information provision from our members, we were able to communicate the needs of the museums and heritage sectors to those who needed to know. At the end of the year AIM played a key role in the advocacy effort by sector bodies which resulted in museums being eligible for higher levels of support with energy bills in 2023.

Being an exemplar charitable business with good governance and diverse income streams, using insight to meet members’ needs, grow our membership, and develop partnerships Preparing the application to the Arts Council National Portfolio offered the Board and executive a valuable opportunity to reflect and plan, starting with a Board ‘awayday’ (held virtually due to covid restrictions) in January. A small working group of Board members oversaw development of the Investment Principles Support Organisation programme which focuses on supporting the museums sector with governance and leadership. From April 2023 this will involve continuing many of our most used and appreciated services and adding new ones that respond to sector needs. To feed into this programme and the need for performance metrics and evaluation AIM is overhauling its reporting and risk management approach. AIM’s Membership Insight Group continues to user test our programme and wider support activities, as well as support responding to stakeholder calls for insights from the independent museum sector.

Partnerships are a key enabler for how AIM works within the culture sector and works for members. AIM is part of a sector support landscape that encompasses Arts Council-funded organisations in England, other UK-wide organisations, and wider culture and charitable support organisations. Working in partnership enables AIM to leverage funding on behalf of our members, amplify the voices of museums to decision-makers, and benefit from the best expertise and experience on the issues our members work on and need support for.

On advocacy, we work alongside organisations including other Arts Council Sector Support Organisations, the National Museum Directors’ Council, Art Fund, the Museums Association, and Heritage Alliance to inform and influence policy and political colleagues in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Welsh Government, and Scottish Government. We also work together with delivery bodies with policy responsibilities to ensure that independent museums are understood and taken into account in the development and delivery of policy and support, through partnerships with Arts Council England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland, Welsh Museums Federation, and Northern Ireland Museums Council.

We work in partnership with a number of organisations with different specialisms and audiences to provide our offer, including the Charity Finance Group, Cultural Governance Alliance, Heritage Craft Funders Network, ICON, Museums + Heritage, and Steps to Sustainability programme (which we also helped fund in 2021).

We have a particularly important partnership with the Museum Development Network and individual Museum Development services across England, working together to provide complementary support to non-National Portfolio Organisation museums.

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Our Advocacy

Levelling Up inquiry

Omicron Snapshot Survey

Valuable feedback from our Membership Insight Group supported AIM’s response to a DCMS Select Committee inquiry on Levelling Up.

AIM’s January 2022 snap survey painted a picture of a sector looking ahead to the rest of winter and the rest of the year largely expecting to survive financially, but with significant concerns.

September Sector Survey

AIM’s September survey informed discussions with key stakeholders such as ACE and DCMS helping secure higher rates of energy support for museums in 2023.

Supporting Museums in Critical need

Business Rates

Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief

AIM continues to participate in the sector wide Museums at risk protocol ensuring key stakeholders are aware of any members in difficulty.

AIM continued to work alongside other sector bodies, notably NMDC, to support the development of a fair and consistent approach to museums’ business rates, leading to a significant breakthrough on this issue in 2023.

Again, with sector partners, AIM sought the confirmation and extension of the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief Scheme and continued to advocate for its permanency.

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Our Grants

115 grants worth a total of £412,721.72 were awarded to AIM member organisations across 7 grant streams in 2022.

x115 412,721.72

New Stories New Audiences

AIM Arts Scholars Brighter Day Grants

In our first round of the New Stories New Audiences grant, funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund, a total of £169,039 was awarded to 14 member museums.

The AIM Arts Scholars Brighter Day grants were developed to help museums recover from the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Ten awards were made, totaling £46,165.

“The mentoring has been a really significant part of the project for me. It has helped not just realise the project, but also helped me to believe in myself.”

“This has been invaluable in building the museum’s profile and developing our understanding of our audiences.”

£46,165

Pilgrim Trust Conservation Grants

AIM supports small museums in partnership with the Pilgrim Trust through three grant streams - Collections Care Audit, Collections Care and Remedial Conservation - providing much needed funding for basic collections care. £125,000 was available for distribution in 2022.

“The AIM Pilgrim Trust grant fund is a crucial source of funding for collections care projects in small museums.”

BIFFA Award History Makers

The final round of History Makers exhibitions opened at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and Biggin Hill Memorial Museum.

Image Biggin Hill Memorial Museum.

AIM Hallmark Grants

Funded by Arts Council England, six projects received AIM Hallmarks Grants focused on Tackling Inequality, totaling £53,350.

Image provided by Jewish Museum London from their Collecting Inclusive Stories Tour which received an AIM Hallmark Grant.

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Our Events and Programmes

AIM National Conference

After two years online, AIM Conference returned to an in-person event in June. Two hundred and fifty delegates headed to the aptly named Port Sunlight for two days of glorious sun, support, and networking.

“It was such a joy to be in a room with other Museum folk – the energy was wonderful. The chance to meet people, share experiences, chat and network was invaluable.”

Network for Resilience Wales (NRW)

Funded by the Welsh Government, the Network for Resilience in Wales enables participants to attend a two-day residential, full day workshops and fortnightly lunch time catch ups.

“...for me the peer support through the fortnightly catchups is really important - it has supported me in my role as a manager”

In-person workshops

Four in-person workshops ran in 2022 attracting 49 registrations and covering fundraising, setting up a new museum, Trustee induction, running a core business review and networking.

“...a really good check list/review of income generation ideas and it was good to hear how other institutions were fairing in the current challenging climate”

12 participants

Spark!

12 participants were offered places on the 2022 Spark! training programe which includes three action learning sets, two workshops and two individual coaching sessions.

“The programme exceeded my expectations. I cannot thank AIM enough for giving me the opportunity to take part. I was dealing with difficult issues and the support given through the programme helped me to believe that I could come out the other side”

Hallmarks at Home

Established during the pandemic, Hallmarks at Home is AIM’s regular online workshop strand covering a range of key museum practices. Led by experienced consultants, numbers are capped to encourage focused discussion. 19 sessions ran in 2022 attracting 247 registrations.

“A really helpful session with much food for thought”

Casework

AIM staff are always on hand for members seeking assistance and in 2022 handled over 140 requests of varying complexity.

“I feel energised after hearing what you had to say and had at least three ‘lightbulb’ moments. It seems a more manageable project now, and the next steps are clear.”

NRW Rising Leaders

Aimed at new leaders,

applications are open to staff of Museums, Archives or Libraries working in Wales. 15 participants attended 10 sessions including a residential.

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Outreach

Our Partnerships

National Army Museum

AIM and the National Army Museum (NAM) developed a new partnership benefitting over 100 Regimental and Corps museums. AIM membership fee costs for relevant, new and existing members are now generously covered by the National Army Museum.

Art Fund and Understanding Emotional Connections to Museums

AIM and Art Fund worked together to initiate and fund a project exploring the emotional drivers behind public engagement with museums and cultural provision, with the goal of translating this into actionable insights museums can use to connect even more strongly with their communities.

AIM Higher Consultancies

We provided 14 AIM Higher consultancies in England and Wales supporting individual museums to identify and tackle governance challenges.

Our Communications

Growing AIM’s Presence

Success Guides

Three new AIM Success Guides were launched in 2022

• Setting up a new museum

• • Fundraising

• Museum Displays and Interpretation

AIM’s integration of its communications efforts saw real progress in 2022 with the website attracting 23% more users and over 4000 members and more benefiting from our weekly enews.

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Benefit beyond 2022

Now that the Arts Council investment is secure, the AIM Board is focusing on growing the AIM membership and making the organisation more resilient, looking ahead to ‘AIM at 50’ and how we want to be serving our members, supporting our community, and running our organisation at that important milestone which will be reached in 2027.

Plans for the coming years include offering more services in response to the needs of independent museums across the UK, seeking more grant-making and research partnerships, looking at how best to serve the different audiences within our membership, and being a louder voice for the part of the sector we are proud to represent. As part of this AIM will diversify income streams and look at how we operate so we can focus on the activities that add value to our members. AIM will continue to refine, use, and promote the Hallmarks of Prospering Museums as a framework to help members understand how to succeed; make plans around caring for collections, welcoming visitors, and governing and running effective businesses; and carry them out.

A note on charitable reporting

As a charity, the Trustees recognise their legal duty to report on the Association’s public benefit in their Annual Report, as part of a requirement – given particular emphasis by the Charities Act 2011 – to clearly demonstrate that the Objects of the charity are for the public benefit, demonstrating the Trustees’ recognition that being a registered charity is a privilege, not a right. In setting out in this Annual Report how the charity currently meets this requirement and plans to in the future, the Trustees assert that the charity is compliant with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011, having due regard for the public guidance published by the Charity Commission.

The Trustees acknowledge and accept that there exists a kind of covenant between charities and society: charities bring public benefit and, in their turn, are accorded high levels of trust and confidence, as well as the benefits of charitable status. AIM continues to welcome an explicit reporting of public benefit and how it is aligned with the Objects of the Charity and believes that this will help maintain and grow public trust in the activities of the charitable sector, not least the charitable activities of the Association of Independent Museums. Part of AIM’s focus on supporting and improving governance in independent museums and heritage is to ensure that our members and the wider cultural sector also understand and are committed to delivering public benefit and transparently demonstrating this.

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Governing Document

The Association of Independent Museums (AIM) is a company limited by guarantee, without share capital and governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 1 February 1978, as amended by resolution at the AGM on 14 June 2012. None of the model articles in the Companies (Model Articles) Regulations 2008 applies to the company. The company was registered as a charity on 30 August 2000. The Objects of the Charity are set out in this report. Throughout this Annual report the company is referred to as ‘the Charity, Association or AIM’.

A review of AIM’s Memorandum and Articles of Association was initiated by Trustees in 2019 as part of ongoing governance good practice, with proposed changes reported and approved at the EGM on 10 December 2020.

Trustees / Directors

The trustees of AIM for the purposes of charity law are also its directors for the purposes of company law, and throughout this report are collectively referred to as ‘the Trustees’. Those Trustees who served on what is now called the Board (previously the Council) during the period of this review were:

Trustee	First Appointed
Claire Browne	10 September 2014
Sajida Carr	21 June 2021
Mhairi Cross	19 April 2018
Sarah Duthie	21 June 2021
Rhiannon Goddard	19 April 2018
Brian Gorski MBE	19 April 2018
Nathaniel Hepburn	6 May 2021
Emily Frankish (nee Hope)	6 May 2021
Gurminder Kenth	21 June 2021
Andrew Lovett OBE	23 June 2016
Charlotte Morgan	16 June 2022
Elizabeth (Liz) Power	16 June 2022
Marilyn Scott MBE	20 June 2013 to 16 June 2022
Camilla Stewart	16 June 2022
Caroline Worthington	20 June 2013 to 16 June 2022

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Recruitment, Appointment and Onboarding of Trustees

Trustees are recruited from the independent museums sector, and other complementary industries. All trustees are appointed based on their experience, skills, and empathy with AIM’s vision. Vacancies are advertised on the AIM website and in the AIM Bulletin, social media channels and e-news to ensure a wide coverage across the UK.

The Trustees of the Association are supplied with induction information on joining and further guidance and training notes as required. Trustees are kept up to date with reports, briefings, social media channels and sector newsletters about relevant issues, best practice and developments affecting the museums and cultural sectors, as well as changes to charity and/or company regulation. The Board self-reflects on its effectiveness to help consider its effectiveness as the Association’s governing body through regular meetings, and this year has done so as part of planning a new trustee recruitment.

The Trustees are aware of the Charity Governance Code and new Charity Act 2022 and discuss implications both for their own work as in AIM’s role as an exemplar of governance for the museums sector.

The Board works to ensure compliance with its legal duties to:

(i) Act in the interests of the charity and its beneficiaries.

(ii) Protect and safeguard the assets of the charity. (iii) Act with reasonable care and skill.

(iv) Ensure the charity is accountable.

In addition, the Board recognises the need for and takes steps to:

(i) Deal with conflicts of interest. (ii) Implement appropriate financial controls.

(iii) Manage risk. (iv) Take appropriate advice when it needs to.

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Governance Structure

The Trustees met six times during 2022, as the Board (non-executive) of the Association of Independent Museums, to consider strategic matters, monitor financial progress and performance against forecasts, consider policy and other significant developments and to monitor organisational risks. Two meetings were in person, the rest online, due to covid restrictions earlier in the year.

The Charity held its AGM on 16 June 2022 as part of the National Conference in Port Sunlight. Members of the Board are drawn from, and elected by, the membership at General Meetings, serving a maximum of three terms of three years. The Board thereafter elects from their number (at its discretion) the Officers, including a Chair and Deputy Chair(s). In 2022 two Board members stepped down, reaching the end of their third terms, and three were appointed.

In 2022 the Board had minimal standing sub-committees to govern the organisation: there were a number of grant-awarding committees or panels, and a working group developing the 2022/23 business plan required for the Arts Council extension application.

AIM’s Director (the organisation’s most senior member of staff) manages and develops AIM with his/her staff and is accountable and reports to the Board. Together with the Trustees, the Director, Head of Communications, and Head of Programmes are considered the Key Management Personnel, as defined by Financial Reporting Standard 102. The Director is not a member of the Board but attends at the invitation of the Board.

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Reserves Policy

The reserves policy is reviewed annually by the Board. AIM holds a number of restricted funds, in most cases those received from funders for the delivery of specific grant-giving activities or projects. The purpose of each of these funds is explained in note 15 of the accounts. During 2022 the Trustees agreed that, given the risks the charity currently faces, it should hold a general, free cash reserve of at least £150,000. The current level of unrestricted reserves is well in excess of this amount, at £276,436 at 31 December 2022.

Environmental Impact update

As part of the ACE 2022/23 extension funding AIM submitted an environmental responsibility policy and action plan in May 2022 and continues to deliver and monitor against this plan, overseen by Julie’s Bicycle, a specialist environmental organisation appointed by Arts Council England to support their National Portfolio Organisations.

Remuneration Policy, Employment and Casual Contracts

Board members do not receive any remuneration. The remuneration of the Director is set by the Board. AIM does not currently offer casual employment. AIM contracts with a number of freelancers for both programme support, to add capacity to the full-time staff, and to deliver our support– particularly providing specialist expertise in a range of charity, operational, governance and museum fields for our grant support, training and development, and consultancies.

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Trustee Indemnity

Professional liability insurance of £1m is in place.

Risk Management and Uncertainties

Trustees regularly review the principal risks facing AIM, including as part of monitoring for Arts Council public funding. In 2023 this will be the responsibility in the first instance of a newly established Finance Committee, which will report to the Board on risk.

The key risk in 2022 was the potential loss of Arts Council funding, which subsidises core running costs, and AIM proceeded with strategic planning on a cautious basis for much of 2022 until this funding was confirmed in November. Other possible reductions in income are current major risks, including income for grants, loss of membership, and reduced income from activities and in particular securing projected profit from in-person conference and other events due to potential behaviour change in our member base following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our key risk is member loss, particularly as the sector is squeezed by the economic circumstances. To mitigate this risk AIM is seeking to increase and improve our understanding of our members and what delivers value to them for their membership fee. Other risks include reputational risk based on positions taken by AIM within the sector or from activities of members. It is important to maintain close links to members to understand their views and ensure we are representing them well. Operational risks include loss of key staff members, risks from diversifying activity and aiming to grow income from new activities, and risks around IT and data.

AIM is currently reviewing risk management with the objective of focusing on a small number of high risks which are being actively managed and updating the Board at every meeting.

Investment Policy

The Association, when able to do so, takes advantage of short/medium-term cash flow surpluses by placing funds with regulated financial institutions approved by the Board. It is not the policy of the Association to delegate investment management to an agent of the Charity. In making any investment decisions, including those related to permanent endowment, the Board has due regard to Charity Commission guidance, investment of Charitable Funds: Basic Principles, the Charities Act 2011, and the Trustee Act 2000.

Fundraising Policy

The charity has no fundraising activities requiring disclosure under Section 162A of the Charities Act 2011.

22

Financial Review

The financial activities of the Association for the year under review and the financial position at the Balance Sheet date are set out in the Accounts. The Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) is set out at page 31 and includes both unrestricted and restricted funds. The Board is satisfied with the financial position of the Association.

Unrestricted funds come chiefly from subscription fees from the membership. There is also unrestricted income from advertising in the AIM Bulletin and from the trade show and sponsorship at the annual AIM Conference, as well as sponsorship of other events and programmes. The annual grant from Arts Council England is also unrestricted.

Restricted funds have been provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Biffa Award, the Pilgrim Trust, the Arts Scholars Charitable Trust and the Welsh Government. The Net Worth at 31 December 2022 stands at £423,159 (2021: £520,831 ). Restricted Funds stand at £146,723 (2021: £190,485, and Unrestricted Funds at £276,436 (2021: £330,346).

23

MUSEUM OFFICES Statement of Trustees, Responsibilities

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also Directors of the Association of Independent Museums for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Disclosure of Information to Auditor

Each of the persons who are Trustees at the time when this Trustees’ Report is approved has confirmed that:

• so far as that Trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware, and

• that Trustee has taken all the steps that ought to have been taken as a Trustee in order to be aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charitable company’s auditors are aware of that information.

On behalf of the Trustees

Andrew Lovett Chair

Dated: 23 May 2023

25

141 Independent Auditors, Report

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Association Of Independent Museums

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Association of Independent Museums (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 December 2022 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance sheet, the Statement of cash flows and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 December 2022 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure for the year then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Annual report other than the financial statements and our Auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material

27

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Association Of Independent Museums

misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• the information given in the Trustees’ report is inconsistent in any material respect with the financial statements; or

• sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an Auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditor’s report.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charitable company operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of materialamounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and

28

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Association Of Independent Museums

regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011 together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charitable company’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charitable company for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context for the UK operations were General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Employment legislation.

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within the recognition of grant income and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management, and the Board about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, designing audit procedures over income, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing noncompliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable Association’s members, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable Association’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Crowe U.K. LLP

Chartered Accountants Black Country House, Rounds Green Road Oldbury, West Midlands, B69 2DG

Kerry Brown Senior Statutory Auditor

Dated: 17 July 2023

29

Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Statement of Financial Activities (incorporating income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31 December 2022

Income from: Charitable activities Investments Other income Total income Expenditure on: Charitable activities Total expenditure Net gains / (losses) on investments Net income / (expenditure) Transfer between funds Net movement of funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward Notes 15 16 16 2 3 4 5

Unrestricted funds 2022 £ 520,331 794 5,491 526,616 535,674 535,674 - (9,058) (44,852) (53,910) 330,346 276,436 Restricted funds 2022 £ 367,032 - - 367,032 447,730 447,730 - (80,698) 44,852 (35,846) 182,569 146,723 Total Funds 2022 £ 887,363 794 5,491 893,648 983,404 983,404 - (89,756) - (89,756) 512,915 423,159 Total Funds 2021 £ 987,951 369 4,447 992,767 987,055 987,055 - 5,712 - 5,712 507,203 512,915

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

31

Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2022

Current Assets Cash at Bank and in Hand Debtors Creditors Amounts falling due with one year Net Current Assets Total Assets Less Current Liabilities Funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Total Funds Notes 10 11 12 16 16	2022 £ 401,314 158,752 560,066 (136,907) 423,159 423,159 146,723 276,436 423,159 2021 £ 673,042 70,218 743,260 (230,345) 512,915 512,915 182,569 330,346 512,915

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies act 2006 relating small companies.

These accounts were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 23 May 2023 and signed on their behalf by:

Andrew Lovett OBE Chair

The notes on pages 35-57 form part of these financial statements.

32

Cashflow Statement for the year ended 31 December 2022

Cash fows from operating activities Net cash used in operating activities Cash fows from investing activities Dividends, interests, and rents from investments Net cash fow from investing activities Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year Cash and cash equivalents consists of: Cash in hand and at bank Total cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2022

2022 £ (272,522) 794 794 (271,728) 673,042 401,314 2022 £ 401,314 401,314 2021 £ 195,645 369 369 196,014 477,028 673,042 2021 £ 673,042 673,042

Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash fow from operating	activities
	2022	2021
	£	£
Net income/(expenditure) for year (as per Statement of Financial Activities)	(89,756)	5,712
Adjustments for:
Dividends, interests, and rents from investments	(794)	(369)
(Increase)/decrease in debtors	(88,534)	1,863
(Decrease)/increase in creditors	(93,438)	188,439
Net cash fow from operating activities	(272,522)	195,645

33

-• Notes to the Accounts

Association of Independent Museums

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

1) Accounting Policies

General Information

The Association of Independent Museums is a company limited by guarantee (registered number 1350939), which is registered and incorporated in England and Wales. The Association is also registered with the Charity Commission under registration number 1082215. The registered office is AIM office, National Waterways Museum, South Pier Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 4FW. The principal place of business is AIM office, National Waterways Museum, South Pier Road Ellesmere Port, CH65 4FW.

Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) – Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Association of Independent Museums meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy

Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Association and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Association for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes of the financial statements.

Income

All income is recognised once the Association has an entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably. Income in respect of members’ subscriptions, publications, seminars, and events are recognised in the period to which it relates.

Grants are included in the Statement of financial activities on a receivable basis. The balance of income received for specific purposes but not expended during the period is shown in the relevant funds on the Balance Sheet.. Where income is received in advance of entitlement of receipt, its recognition is deferred and included in creditors as deferred income. Where entitlement occurs before income is received, the income is accrued.

Donations are credited to the Statement of Financial Activities when received.

35

Association of Independent Museums

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

All expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis. All expenses including support costs and governance costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure headings.

Support costs are those costs directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity. Governance costs are those costs incurred in connection with the administration of the charity and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.

Expenditure on assets of over £500 or associated groups of assets over £700 will be capitalised.

Grants payable are charged in the year when the offer is made except in those cases where the offer is conditional, such grants being recognised as expenditure when the conditions attaching are fulfilled. Grants offered subject to conditions that have not been met at the year-end are noted as commitment, but not accrued as expenditure.

Financial instruments

The Association only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

Liabilities and provisions

Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the Association anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide. Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation.

36

Association of Independent Museums

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

2) Income from charitable activities

	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total 2021
	funds	funds	2022	funds	funds
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Grants	304,602	367,032	671,634	306,120	519,900	826,020
Membership	123,991	-	123,991	121,248	-	121,248
Members support	91,738	-	91,738	40,683	-	40,683
	520,331	367,032	887,363	468,051	519,900	987,951
3) Investment income
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total 2021
	funds	funds	2022	funds	funds
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Interest	794	-	794	369	-	369
	794	-	794	369	-	369
4) Other incoming resources
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total 2021
	funds	funds	2022	funds	funds
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Energy Commission	3,634	-	3,634	2,563	-	2,563
Publishers licensing revenue	1,857	-	1,857	1,884	-	1,884
	5,491	-	5,491	4,447	-	4,447

37

Association of Independent Museums

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

5) Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

Grants distributed Members Support Grants distributed Members Support	Support costs £ - 75,907 Direct costs £ 425,534 481,963 2022 Total £ 425,534 557,870 Direct costs £ 559,337 345,643 Support costs £ - 82,075 2021 Total £ 559,337 427,718
	75,907 907,497 983,404 904,980 82,075 987,055
	Restricted funds £ 362,234 85,496 Unrestricted funds £ 63,300 472,374 Total 2022 £ 425,534 557,870 Unrestricted funds £ 54,345 354,695 Restricted funds £ 504,992 73,023 Total 2021 £ 559,337 427,718
	447,730 535,674 983,404 409,040 578,015 987,055

6) Analysis of expenditure by activities

Members support Workshop and events Memberships and subscriptions Research, publications for members AIM National Conference Website AIM Bulletin editorial and production Consultancy and freelance Covid-19 support Staff costs Professional fees Support costs Staff travel expenses Accountancy, bookkeeping and fnance Offce and administration Staff training and recruitment Bank and credit card charges Bad debts Professional fees Governance	2022 Total £ 11,354 31,917 21,710 43,739 301 24,229 73,400 - 267,620 7,693 2021 Total £ 20,009 16,432 1,700 7,851 5,391 17,616 68,439 3,450 204,755 -
	481,963 345,643
	2022 Total £ 11,693 28,203 22,499 1,543 1,054 - - 10,915 2021 Total £ 1,520 22,140 26,600 2,715 1,347 340 15,383 12,030
	75,907 82,075

38

Association of Independent Museums

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

7) Auditor’s remuneration

7) Auditor’s remuneration
Auditors’ remuneration Audit Other services	2022 £ 7,600 1,500 2021 £ 4,955 1,575
	9,100 6,530

8) Staff costs

Analysis of staff costs, trustee remuneration and expenses, and the cost of key management personnel

Salaries and wages Social security costs Employer’s contribution to defned contribution pension schemes	2022 £ 236,706 20,173 9,267 2021 £ 182,833 14,905 7,018
	266,146 204,756

Staff numbers

The average number of employees (headcount based on the number of staff employed) during the year was as follows:

2022	2021
No.	No.
7	5

Staff

The number of employees who received total employee benefits of more than £60,000, is as follows:

		2022	2021
		No.	No.
£60,000	- £69,999	1	-

9) Trustees’ remuneration and expenses

During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2021; £nil).

During the year ended 31 December 2022, expenses totalling £2,169 were reimbursed or paid directly to Trustees (2021: £Nil). The expenses reimbursed were in relation to travel and subsistence costs.

The Charity pays an insurance premium to indemnify trustees from any loss arising from the neglect or defaults of directors and officers, the policy covers the trustees up to £1,000,000. The premium amounted to £373 (2021: £373).

39

Association of Independent Museums

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

10) Cash and cash equivalents

10) Cash and cash equivalents
Cash in hand	2022 £ 401,314 2021 £ 673,042
	401,314 673,042
11) Debtors Trade Debtors Prepayments and accrued income	2022 £ 106,603 52,149 2021 £ 20,428 49,790
	158,752 70,218
12) Creditors: Falling due within one year Trade creditors Other creditors Other taxation and social security Accruals and deferred income Grant clawback provision*	2022 £ 17,804 4,228 6,416 95,036 13,423 2021 £ 7,082 1,111 5,301 216,851 -
	136,907 230,345

*The provision relates to a potential liability of £13,243 in respect of a

clawback of management fees by Entrust in relation to the BIFFA History Makers award.

13) Deferred income

Deferred income relates to membership fees. The movement during the year is as follows:

Balance at the beginning of the year Amount released to income in the year Amount deferred in the year Balance at the end of the year	2022 £ 37,582 (37,582) 46,805 2021 £ 25,806 (25,806) 37,582
	46,805 37,582

14) Taxation

The company, as a registered charity, is not liable for Income Tax or Corporation Tax because its income falls within the various exemptions available to registered charities.

40

Association of Independent Museums

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

Current Year Restricted Funds Biffa Award - History Makers Esmee Fairbairn Sustainability grants and Micro-consultancies Pilgrim Trust grants and workshops Welsh Gov’t projects & grants National Lottery Heritage Fund AIM & Arts Scholars Charitable Trust Brighter Day Art Fund - Covid-19 support work Total restricted funds Unrestricted funds General funds Total unrestricted funds Total Funds 15) Statement of funds	At 1 January 2022 £ 29,038 991 134,786 14,379 3,025 - 350 Income £ 107,134 - 134,000 34,236 41,662 50,000 - Expenditure £ (182,365) - (141,985) (26,531) (44,064) (52,785) - Transfers £ 46,193 (991) - - - - (350) At 31 December 2022 £ - - 126,801 22,084 623 (2,785) -
	182,569 367,032 (447,730) 44,852 146,723
	330,346 526,616 (535,674) (44,852) 276,436
	330,346 526,616 (535,674) (44,852) 276,436
	512,915 893,648 (983,404) - 423,159

Transfers between funds

BIFFA – There is a potential clawback of £13,243 in relation to management fees by Entrust (see note 12), and an additional deficit on the grant funding of £32,950 to be repaid from General Funds – this scheme is now finalised and no additional funding will be received.

Esmee Fairbairn – this funding stream has now ceased, and as there is no clawback, remaining funds have been transferred to General Funds.

AIM and Arts Scholars – fund is in deficit temporarily due to the timing of receipts.

Art Fund Covid 19 – this funding stream has now ceased, and as there is no clawback, remaining funds have been transferred to General Funds.

Biffa Award - History Makers: The AIM BIFFA Award History Makers project is a partnership between AIM and BIFFA Award which funds new exhibitions that celebrate the lives of history makers - people whose life or work has had a lasting impact of the world we live in today.

Esmee Fairbairn Sustainability grants and Micro-

consultancies: A grant programme proving grants to small and medium size museums to improve financial sustainability or organsiational health and also funding for assitance to small museums needing urgent support or requiring help to make an application to the Sustainability Grants. Funded by Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. The final grants were awarded

in 2018 and the remaining activity follows the completion of outstanding projects.

Pilgrim Trust Grants and Workshops - Support to small and medium sized museums in looking after and conserving their collections, through grants and workshops. Funded by the Pilgrim Trust.

Welsh Government Projects and Grants - In 2022 a grant continued enabling AIM to support museums in Wales with governance through the AIM Higher programme, translating resources into Welsh, and continuing support for museums leaders through the Network for Resilience in Wales and a new Rising Leaders programme.

National Lottery Heritage Fund New Stories New

Audiences: Grants to support small musuems to increase and widen their audiences to enhance their sustainability, and to widen participation to groups that are currently underrepresented. Funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Art Fund - A grant to support AIM’s Hallmarks at Home programme of weekly online workshops to provide bespoke, expert support to AIM members as they respond to the rapidly changing operating environment brought about by the Covid 19 pandemic.

AIM & Arts Scholars Charitable Trust Brighter Day: grants supporting small museums with arts and antiquities related objects to care for their collections and promote organisational resilience.

41

Association of Independent Museums

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

Prior Year Restricted Funds Biffa Award - History Makers Esmee Fairbairn Sustainability grants and Micro-consultancies Pilgrim Trust grants and workshops Welsh Gov’t projects & grants National Lottery Heritage Fund Delivery Phase Art Fund - Covid-19 support work Unallocated amounts Total restricted funds Unrestricted funds General funds Total unrestricted funds Total Funds At 1 January 2021 £ 84,592 12,791 117,504 18,797 - 7,000 - 240,684 266,519 266,519 507,203 Income £ 183,333 - 134,000 18,200 183,117 1,250 - 519,900 472,867 472,867 992,767 16) Analysis of net assets between funds Fund balances at31 December 2022are represented by: Current assets Creditors due with one year Prior Year Fund balances at31 December 2021are represented by: Current assets Creditors due with one year	At 1 January 2021 £ 84,592 12,791 117,504 18,797 - 7,000 - Income £ 183,333 - 134,000 18,200 183,117 1,250 -	Expenditure £ (238,887) (11,800) (116,718) (22,618) (172,176) (7,900) (7,916) Transfers £ At 31 December 2021 £ 29,038 991 134,786 14,379 10,941 350 (7,916)
	240,684 519,900	(578,015) - 182,569
	266,519 472,867	(409,040) 330,346
	266,519 472,867	(409,040) - 330,346
	507,203 992,767	(987,055) - 512,915
		Restricted funds £ 171,008 (24,285) Unrestricted funds £ 389,058 (112,622) Funds Total £ 560,066 (136,907)
		146,723 276,436 423,159
		Restricted funds £ 349,569 (167,000) Unrestricted funds £ 393,691 (63,345) Funds Total £ 743,260 (230,345)
		182,569 330,346 512,915

17) Pension commitments

The Association operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Association in an independently administered fund. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable by the Association to the fund and amounted to £9,267 (2021 - £7,018). Contributions totalling £4,195 (2021 - £1,111) were payable to the fund at the balance sheet date.

18) Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions for the current year.

19) Potential liability

The provision relates to a potential liability of £13,243 in respect of a clawback of management fees by Entrust in relation to the BIFFA History Makers award.

42

Ill Grants Awarded

Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

20) Grants awarded

115 grants were awarded to AIM member organisations across 7 grant streams in 2022. £412,721.72 was awarded in grant funding to member organisations in 2022.

AIM Pilgrim Trust Collections Care Audit Grants £18,000 per year.

14 grants awarded (Spring round 10/ Autumn round 4) totaling £14,400.

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No. Grant Recipient Purpose/Project Grant Status
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No.	Grant Recipient	Purpose/Project	Grant	Status
085	Ushaw	Ushaw have a small, dedicated team of part time staff. They have applied for an audit that will focus on their decorative art collections; church plate, ivory, wood, sculpture, ceramics, furniture and their Pugin archive. They have previously worked with Durham University to assess their textile and art collections and now seek professional conservation support to help inform their conservation policies and plans. Their application is timely, as they look to complete the process of accreditation this summer.	£1,100	Completed
086	Woodhall	Woodhall is a small organisation run by enthusiastic volunteers who are dedicated to caring for the collections in the best possible way. They have been working on transferring collections from inappropriate storage and discovered an exciting photographic archive with connections to the Wield Family. They are seeking funding to support working with a conservator, who can help them review their collection policy as part of a pending accreditation review. The audit requested has a focus on 3% of the collections.	£1,375.08	Completed
087	Heugh Battery Museum	Heugh Battery are seeking a collections audit to help them prioritise how their collections are used and guidance on reviewing/using their collection and disposals policy. Their coastal location means that the artefacts are actively deteriorating and so they have already commissioned the conservator George Monger to review the external vehicle collections. They are now seeking assistance to review the remaining 80% of the collection on display and in store.	£1,881.60	Completed
088	British Schools Museum	The two new curatorial staff members are seeking funding to audit 100% of the collection, so they can better understand its condition and focus conservation and display priorities at the museum. The museum is also working its way through the re-accreditation process and so the staff would like some external conservation expertise to help guide their forward plan and collections policies.	£1,100.00	Active
089	The Keep, Dorchester	The military museum is seeking professional conservation support to conduct an audit that focuses on the objects on display and in store, primarily made from, textiles, metal and wood. They have already worked on their archives and are seeking to complete the audit of the 76K items they hold through an audit of the remaining 75% of the collections. They haven’t received a professional audit before due to the costs involved.	£1,362.00	Completed

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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

090	Devil’s Porridge Museum	Devil’s Porridge Museum is seeking a general audit of 100% of the collection that will be used to inform their conservation plan and help them programme collection care improvements and remedial conservation priorities.	£1,439.81	Completed
091	Cleveland Ironstone Museum	The museum is nearing the end of a £1.7 million extension project. An audit will provide the opportunity to assess 70% of the collection as objects are returned from temporary storage and placed into the new purpose-built store. The audit will help identify and prioritise objects needing care, which will help the limited staff of four work effciently alongside the new volunteers. The staff team are aware that problems have arisen while collections have been in temporary storage, and this has prompted them to seek expert help to identify objects at risk.	£1,100	Active
092	Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life	The museum is seeking funding to pay for an audit that looks at the entire collection. The team have clear goals to use the audit outcomes to inform a revision of their collections care plan which is being reviewed as part of the accreditation process.	£1,489.00	Active
093l	Foxton Canal Museum	The museum is applying for an independent audit of 60% of the collections in their care (50% objects and 10% documents/ photographs.) The Collections Keeper retired 7 years ago and remains a trustee at the museum. Without their full-time input, they have continued to volunteer one day a week, there has been limited preventive conservation cleaning or treating of objects. Help has been received from Leicestershire Museum service in the past with collections care. The staff acknowledge this weakness and seek support from a specialist conservator so they can direct their limited time and resources effectively.	£1,141.40	Completed
094	Museum of Richmond	The museum is seeking an audit of the full collection, 5,000 objects, to help them with their strategic conservation planning. The last conservator led audit funded by MLA London, took place in 2007, and many of the recommendations in the report were implemented. The opportunity to work with a conservator to review how the collections have fared since the last audit and the impact of the measures that were put in place, will help inform their planning and accreditation review in 2023.	£1,410.00	Completed
096	Quaker Tapestry Museum	The museum has completed an inventory of their collection and identifed deterioration amongst the textiles. They have identifed silk shattering and are other issues and are seeking an audit with a conservator to support the next steps of their conservation journey. They are due to update their conservation plan and renew their accreditation status. The recommendations of a conservator will help support these activities and guide them in their decision making when choosing objects for display and conservation.	£2,202.01	Active

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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

097	Army Flying Museum Ltd	The Army Flying Museum is a medium sized museum and commissioned their own audit in 2017 as part of a larger project. The staff have been following the advice received and following a break due to covid, the archivist has discovered vinegar syndrome. They are seeking funding to pay for a specialist audit, so that they can understand the extent of the problem and deal with the issue safely.	£1,100	Active
098	The Gordon Russell Design Museum	The museum was founded in 2008 and is housed in a Grade II listed building. They are working towards accreditation and are seeking an audit from a furniture specialist so that the recommendations can help shape their collections care and conservation policies. They are aware that due to climate change and the fuctuations in their building that they need to address how best to care for the archive and collections in the future.	£1,422.00	Completed
099	Saffron Walden Museum	Saffron Walden Museum was founded in 1835 and houses a mixed natural history and local history collection. The collections are stored in crowded unsuitable conditions. The collections that are on display look tired and are due to be changed. The museum is requesting an audit to help inform them of the best steps to take to improve collections care at the museum. The recommendations can then be used to help shape any future applications for conservation and collections support.	£1,100	Active
		Expenditure to date	£17,392.08	8 Complete 6 Active
AIM Pilgrim Trust Collections Care Grants £57,000 per year. 20 grants awarded totaling £69,291.80 (Spring Round 9/ Autumn Round 11)
No.	Grant Recipient	Purpose/Project	Grant	Status
300	Bakewell Old House Museum	Understanding our Environment. Purchase of environmental monitoring equipment to enable the museum to improve collections management.	£2,986.74	Completed
303	Fairlynch Museum	Replacing boxes, allowing the organisation to pack safely a rare costume collection. Funds are sought to pay for Ryder boxes and acid free tissue to replace 60 boxes currently housing textiles.	£906.42	Active
306	Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum	Conservation improvements to the exhibition cases and storerooms. Funding is sought for basic preventive conservation monitoring equipment and packaging supplies so they can act upon the recommendations of their recent audit.	£5,891.86	Active
307	Dean Heritage Centre	Care Improvements. The museum is seeking funding for a targeted collections audit with a conservator, the purchase of collection care equipment and training costs.	£6,846.00	Completed

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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

308	The Stained- Glass Museum	Collection Care Audit for a Medium Sized Museum. The museum is based at Ely Cathedral and the staff are working towards getting the collection designated. They are seeking funding to cover the costs of a 4-day audit, 3 days onsite, with their chosen conservator. The report fndings will inform their conservation planning and loan agreements with national museums.	£2,024.28	Completed
309	Deal Museum	Drying out the Museum -Deal are seeking funding to cover building maintenance (not eligible) and £980 for dehumidifers.	£980.00	Active
310	Anaesthetists Heritage Centre	Beyond the can: Bringing flm back to life. Professional conservation advice is required to audit the 16 and 18mm flm collection. The storage recommendations will then be acted upon and the flms at risk, digitised.	£5,136.50	Active
311	Crofton Beams (KACT)	Conservation training and equipment for Crofton Beam Engines. Following a recent PT funded audit, the organisation has devised a project that will enable them to act upon the recommendations.	£3,225.00	Active
312	Keswick Museum	Preparing for the Future: Stepping up Keswick Museum’s Collections Care. Purchase of an emergency response kit and tiny tag monitors.	£965.00	Completed
314	Museum of East Dorset	Improved Environmental Monitoring System: The Museum of East Dorset are seeking funding to update their environmental monitoring system and introduce air purifers to the stores. The Wi-Fi system selected, consisting of 32 loggers, will provide live data which can be used to manage environmental fuctuations and heating in the grade II listed building. The new system has been recommended by their conservation development offcer.	£3,920.00	Active
315	MoDA Middlesex	Designing a Resource Effcient Environment for the Museum Store (DREEMS): This is an exciting project that will have a wide impact across the sector. MoDA are seeking funding for environmental monitoring equipment to test the control measures in place for 100% of the collections. The collections involved are predominantly paper and textile based. They would like to test the effcacy of the buffering methods provided by the building, packing methods and roller racking when the heating is reduced. They believe that the impact of lowering energy usage will make the storage of collections more sustainable while maintaining optimal conditions for the collections. The project will be run by a conservator and has been devised with the support of leaders in the feld from Cardiff University. The fndings will be circulated widely and help others effectively understand and manage their own museum environment.	£1,100.00	Active

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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

316	Suffolk Regimental Museum	Environmental Monitoring and Object Storage Improvement: This revised application focuses on the recommendations of George Monger who conducted an audit at the museum, reference PTCCA_075. They have combined the need for improved environmental monitoring with the need to upgrade the storage of the collections in the project they are seeking funding for. The museum has been working with their local MDO network and textile advisory group who will continue to support the staff and volunteers through their project.	£2,950.00	Active
318	Bentley Priory Museum	Protecting ‘The Few’: This project addresses the need to reduce light levels in two key exhibition spaces. Sun-x have supplied a quote for bespoke blinds that will suit the historic interior and help reduce the lux and UV levels. The extra beneft of the project will be the reduction in solar gain, meaning the museum can reduce the need for costly air conditioning to cool exhibition spaces during warmer months.	£5,915.00	Active
320	The Scottish Crannog Centre	A Collections Management Plan for Early/Iron Age wet fnds: AOC Archaeology Group has been asked to provide costs for the assessment of the wet fnd’s assemblage from the excavations at Oakbank Crannog, Loch Tay. Over 600 plastic bags and assorted containers with varying quantities and types of material were recovered. After so long in storage, up to 40 years, an assessment of the assemblage is required to establish their importance, usability and following a set methodology to process the fnds accordingly.	£8,050.00	Active
321	The Peace Museum	Protecting the Peace Museum’s Collection for the Future: The buildings that currently house the collection are no longer ft for purpose and the collection is moving to Salt’s Mill in Saltaire. To make sure that the move runs smoothly the museum commissioned an audit by an ACR conservator to outline recommendations required to house the collections properly in the new facilities. The application contains the costs for upgrading the storage and packaging and purchasing suitable equipment to facilitate the move.	£4,240.00	Active
322	British Deaf History Society Museum	Collections Care Upgrades: The museum closed and relocated from Warrington to Manchester in 2021. The volunteer team received support from a lottery funded curator and archivist during their move. Their local MD and Accreditation advisor have supported them and established links with the conservation department at Manchester Museum. The volunteers are now seeking funding to make collections care improvements and train their volunteer staff. A decision to fund an audit was made by the grant panel.	£1,100.00	Active
324	Ravenglass Railway Museum	Increasing capacity and raising collections care standards at Ravenglass Railway Museum: This project involves purchasing materials, equipment and racking and impacts 35% of the collections.	£3,000.00	Active

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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

325	Museum of Water and Steam	Steam Clean: Addressing the Pandemic Backlog. A project that seeks to put in place the structure, equipment and training required for the volunteers and staff to ensure that the collections are cared for to recognised standards. The museum has established links with an ACR Conservator who would work with the museum over 6 days to train the team in all aspects of collections care.	£6,875.00	Active
326	The Living Memory Association	Updating the Collection Store in line with Accreditation Standards: The Wee Museum of Memory began as a reminiscence project in 1986. The museum has started on their accreditation journey, and having recently joined AIM (29/09/22), have applied for funding to improve collections care. A decision to fund an audit was made by the grant panel.	£1,100.00	Active
327	Biggar Museum Trust	Hanwell Monitoring Equipment Upgrade: Biggar Museum have applied for funding to upgrade their monitoring equipment. They require just over £2 thousand pounds to purchase the hardware. The new equipment will enable them to continue to look after the collections appropriately, meet loan standards and Government Indemnity standards.	£2,080.00	Completed
		Expenditure to date	£69,291.80	5 Complete 15 Active

AIM Pilgrim Trust Remedial Conservation Grants £50,000 per year. 13 grants awarded totaling £51,814 (Spring Round 8/ Autumn Round 5)

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No. Grant Recipient Purpose/Project Grant Status
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No.	Grant Recipient	Purpose/Project	Grant	Status
368	Glencoe Folk Museum	Conservation of the coffn boat, a popular exhibit and one of 3 survivors. The boat dates to the late 19th/ early 20th century and helps tell the story of the Highland tradition of clan burials. The conservation of the boat is a high priority in the museum’s conservation plan.	£5,000.00	Active
370	York Army Museum	The preservation of artefacts exhumed with the remains of two WW1 soldiers of the West Yorkshire Regiment killed in action in France in April 1918. The project’s aim is to preserve three objects currently on display in the York Army Museum permanent exhibition: a WW1 Brodie helmet, a water bottle and part of a WW1 rife (part of muzzle and fring mechanism).	£540.00	Completed
372	Gunnersbury Park Museum	Textile ConservationThe museum is seeking funding to conserve and mount a silk wedding dress. Once conserved it would then be displayed for up to 4 years as part of the museums ‘Arrivals’ exhibition.	£4,910.00	Active
374	Museum of Leathercraft	Consolidation of 16 gilt leather panels. The leather panels are rare and the treatment of them will help inform leather conservation in the future.	£4,000.00	Completed

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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

375	Coldharbour Mill	Sample Book Conservation: Following an AIM Pilgrim Trust funded audit in 2017, a rare collection of 100 textile sample books were prioritised for treatment and display. The museum has sought expert conservation advice and are seeking funds to enable the most important/damaged books to be professionally conserved, and to clean and pack the remaining part of the collection using volunteer support under the guidance of the conservators.	£4,000.00	Active
378	Penmaenmawr Museum	Book ConservationPenmaenmawr Museum are seeking funding to conserve two books that are very important to Penmaenmawr’ s history. Both books are in an unstable condition and the museum is not able to put them on display.	£874.00	Active
379	Armagh Robinson Gallery	Print Conservation and FramingConserving 33 treasures from the Rokeby collection of prints. The print collection includes rare examples and once conserved they can be used in a scheduled temporary exhibition.	£5,000	Active
380	Nairn Museum	Object ConservationNairn Museum are requesting funding to conserve three pieces of ephemera; a sign, a picture, and a calendar.	£524.00	Active
381	Spalding Gentleman’s Society	Fairfax House, an early home to SGS, Spalding’s lost gem. The society was founded in 1710 and have in their collection a painting of the house where they were once based. The painting was produced by a local artist T Albin in 1872 and is painted in enamel and oil paint on a substrate of paper over rough canvas. The paint layer is coming away due to the newspaper layer beneath the paint, and they have sought advice from a conservator as to the costs of stabilising the picture, so that it can continue to be displayed at the museum.	£6,488.00	Active
382	Dalkeith Museum	Restoration of two Longcase Clocks. The small museum opened in 2016 and is staffed by active volunteers. The two clocks were made by local Dalkeith based makers in the 18th and 19th century and help demonstrate past industry in the town. The clocks are both stable but are not in working order and the museum have applied for funding to restore the mechanisms. Once restored the ticking of the clocks would provide atmosphere to the museum.	£900.00	Active
387	Chiddingstone Castle	Conservation of Charles I Leather Bottle. The bottle is a rare and potentially unique survival modelled as Charles I. The bottle is in desperate need of conservation treatment. The leather is actively deteriorating and requires cleaning, stabilisation, repair, and consolidation. Once conservered the bottle would be available for research and display.	£3,372.00 (£2,778 +£594 increase)	Completed
388	Barnsley (Cannon Hall Museum)	Restoration of the 17th Century Mortlake Tapestry, The Judgement of Paris. The tapestry has hung in the ballroom at Cannon Hall, a Georgian mansion since it arrived as part of a bequest in the 1950s. It was the frst object that was catalogued as part of the collection. The cost to restore the tapestry, which is 300cm x 459cm, is just shy of £25,000 pounds. £15,000 pounds of the overall cost of the conservation has been raised and the museum are seeking £10,000 to match the funds secured and enable the tapestry to be conserved. Once conserved the museum would like to rehang it in the ballroom where is can be viewed once again.	£10,000	Active

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Association of Independent Museums

Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

389	Claymills Pumping Engine Trust	Restoration and Conservation of the Pipe Drug. Claymills is a Victorian (1885) pumping station that was restored by a volunteer team who took over the derelict site in 1993. They recently received funding from the Pilgrim Trust to build a new display area and workshop, so now have the space to display the unique pipe drug inside. The project to restore it would be supervised by the conservator George Monger.	£6,800.00	Active
		Expenditure to date	£52,408.00	3 Complete 10 Active

2022 AIM Pilgrim Trust Collections Care & Conservation Grants Summary

• £125,000 is available to award across the three Pilgrim Trust grant streams per year.

• 47 Pilgrim Trust Collection & Conservation Grants were awarded in 2022.

• 16 projects have completed as of the 22nd of March 2023.

• 31 projects are due to complete over the next six months, within 12 months of the grant being made.

• The 47 grants awarded totaled £136,000, less VAT and additional expenses due on the audit grants.

• The overspend on the 2022 grants drew upon an accrued underspend from previous years.

• As of the 22/03/23, the actual expenditure on Pilgrim Trust grants awarded in 2022 is £139,091.88.

AIM Training Grants £9,400 available including ring-fenced funds. £8,981.55 awarded to 38 applicants between January and September 2022. £8,661.86 claimed/due to be claimed on completion.

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No. Grant Recipient Purpose/Project Grant Status
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No.	Grant Recipient	Purpose/Project	Grant	Status
001	Chawton House	Travel expenses and 3 nights of accommodation - ‘Lincoln Unlocked’ 21-24 March 2022	£246.30	Complete
002	Keswick Museum	Museum Association Conference 2022 (02/11 - 05/11)	£300.00	Complete
003	Army Flying Museum	Travel expenses NAM Curators Course	£181.72	Complete
004	West Highland Museum	SSN Conference course expenses	£48.15	Complete
005	The Devonshire and Dorset Military Museums (The Keep)	IOSH training course	£300.00	Complete
006	Armagh Robinson Library	SSN Conference course expenses	£221.62	Complete
007	Biggar Museum	AIM conference expenses	£269.00	Complete
008	Cumbria’s’ Museum of Military Life	AIM conference expenses	£300.00	Complete
009	The Highlander’s Museum	NAM Conference – Funding towards travel and accommodation costs	£300.00	Complete

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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

010	Whitchurch Silk Mill	AIM conference expenses	£269.00	Complete
011	Victor Batte-Lay Foundation	AIM conference expenses	£269.00	Complete
012	West Highland Museum	Security and First Aid Training	£250.00	Unused
013	Freelance Curator	AIM conference expenses	£235.00	Complete
014	Knaresborough Town Museum	Attendance of AIM setting up a new museum workshop x2	£300.00	Complete
015	David Livingstone Birthplace Trust	AIM conference expenses	£300.00	Complete
016	Tetbury Police Museum & Courtroom	Attendance of an MA training day (3 volunteers)	£300.00	Complete
016	Lustleigh Society Committee	Modes Training Support Costs	£300.00	Active
018	Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum	AIM conference expenses	£300.00	Complete
019	Tullie House	Hazard Training for staff/volunteers	£300.00	Complete
020	SS Great Britain	Attendance of the AIM fundraising course	£150.00	Complete
021	Ilfracombe Museum	Attendance of the AIM fundraising course	£150.00	Complete
022	Quaker Tapestry Museum	Funding for 2 Trustees to attend the AIM Trustee Induction Training	£300.00	Complete
023	Museum of Bath Stone	Funding for 1 Trustee to attend the AIM Trustee Induction Training	£150.00	Complete
024	Kohima Museum	Funding for radiation training	£190.85	Complete
025	Army Flying Museum	Funding for travel and subsistence to attend a day course in London	£75.62	Complete
026	Bellingham Heritage Centre	Funding to attend the AIM ‘Starting up a new museum’ course.	£150.00	Complete
027	Arnos Valley Cemetery Trust	Funding to allow the Curator to attend a conference	£300.00	Complete
028	Grampian Transport Museum	Funding to attend the MA Conference	£300.00	Complete

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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

029	Clyne Heritage Society	Funding to attend the AIM ‘Starting up a new museum’ course.	£150.00	Complete
030	Museum of the Royal Regiment of Scotland	Funding fortwo staff to attend the AMOT conference	£188.60	Complete
031	Brunel Museum	Funding to cover day 2 ticket, travel and accommodation to attend the MA conference.	£300.00	Complete
032	Gurkha Museum Trust	Funding to cover the costs of 3 people attending the AMOT conference	£300.00	Complete
033	Kings Own Scottish Borderers	Funding to attend the AMOT conference	£300.00	Complete
034	Foxfeld Light Railway Society	Funding to attend the AIM ‘Starting up a new museum’ course.	£150.00	Complete
035	Stow Marie’s Great War Aerodrome Trust	Volunteer Staff Training	£216.00	Active
036	Museum of Timekeeping	Modes Training Support Costs	£300.00	Complete
037	Becconsall - Lancashire Heritage (2108) CIC	Funding to attend the AIM ‘Starting up a new museum’ course.	£150.00	Complete
038	Fusiliers Museum, Armagh	Funding to attend the AMOT conference	0	Grant Closed
039	West Highland Museum	Funding to attend the MA Conference	0	Grant Closed
040	Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum	Funding to attend the AMOT Conference	0	Grant Closed
041	Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum	Hallmarks Together Event in Oxford	£50.00	Complete
		Total	£8,661.86	35complete 2 Active 1 Returned

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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

AIM Hallmarks Tackling Inequalities Grant £55,000 – Arts Council England

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6 grants totaling £53,350 were awarded in April 2022
No. Grant Recipient Purpose/Project Grant Status
001 Aerospace Bristol From grounded to take-off! Launching Aerospace Bristol’s £10,000 Active
Equality Action Plan. Working with consultants over 7 days,
Aerospace Bristol will identify key EDI improvements and create
and launch an Equality Action Plan. The project includes 7 half
day training sessions (5 in person and 2 virtual) for workforce
training for staff, trustees, and volunteers. The project’s goal is to
support the museum to diversify its Board, workforce, and future
programming through the creation of a People Plan that will embed
EDI throughout the organisation.
003 The American Increasing the diversity of stories and histories we tell to £10,000 Active
Museum in Bath create a more comprehensive history of America. Creating
a more inclusive experience in our American Heritage galleries
to include a diverse range of voices and provide a more
comprehensive offer.
005 Ditchling We are Here. Making visible hidden narratives in our collection £10,000 Active
Museum and content and building knowledge and skills in the whole
museum community, improving visitor welcome and audience
diversity.
006 Jewish Museum, Collecting Inclusive Stories Tour. A joint year-long programme £9,200 Active
London between the learning and collections team to tour 20 sites across
the UK to collect missing narratives from our collection. The 400
images collected will be accessioned and an online exhibition
created.
007 National In Our, the first Voice . The history of the Paralympics through £9,000 Active
Paralympic the stories and voices of those who made it happen and fought for
Heritage Centre their equal rights as people with disabilities. The oral testimony
collected will be used to augment the displays and provide first
person interpretation at the centre.
009 Macclesfield Silk and Sight Loss - Revealing Past, Present and Future £5,150 Active
Museum Perspectives . The project, working with East Cheshire Eye Society,
will provide accessible trails and activities. Integral to the project’s
success is training for everyone which will embed the new way of
working with staff, trustees, and volunteers.
Total £53.350 6 Active
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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

National Lottery Heritage Fund - New Stories New Audiences Grant (£180,000) 14 grants totaling £169,039 were awarded in December 2022

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No. Grant Recipient Purpose/Project Grant Status
033 Museum of Royal Taste, touch and smell’ : exploring Worcester porcelain’s food and £15,000.00 Active
Worcester drink stories through sensory experiences including workshops,
performances, field trips and the website.
041 Royal Engineers Celebrating 75th Anniversary of the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers’ £15,000.00 Active
Museum by increasing content, material, and the relationship with the local
Nepali community through workshops with the QGR.
042 Letchworth Forging a Family’ Caribbean Harmony in Letchworth. £12,294.00 Active
Garden City Addressing a collection gap which overlooks the representation
Heritage of global majority communities within Letchworth - particularly
Foundation Caribbean - with permanent online resources, including for local
schools.
044 St George’s Deadly Diseases’ : themed workshops, co-run with local artists £14,990.00 Active
Hospital Medical Meet & Make, for local community groups in Tooting, to encourage
School its rich and diverse communities to engage with our collections and
shared heritage.
046 The Mixed Sussed Black Woman’ Targeting 13-18 years by co-establishing a £14,850.00 Active
Museum digital resource for TMM – a digital museum archiving the history
of racial mixing in Britain – that shares Manchester’s history of
racial mixing through a focus on SuAndi’s (poet / artist) life and
creative work.
046 Jarrold Hall Climate Emergency Project’ Sessions (incl. carbon literacy) for £9,088.00 Active
(Groundwork young people focussed around the climate emergency to develop
South and North blogs, social media content and a digital exhibition hosted on the
Tyneside) Jarrow Hall website, also making use of a temporary exhibition
space to project images and content.
048 Hundred Dorothy Wilding: Gloucester Pioneer’ Exhibition of Dorothy £11,274.00 Active
Heroines, Wilding’s work and legacy, including a series of podcasts and
Gloucestershire creative workshops, marking 130 years since her birth in Gloucester
052 Bawdsey Radar Bawdsey Radar Connections’ Creating a unique national collection £6,980.00 Active
Trust of stories and details of some of the many thousands who worked,
trained or served at RAF Bawdsey 1936 to 1991, including online and
f-2-f community events.
055 Englesea Root & Branch’ A travelling exhibition beginning at Englesea and £14,458.00 Active
Brook Chapel covering the other three Methodist Heritage sites (London, Bristol,
& Museum and Epworth, Lincs), as well as universities, faith settings such as
of Primitive mosques, gurdwaras and other places of worship, and the NAPO
Methodism annual conference.
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Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

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056 Ledbury Places Ledbury Education Through Time ’ Linking existing displays and £11,850.00 Active
– The Heritage artifacts covering education from the 17th to 19th centuries with
Centre experiences of local older residents and current school children
through filmed interviews.
063 Teign Heritage Tackling the Heritage Gap’ Looking to appeal to 18-30 year olds £9,000.00 Active
by partnering with Teignmouth Rugby Football Club to trace the
origins of their sport from earliest times to the present day using
artefacts and memorabilia on loan from the club, original research
and a digitised record of the final result.
064 Turner’s House Tales and Travels’ Capturing and sharing memories and £10,280.00 Active
Trust experiences of the travels of JMW Turner. Working with local
refugee centres and residents to share stories, improve wellbeing
and bring them closer together.
065 Wiltshire Lest we Forget : Black People’s Contribution to the World Wars in £14,475.00 Active
Museum Wiltshire.’ Working with local race equality council and the army to
tell stories of the black community’s experiences in WW1, WW2 and
after through oral testimony, creative projects and an exhibition.
066 Foxfield Light Going Underground : Hidden Lives at the Pit’. To create displays £9,500.00 Active
Railway Society and handling collection exploring the roles of women, children and
animals in the colliery. Will create AV tech content for use on site
and resource pack.
Total £169,039.00 14 Active
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AIM Brighter Day Grant supported by the Arts Scholars Trust £47,500 10 grants were awarded totaling £46,165.06 in February 2022

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No. Grant Recipient Purpose/Project Grant Status
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No.	Grant Recipient	Purpose/Project	Grant	Status
002	The Saltaire Collection at Shipley College	Saltaire Collection: Refreshed and Reopening	£4,688.00	Completed (£4,517.60)
005	Louth Museum	Security and Sustainability (Doors) Project	£2,944.24	Completed
007	The Novium Museum Chichester	Condition Assessments and Conservation of Archaeological Metalwork	£5,601.00	Completed
008	Bassetlaw Museum	Textile Care and Conservation Restart	£6,083.60	Active
012	RAF Air Defence Radar Museum	Library and Display Storage	£2,288.50	Active
015	The Gordon Russell Design Museum	Design Stories	£7,820.00	Completed

56

Association of Independent Museums Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022

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016 Royston & Public Learning from Berkhamsted Treasures £3,000.00 Completed
District Museum
and Art Gallery
017 Berkhamsted Refreshing Royston Museum’s Archaeology Displays £7,398.00 Completed
Local History &
Museum Society
018 Spode Museum Creating a long-term strategy for the conservation, storage, £1,500.00 Active
Trust cataloguing and display of the Spode copper plate archive - AUDIT
020 Castle Bromwich Out of the Cupboard £4,841.72 Active
Hall and Gardens
Trust
Total £46,165.06 6 Complete
4 Active
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57

Charity Registration No. 1082215 Company Registration No. 1350939 aim-museums.co.uk

Cover image © Bowes Museum