2022-12-31-accounts - The National Vegetable Society

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The National Vegetable Society

Annual Report of the Trustees Sep 2023

National championships

In 2022, the National Championships were held at Malvern and we were happy to see the entries increasing following our initial post covid year. We would also like to thank all those who supported last year’s show, from Stewards to Sponsors, Judges to Table shifters and exhibitors to organisers.

Governance

Since the previous AGM in 2022 at Malvern, The Trustees and Branch representatives of the Society have held all meetings via Zoom.

Changes since the 2022 AGM 2022/23

In September 2022, our membership Registrar ( & Southern Branch Chair), Norman Dickinson suffered a heart attack and we are so thankfull that Norman has since recoverd well and he is getting back into the way of things one year on. ( I am esepcially thankfull, after stepping in to assist with the membership role whilst Norman recuperated).

In October 2022, we were delighted to co-opt Chris Spree as our new Sponsorship Manager and Michelle Nixon as our new Assistant Secretary and we would like to thank them for having volunteered and taken on their roles like a duck to water. In November 2022, The Welsh Branch fullfilled their quota of Trustee Reps with Owain Roberts joining the Trustee Team.

In March ‘23, The Midlands Branch saw numerous changes in their Office bearers (which incuded Bernard Brown and Sam Forrrester standing down as Trustee Reps). Thankyou to both gents for their time and input to the Trustees team.

June Davies, the new Midlands Branch Chair has since joined the Trustee Team in April 2023 and we currently still require one further Midlands Branch Trustee Rep.

Management

As you know, a major change in how we manage our memberships has been in place since go live in Nov 2020. During this time, we have improved certain processes and highlighted others that require further work and development both internally and with our Service Provider, White Fuse.

There were a spate of duplicate payments earlier this year, mainly due to members errors/forgetfulness plus a misunderstanding of the credit card payment by members which is a “recurring card payment “ , not a one off payment.

An expenses policy has been created to provide a guide for DA’s, Branches and at National level regarding expenses. This is now available via the Web Site resources section.

Communication

With the technology available through our membership software system , we continue utilise more email broadcasts and have further used the ability to manage events with bookings , for example, talks and garden visits. (This helps when managing and planning numbers). If any Branch or DA would like me to provide them with a demonstration on the various tools within the system that could benefit them, then please let me know.

It is vital that we maintain up to date data for each and every member and I would like to re-iterate the importance of advising us when you change your email adress, phone numbers and/or home address. Or alternatively , you can update this information yourself via your user acccout if you have set one up.

Thankyou to everyone who provided feedback via the on line mini survey on the free seeds ;

Winter Density Lettuce from DT Brown in 2021,
Red Onion Seed from Medwyn’s of Anglesey ( now named “red Rover”) in Autumn ‘22,
Onion de Paris Spring Onion seed from DT Brown – Spring ’22.

Your feedback was both positive and interesting and the results were published in the Summer edition of your SVMagazine.

Our quarterly Simply Vegetables magazine has continued to be one of our key communication and information sources for all our members and we have been working hard to improve the content and range of articles for our members, using feedback from the on-line members survey. We would still like to encourage more members to submit articles for the magazine.

In addition to the SV magazine and NVS web site, the activity on our Facebook members site has increased by a further 30% with currently 327 members. This is providing an additional avenue for sharing progress, asking questions and sharing information quickly whilst our main NVS facebook page has over two and a half thousand followers.

We continue to use Zoom for Trustee meetings and also to deliver our Winter Zoom talks to benefit our members.

The “Winter Zoom talks” continued to be a success and we plan to continue with these after the clocks go back. We do now record the talks and these can be found within the NVS web site’s Library. Many thanks to all who volunteer to give talks and share their knowledge, and to Raymond for getting them added to the web site, it is most appreciated.

External Partners

As reported earlier, Chris Spree joined the team in Ocober 2022 and has been working hard with our extenal partners , old and new. Chris is working well with our partners and introduced two new ones this year, namely The Garden Superstore and Franchi - Seeds of Italy. Thanks go to all our partners who support us in many ways, from discount codes, giving talks, providing generous raffle prizes, supporting

championship Prize money at Branch and National Level as well as providng free seed and sharing information through our SV Magazine.

This year we received “Falco Turnip” seed from DT Brown and we have seen a wide arrray of exhibits here today, as well as in Ireland at their inaugural show.

Finance

Our Gift Aid Claim for 2022 was submitted at the beginning of September resulting in an overall claim of £16,856 with £4306.71 now received . This is an increase from last year’s, so thank you to all who have ticked the Gift Aid box. Gift Aid money is divided out to each branch based on their branch members who supported Gift Aid.

Society Awards 2023

In 2023, we awarded 8 Fellowship awards, 11 Silver medals and 2 Gold medals, I’m delighted to say that some recipients are here today and these awards will be presented later.

NVS Fellowships –

Branch	Name	Presentation location
Northern	Cath Holmes	local
Northern	JamesPark	AGM hopefully
Northern	Judith Park	AGM hopefully
Midlands	Robert Heigham	local
Midlands	DavidLownds	local
Scottish	Ian Archibald	AGM
Scottish	Jim Veitch	local
Welsh	Cecil Townsend	local

NVS Silver Medallists -

Branch	Name	Presentation
Northern	Jim Robinson	AGM
Northern	JohnGoodall	AGM
Northern	MickShipley	AGM
Midlands	MartynStrange	local
Scottish	Neil Muirhead	local
Scottish	IanSimpson	AGM
Scottish	Jean Thomson	AGM
Welsh	AndrewJones	local
Welsh	SueMcCall	local
Welsh	RaymondHiggins	AGM
Welsh	HaroldLawlor	local

NVS Gold Medallist –

Branch	Name	Presentation
Scottish	Frank Taylor	AGM
Welsh	GwendaWilliams	AGM

NVS Judges 2022

In 2022, the Welsh Branch and our Irish District Association both held Judges exams in October 2022.

This is the first time we have held a judges exam in Ireland which is another great step forward.

This resulted in the following 8 members becoming newly qualified NVS judges. Congratulations to;

Gareth Davies , Gerry Lewis , John Edwards from Wales

Sean Egan, John Harford, Margaret Prendergast, Martin Lawlor & Reggie Mitchel from Ireland

During 2022, a review of the judges exam process was conducted and we have since introduced some key changes to assist in the exams being held which include;

The practical judges exam, may now be held annually, but at a date to suit each individual branch. This provides a greater flexibility based on availbilty of vegetables and volunteers.
Secondly, we now hold the theory exam twice per year. 1[st] Sat in October and also the 1[st] Sat in March.

Publications & Documentation

This year we completed the planned x20 general growing leaflets which can be found in the NVS Web site library for all members to access, read and/or print out.

A further 400 Judges & Exhibitor guides have been printed and we see a steday flow of orders for this excellent document.

We have further updated the membership application form to keep it current and have created A6 fliers to further advertise the NVS at events.

Going forward we have started to review the needs of DA’s and branches with regards to additional advertising requirements, from Banners, to posters, NVS tablecloths, fliers and giveaways. DA’s and Branches will hear from us soon to glean what would be beneficial.

In closing, I would like to thank all our officers, committee members, Judges speakers and helpers at D.A., Branch and National level who are all volunteers doing their best with the NVS at heart……… and a reminder that we still have two very important positions to fill in NVS WebMaster and NVS Social Media Officer and we ideally need to commence with succession planning for the role of National Treasurer.

If more people can volunteer to do their bit to help, it helps make a big difference to your Society.

This concludes the Trustee report. Fiona Shenfield FNVS, National Secretary, Sept. 2023.

THE NATIONAL VEGETABLE SOCIErY Registered Charity No. 1088979 Annual Report and Accounts For the year ended 31st December 2022 The Notional Vegetoble Society wasfounded in 1960 ond become o registered chority on 22nd October 2(1 Its charitable objects include to odvonce the culture, study ond improvement of vegetobles. to odvonce knowledge and tofurtherpublic interest in vegetobles

THE NATIONAL VEGABLE SOCIETY Content5 Page Independent examiner's report Balance sheet Notes to the accounts

THE NATIONAL VEGETABLE SOCIETY Independent Examlnerfs Report to the Trustees of the National Vegetable Soclety Respertlve responslbllitles The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The of trustees and exarniner charity's trustees consider that an audit is not require(J for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed. It 15 my responsibiltty to- examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act. to follow the procedures laid down in the general Direction5 gwen by the Charity Commission (under sectbon 14515llbl of the Chorities Act, and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basls of Independent My examination was carrred out in accordance with general Directions given by the examlner's statement Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the actounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosure5 in the accounts, and seekin8 explanations from the trLtstees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequentty no opinion is gwen as to whether the actounts present a 'true and fair, view and the report is limited to those matters set OLtt in the statement below. Independent examlner's In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention statement l. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in, any material respect, the requirements: to keep accounting records In accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act,. and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met. or 2. to which. in my opinion. attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the attounts to be reached. Signed: A Cutler FCCA Date: Cutler & Co Chartered Certrfied Accountants Brook House Church Lane Garforth Leeds L525 IH8 Page I

THE NATIONAL VEGETABLE SOCIETY Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2022 2022 2021 Flxed assets Sound equipment Trophies 211 211 212 212 Current Assets Stocks of books and merchandise etc. Prepayment Bank balances board of trustees and branches.. Current accounts Deposlt accounts Cash in hand Bank balances in district associations 16,298 18,421 95.264 40,485 95.472 40,427 95.750 93,147 247,797 247,467 Current Ilabllitle5 Subscriptions and fundraisin8 in advance Creditors falling due within one year 11,2301 11,5001 11.5CM)} 11,5CM)) 12,7301 Net Current Assets 246,297 244,737 Net assets 246,509 244,949 Reserves General Designated - National Championships Restricted Holderness District Associations 145,759 146,802 95,750 93,147 Totsl reserves 246,509 244.949 These accounts were approved by the Trustees on and signed on their behalf by: Sandra Hall- Chairperson Date: Jean Forrester- Hon Treasurer Date: Page 2

THE NATIONAL VEGETABLE SOCIETY Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 l. Accountlng Policies The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows.. al Basis of preparation- The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reportin8 by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charitbes preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 1021 leffertive l January 20191 and the Companies Act 2006. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in ihe relevant accountin8 policy notelsl. bl Income and expenditure.. Income is brought into the financial statements when received. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. Unrestritted funds are available to spend on artNitie5 that further any of the purposes of charty. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to Use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations whith the donor h35 specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the society's work or for specific projects beinB undertaken by the society. cl Subscriptions: Subscriptions are recognized when received. dl Fixed assets.. This comprises only an item of sound equipment and trophies. el Stock.. Stock is included at the lower of cost or net realisable value. Donated items of stock are recognised on receipt at fair value which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay for ihe items on the open market. 2. Tran5actlons wlth Members of the Natlonal Executl¥e No trustee oi person defined by accounlin8 Standards as -related to them" received any remuneration for services as a trustee or in a management capacity durin8 the year, or for anv reimbursement of expenses other than for Èxpenditure incurred a5 an agent of the society. Travel to the National Executive meetin85 was reimbursed to those trustees who claimed It. 3. Shows and Events These comprise the National Championships of the NVS. the Regional Branch Championships, local championships by District Association, and other events with lectures, members, information and social evenings and exhibitions. Incidental fundraising activities at these events le8. Raffles) are treated as evenls revenues. 4. Members Magazines etc Each member receives a quarterly magazine with information and advice on the cultivation of vegetables, together with news of the events involving vegetable cultivation and exhibition in their Regional Branch and District AssOCiatn. Page 3

THE NATIONAL VEGEfABLE SOCIETY Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31st December 20221rontinued) 5. Governance 2022 2021 Postage 347 483 Printing. Stationery and publicity 271 1,021 National & AGM 1,180 859 Insurance 901 868 Examiners fee 1,500 Bank charges 81 4,280 4,731 Pa8e 4

THE NATIONAL VEGETABLE SOCIErY ststernent of Financial Artl¥lties for the year ended 31st December 2022 General Restrirted Totsl 2022 Funds Funds 2021 Incorning Resources trom generated funds Voluntary income 54,901 2,471 57,372 65,000 Activities for Benerating funds 6,533 20,804 27,337 13,285 Bank Interest 218 83 301 161 Incornlnl Resources from charltable artbvblles Total incoming resources 61.652 23,358 85,010 78.446 Cost of ieneratlnl funds Fundraising tradlng.. cost of goods sold and other costs 3,399 2.103 5,502 4,036 Ch•rltable Actl¥ltles 55,016 18,652 73,668 50,315 Go¥ernan¢e 4,280 4,280 4,731 Total resources expended 62,695 20.755 83.450 59.082 Net Incomln8 resources 11,0431 2.603 1.560 19,364 Total funds brought forward Nat Exec and 8ranches Holderness District Associaiions Championship Reserve Totals 146,261 542 146.261 542 93,146 129,965 542 90,078 5,000 225,585 93.146 151W3 93,146 244.949 Total funds carried forward 150,760 95.749 246,509 244.949 Page 5

THE NATIONAL VEGABLE SOCIETY Content5 Page Independent examiner's report Balance sheet Notes to the accounts