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Churches Together in Willenhall

Churches Together In Willenhall

Annual Report & Accounts For the Year to 30[th] September 2023

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Churches Together in Willenhall

Churches Together in Willenhall Registered Charity No. 1093921

TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 September 2023

Charity Name:

Churches Together in Willenhall (also known as Bridging the Gap)

Registered Charity No.

1093921

Principal Address:

Bridging the Gap 79a Stafford Street Willenhall West Midlands WV13 1RT

Objects of the Charity:

To spread and increase the knowledge of Christianity in and around the Willenhall area.
The relief of poverty, sickness and distress for those people who are in need by virtue of their financial circumstances, sickness or social isolation, in particular – but not exclusively – by the provision of, and signposting towards, advice, information and counselling.

Bank:

HSBC Queen Square Wolverhampton WV1 1TE

Charity Officers:

Chairperson:

Mr R Wilcox

Treasurer:

Ms K MacMahon

Other current Trustees:

Mrs E Wilcox, Mrs K Mckeown, Mr G Ward, Ms C Johnson

Independent Examiner:

Simon Tonry Graphic House, 15-18 New Rd, Willenhall WV13 2BG

Governing document:

20[th] October 2005.

How the Charity is constituted:

Association of Christian churches in the locality

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Churches Together in Willenhall

Trustee selection methods:

Trustees are appointed or reappointed at the Annual General Meeting held in October. The Constitution also provides for co-option under certain circumstances.

Administrative Information:

Churches Together in Willenhall is an unincorporated association under the responsibility of an Executive (trustees) who met four times during the year.

Structure, Governance & Information:

The Charity has a voting membership. The members are Christian churches in the locality of Willenhall which commit themselves to furthering the objects and have paid the annual subscription laid down from time to time by the Executive. The Charity is managed by an Executive (trustees) appointed at the Annual General Meeting by the member churches through votes vested in their nominated representatives. Trustees are appointed to serve for two years and may stand for re-election. Member churches have a voice into decision-making at quarterly general meetings. All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or other benefit.

Operation:

Our principal activity, involving more than 95% of our finance and most of our energy, is the running of a Community Resource Centre called Bridging the Gap, located in one of the main shopping streets in our Town. There we employ a part time centre manager and operate with twenty or so volunteers who, typically, give a few hours a week. Volunteers receive no benefit. We also run a foodbank in association with The Black Country Foodbank and provide face to face advice and support.

The Centre is housed in a three storey, shop-fronted building owned by the Methodist Church of Great Britain, represented by the local Methodist Circuit. The Charity rents the building from the Methodist Church. The operation of the Centre is our main activity. During the year we continued, as in previous years, to offer help with benefits applications, general form filling, bereavement support and other similar helps to people in need or who are vulnerable because of mental health issues, social isolation, lack of literacy, numeracy or computer skills or who are otherwise disadvantaged.

Members of the public and beneficiaries of our services, all of whom are received without distinction, enter our Centre through our on-street charity shop. This becomes the point of contact, help or referral for all who make such a request. Our costs are funded almost entirely by the sale of second-hand goods in our charity shop.

From first September 2023 we have taken on the next door shop at number 70 on a 4-year lease. This is an affordable way to increase our shop floor area, giving needed space for the display and sale of larger donated items such as occasional furniture, household goods, curtains and the like. Initial signs suggest it will be popular and will more than cover rent and other outgoings.

In addition, the Charity coordinates joint public Christian witness events to the community such as a Walk of Witness on Good Friday, a presence at the annual Town Carnival and carol singing in public places in the Christmas season. These events generate a small income to the Charity; always in excess of any costs incurred in running the events.

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Churches Together in Willenhall

Public Benefit Test:

The previous heading (Operation) provides good evidence that, in the carrying out of our charitable purposes, we provide significant and widespread public benefit to the people of Willenhall. Other than an annual subscription of £25 paid by each member church, all our income is provided in kind by Willenhall people (mainly) who donate second hand items for sale, other local people who buy those items, with the income generated being used for the benefit of Willenhall people who seek our help. Part of our strength is that we raise our income from local people and expend it for the benefit of local people in need. We always keep in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. The local community continues to have a high degree of confidence in what we seek to achieve and provide. .

Risk Analysis:

The trustees have carried out a general review of the Charity and consider that there are no major risks to its continuing for the foreseeable future. In the longer term, we are mindful of the age demographic of our volunteers and the advanced age of most of the people in church locally. As we are dependent on our volunteers, we intend to continue our endeavours for as long as possible. We have no plans to expand our work, rather we to seek to maintain what is regarded as a most useful and highly appreciated help to struggling people in our community. We are alert to the possibility of unforeseen risks and maintain a responsible view of what our response should be in the event of such an occurrence, including maintaining appropriate reserves for such as eventuality.

Financial Review:

This report covers the twenty second year of operation since registering as a charity. During the year, receipts amounted to £45,108. Payments in total amounted to £45,273. Payments this year have included circa £6,920 to cover various repairs and refurbishments to the property, seeking to make it a cleaner, brighter and more welcoming experience, both for our volunteers and for our beneficiaries. Through prudent management, we have maintained financial stability throughout the year.

Reserves Policy:

The Trustees are committed to ensuring that there are sufficient reserves in unrestricted funds to ensure the net settlement of all debtors and creditors, redundancy payments and any costs in meeting its legal obligations. The Trustees have set a ‘warning’ threshold at £10,000 which will trigger a priority review of our finances, thus maintaining a reasonable financial margin over and above what we need to close the charity.

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Churches Together in Willenhall

Trustees responsibilities:

The Trustees are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity, for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities and to provide reasonable assurance that:

the charity is operating efficiently and effectively
its assets are safeguarded against unauthorised use or disposition
proper records are maintained and financial information used within the charity or for publication is reliable
the charity complies with relevant laws and regulations

Certain day to day management activities of Bridging the Gap are delegated to the Centre Manager, while all major decisions are taken by the trustees.

Declaration:

The Trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the Trustees on 9[th] July 2024

Roger Frederick Wilcox Chairman Trustee Signature Trustee Name Position

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Churches Together in Willenhall

Independent Examiner’s Report To the Trustees of Churches Together in Willenhall (Registered Charity Number 1093921)

I report on the accounts of the Charity for the year ending 30[th] September 2021, which are set out on pages 7-10.

Respective Responsibilities of the Trustees and Examiner

The Charity’s Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The Charity’s Trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under Section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (The Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

a) examine the accounts under Section 145 of the Charities Act,
b) to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given the Charity Commission (under Section 145 (5)(b) of the Charities Act), and
c) to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.

Basis of Independent Examiner’s Statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with these records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequentially no opinion is given as the whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent Examiner’s Statement

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: -

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;

to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act have not been met; or

to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Signed…………………………………………………. On: 9[th] July 2024

Mr Simon Tonry KST Accountancy LLP Graphic House 15-18 New Road Willenhall West Midlands WV13 2BG

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Churches Together in Willenhall

Statement of Assets & Liabilities

30 September 2023 £ £ 0 30,473 202 103 300 31,078 - 31,078 31,078	30 September 2023 £ £ 0 30,473 202 103 300 31,078 - 31,078 31,078	30 September 2022 £ £ 0 30,264 22 103 854 31,243 - 31,243 31,243	30 September 2022 £ £ 0 30,264 22 103 854 31,243 - 31,243 31,243
31,078 -		31,243 -

	31,078		31,243

Notes on Accounts for the Year to 30[th] September 2023

Note 1 Accounting convention

The accounts are prepared on a receipts and payment basis

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Churches Together in Willenhall

Receipts & Payments Account

Year to 30/09/2023 £ £ 5,405 0 5,405 34,204 5,499 0 39,703 45,108 11,816 9,580 3,342 528 717 3,247 2,431 4,851 667 6,145 649 1,300 45,273 (165) 31,243 31,078	Year to 30/09/2022 £ £ 5,530 0 5,530 25,141 1,185 224 26,550 32,080 9,617 8,909 1,061 466 385 1,670 2,037 2,116 0 6,337 169 309 33,076 (996) 32,239 31,243	Year to 30/09/2022 £ £ 5,530 0 5,530 25,141 1,185 224 26,550 32,080 9,617 8,909 1,061 466 385 1,670 2,037 2,116 0 6,337 169 309 33,076 (996) 32,239 31,243
34,204 5,499 0	25,141 1,185 224
11,816 9,580 3,342 528 717 3,247 2,431 4,851 667 6,145 649 1,300	9,617 8,909 1,061 466 385 1,670 2,037 2,116 0 6,337 169 309
		32,080 33,076

		(996) 32,239
		31,243

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Churches Together in Willenhall

Donations & membership Subscriptions Church donations Donations General expenses Performing rights Cleaning Software Miscellaneous PAT Testing/Security	2023 £ 220 4,185 1,000 5,405 458 1110 0 2,509 774 4,851	2022 £ 480 4,185 865
		5,530
		414 0 66 1,636 0
		2,116

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2023-09-30-accounts